Chapter Seven
Her cart was near to overflowing. Jars of peanut butter, pounds and pounds of butter, bags of flour, eggs, milk… Amanda looked down at her list. She still needed to hit the meat department. She had dug out a Crock-Pot from the back of a cabinet after finding an easy recipe to try in the slow cooker. It had only listed a handful of ingredients and not much preparation. She could handle that. But shopping, on the other hand…
Her grocery list was three pages long—both sides. She had already spent forty-five minutes in the retail giant. She couldn’t imagine what her bill would be when she checked out.
And to top everything off, she had picked a cart with a defective wheel. So every few feet it would stick and squeal like a stuck pig when she continued to push. She gritted her teeth.
The wheel jammed again as she tried to take a corner into the next aisle. She shoved harder, and the wheel freed abruptly, the cart escaping her grip.
She winced as it had a head-on collision with another shopper’s cart.
As the other shopper gave her an evil look, she apologized profusely.
“I’m so sorry. The damn—dang wheel stuck.”
The harried young mother tightened her hold on the toddler by her side. She looked like she was about to give Amanda a piece of her mind.
“I guess I’m going to have to write up a crash report. Do I need to call rescue?” Max rolled his cart up next to the “crash” scene. To Amanda, it looked as if rescue had already arrived.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Leonard. I’ll take over from here. You’re free to go.” He leaned down to the toddler, chucking him under the chin. “And you too, Jessie.”
Mrs. Leonard picked up her child and put him in the cart. As she rolled away, the woman grumbled, “You should write her a ticket for reckless driving, Max.”
Max gave Mrs. Leonard an easy smile. “I’ll do that.” He then shifted his attention to Amanda, his smile slipping a bit.
“What are you doing here?” Amanda’s cheeks burned. What a stupid question.
“Shopping?” He scanned the contents of her cart. “What are you doing? Opening a restaurant?”
“No. I have some recipes I’m working on, and I needed some ingredients. I bought a bunch of cookbooks at a church sale.”
He snagged a jar of the peanut butter. “Apparently. Ten jars of peanut butter? You must be making some more of your great peanut butter cookies. You can drop them off at the station anytime. We all loved them.”
“Uh, sure, I’ll do that.” The heat that had left her cheeks a second earlier returned in full force. She needed to change the subject. She eyed his cart. Vegetable juice, “healthy” frozen meals, a variety of fruits, and a gallon of skim milk barely filled the bottom. Not a doughnut to be found in this cop’s diet. “Watching your weight?”
“I always watch my girlie figure,” Max joked.
His figure looked good to Amanda. Extremely fine. His hard lines and masculine angles looked downright—
“Amanda?”
“Hmmm?” She drew her attention from the snug fit of his jeans back up to his face. Well, almost. Her gaze stuck on the bulge of his biceps through his long-sleeved cotton shirt. Then she finally met his gaze.
“I have to go. I’m working second shift.” He didn’t move. “If you need someone to taste test those recipes, I’m available.”
“I’ll let you know.”
“You have my cell.”
“Yep.”
“I keep it on all the time.”
“No kidding.”
“I have to because of my job…” His voice died away. Max shifted closer, their gazes locking.
Amanda said softly, “I’m sure.” Was he going to kiss her? Here? In the cereal aisle at Walmart?
“Okay, I have to go.”
“Me too.” He was going to kiss her. Her lips parted in anticipation.
“I’ll see you later,” he said in a husky whisper.
“Okay.” Her heart hammered.
Instead he ran his thumb over her lips. “Keep out of trouble.” He pulled reluctantly away.
“Right.” The break of contact left her feeling cold. Damn. “Max?”
He stilled. “Yeah?”
She gave him a tentative smile. “Stay safe.”
He answered with one of his own. “I will.”
Then he was gone, leaving Amanda standing alone by the shredded wheat, wondering where this was going to go. And how soon.
* * * *
Amanda pulled the plain Buick into the garage and popped the trunk release. She needed to get the groceries unloaded and put away before Greg got home. Even though her brother tried to be helpful after she went grocery shopping, it never failed that eggs got smashed, a grocery bag broke, or a dozen apples scattered out of the garage and down the driveway. He meant well, but…
As she came around the back of the car, she noticed Max’s truck pulling in.
What the hell?
He jumped out of his Chevy and yelled, “Hey, you forgot something!”
Her brows knit together as she patted her pockets. Did she forget her credit card at the store?
He rushed up to her, making her step back in surprise.
“What did I forget?”
“This,” he stated as he pulled her into his arms and captured her lips with his.
Oh yes. Damn her forgetfulness.
His mouth slanted over hers, their tongues tangling and twisting. He pulled her hips against him, and she could feel his hardness through his jeans press against her lower belly.
He swept his fingers through her hair, pulling her head back even more, exposing her neck. He licked her bottom lip, then trailed his tongue down her neck, over the rapid pulse along her throat. He finished with a kiss at the curve of her throat.
“You don’t know how badly I want to finish what we started in the back of that damn Buick.”
A shiver went down Amanda’s spine. Oh, me too.
The crack of a screen door slamming had them both looking at each other before looking over at Mrs. Busybody’s house.
“Shit,” Max whispered.
“I thought you had to go to work.”
“I do.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll make it on time. I wanted to help you unload all the groceries you bought. And…and I wanted to kiss you. I hesitated in the store, and I regretted it.”
“What about your groceries?” Through his windshield, she could see the bags on the passenger side of his truck cab.
“I’ll throw them in the fridge at the station.”
Max could grab more bags at a time than Amanda ever could, and within minutes they had unloaded everything onto the kitchen counters.
As she turned to thank him, his arms came around her from behind, pulling her against him.
“I don’t want to go to work. I want to stay here and bury myself deep inside you.”
Her pussy throbbed at the vision his words put into her head. Yes, she wanted that too.
He ran his palm over her jeans until he cradled her pussy in his hand. She gasped when his fingers played with her nipples through her sweater. They were hard and tight, and she wanted his mouth on them. She wanted him to suckle and squeeze them. He nibbled along her neck down to her exposed collarbone. The wide-necked sweater gave him enough access to run his tongue along her delicate skin before ending it with a kiss.
With a groan he pulled away. “I gotta go before I’m late and my ass is in a sling with Dunn, since I’m relieving him.”
Amanda straightened her sweater and cursed the wetness between her legs. She might have to go change her panties when he left.
“I take dinner break around seven. I can stop by. Would you be interested in making a hungry, hardworking man some supper?”
Amanda had a flash of panic. Oh, he did not want her cooking for him. At least not yet. Even though she was trying to teach herself to cook, she had a long way to go yet.
“I…I know I just bought all these groceries, but I was just planning on picking up pizza for Greg and me. I was going to keep it simple tonight.” Good save, she thought.
“Then how about I pick up pizza and I’ll be here around seven. As long as I don’t get a last minute emergency call, that is. I’ll text you if I’m running late.”
Before she could even agree to the dinner date, he was rushing out of the house. A few seconds later, she heard his truck tires pealing down the road.
Amanda touched her lips and smiled.
* * * *
Greg ran to the door when the headlights of the cruiser lit up the front of the house.
“Max here! Max here!”
Chaos echoed his owner’s excitement, circling and barking at the front door.
“Chaos!” Amanda yelled from the kitchen. “Greg, go out and help Max with the pizza.”
Amanda felt the draft of cold air as Greg rushed out the front door, leaving it wide open, Chaos hot on his heels.
He probably hadn’t even bothered to put shoes on. Amanda sighed.
Within minutes, three males took over her kitchen. One barking. One bouncing, talking a mile a minute, and wringing his hands. And one…
Amanda stopped setting out the napkins and straightened. Oh yeah.
And one wearing that dark blue uniform of his, making him look sharp and put together like no man she’d ever seen before. Studying him, she could see why women liked men in uniform.
Both Greg and Max were carrying a pizza box, so she took the one from Greg and put it on the table before it ended upside down on the floor. Max slid his on top of the other.
He reached for the mic at his shoulder and pushed the button. “Dispatch from Manning Grove eight.”
The radio squawked loudly throughout the room. Greg’s eyes lit up and widened, and he shifted foot to foot. “Manning Grove eight, go ahead.”
“Dispatch, I’ll be ten-six for dinner. I’ll be on portable.”
“Ten-four, Manning Grove eight.”
Max unhooked the mic from his shoulder and the radio from his hip, placing both on the counter nearby.
“Oh, can…can…can I’s speak on that?”
Before Max could answer, Amanda stepped in. “No, Bud, that’s not a toy. Only Max gets to use the radio.”
Greg rolled his eyes, disappointed. “Awwwww.”
“Go wash your hands.” She shooed him to the sink. “Holy crap, Chaos, settle down.”
The dog finally sat, his tail thumping against the linoleum floor. She swore the dog just smiled at her knowingly. She shook her head and looked back at Max.
Max leaned in close to kiss her on the cheek. She wanted a more thorough kiss, but she could understand him keeping it on the more conservative side since they had an audience. Who was like a sponge.
“Is that a gun on your hip or are you just happy to see me?” she asked him in a low voice.
He leaned in close again and whispered in her ear, “Both.”
“Gun! Can…can I’s hold it? Max? Max! Can I?”
“No!” They both answered at the same time. Apparently she hadn’t kept her voice low enough. She took a mental note.
Greg pouted. “Why not?”
Max went over to the sink to wash his hands while lecturing Greg. “Guns are dangerous, Greg. You have to have a lot of training before you can hold one. You don’t want to hurt anyone by accident, do you?”
“No,” Greg answered with an exaggerated shake to his head. “But…”
Amanda needed to change the subject before Greg played twenty questions on why he couldn’t handle Max’s gun. “So, Manning Grove eight, what kind of pizza did you get?”
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I did one half mushrooms, half pepperoni, and the other just plain cheese.”
“That’s a lot of pizza for only three people.”
“Well, Greg and I are still growing boys.”
Greg plopped down in a chair at the table. “Yeah, ’Manda, Max an’ I’s are growin’ boys.”
Max wiggled his eyebrows at Amanda. Yeah, she knew exactly where he was still growing. And it wasn’t his height.
Within minutes, Max had scarfed down three slices and Greg was trying to keep up, though while Max tended to use a napkin, Greg had sauce ringing his mouth as he shoved in a piece of crust.
Greg blasted out a belch so loud Chaos started barking.
“Manners.” Amanda scolded him.
But Max laughed in turn, making Greg laugh around his apology. “’Scuze me.”
She gave Max the side eye. “Don’t encourage him.”
Max just shrugged. He asked Greg, “Do you feel better?”
Greg nodded his head as he chewed on another piece of crust.
Max winked at Amanda. “Good.”
“How long is your dinner break?”
“As long as the radio is quiet.”
Which, of course, jinxed him.
The radio suddenly chirped, and Max already was out of his seat.
“Dispatch to Manning Grove eight.”
Max grabbed the portable. “Manning Grove eight. Go.”
“Two vehicle crash at Williams Road and Hollow Hill Lane. Unknown injuries. Fire and EMS en route.”
Amanda watched as his whole demeanor changed suddenly from the relaxed pizza-eating guy seconds ago to shoulder-squared, protect-and-serve guy now. She even thought his chest puffed out a little bit more.
“Ten-four, dispatch. I’ll be en route.”
“Can I’s go with Max?”
Amanda brushed his hair out of his eyes as they watched Max shrug on his heavy patrol jacket. “No, Bud. Sometimes we need to handle things on our own.”
Max gave her an apologetic smile before heading out the door.
Well, shit.
While Amanda started to clean up the table, her cell phone beeped. She checked her texts.
Meet me in your driveway at 11:15.
* * * *
The man was prompt if nothing else.
Amanda slid into the passenger side of Max’s Chevy pickup. Only the glow of his dashboard illuminated the interior once she quietly shut the door. Last thing she wanted was to wake up Greg. Or the neighbors. Like Mrs. Busybody.
He was back in his civilian clothes, soft worn jeans, and a short-sleeved T-shirt, exposing the Marine tattoo on his arm. Amanda wanted to lean over and lick it. And that would just be the starting point.
“You know it’s like negative twenty degrees out there.”
Max’s chuckle was low, causing a shiver to run down her spine and her pussy to quiver. “It’s thirty-eight degrees. My jacket is behind the seat, and I have the heat on.”
She tilted her head and studied his strong jawline and lips that were curved up in a smile.
“I may have to turn the heat off if you don’t stop looking at me like that.”
She placed a palm on his chest over the thin cotton. “You do feel a bit warm.”
He wrapped his fingers with hers, bringing her wrist to his mouth. He pressed his lips against her skin and stroked his tongue over her pulse point.
“I want to get to know you better, Amanda…”
The way he hesitated after her name made her think, uh-oh. This wasn’t going to be as simple as it could be.
“But?”
She pulled her hand back when he sighed, letting it fall to her lap.
“But my parents really like you.”
Amanda shook herself mentally. What? “And that’s a problem, how?”
“Listen. I’ve been a bachelor my whole life.”
Oh, here we go.
“I mean, I date—have dated. But between my stint in the Marines right after high school, going through the police academy, then concentrating on my career, I just never had the desire to get serious with anyone.”
“Who said anything about being serious?” Amanda’s stomach churned. Where the hell was this going?
“No one…yet.” Max cleared his throat and stared at the hands he now had gripping the steering wheel. “Here’s the deal…”
She stared at his profile, wishing he would get to the point. This was getting painful.
“Okay, so you just want to fuck me and not have anything serious. No problem. I’m completely fine with that. You come over, fuck me until I come, then you go home.”
His head swiveled toward her, wearing a frown. “No—”
“Yes. I get it. You just want an occasional booty call.”
“No. Wait. Hear me out.”
“What, Max? What do you want? What are you trying to say?”
“You heard my parents…no, my mom on Christmas Day, so excited to see a female in her house. She has been bugging all of us to settle down, produce children. I mean it’s a constant thing when we’re there.”
“Okay, I get it. I’m not the one you want to settle down and have children with.”
“No. Well, yes… No! Fuck!” Max scrubbed a hand over his short, bristly hair. “No. I just don’t want to give her the wrong idea. Like I said, I want to get to know you better, but I…I…just don’t need the pressure from my mother.”
“So you’re saying you’re a pussy and can’t stand up to your mother.”
Max pinched the bridge of his nose and just shook his head.
“You’re saying that if you’re seeing someone, your mom suddenly hears wedding bells.”
Max sighed, letting out a long shaky breath.
“You’re saying that you’re afraid to fuck someone casually because you’re going to be pressured by your mom to start popping out brats if she finds out.”
Amanda laughed, and Max’s eyebrows shot to the top of his head.
“You know you can be a control freak, but it sounds like you get it honestly. You like to control others, but you’re afraid of your mother controlling you.”
She was being a little harsh. She knew what a real controlling mother was like. She had one of her very own. Her mother was a controlling, manipulative woman, but she didn’t see Mary Ann as that at all.
“From the little that I saw, she only wants what’s best for you. Just like a good mother should. You are very lucky to have her.”
“I am lucky to have her. And my pop. But I think you’re missing my point.”
“No. I get it. You want to fuck me, but you want us to keep in on the DL. I got it totally.”
“Just from my parents.”
She knew what he was getting at, but he was not going to be getting any help from her to pull the foot out of his mouth.
“You really don’t want my mom to start meddling and blowing things out of proportion. My mom doesn’t know why anyone would want to take it slow or get to know someone better first. So that’s a reason to keep it on the DL.”
“You know, there was this cop who once told me that this was a small town, and everybody knows everyone’s business,” she teased.
He snorted and shook his head. “I’m such an ass.”
She smiled. “I won’t argue that fact. But you do have a very hot ass and I do want to fuck you and I don’t want to marry you or start popping out your spawn. So now what?”
“So now we get naked and fuck?” he suggested. He gave her a sheepish grin, which totally melted her heart.
“Here? Is that even possible in the cab of a pickup?”
“Oh yeah. Anything is possible if you want it badly enough.”
“So, Officer Bryson, are you saying you want me bad?”
“I want you so badly I can taste it.”
Amanda chuckled. “Well, tasting is good.” She looked around the cramped quarters of the truck. “But I still don’t know how this would work.”
Max tilted the steering wheel up, making a smidgeon more room. He twisted in the driver’s seat to face her.
He stroked his thumb over her lower lip gently.
Driving his fingers into her long hair, he pulled her close. He murmured against her lips, “I want to make you come. I want to hear you cry out. I want to hear you scream my name.”
That sounded like a good plan to her.
He smothered her lips with his, and Amanda sighed, her breath blending with his, her tongue brushing against his. And as he deepened the kiss, her nipples hardened painfully under her sweater.
He pulled back, breaking their kiss. “You see that handle up there? Grab that and lift yourself up so I can slide over.”
She pulled herself up and he slid under her, but before she could settle in his lap, he grabbed her yoga pants and pulled them down her legs. She was so glad she had changed into the comfier, easier-to-remove pants. Plus, she never wore panties under her yoga pants. He threw them onto the driver’s seat along with her sneakers.
She released the grab handle and yanked her sweater over her head. Oh yeah, she had also removed her bra when she had changed. She had been thinking.
Before she could turn, he ran his hand over her hip and then down to find the V of her legs. Her thighs trembled as he explored her, his fingers separating her, pressing her clit, before dragging between her swollen lips to discover her wetness. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She slammed her palms down on the dash to steady herself, and her head fell forward as he pressed his fingers inside her. She was so hot, so wet, that he whispered those words into her skin as he licked and kissed along her spine.
He twisted a nipple with one hand while his other fucked her over and over until her knees buckled and she fell back against him, crying out.
“Turn around.” His voice was harsh. Commanding. And it made the heat at her core want to explode.
She twisted in his arms, in his lap, until she straddled him. His eyelids were heavy, his breathing ragged, and his hard-on was unmistakable in his jeans.
He kissed her long and deep, finally releasing her so he could kiss down her neck, finding the hollow of her throat. He cupped her breast and lowered his head, sucking the nipple between his lips.
Her back arched; she wanted him to suck harder, pinch harder, pull and tease her nipple.
He did all that. And more. Nipping, caressing, licking her skin, biting her shoulder, stroking her clit with his thumb.
She needed him now. Inside her. Otherwise, she was going to break apart and go mad.
“I want you. Now.” She groaned and lifted herself up again, trying to give him enough space to pull his jeans down. He managed to push them to just past his knees before sinking back in the seat and taking her with him. His thighs were big and muscular, so when her knees found enough purchase to straddle him, she spread wide, inviting, waiting.
He took a handful of her ass, pulling her tight against him. He fisted the base of his cock, and she shifted until the tip was at her entrance. And when she let her body go, she sank down on him, taking him inside her completely.
She tilted her hips just slightly, seating him even deeper. She had him all, from base to tip, inside her.
He dug his fingers into the flesh around her hips as she lifted and fell, riding his pulsing cock.
He watched her watching him. She wanted to smile at him, tell him how good this felt, how hard he was, how wet she was for him. But nothing came out but nonsense. Curses. Groans. Cries. He joined her, wordless sounds as she rode him hard.
Until she squeezed her inner walls tight around him. And he stilled, his nostrils flaring, his eyes closed, his jaw tight.
She squeezed his cock like a fist, releasing and tightening. Release. Tighten.
She ground her hips down against him. Once. Twice. The pleasure built until it radiated from her core, curling her toes, making her eyes roll back in her head.
With one last cry, her body pulsated around him, her climax spiraling from her center.
He threw his head back against the seat. “Fuck!” And he released deep inside her.
She dropped her forehead onto his shoulder and let out a long, shaky breath.
* * * *
She laid with her head in his lap as he sat up in the driver’s seat. Her legs were folded against the passenger-side door, and her muscles complained a little in that cramped position. The gear shifter was jammed into her ribs, but it was worth it because he was stroking her hair while she stared up at him. They hadn’t said anything for a while, and she didn’t want to break the easy silence. His fingers in her hair made her want to purr.
His other hand moved down her skewed sweater to draw circles around her bare belly button. At the end of every circle he would flick the gold hoop at the center.
“What’s your dream, Mandy?”
Her thoughts were slow and relaxed, and that was the last question she expected from Mr. Type A personality. Her dream…
“I don’t know. Though if you would have asked me a few months ago when my life was totally different, I still wouldn’t have had an answer. I had no direction. I just lived day by day. Hour by hour. Partying with my friends, bartending for some cash, hanging out at nightclubs or in South Beach. Wherever the action was.” She sighed. “Now I just feel lost.”
“You’re not lost.”
“I feel like my feet were ripped out from under me during a riptide.”
“You’ll find your footing again.”
“Maybe when I get back home.” To Miami. Back to familiar things. Familiar ways. “What’s your dream?”
“I’m living it.”
She shifted her head to get a better view of his face. “Really? Wearing a uniform, arresting people, rescuing cats from trees?”
“Having a career I can be proud of. One with job security. Working on my pension so I can afford to eventually retire. Owning a home. Helping people. Saving enough that if my parents need help later in life, I can do that.”
Amanda faked a yawn. “Sounds exciting.”
Max shook his head. He gazed down into her face, studying her. “You’re young yet.”
“I’m twenty-eight.”
“Age is just a number. You are young; in a few years you’ll get what I’m saying.”
“I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like my kind of life.”
He took a deep breath. “Right.” He looked at his watch. “Shit. It’s one a.m. I need to get some sleep.”
Amanda yawned. For real this time. “Yeah, me too. I used to stay out all night, but now I couldn’t do it if I tried. Greg gets me up so early. My ass is going to be dragging in the morning.”
She sat up and straightened her clothes before sliding out of the passenger-side door.
“I’ll see you around, Officer Bryson.”
“Hey,” he called to her.
“Yeah?”
“Stay out of trouble.”
“Why? I now have an ‘in’ at the local police department.” With a wink, she slammed the door shut and ran into the house.