Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Case
I arrive back on the island late that afternoon and I’m pissed—so pissed I go straight to the site on my Harley from the airport, revving extra loud as I pass Tessa’s.
The site is void of workers and the gates are locked, the letter still pinned to the fence. It looks official enough but when I got the email from Mack—two days late since I left my phone on airplane mode all weekend by accident—I checked with the city’s zoning committee.Turns out the letter is fake, but it’s a damn good fake. She must have snagged an official one from the internet and copied it, right down to the logo.
It’s then that I know it isn’t just my daughter who doesn’t find me scary. My neighbor doesn’t either. But that’s about to change.
“For fuck’s sake,” I murmur as I grab the lock on the fence and inspect it before turning my glare toward Tessa’s house.This weekend was about catching up the project. I’d paid double time to have the crew there all weekend and now nothing is caught up and the guys still expect to be paid.
“You’re in for it now, Ms. Fancy Pants.” I turn back to my Harley, grabbing something from the saddle bag and go back to the lock. It’s a cheap lock so it takes me no more than a minute to open it with my lock-picking set—one of the few things left from my days in the Ransom. Shoving the open lock into my jeans, I shoot Mack a text telling them the site is good to go. I don’t get into details because this shit with Tessa is getting embarrassing.
Getting on Lady, my bike, I rev it loudly before taking off. It’s time to fight fire with fire.
I pull up in Tessa’s driveway, a gravel one with weeds poking through, ready to hop off and drag the brat over my knee, but when I get off my hog, she’s slumped on the stairs of the front porch, looking at her phone, her face stricken. There’s a manilla envelope beside her.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, worry filling my chest.
She blinks up at me blankly before an ‘oh shit’ look crosses her features, and she scrambles to her feet.
“I’ll open the gate at a reasonable hour.” She sticks her chin in the air. “Until then, let me enjoy my peace.”
“You don’t look like you’re enjoying anything right now.”
She shrugs. “I’m just about to celebrate my divorce, actually.”
For a moment I consider backing off, but coddling isn’t what Tessa needs.
Getting to the bottom of the stairs, I stop and cross my arms. “You know I could have you arrested, right?” She at least has the presence of mind to look alarmed for a moment before that damn uppity nose points skyward again.
“I’m on good terms with the local police. Go ahead.”
“Lie,” I say, moving a hand to my hip to fish out my cell phone.
“Stop!” she hollers, coming down from the porch to grab my arm.
Her touch sends a jolt through me, shocking me still. Her eyes dart to mine and she swallows hard.“If it’s that or another spanking, I’ll take the spanking.”
My eyes narrow on her. Her lip is between her teeth, her eyes still on the letter. “Damn right you will. And this time you won’t be sneaking off in the middle.”
“Fine. You can spank me every damn day as long as you don’t start until 10 am.” The vulnerability she wore at first is long gone, replaced by a look I can only describe as ‘stubborn diva’.
I gather a breath. “That’s halfway through the morning. And legally I’m allowed to start at seven.”I release a breath forcefully. My five-year-old is more reasonable than this woman! “Never mind, spankings obviously don’t work with you, maybe the law will.” I tap my phone.
She turns as if she’s going to leave me there, but fakes it, and instead knocks my cell from my hand. It skitters across her gravel driveway and for one millisecond we both stare at each other, then she dives for it. But fuck, I’m not far behind her.
“You’re very immature,” I grunt as I land close to her. She doesn’t comment, just grapples for the phone.
She’s tall for a woman, I’ll give her that, but I’m big for a man and I’ve got a good eighty pounds on her, so I check my weight to keep from crushing her as I roll on top of her. I reach and grab the phone before she can get to it.
She hollers, bucking beneath me, rolling enough that we’re face to face. She starts spouting obscenities at me, so I cover her mouth.
“You drink tea and crumpets with that mouth, Sunshine?” I let my weight pin her as she struggles. “What would the monarchy say?” I hold the phone in front of her face. She wiggles beneath me, pulling her own phone from her pocket. I relish in the smile of satisfaction on her face a moment before snatching it and shoving it in my pocket.
She narrows her eyes on mine, and my god, if looks could kill, I’d be deader than week-old roadkill. I smile and she licks my hand.
“If you think some tongue will gross me out enough to release you, you’re sadly mistaken. Then again, maybe you just wanted a taste, yeah?” My cock lengthens at the thought.
She gathers a breath and rolls her eyes but it’s too late, I’ve seen the heat in her gaze. I hear her mumble something but ignore it as the sound of tires on gravel yanks my attention.
So, there I am on top of a woman, pinning her and preventing her from screaming and wouldn’t you know it, a cop pulls into the driveway.And as if that isn’t enough, I see someone on the beach with his cell phone raised, likely recording us.
“Isn’t the beach part of your property?” I release her mouth.
“Yes, the road cuts through my property, but the beach is mine. Why?”
For a moment the normal tone we’re conversing in seems comical, but it’s quickly doused by the fact that the stranger has triggered both my gut instincts and my protective nature.
I look down at Tessa beneath me. “Do romance authors have stalkers?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” She cranes her neck to see where I’m looking and I look again too, but there’s no one there now.
“You’re just trying to distract me because you’re about to be in big trouble.” She grins.
She’s right about the trouble, the law definitely isn’t going to be on my side now… Cause fuck, this looks bad. But I’m more worried about the strange dude. If he was just some guy that didn’t realize the beach was private and stumbled upon a man attacking a woman, he’d still be here. He’d be rushing to the cop to tell him what he witnessed. But he’s not. He’s disappeared instead. And besides the water and a patch of tall bushes there’s nowhere for him to go. A man hiding in the bushes isn’t good.
The officer fumbles getting out of his car, but has his gun trained on me faster than I can get off Tessa.
“I’m going to get up now,” I say calmly, rolling off my neighbor onto my stomach in the dusty gravel.I raise my hands to show him I have no weapon.
“I like you where you are. Move and I’ll blast your balls off.”
My brows rise. This officer is as green as a new sapling. Which doesn’t bode well for me, as a current perp, or as his soon-to-be boss.
“Blast my balls off? They teach you that in police college?” I keep my voice calm. “This isn’t what it looks like,” I say sounding like every perp I’d ever arrested in my time as an RCMP officer. I hear Tessa snicker. When I train my eyes on her, she’s rising and dusting herself off.
“Just you wait,” I growl from my prone position on the gravel, and she sticks her tongue out at me as she bends forward to pluck my phone from my hand. I growl again, deeper this time.And the little brat sticks it in her cleavage. Again, my cock thickens knowing my phone is nestled between her tits. Which is saying something since there’s a green-as-fuck rookie holding a gun on me.
“Stay where you are,” the cop says.
I turn my head as the gravel crunches beneath his tactical boots alerting me of his approach. He’s awkward as he slaps the bracelets on me as if it’s first time. Even though he’s a pipsqueak compared to me, the cop attempts to help me rise from the ground. And dammit, if Tessa doesn’t double over and clutch her gut in silent laughter when the guy drops me on my face into the dirt.
“You okay, ma’am?”
“Is she okay?” I grumble, rising on my own although not easily and would be mostly impossible if I wasn’t in the best shape of my life.
“I don’t know, officer,” she says, sounding a little choked up.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter as the cop gives me a rough shove toward his car.
“Just let me put this guy in the back and I’ll take your statement. Why don’t you have a seat on the steps there, ma’am. You’ve had an ordeal.” As he bends to open the back of the cruiser, I catch Tessa’s eye. The spark of amusement has my gaze dropping to her mouth where she forms the silent words, “10 am.”
I grit my teeth, my jaw achingly tight and give one severe nod.
“Officer?”
“Ma’am, just one minute.” He shoves me against the cruiser. Considering our size difference, and his dropping me only moments earlier, his strength is rather impressive. “You got anything sharp on you? Any drugs? Weapons? Anything I should know about before I search you?”
I consider a smartass remark, but I know the drill and this guy isn’t the type to appreciate the chuckle. “I’m former RCMP. My retirement badge is in my wallet.” I say the words quietly, not wanting Tessa to hear.“I’m also about to be your boss.”
Maybe I’d spoken too low, or maybe he just ignores me, because he takes his time patting me down.
“I’m going to put you back here while I take the lady’s statement. Don’t worry, it’s nice and cozy.” The useless officer doesn’t even find Tessa’s cell, or the lock-pick set in my front pockets, then again maybe he’s avoiding that area since my cock is still semi-hard from my tussle with Tessa. Because damn it, I fucking love feisty women, even if it’s my downfall.
“Right,” I reply, and since I’d been put in a cruiser countless times while undercover in Satan’s Ransom, and I’m familiar with the process, I duck my head.
I give my neighbor the death glare as the officer slams the door, locking me in the back of the handleless cruiser. It’s hot and smells like the last guy in it had been sent to dry out overnight in lockup. I eye a suspicious wet spot near my foot on the floor. Body odor, yeasty beer and sour vomit is the ambience back here and I don’t appreciate the accommodations one bit, something I plan to share with my neighbor as soon as I’m able.
Tessa and the officer talk for several minutes longer than necessary if you ask me, but I manage to twist my jeans around far enough to fish out my lock pick and get out of the bracelets. I toss them aside and pull out Tessa’s phone, texting my own.
“You are in so much trouble, Sunshine. Forget the belt, I’m using a god damn two-by-four on your ass.”
I watch as she lowers her face to look at my phone screen. I know the notification has come up when her eyes widen slightly and then narrow.
The phone quite suddenly flies from her hand into the grass and damn, she’s got a good throw. The officer watches the phone arc, his head moving to follow it until it lands. I clench my jaw even tighter. She won’t sit for a bloody month when I get my hands on her.
Finally, they finish their leisurely conversation, and the officer comes to sit in the front of the car where he opens my wallet so he can look me up on his console computer.
He turns in his seat, looking closely at me after his search and makes an indistinguishable noise. “You’re the guy.” He presses his lips and nods. “I have a cousin who works at Toronto-south.”
It’s the roughest provincial detention center in the area.
“I grew up in the GTA.”
“Yeah?” I say, still eyeing Tessa out the window. “Where in the greater Toronto area?”
“Brampton,” he says. “You’re the badge that brought down the Ransom in River’s Bend.” It wasn’t a question, so I ignore him.
“Long time to be undercover,” he adds.
Again, I say nothing. He eyes me through the rearview and the cage. “You sure you’re not more Paul ‘Python’ Keller than you are Case Callen? Maybe you got used to knocking the girls around when you didn’t get what you wanted?”
I roll my eyes. “Fuck you.” I don’t bother pointing out that in a few months, I’ll have the power to put him on the shittiest work detail there is in this small township. Mostly because it would be an idle threat. I’m not that kind of guy. Besides, if I drove by and saw the same scene, I’d toss me in the back of cruiser too. And cops may take care of their own, but that doesn’t mean we’re blind to the statistics.
Domestic abuse, drugs, bribes, they all happen. As much as it’s inconvenient, I’m glad this guy is taking the time to check me out.
He has the nerve to smile wider.
“Says you’re retired.” He points at his computer.“What are you doing here on the island?”
“I did inform you I was former RCMP,” I say as he examines me through the rearview mirror.
“Guys say lots of things when they’re back there.”
“I’m also your new LT, although not for a few more months.I’m taking over for Crestmore in January when he retires.” I point out the window at the shell of my house. “Building the dream right there.”
“I heard the new LT was coming from Ontario.” He turns his head to look at my house. “So just a neighborly dispute?” There’s a crooked smile on his face that irks me.
I look away. “Something like that,” I mumble.
After a minute of silence, he gets out of the car and opens my door. I use my booted foot to open it wider, and he steps back, his hand moving nearer to his sidearm. I roll my eyes again and rise, passing him his cuffs. He looks at them then me but says nothing about it.
“Looked pretty bad as I was driving by, but your lady explained that you two were just roleplaying and that she’s trying out the dominatrix stuff.”
My brows rise and I stop rubbing the bite out of my wrists.
“What?” I ask, my eyes flying to Tessa who’s smirking at me. The cop elbows me as if we’re buds. “I had a girlfriend who was into the kinky stuff. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” My jaw clenches, my brows lower in what I hope is a menacing look. Tessa’s bent forward clutching her gut in silent hysterics again.
“Brat,” I mumble.
“That’s exactly what she called you.” He laughs.
I don’t.
“Maybe hold back a little in resisting, Case, you’re a helluva lot bigger than her and she won’t really be able to restrain you.” He chuckles. “And heads up, she says she plans to punish you for drawing attention.”
“Punish me?” For fuck’s sake. I run my hand over the back of my neck.
The officer waves me off, shaking his head. “You’re used to being in charge, I get it. And being in Satan’s Ransom for five years, that was one hell of an undercover assignment and the takedown of the decade, but that’s the point isn’t it? Letting go of your tough guy, letting her take control?”
I close my eyes, letting my head fall back. Jesus fucking christ.
“Hope you don’t hold this against me when you take over as LT.”
I can’t tell if there’s a threat of exposure in his words or not, so I wave off them off. “Have a good day, officer,” I say, effectively dismissing him. And I stay that way, looking skyward, praying for patience, until I hear the car drive off.
When I open my eyes again, Tessa’s about to go inside. I close the distance between us thumping up the porch steps two at a time and grab her arm before she can cross the threshold.
“Oh, honey, I thought you were going to punish me?” I rumble the words gruffly into her ear. I’m close enough to hear her suck in a breath.
“Um, maybe later, little boy.” Her response is shaky at best. “Now leave me be. I’ve got work to do. You can lick my boots clean later.”
“I say we discuss this punishment thing now. One of us has definitely been a brat and needs discipline, don’t you think?” I look down the road where Officer Noob’s taillights are barely visible. And then look again for the guy with the cell. He’s still nowhere in sight so I push thoughts of him aside to deal with later. But as soon as I leave Tessa’s, I’ll be looking into security cameras and better locks for her. I’ll also be searching those damn bushes and maybe leveling them so no one can hide in them.
“Um, no, no. I forgive you this time.” She tries to remove her arm from my grip, but I hold it tighter.
“Actually, this scenario gave me an idea.” I look down the road again, this time it’s empty. “Those handcuffs were interesting. It’s only fair I return the favor. I promise I won’t be tossing you in a cruiser after you’re handcuffed though.” I smile. “I’ll just toss you over my knee. Spank you until I’m damn good and satisfied you won’t be pulling any more stunts to sabotage me.”
She spins then, turning a heated glare on me. “It’s not going to happen.” She smiles smugly but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Oh no, her eyes are molten. “You just lost your leverage. You would’ve told the cop about the situation if you actually planned to. And if you lay one finger on me now…” She holds up the officer’s card between two fingers, her gaze cooling as if her words both temper her arousal and help her regain self-control. She’s damn good at that.
“Release me so I can get the keys to unlock your gate. I have work to do.”
I let her go. My eyes, holding hers firmly, letting her know this isn’t over. I reach into my pocket and set the lock on her railing. She swallows hard, her eyes losing their chill. And as I turn on my booted foot to leave, her arm flies out to grab me.
Suddenly, she yanks me back toward her. I go easily, since I’m caught off guard, but I’m still surprised by her strength.
I’m about to demand answers when she leaps into my arms, her mouth crushing mine. I stumble back slightly, barely able to grab her ass in time to keep her from falling.
As soon as my hands cup her cheeks, she moans against my mouth, encouraging my fingers to knead her ass.
Fuck.
Her mouth. God. It’s warm, urgent and wet. Want jolts through me as she grinds against me, my cock responding in record time. I adjust my arm to hold her, freeing my right hand to reach up and entwine it around the back of her neck. Again, she moans into my mouth, making my cock lurch. And then her hands are at my back, tugging me harder against her like she’s starving for more.
“Fuck it, Case.” She gasps in a breath. “I want you…” Another panting gasp. “I want it all…” A curse passes her lips as she tugs on my shirt. “Punish me, show me who’s boss and fuck me hard.”
Christ.
The kiss after her shocking sexy confession is so thorough, and hot, it takes me several seconds to hear the car pull up behind me. Fucking cop.
My instincts kick in as Tessa freezes. I spin. Releasing her, she slides down my body to her feet. Instinct has me blocking her with my body. My eyes narrow on the shiny red convertible in her driveway. I frown, look over my shoulder at Tess, whose lusty eyes have been replaced by angry ones. Her lips are swollen from our kiss, her hair wild, and it reminds me I hadn’t imagined the encounter.
“You better go,” she says. “It’s business.”
I turn and cock my brow at her. If there was a hint of fear in her before the crusty-tough facade came back I wouldn’t leave, but what I see is a very capable, if not dangerous, woman.
“Are you dismissing me, Sunshine?”I say to lighten the mood.
She blinks, her eyes suddenly clear, and a spark of mischief crinkles the corner of her mouth. “You’re a decent kisser, but I’ve got work to do, so run along, little boy.” She pats my chest.
I chuckle darkly, because I don’t believe for one second I’m just a ‘decent kisser’. I lean close and growl, “Woman, you’d better stop that shit before you end up back over my knee while I remind you just which one of us is in charge.”
Her crooked grin turns saucy, knocking me off guard. It’s about as agreeable as I’ve seen her so far.
“You have my full consent to dominate me, Mr. Callen. I find it hot as hell and I’ve been cold far too long between the sheets.” She looks in the direction of the convertible. “But I hope you like a challenge because I plan on being very… uncooperative.”
“Challenge accepted.” Shooting the skinny guy in glasses an assessing look, I head for stairs.
“Business or an ex?” I ask. “He looks a little jealous.” Or maybe he’s just put-out. But as soon as he notices me noticing him, he starts to fuss with his wind-strewn floppy hair, smoothing it down in the rearview mirror.
“One signature away from ex-husband, actually.” She crosses her arms.
I give her my own crooked smile. “Your taste is improving, and so is your luck.”
Her eyes fly to mine and flare heat. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Mr. Callen,” she replies in defiance.“And we’ll see if that body isn’t over-selling what’s dangling between your thighs.”
I laugh as I walk down the steps to my bike and throw my leg over. I start the motor with a kick, letting it rumble a moment to annoy her.
“I’ll prove it later, Sunshine.”
Her lip, clamped between her teeth, suddenly curves up. “It’s okay, Case. I’m used to disappointment. My hand works just fine.” She looks at her ex. “It’s had quite a lot of practice. And doesn’t carry the cost of ego stroking afterward.”
I look at the man taking his time getting out of the vehicle. What had Lily called him? A dickless weasel currently wasting her granddaughter’s life?
“Cost? You make me feel so cheap and dirty, Sunshine. Especially when the satisfied smile on your face afterward will be payment enough.” I grin, and I think she laughs but between the rumble of my bike and the wind I can’t be sure.