His Strings to Pull (4 page)

He furrowed his brow like he was in thought. “This afternoon I’ll be at the compound with the dogs, and tonight I promised the kids a sleepover.”

“That’s okay, it’s my day off and I actually told my friend, Skylar, I’d help her out at her bar tonight.”

“Skylar Redmond, the owner of the Sky Bar?”

“You know her.”

“Not well. I’ve been by there a few times, one of my best buds, Matt James, works there.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen him around.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“I work at eight in the morning.”

“I’ll come by with the kids at seven thirty.”

She laughed. “But I won’t be here until eight.”

“We’ll wait.”

She ran her nails over his flesh, and when he quivered, her heart squeezed. “You’re a crazy man, you know that?”

“Nah, I’m just the guy who’s crazy about you.”

“Earth to Jenny.”

Jenny spun around to face her friend, Sky. The tray Jenny was balancing in one hand nearly crashed to the floor with the quick movement. “What?” Jenny asked as Sky stared at her with curious eyes.

Sky laughed. “You’re a million miles away, that’s what. Want to explain?”

Jenny looked around at the patrons sitting near her, then lowered her voice, excited to tell her friend about Ving, simply because she wanted to talk, and think about him. “I’ve met someone.”

Sky’s eyes widened as she grabbed Jenny’s hand to drag her behind the bar. “What? Who? When did this happen? Tell me everything.” Then her friend stopped speaking, understanding backlighting her eyes as her gaze moved over Jenny’s face. “Oh, my God. You had sex,” she blurted out.

From the end of the table Matt James lifted his head, and Jenny put her finger over her lips to quiet her friend. “Shh,” she said, unable to hold in a chuckle. “Matt will hear you.”

Sky waved a dismissive hand toward Matt. “Don’t worry about Matt. He’s trustworthy and won’t say anything.”

Jenny took note of the way Matt was watching Sky, the way he always watched Sky. “Speaking of Matt, have you two ever…you know.”

“No,” Sky said. “We’re just friends. We go way back. But never mind that, this is about you, not me and Matt.”

She gave Sky a wry look. “Well, it’s kind of about Matt.”

Sky’s eyes widened, her glance going from Jenny to Matt back to Jenny. “What, did you sleep with Matt? Why am I just finding out about this now?”

“No, no. It’s not Matt.”

Sky crinkled her nose and shook her head. “I don’t get it, then how is it about Matt?”

She pitched her voice low, leaned in and whispered, “I slept with his best friend.”

Sky opened her mouth, then closed it again, like she couldn’t get the words out. Then she finally asked, “You slept with Ving?”

Jenny nodded eagerly. “Last night. I met him at the pool and we went out on a date. It all happened so fast I didn’t even have time to tell you.” She grabbed Sky’s hand. “I’m sort of crazy about him, Sky.”

The smile fell from Sky’s face. “Really?”

“Yeah, why?” Jenny asked, a nervous sensation invading her gut.

Sky twirled her apron strings around her fingers, a familiar habit when she had something on her mind. “Nothing, it’s just…”

“Just what?”

She brushed her bangs from her face, and rolled one shoulder. “He’s really good looking, and…”

“And?” Jenny pressed.

“And, well, he’s very popular with the girls, if you know what I mean.” Sky looked around the bar, taking note of all the pretty girls working the room. “He’s been in here a few times to see Matt since he’s been back from overseas, and the girls are all over him. He’s like nectar to the honey bee.”

A knot tightened in Jenny’s stomach and she let go of Sky’s hand. “Yeah but that doesn’t mean he sleeps around,” she said, feeling very defensive. “He told me he didn’t.”

Sky let loose a slow breath. “Guys will say anything to get what they want, Jenny.” She grabbed Jenny’s hand and squeezed. “Look, all I’m saying is I want you to be careful. You know I love you and want you to be happy, but sometimes you can be so trusting.”

It was true. She could be very trusting. But still, Ving wasn’t like that, right?

Dark lashes blinked over concerned eyes. “I love that you jump into things head first, and love your enthusiasm for life, but this time I think you should take it slow, okay?”

Jenny swallowed, because
slow
didn’t even begin to describe what she was doing with Ving.

“Okay,” she said, even though she knew it was too late for that. Sky gave her a hug and turned her attention to the patrons at the bar. Jenny glanced around the room and her heart pounded as she thought about her night with Ving. He was so sweet, so caring, so amazing. Everything in her gut told her she could trust him. That he wasn’t the kind of guy to say whatever it took to get a girl into bed.

Then again, she’d been wrong before, and she couldn’t forget that he didn’t want to go back to his place last night, and tonight he said he couldn’t see her because he had to babysit the kids. Was it possible that he had something to hide and didn’t want her there? Maybe she should have called Garrett to ask about him. But she never felt the need to because Ving seemed so honest and open in everything he did and said. She thought about calling him now, but a part of her didn’t want to, because she wanted to believe in Ving.

Many hours later, after helping Sky out, Jenny made her way home. She crawled into bed, her body tired but her mind too hyped up to sleep. She thought over her conversation with Sky for the hundredth time, and after a deep consultation with herself, she decided while her friend said those things because she cared about Jenny’s well-being, she was wrong where Ving was concerned. He was a great man and she could trust him. She was sure of it. With that last thought in mind, she fell asleep, anxious to see him first thing tomorrow morning.

A bird outside Jenny’s window pulled her awake. She blinked her eyes open and groaned when she noticed that it was only six in the morning. She tossed and turned for half an hour, all the while thinking about Ving, and when she finally concluded that she wasn’t going to fall back to sleep, she pushed her covers off.

She jumped from her bed, showered and dressed, then made her way to Sweetie’s Café. Knowing Ving had said he’d be up early to meet her at the pool, she decided to surprise him and the kids with a special breakfast before they all began their day. She ordered bagels, old-fashioned donuts and croissants, and two strong coffees for her and Ving. A short while later she drove down his street, stopping when she spotted his truck. She made her way to his door, taking note of the swingset in his backyard. Why would the set be in his yard and not the neighbor’s? Just as she was about to knock, the door flew open.

She came face to face with the three kids he was babysitting, and the littlest girl, Kate, looked at the bag of goodies with bright-eyed enthusiasm.

“Are those for us?” Andy asked.

“They are.” She handed him the bag and looked past his shoulder, expecting to see Ving milling about. “Isn’t Ving up?”

“No,” Marley, the oldest girl, said. She pointed toward the hall, to where Jenny assumed the bedrooms were. “And you don’t want to go in there. He’s grumpy.”

“Grumpy? Why is he grumpy?”

Kate rubbed her tired eyes. “Because he was up all night with Ella.”

An uneasy feeling moved through Jenny as the seed of doubt Sky planted last night started blossoming inside her. “Ella?” Who the heck was Ella?

The boy reached into the bag, pulled out a croissant, then handed the bag to Marley. “Yeah, and she was so loud, she kept us up all night long.”

Kate plugged her ears, like she was reliving the god-awful noise.

“No one got any sleep,” Marley said, grabbing a bagel.

“He was supposed to take us to the pool,” Kate said, as she pulled a treat from the bag. “But every time we go in there to get him, Ella whines so he doesn’t want to leave her.”

Jenny’s heart raced. What the heck was going on? Why would Ving be in bed with a girl when he was babysitting three kids, and why would Ella be so loud that they could hear her?

Deciding to get to the bottom of matters, she looked at Andy and tried to keep her voice even when she said, “Why don’t you take your sisters to play on the swingset while I check on things.”

“Sure,” he said around a mouthful of croissant.

Once they disappeared through the door, Jenny made her way down the hall. She knocked quietly, worried about what she was going to find on the other side. For a second she thought about leaving and trying to put Ving out of her mind, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t possible, and she did want to get to the bottom of matters.

“Come in,” he grumbled.

Jenny sucked in a breath and held it as she opened the door, and when she saw a figure in bed beside him, her blonde hair splayed across the pillow, her heart fell into her stomach. As the image dredged up old memories, a lump pushed into her throat, and she gripped the doorframe.

“Ving,” she managed to get out as her heart slammed in her chest. “What’s going on?”

“Jenny,” he said, surprise in his voice as he jolted upright in bed. “What are you doing here?” He pushed the covers off, and slid his legs over the side of the mattress, and that’s when she got a good look at Ella.

Her pulse leapt in her throat and her knees nearly gave as she took in the vision before her. She thought about her whirlwind romance with Ving and how the night before he’d asked her if she believed in love at first sight. The truth was she didn’t. At least not until she met him.

His gaze went from her to Ella, then back to her again. He gave her a sheepish look, one that had love rushing to her heart, and said, “She was sick. I think it was something she ate.” He ran his hand over Ella’s head, stroking softly. “She’s feeling much better now though.”

Jenny’s whole world shifted and a bone-deep warmth flooded her as he looked at her with such warmth and emotion—such happiness to see her. God, how could she not love a man who watched his neighbor’s kids, a man who put a swingset in his backyard for them because their mother likely couldn’t afford it? A man who stayed up all night with a sick dog and let her sleep in his bed?

A man who said he wanted it all—with her.

She stood there looking down at him, her heart swelling with all the things she felt for him. That’s when two things occurred to her. Too good to be true really did exist, and eventually she’d learn his full name, because, like he said, this romance came with strings, and someday soon she was going to be his wife.

About the Author

New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author 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.

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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

Flirty in Whispering Cove

Boys of Beachville

Good at Being Bad

A Lick of Flame

Bad Girl Therapy

In the Line of Duty

His Obsession Next Door

His Trouble in Tallulah

Coming Soon:

His Taste of Temptation

His Moment to Steal

Once the fuse is lit, there’s only one way to extinguish the flames.

His Obsession Next Door

© 2014 Cathryn Fox

In the Line of Duty, Book 1

Years ago, Cole Sullivan made a battlefield promise sealed in a dying man’s blood—to take care of his best friend’s little sister. Now he’s forced to live with the fact that Gemma Matthews is completely off limits.

Though Gemma’s always had a crush on the darkly handsome, far-too-serious explosives expert, she can’t forget the sting of his rejection. Now here they are, ten years later, with Cole still stubbornly in the role of protector. But when she catches him watching her from his house next door, she jumps at the opportunity to show him
everything
he’s been missing.

Cole can barely keep his cool at Gemma’s bedroom window performance. He’s never been a risk taker, but her all-out campaign of seduction ignites a fuse that can only blow up in his face.

All thoughts of backing off are swept away in the heat of reckless passion. Leaving him wondering how he will live with himself amid the razor-sharp shards of his broken promise.

Warning: Contains a smoking-hot explosives expert and enough heat to set an ammunition depot ablaze.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
His Obsession Next Door:

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gemma asked as Cole moved in to take Douglas’s place.

Strong hands circled her hips. The roughness of his palms felt erotic as he pulled her into a tight embrace, anchoring her body firmly to his. When his warm, familiar scent curled around her, a shiver raced down her spine. She shifted but there was nothing she could do to conceal the telltale hardening of her nipples as they pressed against his even harder chest. Dark eyes met hers unflinchingly. The intensity in his gaze frightened her as much as it excited her.

“Maybe I should be the one asking you that question.”

Feeling slightly breathless as their bodies swayed together, not to mention the way his firmness meshed against her softness, she jutted her chin out and asked, “I have no idea what you mean.”

“You know full well what I mean,” he bit out, appearing more pained with each passing second.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to elaborate. The only thing I’m doing is trying to raise funds—”

“That’s not all you’re raising,” he groaned.

“What do you mean?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“Stop leaving your curtains open.”

She blinked. “My curtains?” His hand trailed lower on her back, and when his big fingers splayed over her sensitive flesh, the air instantly charged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” As a wave of heated anticipation prowled through her bloodstream, she realized there was nothing impersonal in the way he was touching her.

“And stop parading around in nothing but slinky underwear,” he added, clearly not buying her story.

She wet her lips, and gave a casual shrug. “I didn’t think it would bother you, considering…”

His nostrils flared and between clenched teeth he said, “You were a kid, Gems.”

“Well I’m not a kid anymore now, am I?” she challenged, her pulse leaping with renewed excitement. She had the sneaking suspicion her devious plan had actually worked, and that she’d somehow gotten under Cole’s skin.

A strange, strangled noise sounded in his throat as he drew in a ragged breath. “Maybe not.” He fingered the silky material on her dress. “But underneath this façade, this life you built for yourself, you’re still that same wild child, aren’t you?”

Her heart sank. She must have misread him. She steeled herself, waiting for the lecture. “Cole, I…” she began, wanting to make it perfectly clear to him she didn’t need his protection.

“I never said I didn’t like that side of you, Gems.”

Everything in the way his voice softened when he said her name had her realizing she hadn’t misinterpreted him at all. A slow lick of flame moved over her flesh and liquid desire settled deep between her thighs. “Well if you must know, I’ll probably always have a wild side, but believe me I’m not a child anymore.”

His nostrils flared, like he was waging some sort of internal war. He clenched his teeth harder, the muscles along his jaw rippling. Her glance went back to his and when she saw the desire reflecting there, a shudder moved through her body.

Arousal thickened his voice and volatile heat backlit dark eyes full of raw lust when he whispered, “What are we doing?”

Her heart missed a beat. Everything from the tortured way he was looking at her, to the way his body was pressed against hers—one part in particular—spoke volumes. Cole Sullivan, the same guy she’d been lusting after for ten long years, was finally seeing her as something more than his friend’s rebellious kid sister. She’d be damned if she wasn’t going to do something about it.

Her nipples scraped against his chest and she murmured, “We’re doing what we should have done a long time ago.”

He frowned and gave a hard shake of his head. He rested his hands on her hips as if he was having second thoughts. “I need to get out of here.”

He continued to press against her, his body telling an entirely different story—he wanted her in his bed as much as she wanted to be there.

She wasn’t sure about the demons that haunted him or why he’d want to deny himself what his body craved. But now that she had him right where she’d always wanted him, the rebellion from her youth had turned into fierce determination and she wasn’t about to let him flee again.

With her body beckoning his touch, she pushed her hips into him. In a voice full of invitation she said, “If you need to go somewhere I have a room upstairs.”

He exhaled slowly. “I’m pretty sure that’s not going to help me cool off.”

“You can take a cold shower.” She ran her hands through his hair, went up on her toes and purposely put her mouth to his ear when she added, “Or a hot one.”

“Gems,” he murmured, his hands circling her hips. Once again as sexual tension hung heavy. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I want you.” She ran her hands over his lapels. Even though the tough soldier cleaned up nicely and looked rather dashing in his suit, underneath the clothes he was still that same rough and rugged, fiercely protective guy who hung out at her family’s ranch. “I’ve always wanted you.”

“Gemma—”

She molded her body against his, aware of the explosive heat arcing between them. “Why don’t you sneak me to my room like you used to do when we were younger, and instead of lecturing me, I think you should strip me naked and spend the rest of the night in my bed, inside me.”