Chapter 3
Regan froze when she saw Colin dressed in jeans and a tight, black T-shirt, a rose clamped between his teeth. He leaned his hip against the door jam and had his arms across his chest, his bulging muscles stretching the arm cuffs. He knew she loved that look on him and she wet her lips with the tip of her tongue.
Rogue Rourke.
“Hey, hot stuff.”
She dropped her purse and bag where he’d dumped his gear last night. Her mood suddenly improved.
“Hey yourself.” She rushed across the room, almost colliding with the chair and then the coffee table in her haste to get to him, to be held and loved. “I’ve missed you.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed the collar of her shirt. With one hand, he worked his way down the front, parting it, releasing each button one by one, until he’d exposed her pink bra and her flat stomach. She remained rooted to the spot. Even if he hadn’t been holding her waist with one hand, she couldn’t have moved. Her nipples hardened under his intense gaze. The stress of the day melted away under his masterful fingers.
He stroked her bare skin. His touch created ripples of goosebumps over her arms and tightened her nipples until they ached. He ran his hands up over her arms and spread her shirt, sliding it down and off.
Not wanting to let him have all the fun, she mimicked his actions, running her hands over his T-shirt, touching every inch of him. She slid her hand lower until she could feel the hard ridge of his erection in her palm. Undoing his belt was a talent she’d perfected. He always wore a tactical belt held together with Velcro. With one powerful tug, she gave a satisfied smile at the ripping sound as the belt unzipped around his waist and flew free into her hand. It also pulled his hips into hers—a big perk.
His eyes lit with mischief. “You’re so talented,” he said, running his fingers through her hair, tilting her head so he could suck on her earlobe.
A delicious, throbbing ache started between her legs, before heading north to her breasts. She was panting for him, no longer in control. “I need you.”
Sex had always been good with them and now with the impending divorce there was more urgency in her moves. She wanted to remember every touch, every moan until they could be together again.
“Yes, you do.”
“Right now.” She unzipped his pants, shoved them to his feet, and took him into her mouth. After a few quick strokes of her mouth, she circled the head of his penis with her tongue.
“Not this time,” he said, pulling her to her feet. It took him less time to undress her than it had taken her to get him partially naked. Picking her up, he pushed her back until she hit the wall next to the door. He kept moving forward until his full length was inside her. The suddenness of his movement made her heart pound and her insides liquefy.
A hiss escaped her mouth as she gripped his black T-shirt. He plunged inside her, making sweet curls of passion float through her, until she knew she was close.
“You are so hot,” he said, never breaking his rhythm. He bowed his head into the hollow of her neck, placing fevered open-mouthed kisses at the base of her throat.
She clung to him with her thighs tight around his waist. Tension built until with one thrust she stopped moving and rode her climax, while he continued a few more seconds before he groaned and she felt his release deep inside her.
He carried her over to the couch and laid her down gently. She curled into his chest with a contented sigh.
“Changing your mind about the divorce, yet?” he asked into her hair.
“Always, but my responsibility is to keep our family safe. To keep us secure. I don’t want to be left with nothing because you were doing your job.” She glanced up into his eyes, which were staring down at her. “I filled out the forms this afternoon. All you have to do is sign them and I’ll drop them in the mail tomorrow. That’s it.”
He didn’t say anything in response.
“Colin? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you, but I didn’t like what you said. After the last hour, you want to talk about signing away the end of our marriage? That’s cold.”
She sat up, grabbed her shirt off the floor, and shoved her arms into the sleeves. “I don’t want this anymore than you do, but it’s what’s best. The climate concerning police officers is not good. They might want to make an example of you. Cops-can’t-play-God type of defense.”
She knew he hated it when suspects claimed that cops wanted to be God and decide who lives and dies. Just saying it to him made her stomach clench and bile rise in her throat. Hurting him only made her feel worse.
He jumped up, rigid. “Wow. I can’t believe you said that. I have never tried to play God. When I do my job, I am professional and considerate of everyone I interact with.” He shook his head in disgust. “Fine. Give me the papers and I’ll sign them. I’ll be out of here first thing in the morning.”
She reached out to touch him, but he stepped back.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” she pleaded.
He shrugged and refused to look at her. “You did.”
As he left the house, he slammed the door, a noise so final that she grabbed her chest and checked the sob that threatened to break free, but she wouldn’t cry. She never thought Colin would abandon her. He’d promised to be there forever and now, when times got tough, he left. Had he forgotten how important security was to her? He was so wrapped up in what was happening to him that he’d forgotten that she was part of this too. Maybe she needed to remind him why this divorce was so important to her.
Regan snuggled into bed, too heartsick to read or watch TV, so she lay there until she fell asleep. She’d left the papers on the kitchen table with a pen and little sticky arrows pointing to where he was supposed to sign. For the first time since her parents died, she cried herself to sleep.
~ ~ ~
Colin had no idea where he was going when he’d left the house. Regan’s scent was all over him. It teased his senses as he drove through the streets of Port City. His city. His streets. How could the city he loved this much play such a cruel trick that ultimately cost him his marriage?
He drove over the bridge, then turned around and drove back across slowing down at the center, checking out the dark water below.
Jack Geib was home when Colin pulled up in front of his house. He met him at the door. “What’s going on? You look like hell.”
With a huge sigh, Colin pushed past the door entering the familiar house. “Got a beer?”
Jack shook his head. “Sure. Just a sec.”
Colin had nowhere else to turn. Sinking into the oversized chair, he slipped off his shoes and tried to clear his head, which he hadn’t been able to do driving around town.
He and Jack had worked together for six years as partners, transferring teams and watching each other’s backs. When Jack got divorced, Colin and Regan had been there, offering emotional support and a place to stay until he found one of his own. Though Regan had done more of that than Colin had.
“We’re in trouble.” He took another swig from his beer, his feet up on the coffee table.
Sitting across from him on the matching couch, Jack scrutinized him. “You and me?”
“No. Me and Regan. It’s over. Remember that night you took a vacation day for your cousin’s wedding? I gave Ramirez a ride to Southport, but he asked me to drop him off on the bridge. I did, but now he’s missing and they say there’s some footage of me throwing him off the damn bridge. But you can’t even tell it’s me. We all look the same in uniform. I’m afraid that I’m going to take the fall.”
“No shit. That’s tough,” Jack said, taking a swig from his own bottle. “The family’s not going to press criminal charges?”
“They don’t have enough to build a criminal case on–there’s no body. No proof that it’s actually me in the grainy video. So instead, they’re suing me for five million in a civil trial. At least I’m not sitting in jail with the dirt bags I’ve arrested.”
He told his best friend the rest of the story. After he finished the first beer, Jack replaced it with a cold one.
“I met with the captain today. He said that it’ll take a miracle to get me clear from the charges. He said he’s seen the film the media has and they’ll spin it, which will taint the juror pool. I’m screwed.”
Jack leaned forward on his knees. “What does any of this have to do with Regan?”
“She doesn’t want to be a part of the whole mess. She has already had papers drawn up and is waiting for me to sign them so we can get divorced.”
“That doesn’t sound like her. She’s stronger than that, and I know for a fact that she loves you.”
“Loved.” Colin scoffed.
“Dude, that new guy on nights hit on her a few weeks ago and she put him in his place. Hard. The guy had nothing but crap to say about her to everyone. I told him she was married to you and you’d kick his ass before he’d have a shot with Regan.”
Colin fist bumped with Jack. “Thanks, but now . . . no. I’d still break his bones if he came near her.”
“Did the captain give you any helpful advice?”
“He said I should interview the lawyers the department has on retainer and find the best one. What the hell am I going to do if this lawyer can’t get me acquitted?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, brother, but don’t be so negative. You’re a good cop.” Jack tipped back his bottle and finished his beer.
Colin stayed much later than he’d expected to. He didn’t say much more to Jack and Jack didn’t dole out advice a la Dr. Phil. Colin’s buzz had worn off by the time he got into his car, heading for his soon-to-be ex-house. This day sucked.
At home, the day only got better. He scribbled his name on the divorce papers Regan had left on the table. It reminded him of the day they’d gotten married. He’d signed the marriage certificate only seven months ago. His stomach clenched, and he felt worse than he ever had. Even hearing that he was being sued didn’t compare to the awful feeling of ending his marriage.
He considered sleeping on the couch, but dismissed the thought immediately. They always shared a bed if they were both home. He wasn’t going to sleep on the couch and neither was she. Besides, tomorrow he’d have to leave.
~ ~ ~
Three weeks had passed since Colin had moved out of his house and in with Jack. Colin had seen Regan at work almost every day, but they hadn’t spoken much. When they did, it was curt and civilized. They met at the courthouse for the divorce hearing, if one could call it that, which he didn’t. The whole thing took ten minutes and they weren’t the only couple taking the easy route out of marriage. The courtroom was packed. Some of the people were checking email on their touch screens and others were busy glaring at the person they came with. The whole thing made him sick. These types of people were the ones he arrested, the ones he busted for domestic violence. He and Regan didn’t belong there with this riffraff.
They stood in front of the judge, two feet apart.
“Colin Rourke, you understand what you are giving up?”
He swallowed, aware of the double meaning of the judge’s words. He was giving up more than just the material possessions. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“You’re willing to give her everything you own?”
“Yes.”
And then it was over. When they left the court house, Regan had tears in her eyes, though none fell, and Colin felt compelled to reach out to her, but he kept his hands cemented to his pant legs. His whole existence felt deflated.
“Here,” she’d said, holding out her wedding band. “You should hold on to this.”
“No way. Keep it. It’s yours. Are you sure about this, Reg?”
She gave him a half-hearted smile and shrugged. She put the ring into her purse and headed to their car. “Need a ride?”
“This isn’t over between us,” he said, not getting into the car. With a tap on the roof, he sent her off into the world. Now it was just him.