Relenting (Dirty Cops #2)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Roxy

“ Y ou ready, baby girl?”

The deep voice coming from the other side of my door sets my stomach in a tizzy. The butterflies are taking flight as a flush of heat rushes through me. Even just the sound of his voice is intoxicating. But…I’m going to ignore it. I turn my attention back to my cookbook, staring blankly at the page.

Another knock sounds and I stiffen, holding my breath as if I’m afraid he’ll hear me. Although, I’m positive he knows I’m in here. The light is shining from under my door, and someone must’ve told him I was in my room, pointing him in the direction of where to find me.

“I know you’re in there, doll. Now open up or else I’m coming in.”

The door is locked so he can’t get in, and if tries busting it down, the guys will come to my rescue, wondering what the hell is going on. And I’ll be inclined to tell them that he’s here without invitation.

“Last chance, babe.”

“I’m not going on a date with you, so you can go away now,” I call out, hoping it will chase him away before I relent and give in. I stare at the door, waiting to hear his response, but I’m met with silence. My stomach sinks when the seconds tick by. I think he actually left. But then all of a sudden, the lock turns and in walks the man who’s become a permanent fixture in my thoughts.

“What the hell are you doing?” I sit up on my bed, my heart beating faster. God, he’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.

“Breaking and entering.” He wiggles his brow at me as he holds up a tiny little silver pick in his hand. I guess being a cop he’s had to break into a place a time or two. “Damn, babe. I said wear something pretty, but you look fucking hot as hell.”

I look down, seeing that I’m in my little booty shorts and a tank top, sans bra. I pull the blanket over myself, but it’s offering my body no protection. His sheer dominance is invading my senses, stealing the oxygen in my room. Making me crave something dangerous. He steps up to the end of my bed and in one swoop, the blanket is shrugged from my hold and tossed to the ground. My stomach tightens. His eyes have turned even darker, looking at me as though I’ve committed a crime and am about to be arrested.

“You can’t hide from me, Rox. I see you.” He kneels on the bed. “Your cheeks have turned the prettiest shade of pink.” He moves in closer. “Eyes have dilated. Heart rate is pulsing fast. You’re breathing harder, too. And those pert little nipples are beaded up nice and tight, poking right through your shirt.” His eyes go right to the spot, and they tighten further. “And I bet if I spread these thighs”—he grips onto my knees—“I’ll find just how excited you are to see me.”

“You really are full of yourself.” I stiffen my chin, trying to find my footing and regain my ground. “Now, it’s time for you to go.”

“Nah.” He shakes his head, his grip on me tightening. I lock my knees tighter not wanting him to see the wet spot that’s formed on my shorts. He glances down at where his hands are, looking as though he’s contemplating his next move. I almost want him to pry my legs apart and have his way with me.

The thought has me shifting back, hanging on to my restraint by a thread.

“It’s time for our date.” He shifts to my side and crawls up next to me. Dropping his shoes on the ground and placing his holster on my nightstand. He’s making himself right at home, acting as if he’s going to be spending the night.

“Excuse me? What are you doing?”

“Since you don’t want to go out for our date, I’m settling in.” He turns to face me, acting as if we’re a couple. He shifts his attention to the book I was reading before I was so rudely interrupted. “What are you reading, babe?”

I wasn’t exactly reading. I was scrolling through, looking for some new recipes to make for the guys. They seem to live off the same five things every week, and I figured I’d spice things up a bit. Expand their palates beyond pork chops, steak and potatoes, and pasta.

“You like to cook, baby?”

I raise a brow at him, crossing my arms. “Are you that dense? I’m not going out with you.” Although, that protest tastes bitter on my tongue and makes my stomach clench in disappointment. Here he goes again, making me long for things I can’t have. I’m not the good girl he thinks I am. I’m a whore who’s been fucking her stepbrother for six years.

“I know. You said that already.” He adjusts the pillows, making himself more comfortable. “We’re staying in. Now tell me about yourself, babe. I want to know everything. What your favorite food is, your favorite movie, how you like to spend your time. What are some of your big bucket list items? Is there any place you’ve been dying to visit?”

Seriously? This guy just isn’t going to take no for an answer. But do you really want him to, Rox? I’m not going to let myself answer that question. I have way too many skeletons in my closet capable of scaring away a ghost; they’re sure to scare away this man who represents the law and all things legal and good.

“You are seriously hardheaded, you know that?”

“Yes, I do.” He smirks. “My head is very, very hard.” My eyes drop down between his legs before I can stop myself. Shit. I quickly look back up, but he’s already caught me. “You’re allowed to look, babe. You can even reach inside if you’d like.”

I roll my eyes, reaching over and picking up my cookbook again. I sit back against my headboard with my knees up and open it back to the beginning.

“Why are you so afraid of letting me in? Are you that afraid that you might find out you actually like me?”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” I lie. “You’re the one who barged in assuming that I wanted to get to know you, but you’re wrong. I don’t. Now, why don’t you just run along and go annoy someone else.”

“Not going anywhere. So you can keep up the stubborn charade, or you can answer my questions. Choice is yours, doll.” He shifts on his side, scooting in closer, making it harder to breathe, and I let out a huff. My traitorous stomach is fluttering again with those damn butterflies. Fine, if he wants to stay, he can endure the silence, but I’m not playing twenty questions with him. I’m already kicking myself for not walking out of this room and getting one of the guys to remove him. I shouldn’t be feeding anyone’s hope, especially not mine.

I drop my eyes to the first recipe and look at the picture before turning the page, only earmarking the ones that seem easy to make for a large crowd and are not totally time-consuming.

“I make a really good meatloaf,” he says after I tuck the corner down on the meatloaf recipe. Since leaving my dad’s house, it’s become one of my favorite foods, but I only ever have it when I stop in at the diner. Growing up, my father had the chef make only bland food. Lots of fish and steamed vegetables, with very little flavor. Now, I get to eat whatever I want, and there are so many foods I love.

“I mix my meat with boxed stuffing mix instead of breadcrumbs then add some diced onion. And instead of tomato sauce or ketchup, I use barbecue sauce.” My mouth waters. That sounds so good. It’s like a combination of three of my favorite things. “If you come over to my house Sunday for family dinner, I’ll make it for you.”

I flip to the next page, keeping my neck stiff so I don’t nod and agree to his request. A home-cooked meal at his house sounds like the perfect date.

“Hailey and Grit will be there,” he continues as if I didn’t just tell him I’m not interested. “Hailey’s been wanting me to date for so long. She’ll be damn happy to see I’ve brought someone to dinner. I think she was worried I was going to die a single man.”

My eyes snap up from the page. There he goes assuming things again. He’s acting as if we’re going to get married. “If you keep acting like an arrogant asshole, you just might die single.”

He points me with a look, sending a shiver down my spine. “Knowing exactly what I want and believing in fate doesn’t make me arrogant, baby. It makes me smart. Now, do you like mashed potatoes, or would you prefer roasted to go with the meatloaf?”

I reach back and grab the pillow from behind my back and then smack him in the head with it. He yanks it from my hand, and then he’s climbing over top of me, pinning me under his intense stare. “It’s not nice to hit, little one. You do that again, and I’m gonna have to give you a spanking.”

My entire body bursts into flames, and my panties soak instantly. That word is dangerous. His dominance is penetrating through my defenses, and I’m struggling to catch my breath. When his massive and very hard cock rubs against my barely covered pussy, a moan escapes my throat.

“That’s what I thought.” His teeth sink into his lower lip on a groan. “I’ll tell you what. You start answering my questions, and I’ll leave this pussy alone. But if you refuse, she’s mine for the taking, and I’m going to fuck you until the roosters crow.”

Holy hell. This man doesn’t play fair. He’s got me right where he wants me. I’m a hot mess, wanting to give him the cold shoulder so I can receive my sweet punishment, but then he’ll know exactly how much I want him. Which means answering his questions is my only option.

“Fine. I love meatloaf. But a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite of all time. I love the stuffing, the sweet potatoes, the ambrosia. I even love the green beans with the crispy onions on top. And pie. I love them all: cherry, pumpkin, pecan. I’ve never met a pie I didn’t like.”

His smile quirks up his cheeks and you’d have thought he just won the lottery. “Thanksgiving is my favorite too. I love to make a giant turkey so I can have sandwiches the next day. The leftovers are almost better than the meal.”

“Mm… I love a gobbler sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce and just a tiny bit of mayo. Sometimes, I’ll put on the crispy little onions too. So good.” My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Maybe I’ll make a Thanksgiving meal for the guys this weekend. That would feed the masses.

“You need to make me one of those, babe. Sounds yummy,” he groans, as his hips slide against me, brushing up against the sensitive spot at the top of my pussy and making my body heat.

“You said you wouldn’t do that,” I breathe on a gasp, the tingles radiating through.

“Don’t pretend like it doesn’t fucking feel good. Your little pussy is soaked, Rox.”

It does. It feels too good. He’s wearing me down. My strength to fend off his advances are fading. “If you don’t stop, I won’t answer your questions.” It’s such a weak attempt, even my voice lacks conviction. And when his hips keep thrusting against me, his stiff cock rubbing back and forth, pressing down on my clit, building the fire, I know he’s well aware that my fight is gone.

“Been ten years since I’ve been between a woman’s legs, so you’re going to have to fucking fight me off, baby. Feels so fucking good.” Ten years? Holy shit. He’s practically a born-again virgin. No wonder his sister was worried. How the hell is that even possible? The man is a walking temptation. Every female in this town would be begging to be fucked by him. Even married women would be tempted.

Just knowing that I’m the chosen one, the one he needs so much he’s stalked me down, makes me feel special. It makes me want to show his dick exactly what he’s been missing for all that time.

“Need to taste you,” he grits through his locked jaw, scooting back toward the end of the bed. His hands reach for my shorts and in one tug, he has them torn from my body, his eyes locked between my legs. “Fuck. You’re a pretty little thing.” His tongue slides across his lip slowly, his hand going right to his pants and pulling the zipper down. “I’m gonna lick you nice and clean, sweetheart. Make this little pussy feel real good.”

Oh my God, his mouth. The Savage Knights have grizzly mouths and make damn good lovers, but not one of them ever got my body revved like this.

His head descends and the moment his mouth presses between my legs he lets out a groan. My lips part on a moan as he obliterates the last shred of denial I had left. I want him so much it aches. My hips meet his hunger as his tongue parts through my folds, flattening as they slide against me. Rubbing over every part of my pussy and sending tingles up my spine. My lower stomach starts to tighten. The torrent flood of his need is driving my own rush of heat. I’m already so close. His excitement driving me fast to the edge. His intensity contagious.

“Fuck, baby. You taste so damn good.” His tongue swipes from side to side, licking me back and forth and all around. His eyes are closed with a look of pure satisfaction on his face. He slides down lower, circling my entrance before plunging into me. “Need this pretty cunt to flood my tongue. Give it to me, princess.”

That hot mouth drives me right to the edge. My pussy is starting to clench. His persistent tongue keeps drilling in and the ravenous grunts he’s making feed my pleasure. When his thumb presses over my clit, I plunge headfirst into a rush of burning heat. The flames engulfing my nerves, and pleasure rocks through me with every tightening clench. It’s never ending. The sensations keep hitting, and it’s not letting up, and neither is his mouth.

He suctions down harder on my clit, sucking me through the aftershocks, and right when I think my body is going to settle, he crooks his finger inside my pussy and presses on my G-spot, pulling another orgasm right to the surface, plowing me into the trenches again. Somewhere in the far distance of my shattered mind is the sound of his wild groans. He’s getting off on getting me off, and that adds fuel to the fire.

My body gives out, my lungs trying to breathe again. I’ve never felt anything like it. The need pouring off him is unlike anything I’ve experienced. It’s not just like he wants me, it’s like he’s obsessed. Like I’m the most incredible woman in the world, which does something seriously crazy to the muscle beating rapidly in the left side of my chest.

“Fuck, baby. You have no idea. After serving a ten-year sentence in celibacy hell, you just blew my fucking world.” He tucks himself right into my side, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest. I open my eyes only to find him looking at me so intensely it makes my heart stop. Guys look at me like I’m sexy, someone they want to fuck. Derek used to look at me with love in his eyes. But this… This is so different. This isn’t obsession. This is something stronger.

“Why haven’t you had sex in ten years?” I ask, wanting to know the reason he chose me to break his dry spell.

“It’s a long story, babe. My folks died in a car accident when I was just starting out in the police academy. It hit pretty damn hard. My sister, Hailey, was only fifteen years old and I became her guardian. So, at twenty, I was trying to keep a roof over our heads and be a dad. Dating was no longer a priority.”

Goodness, that’s awful. The poor guy didn’t just have his world blown apart, but he had to take on everything at such a young age. I guess we both had to take on the world and fend for ourselves from an early age.

“My sister struggled pretty hard with the loss. For a while, I wasn’t sure she was going to come back to me. But when Grit moved in with us and stepped in to help me out while I was at work, she started to come out of her depression. It was a rough fucking couple of years. And when she went off to college, I dove headfirst into work to keep myself from feeling lonely. I’ve been working my ass off ever since, trying to keep the criminals off the streets so my sister would be safe.”

And there goes my heart again, beating even faster, making me want things I shouldn’t.

“So, you don’t ever do anything for fun?” This gorgeous man devotes himself to everyone else, but what about his own needs.

“In my free time, I work out, and then I pretty much crash, watching crime shows and tearing apart the cases, analyzing how I would’ve done things different.” He smirks. “And on my days off, I play catchup with the bills, laundry, and grocery shopping. Kind of boring, but the boring is the calm I need at the end of my week. It’s the only time I don’t feel like I’m having to put out a fire.”

I guess that makes sense. If I was having to bust up drug deals, arrest criminals, and deal with dangerous situations, I’d want to chill too. But I hate that he doesn’t get to have any fun. He deserves to laugh and smile. He deserves someone to take care of him. To have a hot meal ready for him when he gets home. To have his clothes folded and put away for him so he can relax. I’d want… I stop the thought in its tracks, keeping myself from traveling down that already beaten path. This man deserves someone better than me.

“So, you never date?”

“Sometimes, I end up in a bar after my shift, but the thought of taking someone home for a night just never appealed to me. I’m looking for what my parents had. Something real, something amazing, something worth puttin’ time into. Not just a one-night stand.”

And there he went and did it again, gripping onto my heartstrings and tying them up into a bow of twisted emotions. He’s truly something special. One of a kind. Because most men would just fuck around until they found someone they could see a future with. But he’s waited. He didn’t break anyone’s heart, and he didn’t use anyone to get his rocks off.

Another reason why he’s too good for me.

I’ve been fucking around with the Knights, trying to ease the heartbreak that Derek caused. Not that I ever led anyone on, but still. I validated my choice by telling myself that since my brother was fucking around, I should too. I’ve been using the guys to help me get over my broken heart. But no amount of meaningless sex made me stop hoping for a future with Derek. It wasn’t until this unrelenting officer took me into custody that the spell broke. And now, I’m completely over my stepbrother, and very quickly falling for the man who’s cradling me like I’m precious to him.

“Then one night…” His cheeks tip up. “As I was out on surveillance, this sexy little firecracker showed up on my watch. Giving me lip from that stubborn mouth of hers. Making my heart beat back to life and consuming every brain cell I have. And now”—he pushes me onto my back, coming over top and staring down into my eyes with that look again, the one that has the butterflies buzzing fast—“I want to know everything about her. I want to know all the things that make her smile, because damn if she doesn’t have the prettiest smile.”

My cheeks perk up as the blush creeps in. He drops his head, kissing one check and then the other, rising up and hovering right over my lips, so close I can almost feel him. God, I want him to kiss me.

“Let me take you on a date, baby. Tomorrow night? When I get off work. Say seven p.m.? I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to dinner. And if you like me, which I’m aiming to make you fall in love with me, I’ll take you home for dessert and lick your little pussy while you eat your sweet treat.”

Oh God, how do I say no to this man? Especially when his massive cock is back at its wicked tricks, rubbing between my legs, teasing against my bare skin. I can’t say no to him. The word doesn’t want to form on my tongue. I already do like him. There’s something about him that makes me feel safe and protected. The way he looks at me makes me feel special. And his mouth… He has me wanting things, things I never knew I needed. My mind is reeling with naughty fantasies. I want to wear pretty little dresses and have dinner waiting for him on the table. I want to kneel between this dominant officer’s legs and suck him down my throat, take my feeding while he eats his food.

“My patience is waning, babe. Need you to say yes, so I can kiss you.”

My head nods as I rise up, mere centimeters away from his tempting lips, the fight long having left my mind. “Yes,” I whisper, and as soon as the word parts my tongue, he smashes his mouth to mine, giving me a kiss I will never forget. His tongue taunts and teases while his lips pull me under his spell. Bewitching me with his soft dominance. Commanding my need with his smooth demands.

My hips rise up, needing more friction, rubbing against him faster, and he gives me what I want, fucking against me until I’m coming all over him, making a mess of his pants, screaming his name as the shudders rock through me. Kissing him through the storm and barely coming up for air on the other side.

“Damn, that was the best first kiss, babe.” He presses his forehead to mine, catching his own breath. “Gonna be damn hard to concentrate at work when all I want to do is make out with my girl.” His girl? He shifts to my side, reaching over and picking up my discarded cookbook. “How about we scroll through and find something for me to make for dessert tomorrow night? Are you more of a chocolate girl, babe, or a fruity kind of gal?”

And just like that, we settle in as if we’ve known each other for years. Looking through the cookbook, laughing and talking, picking out recipes as if we’re going to be cooking together in the future. Acting as if we’re a couple. It’s a simple night in, and yet it’s one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. A really long time. And when he tucks me in at midnight, needing to turn into a pumpkin so he can get up for his early shift, kissing me soft and sweet, it hits me. I’m already falling for this man. He doesn’t have to take me on the date tomorrow to make me like him; I already know he’s pretty amazing. Which means…there’s only one thing for me to do: break my heart before he has the chance to break it for me.

He’s way too good for me, and eventually he’s going to realize I’m a mess. I don’t have a successful career. I don’t have a path in life. And when I’m hungry, I turn into a bitch. When I’m pms-ing, I cry for days. Some days, I wake up feeling on top of the world, and others, I don’t even want to leave my bed for fear of facing my dead-end reality. If I hadn’t been pining away on my brother these last six years, sticking close by in hopes to see him whenever he was willing to throw me a scrap of his time, I would’ve gone off to culinary school, maybe open my own restaurant or diner, but now, the only cooking I’m doing is for the guys.

Bentley deserves someone special, not a slut whose only claim to fame in this world is being a blow job queen.