Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(63)

Taylor poked her head up over my shoulder. “We’ll be there.”

Warmth flooded my chest. This was real. And good. Taylor was trying. Pushing the boundaries of what she was comfortable with to make room in her life for me. I pulled her closer, kissing the side of her face.

“Wonderful,” Irma said. “We’ll see you at six. I’ll just show myself out.”

“You do that,” I called.

“Watch your tone with me, young man.”

Taylor started giggling again. The vibrations only made my cock strain harder against my boxer briefs. When I heard my grandmother start up the golf cart she shouldn’t be driving, I launched from the lounger, throwing Taylor over my shoulder. My hand dipped under the tee she wore to palm her smooth, bare ass. She shrieked and then moaned.

“We’re going to the shower. We’re going to erase the past fifteen minutes and start this day the way we should have.”

“And what way is that?” she asked, voice husky.

“Me eating you until you scream, and then you coming on my cock.”

She squeezed my ass, and I almost dropped her. “Such a way with words,” she said with a laugh. “But I like the way you think.”

“Good.” I set her down on the tiled floor of the bathroom and got to work.

I made her come twice in the shower and once while helping her dress before leaving for the station. It was a great way to start the day.





Taylor sat beside me in my truck, staring down at her hands, twisting that ring on her right hand. She’d been quiet since I’d picked her up. Too silent.

I reached over, stilling the staccato movements of her hands. I laced my fingers with hers and squeezed. “Want to tell me what’s got you running in circles in your head?”

She blew out a breath and mumbled something about psychic sorcerers.

“What was that?”

“You’re some sort of psychic sorcerer. You always know when something’s up with me. It’s freaky.”

I chuckled and gave her hand another squeeze. “I’m a cop. I know by someone’s body language when something’s not right. And I know your body pretty damn well.”

Taylor pressed her lips together, seeming to fight a smile. But something dark still lurked in those blue-gray depths. Her shoulders slumped. “The last time I was with your whole family…I had a nightmare that night. It really freaked me out. I just don’t want that to happen again.”

My chest tightened at the doubt in her words. I pulled my truck over to the side of the road. Turning, I took her face in my hands. “First of all, thank you for telling me. Second, I’m going to be with you all night, and you haven’t had any nightmares when I’ve spent the night before, right?” She nodded between my hands.

I hated that being around my family brought all her fears to the surface, but I was proud as hell that she’d faced them down. I kissed her softly, tasting a hint of the beer we’d shared before leaving her place. “I’m with you. Always.”

Her eyes blazed with blue heat, the type of flame you knew would leave third-degree burns. But, damn, it was beautiful to watch.

She fisted a hand in my shirt, pulling me to her, and slamming her mouth over mine. The force of the kiss took me by surprise. There were things she couldn’t say. Things that scared her. But she said them with her lips, her tongue, her body.

I groaned into her mouth before pulling back. “Are you seriously going to make me walk into my parents’ house with a hard-on?”

Taylor’s eyes widened and then danced with laughter. It wasn’t the blue heat, but I knew it was what she needed to go into the house with a light heart. “Sorry about that,” she said with a laugh.

“Let’s just hope I can get it under control in the three minutes it takes to get there. Do me a favor and be less gorgeous, would you?”

She chuckled. I squeezed her knee and tried to think about baseball stats, all the paperwork I had to catch up on, anything.

We pulled up to the ranch house, the windows lit up against the evening sky. I threw the truck in park and went around to open Taylor’s door. I helped her out and then pulled her to me for a fierce hug.

I loved that she fit so perfectly against me. Her head ended up tucked right under my chin, like the adorable short-stack she was. Her curves seemed to hug my planes of muscle just right. I inhaled her scent, it was a combination of honeysuckle and the underlying notes that were uniquely Taylor. I could never get enough.

I kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s going to be fine. Just remember, they already love you.”

Taylor let out a sigh and then tilted her face up so that her chin rested on my sternum. “Thanks for putting up with my crazy.”

I grinned down at her. “Anytime. Plus, you being crazy just means you’ll fit in with the rest of my family.”

A smile spread across her face, and I closed the distance to brush my lips against hers.

The sound of a shouted, “Tay Tay!” broke the trance as Noah bounded down the front steps. He launched himself at Taylor’s middle, and she caught him easily. “Tay Tay, I read the book about the boxer all by myself! Mom didn’t have to help me once!”

Jensen appeared behind him. “It’s true. He didn’t even need a single hint.”