Winter Awakening by Elizabeth Lennox
Chapter 5
Mack considered his options. Gazing at the small house, he acknowledged that there was still an intense attraction between himself and Kate. Even after twelve years, it hadn’t dissipated. In fact, it had actually intensified. He was losing sleep, his concentration was shot to hell and Dean, his partner, was getting ready to kick his ass. The investigation was going nowhere, possibly because Mack wasn’t pulling his weight.
So, he had two options. He could crash at a friend’s place and sleep on their couch, just to put a bit more distance between himself and Kate. That would keep him from seeing her as she went for a run. Seeing her in her tight running outfits was pure bliss…and pure hell. He wanted to go with her, to run alongside her and talk with her, see where she ran, and…just be with her. And then he wanted to strip those running clothes off and make love to her. He wanted to reveal every inch of her slender, delicate body to his hungry eyes, run his hands over the soft, feminine curves, and hear her cry out when he brought her to orgasm. Did she still do that soft sighing thing right after? He remembered how she’d wiggle her hips against him, then smiled up into his eyes. Would her ass feel as good in his hands? He’d loved when Kate would climb on top of him, riding him so that he could cup her ass with his hands and watch her breasts dance.
Running a hand over his face, he took a long sip of the coffee. Then spat it out. When had his coffee gone cold?! He looked around, noticing that he was outside on his front porch in thirty degree weather. At least he’d had the sense to put his boots on this time!
“Hell!” he muttered, then emptied the rest of his coffee into the dormant hydrangea bush, walking back into his house to leave for the day. He didn’t have time to stand around and wait for Kate to return from her run. He had a murder investigation to solve. Granted, it wasn’t even six o’clock in the morning. But Kate left for her runs at five and…yeah, he’d been waiting to see her come back. He loved seeing her in those tight leggings and form fitting jackets.
When had he become a voyeur? And when had he become the kind of guy who didn’t act? Why the hell was he standing around, waiting for a woman?!
With disgust, he shook his head, grabbed his keys, his weapon, and his badge, then headed for his SUV. As he drove to the station, he considered his second option. Option two was that he stop messing around and explore whatever was still happening between himself and Kate. Maybe if he took action, he could have a brief affair with her, just until she left, and then she’d be gone again and he could continue with his life.
The second option was more to his liking. Primarily because he wasn’t the type who cowered. And sleeping over at his friend’s house was too close to cowering.
Plus, the second option allowed him to hold Kate in his arms. For however long it lasted, he could enjoy her company and her body. He would give her pleasure and memories to take with her back to Miami, or wherever. And he could get on with his own life.
Hell, Dean, Simon, and Arik were all married now! Simon and Arik were even talking about babies.
Babies?! Where the hell had that come from?
But now that he’d acknowledged the idea, he realized that he wanted a family. Walking into the station, nodding at his fellow officers, he was struck by the idea of a family and realized he’d only been half alive for the past twelve years.
Had he been waiting for Kate to come back?
Yeah. Probably. And that pissed him off! He’d gone off to join the Army after she’d gone to college because he hated waiting. But the Army hadn’t solved his problems. It had given him skills and he’d loved his job with the Special Forces. But it hadn’t been enough. Being a detective was much more satisfying and eased a tension in his mind and body. Solving mysteries was the perfect job for him.
But Kate…Kate was the woman he’d been waiting for. She’d come back to Cheyenne for…well, for as long as it took for her to clean up her mother’s house and put it up for sale. So why not indulge in a little taste of bliss? It wouldn’t hurt as badly this time because he knew she was only here for a short time.
Yeah, that plan made a hell of a lot more sense than spending the next few weeks couch surfing. Besides, Dean didn’t have a state of the art coffee maker. Mack loved his coffee maker! No way was he doing without it!
Decision made, he pulled out pictures of the Morani investigation, forcing himself to concentrate on what the hell had happened in that house. By the time Dean, Simon, and Arik walked in two hours later, he had some ideas.
