Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding)(41)

Tires crunched over the parking lot gravel, and he turned as the familiar black truck pulled in to the empty spot closest to the ramp.

The door opened and from the second her feet hit the ground, he couldn’t look away. Sandals that showed off painted toenails, form-fitting jeans that he knew without a doubt would make her ass look amazing, white button-down shirt that revealed a snug black tank top, and a smile that brought his own instantly to the surface.

“Hey.” She surveyed the ramp that had been little more than a frame the last time she’d been by. “You’ve been busy. Nice work.”

He grinned. “Heard you had your hands full with a drug bust this afternoon.”

She shrugged, reminding him how much he loved the way she never took credit or bragged about the hard work she did.

“A few thousand in heroin, right?”

She nodded.

“That how you got that bruise?” He gestured to the black-and-blue mark the size of a baseball on her forearm.

“Unfortunate collision with a car door.”

He nodded, having already heard how one of the three suspects had thought he was going to make it to his car until Hayley caught up with him.

She shoved her hands in her back pockets. “I guess I’ll let you finish up.” She started for the steps.

“I’m already finished, actually, and Matt’s not around. He borrowed my car.” A slight exaggeration. He’d moved it around back earlier. “I could use a ride if you don’t mind.”

She tipped her head. “Where are you headed?”

“To bed.” He deliberately left out whose bed he planned on sleeping in.

The corners of her eyes narrowed. They both knew he wasn’t getting anything past her. Still, she didn’t give him a hard time or remind him what they wouldn’t be doing.

“I need to drop a couple tools off first, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.”

He loaded the bin of tools in the back of the truck and hopped in next to her. After spending the day chatting with every local or tourist who wandered outside to watch him work, Hayley’s company bolstered his mood.

Jackson gave her directions as they drove along, watching her from the corner of his eye.

After they made the last turn, she glanced at him. “You do realize I know every route to Sunset Bluff, right? No matter how many random turns we make on the way.”

He laughed, but didn’t deny it.

A couple minutes later she guided the truck into the gravel lot that dead-ended in front of the woods.

She opened her door and walked around to the passenger side. “Okay, let’s go.”

“You’re kicking me out? Is this still payback for having to clean the truck out when we were teenagers?”

She held the door open and he slid out, making sure to rub against her as he moved past.

Hayley rolled her eyes, but instead of climbing back in the truck like he half expected, she bypassed the worn path many tourists discovered while exploring the bluff and climbed over the large, flat rocks that rose above the small parking lot.

He followed, having forgotten the less traveled path that appeared to end at the edge of the trees lining the bluff. Hayley threaded her way between them, leading the way to a narrow opening that looked out over the water.

The sky was on fire from the setting sun. Streaks of brilliant gold colored the thick clouds, fading to deep purples and pinks along the horizon. He marveled first at the view of the ocean, massive and powerful, and then the woman next to him, the wild strands of her blonde hair caught in the breeze and making her look even younger than usual.

“I haven’t been up here since I was a kid.”

“It’s a nicer view. Quieter.”

“You come here a lot,” he guessed.

She shrugged. “When I have things on my mind, though it’s been a while.”

He leaned back against a tree, arms crossed. “So now that you have me here, whatever will you do with me?”

“I don’t have any wicked plans to seduce you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He sighed. “I was trying not to get my hopes up. Lucky for you—” he hooked a finger through the loop on her belt, “—I’m wicked enough for the both of us.” He brushed away the strands of hair trapped by her lip gloss at the corner of her mouth, and tucked them behind her ear.

With the path clear, he touched his mouth to hers, immediately sinking into a kiss that ignited his insides from the first breathy moan she made. The feel of it between their lips made his heart pound faster than hockey sprints, and all it took was one woman.

One cute and sexy woman curling into him like he was the only thing holding her to the bluff.

He pushed his tongue into her mouth, greedily taking as much as she’d give and hoping like hell it would be enough to pull him back from the brink of losing control. He’d spent too much time thinking about her today. Had spent too much time thinking about her since coming home, and he didn’t have a clue what it would take to shake the increasing need to be with her.

Or worse, if he wanted to shake that need at all.

Jackson broke the kiss, letting his gaze roam over her, drawn to where her breasts were pushed up to the neckline of her tank top. He bent to kiss the soft skin that smelled so incredible.

Already so damn hard for her, he pulled her hips forward, groaning into her breasts when she rubbed along his cock. He lingered over each kiss, licking a slow path to where he tugged the material down to expose her nipple.

The puckered tip hardened in his mouth, and Hayley clutched his shoulders, moaning low by his ear. The decadent sound spurred him to push the other side of her shirt down, letting him suck the neglected nipple into his mouth, curling his tongue around her, pulling her deeper between his lips.

She moaned again, a little louder.

“Careful. Someone might hear you, Detective.”

She smiled, the curve of her lips so sexy he was aching to see her on her knees, looking at him exactly the same way. “And?”

Laughing, he framed her face and drew her back to his mouth. Rough and uninhibited, the kiss tugged at him. The taste of her was driving him crazy, and the more he had, the more he wanted.

He whipped her around until she was facing the tree trunk he’d been leaning against. He positioned her hands on the trunk in front of her.

She laughed. “Is this where you frisk me?”

“Something like that.” He smoothed his palms up over her ass, kneading the firm muscle.

His cock nudged the denim, and he rocked his hips forward, pressing into her. She edged back, meeting each slow, teasing thrust. He nipped the side of her neck, then sucked the sensitive skin between his lips.

Hayley tilted her head, giving him better access that he took full advantage of, teasing the curve with a gentle nip. He moved his hands from her hips to her thighs, molding his palms to her, sliding up and down along the inside of her thighs before finally cupping her through her jeans.

Her breath caught, and her lips grazed his jaw as she turned, seeking his mouth. She forgot about kissing him the second he undid the button on her jeans and slipped a hand inside.

“Already wet for me?” He slid beneath her panties, feeling exactly how slick she was. His fingers traced the seam, spreading the moisture up to her clit. She trembled under the swirl of his thumb across the plump knot.

“More,” she pleaded, arching her sweet ass back to rub against him.

Looking down to where he pressed into her, he imagined how it would feel to sink inside her from behind. He buried his face against her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her. The heat and fierce need were like a fever burning him up, but he was growing used to it.

The emotion tangled up in it was a different story. The swell of it in his chest that had him going motionless, holding on to her for just a minute, left him in unfamiliar territory.

“Jackson?”

He closed his eyes, then pushed a finger inside her, retracing the path back to her clit, stroking and rubbing until she was drenched.

Her nails scraped the bark, and she writhed in his arms, her breaths coming faster. She trapped her lip between her teeth, biting down as he played with her, pushing her closer to the edge.

Tension turned her body taut, and with another flick of his fingers across her clit, she shuddered, going wild as her orgasm hit. Moments later, she sagged into the tree.

Almost drowning in the need hammering his system, he brushed her hair aside and pressed his lips to her neck, lingering there until he could draw a breath that didn’t rob him of all rational thought.

It took a lot longer than it should have.





Hayley was a no-show.

Jackson scanned the crowded bar, searching for a glimpse of the blonde he couldn’t get out of his head. At least two hundred people had shown up for Kyle’s benefit so far and there didn’t seem to be an end to the steady trickle of traffic pouring into Stone’s.