Deeper Than The Ocean by Julie Ann Walker

 

 

Chapter 29

 

3:16 PM…

 

“That’s so wrong.”

Wolf grabbed a seat in the rocking chair next to the one Officer Ryan inhabited and glanced at the man with a questioning look. “What is?” he asked.

Ryan hitched his chin toward Wolf’s getup, which consisted of nothing but Chrissy’s silk robe. Her short silk robe.

He’d awoken from a delicious post-coital catnap because he was feeling two things in equal measure. The first was a desperate, aching need to have her again. To feel her warm body welcome his. To hear her sighs turn into moans, and watch her as she was caught up in the arms of bliss.

But she’d looked so sweet and angelic in sleep that he’d known there wasn’t a damn thing he could do—or maybe the correct phrase was should do—about the hard-on that pulsed insistently between his legs.

The second thing he’d been feeling was hunger. In fact, he’d been so ravenous, he’d thought for sure his belly button had rubbed a hole in his backbone. Which, unlike his annoyingly insistent boner, had been something he could remedy.

With slow, careful movements, he’d disentangled himself from Chrissy. After tucking the comforter around her, he’d tiptoed across the room to his damp jeans. But they’d stunk of hospital air and twenty-four hours of wear. The thought of putting them back on his body had curled his lip.

Instead, he’d grabbed the robe hanging on a hook on the back of her bedroom door. After cinching the belt around his waist, he’d transferred the Glock into the robe’s pocket. The firearm had been sitting atop the dresser where he’d carefully placed it before doing his best impression of a Chippendales dancer.

Mmm. Forever emblazoned upon his memory was the picture of Chrissy reclining back in bed, her eyes going hot and liquid as she watched him undress. There hadn’t been a hint of shyness or embarrassment in her gaze. Nope. Not his Chrissy. She’d been unapologetically voyeuristic, and it’d made him harder than he’d ever been before.

Once he’d ventured out of the bedroom, he’d found his damp T-shirt hanging over the shower curtain rod and had decided a load of laundry was in order. After spot-treating the clothes Chrissy had left in the plastic bag by the sofa, he’d thrown the whole lot into the washer.

Then he’d padded barefoot into the kitchen to wolf down a generous portion of bacon mac and cheese—he hadn’t even taken the time to heat it up in the microwave—and had washed it down with a tall glass of iced tea. Which had brought to mind Officer Ryan.

After pouring a second glass of tea, he’d shuffled onto the porch to discover the storm had completely blown over and taken most of the humidity with it, leaving only sunshine and a gentle breeze behind.

Now, he made a face and told Officer Ryan, “Are you so insecure in your masculinity that you can’t stand the sight of another man’s legs?”

“Oh, no.” Ryan took a sip of the iced tea before setting the glass on the porch’s wooden floorboards. “I’m fine with your legs, but I feel like the kimono is cultural appropriation. Plus, what’s between your hairy ass and that chair?”

“Just a bit of air.” Wolf grinned and watched Officer Ryan pretend to retch.

He liked the policeman. The guy was funny and hadn’t complained once about playing bodyguard on Chrissy’s porch.

“Hey, man,” Wolf said. “I can stand watch out here for a while if you need to hit the head.”

“Nah.” The policeman waved him off. “I already pissed on the cocoplum bush around the corner.” A knowing look entered his eyes. “Didn’t want to come into the house and mess up the mojo you had going.”

Wolf snorted. “Ah, yes. The Bro-Code. Glad to see you received your copy of the handbook.”

Ryan nodded. “Right around the time I turned fourteen and discovered girls were something other than annoying creatures who told the teacher on me when I farted or stuck my gum under the desk.”

“Fourteen?” Wolf shook his head. “You got off easy. I got bitten by the hormone bug in sixth grade.” He sighed dramatically and let his eyes take on a dreamy look. “Dana Teague in her soccer shorts made me forget how to breathe.”

Ryan chuckled. “And once we’re bitten, there’s no going back is there?”

“Not a chance,” Wolf admitted woefully. Then he pinned a considering look on the policeman. “Since we’re on the subject, how long have you and the missus been married?”

“Eight years this July.”

“Congratulations,” Wolf told him sincerely, although he was jealous.

Eight years with a woman he loves. What must that be like? He’d dearly love to find out.

“Oh, it wasn’t easy.” Ryan shook his head. “Veronica was this ball-busting single mom who didn’t want, and I quote, ‘a man coming into her life and mucking things up.’ But I wore her down and eventually got her to go out with me.” He bobbed his eyebrows. “By the third date, she was falling in love. She didn’t tell me that at the time, of course. She made me think I needed to work my ass off to impress her. But after? Yeah. She admitted I won her over pretty early.”

Wolf’s tone was full of incredulity. “I’d surely like to know your secret for that.”

Ryan scratched his chin. “To hear Veronica tell it, it was my sense of humor that did the trick. And specifically the line I used on her at the end of that third date when we were considering…um…consummating our mutual attraction.”

“What was the line?”

The police officer bit the inside of his cheek, and recited, “I’m not a weatherman, but you can look forward to about eight inches tonight if you can convince your babysitter to stay later.”

Wolf burst out laughing. “You ol’ sweet-talker, you.”

Ryan smiled ruefully. “Best sentence I ever uttered. ’Cause it got me Veronica and Dustin. I officially adopted him five years ago once his bio dad signed over his rights.”

“Sounds like a standup guy.” Wolf frowned.

Every time one of his sisters had given birth, and every time his niece’s or nephew’s sperm donor had quit the scene, he’d always shaken his head, unable to fathom what kind of man could abandon his own child.

“You have no idea.” Ryan spit over the porch railing as if he had a foul taste in his mouth. “The bastard did a number on them. It’s taken years of therapy and steady loving to soften the scars he left behind.”

Wolf eyed the lawman speculatively. “You have to respect a man who can heal a heart he didn’t break.”

A faint smile lifted the officer’s lips. “Speaking of hearts, this thing you got going with Miss Szarek…is it serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack for me,” Wolf admitted. “But I don’t have your way with words, apparently. Even though I’ve confessed how I feel, she seems bound and determined not to let herself feel the same way.”

“Mmm.” Ryan nodded. “She had a bad experience, did she?”

“More like a string of ’em. But not in the way you think. She watched her momma fall in love with one man after the next. Trouble was, instead of any of them bein’ a knight in shinin’ armor, they all turned out to be losers in aluminum foil. Chrissy’s convinced fallin’ in love is a sham, and she should choose a life partner based on her head and not her heart.”

The policeman eyed him. “And what does her head say about you?”

“That I’m not the settlin’ down sort.”

“Are you?”

“For her?” Wolf chuffed out a breath. “I’d live in a hole for the rest of my life. Under a rock. In a damn tree. I wouldn’t care as long as she’s there with me.”

“That’s a good answer.” Ryan nodded. “So how are you going to convince her?”

Wolf grinned. “Maybe I’ll try your line.”

“Sure. But there’s one problem.” The policeman lifted a finger. “You’ll need to change it a bit.”

Wolf drew his eyebrows together. “How so?”

“I mean, she already knows you don’t have eight inches. So you’ll have to say three or else she’ll just laugh at you.”

Wolf’s shoulders quaked with humor. Officer Ryan would fit in well with the men of Deep Six Salvage. Which meant Wolf responded to the policeman the way he would’ve responded to one of his partners. “Roses are red. Violets are blue. I’ve got five fingers. This one’s for you.”

He flipped Ryan the bird.

The policeman feigned insult. “Such an offensive gesture from a guy who’s supposed to be part of the few and the proud.”

“Those are the Marines. I was Navy. You know, where the real heroes work.”

“Look, man.” Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder, his expression pitying. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the people who have to be around you on a daily basis are the real heroes.”

Fighting a laugh, Wolf came back with, “Wow. I was today years old when I discovered I didn’t like you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Officer Ryan blinked innocently. “Well, remember that time I asked for your opinion about me? Me neither.”

Wolf was having too much fun to let the policeman win. “That’s the best comeback you got? Dude, if brains were dynamite, you wouldn’t have enough to blow your hat off.”

“Don’t you worry about me or my brains or my hat,” Ryan’s mouth was twitching. “Worry about your eyebrows.”

Wolf couldn’t stand it anymore. It was such a ridiculous cut, he burst out laughing. Soon after, the policeman joined him. They were still chuckling when the officer’s phone jangled to life.

“It’s Dixon,” Ryan said, thumbing on his cell. Wolf listened to the policeman’s side of the conversation. “Officer Ryan here.” Pause. “Oh, yeah? Well that’s progress.” Pause. “Okay. Sure. I’ll tell them.”

After Ryan clicked off, Wolf lifted an inquiring eyebrow.

“The Coast Guard finally shared with Dixon the logs of the ships entering the marina,” the policeman explained. “He’s checking to see if any of the owners or operators match the description of the two guys Chrissy saw in the warehouse. Nothing yet. But he’s hopeful.”

Wolf nodded and slapped his hands on the arms of the rocking chair. “Well, as much as I’d like to sit here tradin’ insults with you, I better go inside. Chrissy will want an update as soon as she wakes up.”

He was to the front door when the police officer stopped him with, “Take it from a guy who’s been in love with an independent woman for nearly a decade. The trick to winning Miss Szarek over and keeping her happy is to be someone she wants. And don’t get all butt-hurt because you’re not someone she needs. See, the thing is, she doesn’t need anyone. She can do it all herself. And it takes a strong, confident man to not only be okay with that, but to appreciate it for the rare gift that it is.”

Wolf dipped his chin. “That’s good advice. Thank you.”

Ryan waved away his gratitude. “Now, go have a nice day. Somewhere else.”

Wolf chuckled and flipped the officer the bird again before closing the door behind him. He was pondering Ryan’s words when he heard movement at the back of the house. His hand automatically dove into the robe’s pocket, his palm fitting instinctively around the Glock’s grip.

But he relaxed and leaned against the doorjamb once he made his way to the small galley-style kitchen and saw it was only Chrissy. She’d changed back into that soft, sea foam-green sleep set. It highlighted her golden skin and long legs. Still, he far preferred her naked.

“You got dressed.” He was unable to keep the disappointment from his voice.

Startled, she spun around and he saw she had her phone in hand. When she realized it was only him, she frowned. Then her frown turned upside down once she got an eyeful of what he was wearing. “Well, I had to. Someone stole my robe.” She crossed her arms to mirror his stance. “It, uh, looks good on you.”

“Like I always say, you’re a terrible liar.” Hitching his chin toward her phone, he asked, “Any news?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Well, yes. Tommy texted to say he got my dive clients out and back before the storm blew in. So that’s one less thing to worry about. But nothing from Mr. or Mrs. Turner.”

“Winston’s tough,” he told her. “If anyone can pull through this, it’s him.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, but her face crumpled and her bottom lip trembled.

“Come here.” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward him. “You look like you need a hug.”

She didn’t put up any resistance. Which he took as a good sign. Instead, she curled her uninjured arm around his waist and pressed her face into the base of his throat. The instant he felt her warm breath on his skin, he began to harden.

Now’s not the time,he scolded his little head, although the damn thing rarely listened to him.

Or maybe it is,he thought a second later, because Chrissy looked up at him and there was devilment in her eyes. “What I need is a distraction,” she said. “Otherwise I can’t stop worrying about Winston.”

“You got somethin’ in mind?” He arched an eyebrow, even as he rubbed his hand down her bare arm and tangled his fingers with hers. Her skin was like fire. But, damn, he liked being burned by her.

“Oh, yes.” She nodded. “I want to touch every inch of you like you touched every inch of me. And then, once I’m finished doing that, I want to straddle your hips and lick my way from the base of your throat to the tip of your cock.” She canted her head coquettishly. “That sound good to you?”

He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t think. All the blood had rushed from his head.

She took his silence as a yes and said, “Good,” before she dragged him out of the kitchen and down the hall.

The minute he walked into her bedroom, his nostrils flared like a stallion scenting a mare. The air inside smelled of sex, but also of the promise of wonderfully erotic things to come.

Holding his gaze, she slowly untied the robe’s belt. She groaned—they both did—when she reached between the silken halves and took him in her hand.

Going up on tiptoe, she claimed his lips in a kiss so deep and carnal he lost all sense of time. They could’ve been kissing for seconds or hours—he wasn’t sure—when she finally pulled her lips free and whispered against his mouth, “I want you, Wolf. Right, now.”

With a hand in the center of his chest, she pushed him back onto the bed. Then, proving he wasn’t the only one capable of putting on a show, she slowly stripped out of her clothes. Even the sling didn’t hamper her sexy, graceful movements. And then, thank you baby Jesus, she was naked and crawling onto the mattress to straddle his hips.

For the next hour, she made good on her plan.