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Destined (The Rangers of Ridge County #1) Chapter Forty-One 68%
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Chapter Forty-One

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

EMMETT

F or the first time in a long time, I didn’t plan on going into the department early.

I brought some case files home to review, but I wanted to help Millie get settled. Though, I’d slept in later than usual after being up half the night cleaning the Lookout Loft. I wasn’t sure why exactly, but I wanted Millie to see the space in all its glory once she was able to safely climb the ladder.

Stretching as I entered the kitchen, I found Millie up on her tiptoes, reaching for a mug in an upper cabinet. I’d like to say I didn’t immediately notice the way her pajama shorts had risen—high enough the globes of her flawless ass were playing peek-a-boo with the hem as she bobbled. She hissed in what sounded like pain then shrieked as she lost her balance.

I rushed up behind her at the same time she stumbled backward, her ass aligning perfectly with my dick. An “oof” escaped from between my pursed lips as it perked up at the unexpected contact.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I growled into her ear. She was being far too reckless for my liking, and I was intent on remedying that right fucking now.

She wiggled against my now painfully erect dick as she worked to regain her footing, and I bit back a groan.

“The doctor told me I could do non-strenuous activity without the sling,” she huffed. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours since she was discharged from the hospital, and here she was, already being stubborn.

“This wasn’t what he meant, and you know it,” I barked. Angry she was playing around with her safety over something as trivial as a coffee cup.

Vowing to move them to a lower shelf, I reached up and over her—engulfing her body in the shadow of my own as I grabbed two mugs. My hips thrust with the movement, and I smirked at her sharp intake of breath. My dick, testing the confines of these sweatpants, pressed against her lower back before sliding down to nestle in between her ass cheeks as I returned to a normal stance.

What had I gotten myself into? Being roommates with Millie was going to be damn near impossible if we kept up the coy flirting. And the kissing. Just the thought of the peck we shared last night had my dick twitching.

Her uninhibited moan had my hands ditching the mugs in favor of gripping her hips.

Millie’s hair was in a clip, leaving the slender column of her neck exposed. I ran a hand up from her hip to her throat, tilting it. From this angle, I watched her nipples pebble as I nipped at her bounding pulse then gently sucked the sting away.

“See what you fucking do to me?” I demanded. The anger siphoning from my body was replaced by pure need.

She whimpered, and my restraint snapped—hand splaying across her abdomen and fingers inching underneath the waistband of her shorts. Then a knock sounded at the door, and seconds later my sister’s voice rang out.

I really regretted giving her a key—I thought, reluctantly peeling myself away from Millie and instantly missing the feel of her body pressed against mine.

While Millie readjusted her clothes, I moved—using the island to shield my obvious erection as our interloper walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning, lovebirds!” Rory singsonged.

Millie’s mouth gaped open, and I cleared my throat, ducking my head to hide my grin.

But neither of us corrected her.

“What do you two have planned for today?” I asked, reaching around where Millie stood frozen. Grabbing one of the mugs still on the counter beside her.

“I brought everything we’ll need for manicures and pedicures,” Rory said, holding up a plastic sack from Vincent’s as well as a canvas tote from her own shop. “And a few of my current bestsellers,” she continued. “All romance, of course.”

“Of course,” I replied.

Millie glanced down at my semi-hard dick, and it twitched. Her gape returned along with my grin.

If this was how every morning with her would be, I hoped she never left.

I’d been poring over the diagnostics report from Chance Montgomery’s truck since I arrived this morning. There had been a delay due to its condition. Though, I was thankful the investigators were able to pull any information from the charred sensors and system.

But it didn’t add up. Especially given the fact there weren’t any issues noted before that night.

The data showed the truck had a total system failure less than fifty feet from where it went through the guardrail—electrical, engine, transmission, brakes, all of it.

It would be easy to close the case based on this finding, if it weren’t for the damage to the rear end. A detail that was flagged in the report, as well. Various simulations were run based on the crash report, and none of them accounted for the extensive damage there.

I had just flipped back to the beginning, intent on reading through it for a third time, when a knock sounded on my door.

“Come in!” I called out.

The door swung wide, revealing a face I hadn’t expected.

“Are you avoiding me?” Denver asked as he flopped down in one of the armchairs across from me.

“No,” I huffed. “I’ve been busy. ”

“I’m sure you have been. Heard you’ve been playing house with that so-called ‘friend’ of yours,” Denver grinned, goading me.

I hated that fucking word. Friend . There was nothing friendly about my feelings for Millie.

In fact, they had become all-consuming. When I wasn’t with her, I was thinking about her. And the idea that there could be someone out there still trying to harm her had me fisting the pages—crumpling them.

“Whoa, man. It was just a joke,” Denver said, making a show of raising both hands.

I sighed, letting go of the report as well as the tension that had been building since earlier this morning.

“Well, if that’s true,” I paused, smirking. “You should probably keep your day job. Because that shit was sad.”

“Fuck you, too, then,” he said, laughing. Though, he sobered as I flattened out the papers and pushed them toward him. He might not be the county appointed fire marshal, but he was an expert when it came to this kind of stuff.

He’d consulted enough for the department that I trusted his opinion.

“Did you know any of the men from the wreck we worked last week?” I knew it was a long shot, but he had lived in the Valley for almost a decade.

“No,” he answered. “Though the Anderson family’s dealership is well known by most in the area.”

“Well liked?” I questioned. Chance and Jeremy had seemed decent enough, but Paul had been a piece of work. Maybe someone had a grudge.

He just nodded, and I took a drink of my lukewarm coffee, grimacing while he continued to read. His brow furrowed, and when he looked up at me, I knew my suspicions were right.

“This was no accident.”

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