Hot Cops: Five Steamy Stories

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Aaron Young walked into the Mirage and took a deep breath, trying to calm his ragged nerves. After all, Riley had called her sister Keira and told her where she was, and that she was fine. Unfortunately, that wasn’t registering in his incensed mind. She’d run off to Las Vegas with Trevor Blankenship, the biggest moron in their graduating class, on a drunken whim. The fact that Trevor was newly separated from his wife wasn’t helping to calm Aaron. The asshole wasn’t even pursuing a divorce, if the local gossip was accurate.

What the hell was she thinking?

Aaron walked through the miles and miles of gambling tables and slot machines, well aware that finding Riley in the massive casino was a bit like trying to find an honest politician in D.C. For a second, he wondered if he should have left a trail of breadcrumbs or something. He was afraid he’d get lost forever in this maze of mind-numbing noise and flashing lights.

A loud cheer captured his attention and he spotted a large crowd. Bingo. He headed toward the gathering, unsurprised when he saw Riley’s bouncing brunette curls at the center of the group. The lively woman always managed to attract the loudest, rowdiest sort of people, regardless of the setting.

She laughed and did some sort of victory dance with the woman next to her that reminded him of Beyonce’s Single Ladies video. He grinned despite his anger. Damn, she knew how to have fun. It had always been this way.

He’d met Riley Collins when they were both three years old and their mothers struck up a conversation at the playground. From that day ’til now, he and Riley had been best friends, in an “opposites attract” sort of way. While Riley was the life of every party, Aaron was more content to hover in the background. Happy to watch her shine. She was beautiful and dynamic, perfect in every way.

Except when she pulled stunts like this little impromptu excursion to Vegas. Then she frustrated the hell out of him, drove him insane. Sadly, her wild escapades had become more frequent and more dangerous since the wedding of her older sister Teagan. She was headed for disaster, and for some reason, her brothers and pop were looking to Aaron to rein her in. He snorted. None of the males in the Collins family had managed to control Riley the past twenty-five years, so he wasn’t sure what magic they expected him to work.

Keira had called him, frantic, when she’d learned Riley—after a long night of partying—had hopped on a red-eye flight to Vegas. Now here he stood, early Saturday evening, watching the source of his annoyance putting another twenty dollar bet on the blackjack table. Standing behind her, a totally wasted Trevor had his hand down the front of a bleached-blonde woman’s sequin dress.

This day kept getting better and better.

The dealer placed more winnings in front of Riley and Aaron decided now might be a good time to break up the party. Find a way to convince her to quit while she was ahead.

He shoved his way through the rambunctious crowd, his police training and large build coming in handy. A few people looked as if they wanted to protest the fact he was pushing them aside, but backed off when they saw his determined face. He intended to get Riley Collins’ perky little ass out of this casino and on the next plane back to Baltimore—and he didn’t care who he had hurt to make that happen.

He squeezed in between Riley and the woman next to her. The dealer looked up, perhaps ready to tell him the table was full, but he closed his mouth when Aaron flashed him an angry look.

Riley grinned when she spotted him, the only person he’d encountered thus far who didn’t seem confused or annoyed by his pushy arrival.

“Hey, sugar,” she slurred. Great, she was drunk. That helped him ignore the pleasure that suffused his body when she called him by her nickname for him.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Riley?” His voice was deep and clearly furious.

She shrugged, oblivious to his feelings. “Playing blackjack.” Then she really looked at him and started to giggle. “Oh my God, Aaron. Did you know you’re in Vegas?”

“Yeah, I had a few clues, but I think it was the seven-hour flight and hour layover in Chicago that sort of solidified it for me.”

Riley laughed, dismissing his angry sarcasm as humor. “Hey, Trev.” She turned to get the attention of the man Aaron was three seconds away from laying out on the floor with his fist. “Look who’s here. My BFF Aaron.”

Trevor looked up, his surprise muted by his downright drunkenness. “Hey, Aaron.” Trevor’s arm was still slung around a woman Aaron would bet his entire retirement fund was a prostitute.

“Trevor,” he forced out in as calm a fashion as he could manage.

Trevor stepped over to him and slapped him on the shoulder, staggering a bit as he walked. “I’m glad you’re here, man. Me and Bella were just going up to my room. Maybe you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on ol’ Riley for me.” The drunken ass followed up his comment with a lecherous wink, as if Aaron couldn’t figure out what he intended to do with the woman in the hotel room.

Aaron narrowed his eyes furiously, perfectly aware Trevor would have left Riley alone regardless of his arrival. He consciously took a deep breath and nodded.

“You have money, Trev?” He hated that for some reason he felt the need to protect the dumbass. Unfortunately, the last thing he needed to deal with was Trevor stiffing a hooker—literally and figuratively. He was pretty sure the high-school quarterback, who also had the distinct honor of having the lowest GPA in their graduating class, had no idea his “date” for the evening would expect to be paid for her efforts.

Sure enough, Trevor’s forehead creased in confusion. “Um, yeah. Why? You need a few bucks for the slots?”

“No,” he said, “just making sure you didn’t need any.”

Trevor smiled at what he no doubt thought was a generous offer. “Ah no, man. I’m good. Thanks, though. I’ll catch you later, Riley.”

“Okie-dokie, Trev. See you later.” Riley grabbed her poker chips and headed toward the slot machines. Trevor pinched the blonde woman’s ass and she laughed, taking his hand and leading him to a bank of elevators.

“Nice of you to keep me company. Trevor was starting to get on my nerves. Jesus, he’s thick,” Riley said as he followed her to a Lucky Seven Bars machine. She almost fell in her attempt to sit down and he steadied her with a firm hand on her back. Shit, how much had she had to drink?

“You’ve known Trevor for years, Riley. What made you think he’d be an entertaining traveling companion?” He claimed the stool next to hers.

“I don’t know. I just wanted to do something fun and he was sulking over Johanna kicking him out, so we decided to get out of town for a while.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” He was hurt she’d chosen to take off with Trevor rather than him.

“Yeah right,” she said with a laugh. “I’m so sure you would have hopped on a plane to Vegas with me. You would have had seven hundred and ninety-eight reasons why we couldn’t come here. Trevor just said sure.”

He considered her words. She was right. He would have tried to talk her out of it. Hell, he probably would have succeeded. “But Trevor?”

“He’s harmless as a puppy and you know it. You didn’t think I’d run away with him romantically, did you?” She laughed hysterically when his face betrayed that thought had briefly crossed his mind.

“Holy shit,” she said once she’d regained control. She waved a waitress over and helped herself to one of the free drinks on the woman’s tray. “That is just freaking twisted, sugar.”

He sighed heavily. One question was tormenting him. “What are you doing in Vegas, Riley?”

“Gambling.”

“Very funny.” He grimaced, not amused by her joke.

“I’m having fun, Aaron. You know, that thing you’ve never quite mastered?”

He sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten. Riley constantly teased him about being a stick in the mud. He knew it was said in good fun, but this time her words felt more like an insult than a joke. Sometimes it sucked being regarded as the boring, responsible one among their group of friends.

Need a ride home from the bar? Call Aaron. Got a flat tire? Aaron will have a jack…and a spare. Moving? Aaron will lug all your shit down three flights of stairs and supply the truck to haul it.

A growl rose up in his chest. He was pissed off at Riley for thinking him so dull he wouldn’t do anything as spontaneous as taking a weekend trip to Vegas.

“You seriously call hopping on a plane and flying to Vegas with Trevor Blankenship ‘fun’? I call it fucking dangerous.”

“Bullshit. I haven’t done anything even remotely dangerous…yet. I called Keira and told her where I was and I didn’t come alone. I came with a friend.” Riley threw another dollar in the machine.

“You didn’t call Keira until after you were already here.”

“And like the good sister she is, she called you to come save the day. Right?”

“She was worried about you, Riley.”

“I’m a big girl, sugar. A fact my family and you seem content to ignore.”

“I’m not forgetting you’re an adult. I’m just not overlooking the fact you’re completely drunk in a strange town with Trevor and a hooker as your chaperones.”

Riley’s gaze traveled from the slot machine to Aaron. “I told Trev she was a hooker, but he wouldn’t believe me.” She took a long drink before setting the cup down and hitting the Spin button again.

“What are you drinking?” He picked up her glass and drained it. Alcohol suddenly seemed like a very good idea. He waved over the waitress and grabbed his own drink.

“Tasted like something with rum to me,” she said. “You better take it easy on that. I’m already wasted. If you keep pounding those down, who’ll get us home?”

He shrugged and took another swig. Now that he was here, he wasn’t in any big hurry to leave. “It takes a lot to get me drunk.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should consider taking up the hobby. Drunk seems to be the best way to live in dreary Baltimore nowadays.” Her tone was sullen, belligerent, and he wondered at her words.

“Since when is Baltimore dreary? You love the city.”

She sobered up a bit and he was struck by the hint of sadness in her eyes. When he thought back on it, he realized the same look had been there often the past few months. Why hadn’t he noticed it sooner?

“So I guess now I don’t love the city. Dammit, I just can’t do it anymore, Aaron.”

“Do what?”

“My life. I can’t wake up in the same bedroom I’ve lived in since birth one more morning. I can’t cook meals in that damn pub day in and day out anymore and I’m sick to death of partying with the same losers every Saturday night.”

Her voice was filled with resentment, frustration, and he listened as the last detail—and he suspected the most important one—fell from her lips.

“I’m the last Collins kid at home. I’m it. The spinster sister,” she added.

He burst into laughter. He knew she was being serious, but her words were so insanely funny he couldn’t hold back his instinctive response.

Her eyes narrowed angrily. “What’s so funny?”

“You,” he said with a chuckle, “calling yourself a spinster. Two things I never thought I’d hear together in the same sentence. Riley Collins, the spinster.” Repeating the words caused him to laugh again and some of the irritation he’d been harboring since leaving BWI that morning dissipated. Actually, simply finding her safe and sound had dispelled most of it.

“It’s not funny. I’ve watched both my sisters find true love. They’re living their happily ever afters while I’m still stuck at home alone with Pop.”

“Happily ever afters? True love?” Aaron repeated. “Sounds pretty romantic for you, Riley. How much have you had to drink?”

“Ha ha. I’ve had too much and I’m gonna have more, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll still be fed up and lonely tomorrow.”

Aaron looked at her dark brown eyes and felt a hope he’d never experienced stir inside him. “You said you never wanted to get married. You said it would cut in to your fun time, your independence. You’ve sworn off the entire institution since we were three.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Well, I changed my mind.”

Aaron considered her words for a moment, and then gave in to the grin building in his chest. “Good.”

“Good?”

He nodded, grasping her by the waist to set her on her feet. “Very good. Come on.”

He took her hand and pulled her toward the foyer of the casino. She didn’t fight him and instead followed easily, if somewhat unsteadily.

“Where are we going?” she asked as they stopped for a moment while Aaron got his bearings. It was early evening, but given the crowds in front of the hotel, it was clear Las Vegas was just getting started.

“You’ll see.”

“So long as you aren’t taking me home,” she said. “I don’t wanna go home yet.”

“You aren’t going home.”

“I don’t wanna go to the room either.”

“You aren’t.”

She giggled, muttering something about not believing he’d chased her all the way to Vegas.

Obviously she was more than tipsy. He grinned. Tipsy was just the way he wanted her for once. He pulled a map of the Las Vegas strip he’d bought at the airport out of his pocket and consulted it. When he found what he was looking for, he put his arm around her shoulders and urged her toward the taxi stand, where they were promptly ushered into a waiting vehicle.

“Aaron, where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he repeated, giving the driver the address and fighting to ignore the grin that crossed the older man’s face as he glanced at Riley.

“Good for you,” the man said, turning and pulling on to the street. As the taxi driver fought the Saturday evening traffic, Aaron took in the sights of the strip, overwhelmed and amazed by the bright lights. Vegas was quite a city and he was suddenly thankful he’d come. This was going to be a weekend to remember.

The driver pulled up in front of their destination. Aaron paid the driver before bending to help Riley out of the cab.

“Courthouse?” She glanced up at the nondescript building.

“We’ll need a marriage license before we hit the Elvis Wedding Chapel.”

“Elvis Wedding Chapel? What the hell are you talking about?” She stared at him and for a moment he thought she would balk at his suggestion, refuse him and storm away.

“We’re getting hitched.”

Riley laughed. “You and me?”

“Why not? We’ll just call it the ultimate Saturday Night Special.”

She paused for a moment, the alcohol fogging her mind nicely. She considered his proposal before shrugging playfully. Riley was the queen of Saturday Night Specials, the name she’d given to her evening off from work. It was the one night of the week when she usually got into a lot of trouble that he inevitably had to get her out of.

“Why not? We are in Vegas. Okay, come on! This story will be funny as shit when I tell everyone at home. Riley’s Saturday Night Special, Vegas-style!”

Riley was a born storyteller, one of the reasons he suspected she always attracted a crowd. She was entertaining and her stories were hilarious.

They bought the license, traveled to the chapel and said their “I dos” under the watchful eye of the Asian Elvis who married them. He serenaded them back out onto the street as Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Young to the tune of Love Me Tender while Riley giggled.

They returned to the hotel and scored a table at Fin, one of the Mirage’s trendy restaurants, despite their lack of reservations. While there, they consumed two bottles of champagne, toasting their long lives together and stuffing themselves on Chinese cuisine.

Finally, Aaron suggested they start the honeymoon. They staggered to Riley’s room, laughing the entire way, and he carried her over the threshold as Riley squealed with delight.

As he carried her to the bed, he was struck by the memory of carrying her to her bed the night of Teagan’s wedding. She’d had too much champagne that night too.

“You’re crazy,” she said with a giggle. “I can’t believe we just got married. Do you know what a pain in the ass this will be to untangle tomorrow when we’re sober?”

“It’ll work out.” He placed her on her feet by the bed, gripping her shoulders to keep her steady. She reached up and he was stunned to feel her fingers unbuttoning his shirt. While he wasn’t completely drunk, he couldn’t say he wasn’t enjoying the effects of the alcohol. A quick glance at Riley’s face confirmed she was extremely intoxicated. He stilled her hands as she reached for the last button.

“I can do that,” he said. “Let me help you.” He pulled her sweater over her head. Modesty had never been an issue for Riley. She didn’t possess any and she laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“How many times have you tucked me in?”

“A million,” he answered seriously.

“Yeah, a million.”

He helped her pull her jeans down. He’d seen her in her bra and panties many, many times before but this time it was different. She may not know it, but he did.

He drew back the sheets and she climbed in. This time, unlike the million times in the past, he didn’t leave. He tugged off his shirt and pants and crawled in beside her. His actions sent her into peals of laughter again.

“This is weird.”

“Not really.” He pressed a light kiss on her forehead. “Good night, Mrs. Young.”

She grinned, her eyes drooping. The alcohol was claiming her quickly. “Kiss me good night.”

“I just did.”

“No, really kiss me. You never have.”

She was right. A lifetime of friendship and he’d never kissed Riley Collins. He’d dreamed of it since puberty, but he’d never done it.

He leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly with his. It was enough for now. When he kissed her for real, she’d be sober, awake and aware.

She was asleep before he moved away and he grinned. The woman could fall asleep within seconds of putting her head on a pillow.

“Good night, wife,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.