His Obsession Next Door (In the Line of Duty) Read online

  “Yes, he was.” She breathed out slowly and said, “And I bet he’s looking down at you right now and calling you a dumbass for the way you’ve been acting.”

  He grinned but his voice was shaky when he said, “When did you get so damn smart?”

  With Cole finally opening himself up to her, reaching out to her emotionally, she said, “When you were off fighting a war and I was home waiting for you to come back to me.”

  He nodded, like he understood. “I guess we have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Gemma’s thoughts went back to the day she seduced him in the barn. “Ten years to be exact.”

  He shook his head, and for the umpteenth time, went on to explain, “Jesus, Gemma, you were a kid.”

  “And I’m not anymore.”

  He drew her to him and held her for a long time, and she could feel his shoulders relax, the weight of the world no longer bearing down on them. They stayed together like that for a long, long time. Gemma remained silent, letting Cole come to terms with what he needed to do. The time ticked by and she listened to his breathing settle and his heart rate return to normal.

  Cole finally broke the quiet and asked, “What did I ever do to get so lucky to have you in my life?”

  “Well I could stay here and list off all the times you came to my rescue when we were younger, or…” She let her voice trail off, stood and reached for him.

  “Or what?”

  “Come with me.”

  Cole stood. “Where are you taking me now?”

  They exited the house and Gemma led him to the barn at the back of the homestead. She pulled open the doors and the scent of hay filled her senses, bringing her back to her childhood.

  She waved toward the hay pile. “I want you to make love to me. Here, where I always wanted our first time to be.”

  A pained look came over his face and he faltered backward. “No, Gems. This is wrong.”

  Not understanding his reaction, Gemma’s heart lurched, and she reached for him, half expecting him to flinch from her touch. “What is it?”

  “Not like this. Not with you.”

  Fearing she’d lost him, and that he was having second thoughts, her world turned upside down. “Cole—”

  “You deserve so much better from me.” Conflicting emotions passed over his eyes. “You deserved to be taken on a real date, to go to a nice restaurant.” He grimaced and pressed his palm to his forehead. “The way I’ve been taking you…”

  Gemma laughed, her tension easing as she stepped into him. “I like the way you’ve been taking me.”

  He brushed her hair from her face. “I want to take you out, Gemma, and court you properly.”

  “Such an old-fashioned guy.”

  He gave her a sheepish look. “What can I say? I want to do right by you.”

  “How about this, we can start dating tomorrow.” She pressed against him and felt his thickening cock. “Right now I want you to throw me on that hay pile and give me what I’ve been waiting years for.”

  “You know, Gemma, I’m beginning to believe you only want me for my body.”

  She ran her hands over his washboard abs. “Well, it is a pretty awesome body.”

  “Yes, yes it is,” he agreed, and the two shared a laugh.

  Gemma arched a brow. “Now about that hay pile.”

  Cole shook his head in defeat. “You really are such a bad, bad girl.” Grinning, he scooped her up and tossed her onto a soft bed of hay. He climbed up her body and his mouth met hers in a kiss full of love and promise.

  They slowly stripped away their clothes and his mouth found hers again as she widened her legs, welcoming him into her body, heart and soul.

  He brushed her hair from her face. “I love the way you open yourself to me, sweetheart.”

  “That’s because I’m yours, Cole. I’ve always been yours. You just didn’t know it.”

  He grinned, and the last of his tension dissolved as she laid herself bare to him. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to walk away from you when you brought me to this exact spot all those years ago?”

  Her heart missed a beat. “It was?”

  Warm lips kissed her forehead, her cheek, the sensitive groove in her neck. “I’ve always wanted you too, Gems.”

  “You have?”

  He made a tortured noise. “Hell yeah, I have. You’re perfect, and you’re all I’ve ever wanted. When I was overseas, thinking of you was the only thing that got me through the nights.”

  Gemma swallowed, because as he opened up to her and laid himself bare to her in return, there was nothing she could do to fight back the tears.

  His thumb brushed her tears away. “Hey, why are you crying?”

  Her voice wavered. “Because I love you so much.”

  Warm intimacy passed between them and his soft whisper covered her like a caress when he said, “Ah, Gems, I love you too.” He gave her a playful wink and said, “Let me show you how much.”

  Cole kissed a path down her body, his hands and mouth so loving as they touched her quivering flesh. Heat burned a lazy path through her bloodstream and she reveled in the feel.

  The air around them grew heavy with the scent of their arousal when his mouth took full possession of her sex. He ran the soft blade of his tongue all the way from the bottom to the top and spent a few extra minutes on her clit as he dipped a finger inside her. Stroking her deep, he prepared her for his girth.

  Her senses exploded, pleasure swamping her. She began moving her hips. “Cole,” she murmured, loving how his name sounded on her tongue as he pleasured her and knowing it would be the last man’s name she’d ever call out during lovemaking.

  “Gemma,” he murmured as he climbed up her body.

  She wrapped her arms around him and held tight when he entered her. They began moving together, each giving and taking, and this time their lovemaking was less rushed, less frenzied, as Cole reintroduced himself to her body. Not as a casual lover this time, but as a committed partner who’d be there for the good times and the bad. Even though their movements were less hurried, and he touched her with slow hands, the way they were coming together was every bit as powerful and potent as their first time. Their orgasms came at the same time, and afterward they stayed together, neither wanting to be the first to move.

  A long time later Cole rolled off her and gathered her into his arms. He turned to her and brushed his thumb over her well-kissed lips. He looked thoughtful, contemplative, as he looked at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re a beautiful, independent woman, Gemma, and after all we’ve been through I understand you’re not in need of my protection, you’re only in need of my love.”

  She smiled up at him. “I might be quite capable of taking care of myself, but I kind of like it when you can take care of me. You showed me that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it and accept it when it’s offered.”

  He gave her a sheepish look. “Well, I kind of like it when you take care of me too.”

  She laughed, knowing he was talking about the night at the hotel in Dallas. She gave him a playful whack and said, “I bet you do.”

  “Just so you know, Gemma, it was never just sex with you.” He brushed her hair off her face. “Do you remember when you once asked me what I wanted?”

  “Yes, and you told me…no wars, no death, no more loss.”

  “I wasn’t entirely truthful, because I left your name off that list. None of those things are important without you in my life. I want you to marry me, Gemma. I want you to be my wife.”

  Cloaked in contentment, she pressed her lips to his. His kiss was full of tenderness and emotion as he held her tight, waiting for her answer. “And I want you to be my husband, Cole. I always have.”

  Their lips met once again and they shared an intimate kiss. Cole inched back and the emotions on his face nearly stopped her heart. “Do you think someday, maybe someday soon, you might think about coming off the pill?”

&nb
sp; “I’ll never take it again,” she said, thrilled to know he wanted to have a family with her.

  A crooked smile turned up the corners of his mouth and his eyes were teasing when he gripped her hips. “It’s a good thing you’ve got these wide birthing hips, because I want a huge family.”

  Feigning insult, Gemma smacked him hard. “Hey, I do not have wide birthing hips!”

  When his laugh died down he grimaced and asked, “How do you think your mother is going to take this?”

  Gemma smiled. “Believe me, she’s going to be thrilled.”

  “Thrilled? I hardly think so. I was sitting next to her at the banquet when she invited that guy over. Jesus, it was all I could do to keep it together as I listened to her try to marry you off.”

  “So that’s what the commotion was all about.” She shook her head, a small smile on her mouth. “I figured it was something like that.”

  “Yeah, so let me tell you, she’s not going to be thrilled. I’m hardly a rich benef—”

  She pressed her finger to his lips. “After you ran out of her house, she insisted I go after you. That’s when I realized what she’s been up to, aggressively trying to marry me off since you got back home.”

  “You lost me, Gems.”

  “She knew all along how we felt about each other and was pushing our buttons. She’s very good at pushing buttons and getting what she wants.”

  He wagged his finger back and forth between the two of them. “You mean she wanted…?”

  Gemma nodded.

  He shook his head. “Jesus, I had no idea.”

  “Neither did I until I saw the look on her face after you stormed out of her place.” She snuggled in close. “She’s going to be so happy.” She lowered her voice before adding, “So is Brandon. I know he’s looking down at us with a big smile on his face.”

  At the mention of his fallen friend, Cole gripped his dog tags. He breathed deep and let it out slowly, his face relaxing as he let go the pain of loss.

  A second later, he cupped her chin, his eyes serious. “Maybe it’s time for you to let go of a few things too.”

  Gemma nodded, knowing full well what he was talking about and how foolish and childish she’d been by not asking for help when she needed it. Was proving her independence more important than her cause? And really, did any parent ever see their kids as grown up? Sadly enough, this whole time she’d been turning her family away when Cole had spent his whole life chasing one. It was a mistake she was about to rectify. “You’re right. I should call my mother.”

  Cole gave her a smile that said how proud he was of her and jumped to his feet. He grabbed Gemma’s hand and tugged. “Come on.”

  “Where?”

  He gathered up their clothes. “Back to the city.”

  “Right now?” She tugged on her shirt and pants.

  “Yes, right now.” He dressed quickly, then said, “You need to call your mother, and I need to go tell the guys we’re getting married.”

  “Do we have to do that right away?”

  “Yes, I want the world to know, and then we need to go shopping. We’re going to have to find you that house with the white picket fence if we’re going to accommodate both of us, a horde of kids and three dogs.”

  “Three dogs?”

  His mouth turned up at the corner, making him look so damn sexy, it had Gemma aching to rip off his clothes and sink back into the hay with him again. “Yeah, let’s go get Nana.”

  Gemma’s heart turned over in her chest and she went up on her toes to kiss him on the mouth. He lifted her clear off her feet and kissed her back.

  When he finally let her go, Gemma touched his cheek. “So tough, so rough and so damn rugged,” she whispered. “But still so sweet. So very, very sweet.”

  About the Author

  A multi-published author in the romance genre, Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie), pizza and red wine. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never-ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed-martial-arts fan. Cathryn can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter, and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love.

  A Maritimer and former financial officer, Cathryn has lived all over Canada but has finally settled down in her childhood hometown with her family.

  To learn more about Cathryn please visit www.cathrynfox.com.

  You can find her on Facebook. www.facebook.com/cathrynfox

  Twitter @writercatfox

  Look for these titles by Cathryn Fox

  Now Available:

  Blood Ties

  One on One

  Dance of the Dragon

  Pleasure Inn

  All Tied Up

  All Worked Up

  All Lit Up

  Whispering Cove

  Wet in Whispering Cove

  Brazen in Whispering Cove

  Silk in Whispering Cove

  Boys of Beachville

  Good at Being Bad

  A Lick of Flame

  Bad Girl Therapy

  Coming Soon:

  In the Line of Duty

  His Trouble in Tallulah

  His Taste of Temptation

  Whispering Cove

  Flirty

  Unwrap a little holiday wickedness…

  Silk

  © 2013 Cathryn Fox

  Whispering Cove, Book 8

  The pleasures of Christmas. Love. The two things Jon Wilson doesn’t think he deserves, thanks to a holiday accident that took his parents. Under pressure from his uncle, Jon returns to Whispering Cove for the annual festivities, but he’s counting down the hours until he can hop a Christmas Eve plane back to his Miami medical practice.

  Chef Lila Sheppard left the big city and its fast-talking men for Whispering Cove, hoping to settle down with a nice, small-town boy. Until Mr. Picket Fence appears, though, she’s not opposed to a tango on the wild side. When Jon shows up—gorgeous, hot and temporary—she figures Santa delivered her Christmas present a few days early.

  Soon they’re heating up cold, wintry nights, but as they get lost in each other’s arms, Lila begins to realize their brief affair has become something more. Yet she wonders if there’s enough magic in Whispering Cove to show Jon that love can heal all hearts…and that there’s only one place he belongs.

  Warning: Contains enough passion to melt ice, and turn any blustery wintry night into a hot, sultry holiday.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Silk:

  Jon stepped from the shower stall, wrapped a towel around his waist and padded to his window. He was just about to draw the curtains when a movement down below caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes, looking closer, and when he spotted Lila facedown in a snow pile, dressed in nothing but a cotton robe and slippers, his pulse leapt in his throat.

  “Jesus,” he cursed and quickly tugged on his jeans, pulling his T-shirt over his head as he rushed down the staircase. At the door he tugged on his boots and hurried outside.

  When he found Lila struggling to her feet, a load of wood still in her arms, he hauled her up and looked her over. He brushed snow from her face. “Lila, are you okay?”

  “I slipped,” she sputtered through a mouthful of snow.

  “Give me that.” Jon grabbed the pile of wood from her arms. “What are you doing out here in your robe? You’re going to catch your death of cold.”

  He hurried her inside and after he locked the door behind her, he shook his head. “Jesus, Lila. You could have asked me to do that.”

  Her teeth chattered as she said, “Running the B&B is my responsibility.”

  “Well at least let me help while I’m here,” he mumbled as a part of him realized how much he wanted to help her, and not just until Christmas Eve.

  Fuck.

  He dropped the wet wood at the door and guided
her into the living room. He threw a few pieces of dry kindling onto the dying fire, but when he turned to see her shivering he knew she needed heat now.

  “Come on,” he said, catching her hand. As he passed her liquor cabinet, he tucked a bottle of brandy under his arm and grabbed two glasses.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  “To my room.”

  “Your room?” Despite the cold, heat moved over her eyes. The way her robe inched open enough to expose her lush cleavage hadn’t gone unnoticed by him.

  “Yeah, it’s the only room with a good fire going, and I need to get you warmed up.” Using his shoulder, he pushed open his bedroom door and guided Lila to the foot of the bed, a few feet from the fireplace.

  He took off her slippers and gathered her ice-cold feet in his hands. “You probably shouldn’t be in the snow in your bunny slippers.”

  She forced a quick laugh. “I was in a hurry.”

  After warming her feet, he poured a generous amount of brandy into her glass and pressed it into her hand. “Drink this.” As she took it from him, skin touched skin, eliciting a shiver from deep within. Jon poured a glass for himself, took a huge swig then put the bottle and glass aside. He ran his hand up her calf to create friction.

  “Does anything hurt?”

  “Only my pride,” she answered, crinkling her nose.

  Jon shook his head and couldn’t help but smile. “No need to be embarrassed in front of me.” When his hand reached her thigh, he said, “We need to get you out of this robe. You’re still freezing.”

  A strange, garbled noise sounded in Lila’s throat. He glanced up to see her, and that’s when he noticed two things. Her eyes were flaring hot and his hand had traveled far too high on her thigh. He was about to pull it away, but Lila closed her hand over his, holding it in place. As her touch turned him inside out, lust bombarded him and his cock began tightening.

  She wet her full, plump lips and her voice dropped an octave. “I agree about the robe, but don’t agree that I’m still freezing.”