Hostile Witness (Sanctuary, Inc. #1)

Chapter 26

26

T ia leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath because her stomach hurt from laughing. “The stories of you and Sergeant Thompson during those hell workouts are priceless. Earl has always played it straight around me. I had no idea he was such a prankster.”

Ethan nodded. “Oh yeah, Earl is a master at maintaining his poker face. He pulled a prank on my ex a few years ago—” He paused and shook his head. “I don’t need to be talking about that right now.”

The turmoil rolling across his face was almost palpable whenever he referenced his ex-wife. “Tell me something, Ethan. You don’t seem to have any obvious flaws. What happened?” She reached into the box of doughnuts and pulled out another one.

He put his fork down. “You go straight to the heart of the matter, huh?”

She made an offhanded gesture. “It’s just that the subject makes you so sad. I’ve spent some time with a really great therapist, and one thing I’ve learned is that I’ve got to get over the fact that I messed up.”

He looked straight into her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t leave my career for my ex. That was her final straw. I don’t blame her.” He picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “I worked too much and didn’t take care of her social needs.”

Tia narrowed her eyes. “Why were you responsible for her social needs?”

“I guess she wanted our life to be like it was when we were dating.”

“When did you start dating?”

“We dated on and off through college and then lost touch after graduation until our late twenties, when we got together again.”

Tia bit into the side of a doughnut so she could get to the filling faster. “I don’t know any adults whose social life is the same as it was in college. I drank and partied all weekend back then.” She raised her eyebrows and gave a short laugh. “My third graders would eat me alive if I tried to do that now.” Leaning across the table, she held the doughnut to his mouth. “It’s peach. You can’t say no to peach.”

He smirked and took a bite. “I’m not quite sure how my ex and I ended up together. Maybe it was convenience and the desire to settle down. We thought we knew each other pretty well, but as soon as we married, I wasn’t what she wanted, or needed. It felt like I was always doing something wrong.”

“Like how?”

“Like I detest yard work, so I hired a neighbor kid to mow the lawn and clean up the leaves. It irritated her that I’d waste money hiring the work out. But with my work schedule, I thought it was the most efficient way to get it done.”

Tia set her head in her hands. “I’d love to have the money to hire someone to do my lawn so I could have time to fuss with my flowers.”

“Yeah, maybe we’re alike that way.” He forked a bite of omelet. “I disappointed her a lot, and I’m sorry for that. I missed our second anniversary because I was on a work assignment. I certainly didn’t go into marriage thinking it would end. There was this one time when I’d just come off an eighteen-hour shift and we met for breakfast. She swore the waitress was flirting with me, and I didn’t pick up on it. We argued all weekend over something I didn’t even see.”

Tia waved her fork at him. “You definitely should’ve put that waitress in a choke hold before she had a chance to toy with you.”

He leaned back and laughed. “I doubt you can make light of the fact that one time, I unknowingly used the last of the coffee. The whole week was ruined after that.”

Her eyes grew huge on a gasp. “I agree with her on that one because, as you know, I have to have my caffeine in the morning. Using up the coffee is definitely grounds for divorce. No pun intended.” She tapped her finger on the table for emphasis. “Maybe you should’ve driven tired and let Jesus take the wheel, you insufferable oaf.”

His laugh was deep and warm. “It gets worse. I got hurt on the job and needed months to recover. I kept secrets from her. Then I spent my days gaming and drinking. I’m flawed, T. When she left, I was relieved. We were never meant to be together.”

Her head popped up. “What kind of secrets?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “She didn’t like that I was in law enforcement to begin with, and my second job involves rescuing young people at risk. Both jobs can be dangerous. I stopped telling her anything about my work and basically lied by omission.”

His expression grew tight and strained. “My degrees are in forensic accounting, and it was no secret she wanted me behind a desk somewhere, safe and sound.” He shrugged. “But I’d wither on the vine with a desk job. I need to be with someone who doesn’t object to and can handle my career. It’s a part of me. I was one of those kids who played with his Superman cape and action figures until I was eleven or twelve.”

Tia nodded slowly and fought the overwhelming urge to wrap her arms around him. Whoa, girl. She had to think before leaping this time. How many divorces had she seen in the police department over the years? Her father was a civilian who had run the 911 call center for decades, and her uncle was a cop. As a kid, she’d heard plenty of discussions over Sunday dinner.

Ethan rested a hand over hers. “The long and short of it is that my ex told me I was a lousy husband, and that crushed me. But it wasn’t all her fault. I’d be a tool to say that, and I don’t like to criticize her for opting out. That was her choice. It doesn’t matter anymore. She remarried a few months after the divorce was final.”

Tia’s chest squeezed. She hadn’t expected him to open up with such candor.

Ethan lifted their plates, set them in the sink, and filled it with hot, sudsy water. He flipped open the box of doughnuts. There were four left. “I’m glad today isn’t a hell workout. We polished off six doughnuts. That’s impressive.”

“It’s Saturday morning, and I won’t be hungry until tomorrow,” she retorted. “We not only ate six doughnuts but also one four-egg omelet apiece and almost a whole pound of bacon.” She flung open the dishwasher and started loading.

Ethan reached around and grabbed a soapy sponge to clean the countertops. She held her breath for the few seconds their bodies brushed against each other. When he pulled away, his arm grazed hers. Her skin warmed and tingled.

Tia gazed out her pretty kitchen window with the graceful lace swags. Was she wrong to allow herself the luxury of a man’s company after all this time alone? She’d grown a lot in the past couple of years. And acting like she wasn’t attracted to Ethan wasn’t working anymore. She loved sharing time together, especially after the nightmare. Breakfast was just an excuse to get him here. The heart sharing was a bonus.

She could watch her emotions and keep her guard up for the time being. Right? Maybe he had similar feelings? That would be a scary but good thing. After all, he was the one who’d offered to bring doughnuts over at five thirty in the morning.

The sponge plopped into the suds, and Ethan kissed her cheek. “Thanks for breakfast, T. My grandmother always taught me to kiss the cook.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “You’re a million miles away. Whatcha thinking?”

Telling him would make her vulnerable, a feeling she’d avoided at all costs. This was one of those defining moments when sheer timing demanded an answer. She needed to get in or get out. After staring at his mouth for an entire breakfast, she wanted to kiss him again. And one more kiss would be all right. She’d been thinking about it since he’d arrived with that shaved face.

Tia reached over, fisted his shirt with a wet hand, and held her breath. Fear singed the edges of her mind. Did she dare? Oh, to hell with it. She just had to know if the kiss in the garden had been a fluke.

She rose up on her toes and kissed his chin. Of course, she’d aimed higher, but he’d moved at the last second, and she’d missed. Even so, he groaned. She was all in now and rested her lips against his. What was she waiting for? Well, close up, his green eyes fascinated. Meadow green. Was there a crayon in the box with that name? As a third-grade teacher, she should know. But she couldn’t remember. Anything. At. All. Except three a ’s in a row was an alliteration. Yeah, she’d covered that in class last week.

Thank goodness he took control.

Brushing the curls from her face, he set his lips on hers and nudged them apart, pulling her into his huge arms. One hand guided her head while the other slid to her waist, sensuously stroking the side of her body. She didn’t know which sensation was more erotic, his hands in motion or his mouth coaxing her into a feverish dance of firm lips and gently probing tongues.

Her body simply couldn’t remain idle. It had a mind all its own as she pulled him closer and her palms smoothed up his abs and over his chest. And she had to admit, for reasons beyond her, she felt perfectly safe with him. He pulled from her moist lips and kissed a trail of little love bites across her jaw to her ear.

Swooping her up, he sat her ass on the countertop while muttering, “No more height difference, I can touch everything now.”

Oh glorious day, don’t stop. The sensory overload awakened her soul. Her hands slid up his arms to his hair. His lips returned to her mouth, and she matched him kiss for kiss, the urgency of exploring each other so enticing. The crisp cotton of his shirt smelled like a fresh ocean breeze layered with raw man. The corded muscles in his arms jumped under her touch, and their exquisitely charged passion sent her pulse soaring. More... please .

Teenage Ethan had been hot, but here and now? This Ethan was powerful enough to bring her to her knees.

His kisses were an art form, an explosive pull and release, a sway and a sigh turned tender. This man was an experience. It had been so long and never this good. Softly breaking the kiss, she inhaled a quick breath.

His lips smiling against hers, he whispered, “I never imagined you tasting like doughnuts.”

So he had been thinking about her? Well, then, her turn to take over the kiss. She nipped an earlobe, and his whimper rewarded her. But whoa—what was she doing? Her chest was a road map of violent scars she’d never let him see.

Tipping her chin up, he searched her eyes. His gaze was as soft as a caress. “If you tell me that what just happened between us was like kissing a brother, I’m going to take you right here on the floor.”

Tia gazed at him with amused wonder as she kissed his pecs. “I have a few flaws of my own, you know. I rarely grocery shop and got hurt off the job and needed over a year to recover.”

His lips grazed hers, his teeth nipping them this time, leaving a slight sting.

“I have a secret,” she whispered, “but no gaming or day drinking. I’m flawed. Like really, really flawed.”

He trailed kisses across her cheek. “You’re alive and talking to me. It can’t be that bad.”

She dipped her chin. “Some days, I can’t even look in the mirror. It’s bad. Like right now, I’d love nothing more than to take this between us to my bedroom. I really want to, but I won’t take my shirt off. I can’t. Not yet.”

Nodding, he framed her face with his hands. “What’s your shirt got to do with it?”

She smacked her lips together and winced. “That’s my worst flaw. Scars from an auto accident. They’re tragic—disfiguring.”

He raised her chin with a finger and peered into her eyes. “Scars are just that. Scars. The most unattractive qualities are attitudes.” He pulled her in for a hug.

She relaxed into the expanse of his chest, wrapping her arms around him. “I haven’t wanted anyone in, like, forever, and I want you in the worst way right now. But I’m not prepared to share my scars—not yet.”

He held the embrace and massaged her back. “You can have your way with me when you’re ready. It’s a trust thing. I get it.”

Tia leaned back, peering deep into his eyes. “Haven’t you read about me at work or had somebody tell you? Believe me, my bad decision was worse than any of yours.”

He held up a finger. “No. I haven’t read about your life at work. I could, but I’d rather hear it from you when you’re ready— if you ever want to talk about it. That’s up to you, your decision.” His expression stilled and grew serious. “Where’s the guy now?”

“What makes you think a man was involved?”

“Tia, please.”

“He’s dead. The same auto accident that kept me out of work for over a year and gave me the scars I want to hide. He was a detective and, I found out that night, a dirty cop, too. I think he made a mistake and was blackmailed, because he was crazy with remorse the night he died. I had no idea even though we were engaged.”

She startled when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

His big hands kneaded her shoulders as he glanced at the number. “I’m really sorry. I have to get this.” Slipping his hand through hers, he traced the sensitive underside of her wrists as he answered the call. “It’s Ethan.” He kissed Tia’s forehead and mumbled, “Uh-huh. Is she all right?”

The voice on the other end sounded rushed, urgent.

“Okay, tell her I’ll be there shortly.” He disconnected the call, returned to her bottom lip, and savored like she was a delicacy he meant to enjoy. Painstakingly slow. Shaking off the moment, he straightened and cleared his throat. “I gotta go. My grandmother tripped on the stairs.”

Tia hopped off the countertop. “Nan?”

He nodded. “Yeah, they think she’s okay, but they’re taking her to the emergency room to make sure nothing’s broken. I want to be there with her.”

“Yes, of course. Do you want me to go with you?”

He gave her a quick kiss. “No, thanks for offering, but you’re scheduled to pick up Flynn, our other patient.”

“Oh yes, right.”

Tia swatted his butt. “Then get out of here before I rip off your clothes, climb on top, and ride you like a rodeo queen. I need to think about all this. Please take the sweets. It’s harder to think when I feel fat.” She shoved his jacket and the leftover doughnuts into his arms.

Halfway out the door, he leaned his head on the frame and whispered, “Tell me you’ll do that rodeo-queen thing sometime, T. I’ll live for it.”

She was barely able to keep the laughter from her voice and gave him a gentle shove onto the porch. “Text me later and let me know how Nan is doing or if either of you need anything.”

“Will do.” He headed down her walkway.

Tia shut the door and grinned. Whoever said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day was right.