Party of Three: A H.O.T. Cops Novel (14 page)

“Damn, your tits look nice in the sun,” he said in return.

And she just rolled her eyes and let out a laugh. “What brought that on?”

“They’re a good distraction from this fucking cold water,” he told her as Ethan dropped first one, then the second ski onto the lake’s surface near Rogan. “And you be sure to keep putting extra sunscreen on those babies, too. We don’t need those, of all things, getting burned.”

It was after Ethan eased the boat forward a bit, enough that Rogan was positioned behind it as he put on the skis, that Mira saw her man giving her a look she couldn’t quite read. Taking the seat across the narrow aisle from him, opposite the captain’s chair, she tilted her head and said, “What?”

“Just … impressed as hell with you, that’s all.”

She smiled. “Oh?”

“You know what I mean. Letting yourself go like that earlier. And now, sitting here in only your bottoms like it’s nothing. You couldn’t have done that … even yesterday. Even earlier this morning.”

She appreciated his pride, but tilted her head the other way now. “Was I so prim before? Because I never saw myself that way.”

It relieved her when he shook his head. “No. You were … normal, I guess. Like most women. And the only reason I planned this whole thing was because I wanted you to live out your two-guy fantasy—it had nothing to do with … coming out of your shell or anything, like Rogan called it earlier. But guess I hadn’t thought about the fact that you’d kinda
have
to do that to really enjoy this. And turns out I like seeing that. A lot.”

“Yeah?”

“
Oh
yeah. Kinda even turns me on, you being this confident, in-control woman.” His grin aroused her a bit, made her aware of her exposed breasts tingling beneath the sun.

“Well, thank you. For … making it happen. For making me feel so comfortable, and for giving me so much freedom.”

“You’re very welcome, baby,” he murmured, then leaned over to deliver a long, slow, heated kiss, his hand rising to the side of her breast, his thumb brushing across the peak—and as usual, such attention to her nipple shot straight to her pussy.

“Hey! Yeah, you two, on the boat! I’m freezing my ass off back here and ready to ski. How about it?”

E
than sat behind the wheel, steering the boat easily up the lake, not far from the shoreline. After skiing—having stuck it out for an admirable half hour, no less—Rogan was back on the speedboat with him and Mira. Sometimes he thought Rogan was crazy, like now, but the guy was usually interesting to have around.

When he thought of the H.O.T. program they’d gone through together, it sometimes surprised him that guys so different in ways both possessed the skills and mindset that made them particularly adept at dealing with hostage situations. During their years of hanging out together with the guys in the H.O.T. program from police academy, he’d learned that Rogan was the kind of person who might sit quietly drinking all evening one night, then the next be completely outgoing and sometimes even outrageous. He could be unpredictable, for sure, and moody, too, but one thing you could count on from Rogan was that he did what he damn well pleased at about any given moment. There was no holding back with him—he followed whims, went after the things he wanted, and lived his life exactly as he chose most of the time.

In ways, Ethan admired that. Hell, you didn’t see Rogan come close to losing the woman he loved because he’d gotten so caught up in his passion for his work. And if Rogan ever did do that, he’d realize it; it would be a conscious decision. But on the other hand, Ethan wasn’t sure how much Rogan really cared about … anything. He seemed to take life in stride—easy come, easy go. He liked being a cop and took pride in catching bad guys—Ethan could say that much about him—but beyond that, he wasn’t entirely sure what made the guy tick.

He thought back to that morning they’d been called in to rescue the little girl in Traverse City. It had felt a little awkward in a way at first, them not being the best of friends and yet having to deal with this together unexpectedly. It had been challenging to figure out who was in charge. And the truth was, the whole time they’d trained together, he’d never seen Rogan display any particular sensitivity or finesse and he’d wondered why the guy had even been selected for the program.

Once they’d reached the house where the girl was being held, though, they’d both automatically started using what they’d learned. And Ethan had seen that what Rogan lacked in finesse he made up for with brute frankness. They’d both talked to the father, a guy named Frank, on the phone, and without even discussing it, they’d fallen into a good cop/bad cop routine, Ethan being the nice guy trying to reason with him and Rogan laying down the law and making it clear there was no way out. And to his dismay at the time, before it was over, Rogan
had
assumed charge of the situation—but by and large, they’d worked well together that day.

Funny, despite serving on the same police force and playing on the same ball team, they’d never really had occasion to work that closely again … until now. Although it was hard to call this work.

Now Rogan sat sprawled in the seat next to his while Mira lay stretched out in front of them on the bow, looking gorgeous and a little wild without her top on. The change he’d seen in her today still astounded and pleased him. It wasn’t that he wanted her to become some reckless woman who would share her body with just anyone—it was that he liked uncovering this exciting new side of her, this
confident
new side. Sex was something to be enjoyed, and he was glad his little weekend party was going so well for her now.

“See that rock?” Rogan pointed to what was actually a large outcropping of sandstone that created a cliff, leading down about twenty feet to the lake. A small, sandy beach lay at one side of its base, while atop it sprouted cedar trees.

“Yep,” Ethan said.

“Looks like a good place to jump in and go for a swim.”

Like earlier, Ethan just gave him a look. “Dude, you can’t be serious.”

“Um, didn’t you get enough of the freezing-cold water a little while ago?” Mira asked from the bow.

“Won’t be as cold there,” he said. “It’s in a cove.”

When Mira looked to Ethan for confirmation, he could only shrug. “It’s true.” He knew for a fact because he’d spent a lot of summer weekends camping along this shore as a kid. And more than one of the H.O.T. reunions over the years had taken place in this area—most of the guys enjoyed the whole hunting, hiking, fishing thing, even if sometimes it really turned into more of just an eating, drinking, bullshitting thing. “Coves are more shallow, so the water there warms up faster in summer. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually
warm
—it just means it’s not
as
cold.”

“You two should come with me,” Rogan suggested.

At which Mira just laughed, as Ethan said, “And why the hell would we do that?”

He grinned. “Get your blood pumping.”

“Mine’s pumping fine, thanks,” Ethan told him with a quick nod.

But not easily thwarted, Rogan looked to Mira. “Come on, babe, how about it? Go jump in with me. It’ll be fun.”

And, predictably, she just looked at him like he must think she was crazy.

“Be one more brave thing you can do this weekend,” he said then, though—and as she gave her pretty brunette head a tilt, Ethan realized the last part might actually have her starting to consider it.

“Is it … even safe?” she asked. “I mean, how shallow is it? And how do you know?”

Ethan had driven the speedboat slowly closer to the shore just since this conversation had started and now took a closer look at the area. “Water’s plenty deep for jumping,” he observed, “and the ledge juts out enough that you wouldn’t be in danger of hitting the wall or anything.” Then he raised his eyebrows at her, smiling. “But you’re not seriously gonna let him talk you into that, are you?”

Now Mira was studying the sandstone cliff carefully—Ethan saw her eyes travel from the top of it down to the water, as if imagining the descent. And instead of answering his question, she simply said, “I’ve never done anything like that, never jumped into water off anything higher than a diving board.”

“Well, now’s your chance,” Rogan prodded.

And she gave him a suspicious smile. “How cold will it
really
be?”

He held out his hands. “Do I look like a Magic 8 Ball, babe? I don’t know for sure. Just less cold than when I was skiing, and that’s less cold enough for me.”

“You just have to be ready for it,” Ethan warned her. If she was really contemplating this, she needed to be prepared. “It’ll shock your body when you go in—you just have to ignore that and get back to the top. And then get the hell back out if you know what’s good for you,” he finished with a laugh.

“Hmm …” she said, still examining the small clifflike structure, clearly trapped by indecision.

“Tell you what,” Rogan said. “We can even jump together if you want. I’ll hold your hand if it’ll make you feel better.”

Now she bit her lip, gazing thoughtfully at Rogan for a moment—before she looked back to Ethan. “I … think I want to do this.”

He just lowered his chin, cast her a grin. “Really?”

She answered with a nod.

“I think you’re a little crazy—both of you. But far be it from me to try to talk you out of it.”

From there, he drove them closer to the shore until they neared a thin ribbon of sand to one side of the rock wall. Rogan hopped out into the shallow water without a care as Ethan let the boat idle and then stood to help Mira over the side into Rogan’s arms.

Damn, it should probably feel weird to be delivering my nearly naked girlfriend into another guy’s embrace.
But it didn’t. Not this weekend. This weekend, everything was different.

The boat continued idling in the water as Ethan watched them make their way onto the narrow beach area, and again he took in just how lovely she was, the tips of her long hair wet and curling now as it spilled down her bare back.

Neither had taken shoes, so it looked like slow going as they picked their way up the incline that led to the ledge at the top. Though soon enough Rogan called down to where Ethan sat waiting in the boat, “There’s a small trail. We’re not the first ones to get this idea.”

When the two reached the top, they stood talking for a minute—Ethan couldn’t hear them, but he guessed Rogan was playing cheerleader and probably also giving her instructions. Even from that distance, he couldn’t help but sense a true … newness in her. In fact, he found it downright exhilarating just to watch her. There was something starkly beautiful about seeing her in only those bikini bottoms out in the wild.

He watched as Rogan took her hand, holding on to it as they stood getting ready to jump. At moments, he did wonder if he’d been taking some kind of chance by bringing her old boyfriend here—it would be impossible
not
to wonder. But every time the thought occurred to him, he remembered that he trusted their love enough not to have those kinds of fears.

That’s when Rogan and Mira stepped up near the sandstone edge and a few short seconds later took off with a running start and jumped.

There was something just magnificent and astounding about her suddenly being bold enough to leap from a cliff, and with her top off, no less. He watched, both excited and anxious as she plunged into the blue water, thinking how cold it must be and that she might be enduring a second or two of fear right now—but he knew she could handle it.

Still, he breathed a sigh of relief, even letting out a small laugh when her head popped back up through the water’s surface, Rogan’s followed a second later, a few feet away. She appeared a little breathless—but then she smiled. “Did you see me?” she called happily to Ethan.

“Yep, I saw. You’re completely amazing me right now, by the way!” he yelled back. Then watched as she began to swim in the direction of the small beach.

“But Rogan lied—this water is freezing!” she yelled over her shoulder, clearly rushing toward the sand.

A moment later, she rose up out of the lake, the water sluicing from her skin as she got to her feet, and she soon stood on the beach looking cold and soaking wet and gorgeous.

And as Rogan followed after her, quickly reaching the sand, as well, Ethan heard him say, “Damn, babe, you’re a tougher chick than I thought.”

Yeah, she was.

And as she leaned her head back then to soak up the sun, a big smile still brightening her face, Ethan thought her no less than breathtaking. And he suffered the urge to be with her right now on that little stretch of sand. He wanted to give her a hug; he wanted to kiss those wet, berry-colored lips.

And he couldn’t help wondering, as Rogan approached her, if he felt the same way, if he was as spontaneously drawn to her right now as Ethan was.

That’s when he noticed her hobbling a little, though, and then sitting down in the sand. “What’s up, honey? What’s wrong?” he shouted.

“Not sure. Foot hurts,” she called back.

Damn. He cupped a hand to his mouth. “Stay where you are. I’m coming over.” And as he drove the speedboat closer to shore, nosing the bow up onto the sand, he saw Rogan sitting down with her, lifting her ankle in his palm and beginning to examine the bottom of her foot.

“See anything?” Ethan yelled to Rogan as he anchored the boat.

With his eyes still on the sole of her foot, Rogan said, “Yep—looks like she’s got herself a good-size splinter.” Then he lifted his gaze toward Ethan. “Bring the first aid kit. But might not be able to do anything for it right here—gonna need a set of tweezers.”

Ethan grabbed the little first aid box the boat had come equipped with, then hopped over the side into knee-deep water—shit, it was cold!—and made his way up on to the sand. “How bad does it hurt, baby?” he asked, kneeling next to her.

“Bad when I put weight on it. It’s fine when I’m sitting down, though.” Only then she shot Rogan a look. “Except for when he keeps poking and prodding at it.”

He still held her foot. “Had to get a look at it,” he told her defensively.