Sharp Edges (19 page)

“You don’t have
much for furniture,” I said, glancing around his living room. There was a black leather sofa and a large sixty-inch television and a coffee table. No stylish lamps or end tables, no paintings, and definitely no interior decorations. 

“I also hav
e a king-sized bed and a dining table in my kitchen. What more does a bachelor need?” he answered with a cocky grin.

“Good point
.”

We
walked through the living room straight into the kitchen, which was clean and simple.

“
Have a seat,” he said, pulling out one of his oak dinette chairs.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you like chicken-almond croissant sandwiches?”

“Sounds lovely
,” I said.

“So,” he said, grabbing a couple of plates from his cupboard. “Besides having sex with me, what else is scaring the hell out of you?”

I laughed out loud. “I’m not scared of having sex with you.”

“Bullshit,” he teased.

“I’m not scared, Jake.”

He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter.
“Then prove it.”

I shook my head
and smiled. “You’re incorrigible.”

He c
huckled. “I’ve been called worse.”

“I can imagine
.”

He stared at me for a
minute and then turned back to the sandwiches. “So, tell me what’s on your mind.”

I folded my hands on the table and stared down at th
em. “Someone broke into my bedroom the other night.”

His head whipped around.
“What?”

I
looked up at him. “It was a stranger, a man. He threatened me and my children.”

“
Why in the hell didn’t you tell me this before?!” he hollered.

He was very angry but I understood why, especially being a cop.
“He said he’d kill me.”

His eyes blazed with fury
. “Tell me
exactly
what happened.”

I went over everything, except
for the part about buying a gun. I wasn’t sure how he’d react, being a cop and all.

“You think it was the g
uy from the other night? Tina’s husband?”

I no
dded. “Well, I think he hired someone to threaten me. The guy in my house was much bigger than Jerry.”

He rubbed a hand over his face and then nodded. “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

My eyes widened. “Take care of it? What does that mean, exactly?”

He shrugged.
“The less you know, the better.”

“What?”

“Lindsey, this guy is in law enforcement. Chances are the asshole helping him is, too. I’m going to have to take care of both parties involved.”

My eyebrows shot up.
“Take care of?”

He smiled grimly.
“Like I said, the less you know, the better.”

“You’re not talking about murder?”
I whispered hoarsely.

He didn’t answer me.

“Jake?”

His face darkened. “That guy threatened you with a knife. Now he’s terrorizing you in other ways. He needs to be stopped and chances are he won’
t do it; even if I ask nicely.”

“
But,” I sputtered, still in shock. “Can’t you just
arrest
them?”

He raised his hands.
“Do you have any evidence?”

I sighed. “I guess not.”

He walked over to me and lifted my chin “Don’t go worrying your pretty little head about it. In fact, just forget about this conversation completely.”

I stared at him incredulously
. “Right.”

He turned my chair and then knelt down in front of me. “
Lindsey. I’m not going to promise that someone won’t get hurt. What I am going to promise is that it isn’t going to be you, or your children.”

“I just
can’t condone…”

He put a finger over my lips. “Uh
-uh…forget about everything but the lunch I’m going to serve you.”

I bit the side of my lip
, wondering what kind of man Jake really was. Part of me wanted him to do exactly what he was hinting at, while the other side of me knew that I’d never be able to live with the guilt.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I know what I’
m doing.”

I leaned forward
and stared into his eyes. “Let me get this straight, you’re actually talking about murder?”

“
Well, I never really said ‘murder’, now did I?” he answered, with a straight face.

I tilted my head and nodded.
“Fair enough. Then you’ll just make sure they leave me alone without resorting to ‘murder’?”

He smiled evenly
. “I will make sure that your family is safe and that’s all you really need to know.”

I sighed in relief, still
unable to believe the conversation we were having. “Well, thank you.”

“You know, I’m going to expect
a reward.”

I raised my eyebrows.
“Oh really?”

His eyes drifted over my body.
“In fact, now that I finally have you in my lair, I think I’ll collect on it right now.”

Before I could respond, he lif
ted me out of the chair and set me directly on the table top.

“
What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Showing you how ‘good’ being ‘bad’ can feel.”

“I…”

His mouth captured
mine, locking my lips so I couldn’t protest. Then he slid his warm tongue into mine and began exploring my mouth. As our tongues began to tangle, I moaned into his mouth.

He released my lips
. “You’re driving me crazy, you know,” he whispered, sliding his hands under my top. “You’ve consumed my every thought. This has never happened before.”

The next thing
I knew, my shirt was over my head and on the floor.

“Really?”
I answered, staring up into his smoldering eyes as he pushed me all the way down with my back against the table.

“
Yes, really. Jesus, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured, unclasping the front of my bra. He lowered his mouth and seized one of my nipples, rolling it around with his tongue, sending delicious tingles all the way down to my crotch.

I gasped and slipped
my hands into his hair, pulling and twirling the short strands through my fingers as he moved to the other nipple, teasing and sucking the puckered tip.

“
Hope you don’t mind,” he whispered, moving his hand to the button of my jeans. “but I need to taste you, all over.”

OhmyGod…

Before I could stop him, he pulled my jeans off.

“Jake, wait…” I pleaded, as he
slipped his hand under my panties. “I…Oh,” I gasped, as he slid two fingers inside of me.

“You’re so wet,”
he whispered, rubbing the pad of his thumb on my most sensitive spot.

“Yes,” I breathe
d as he slid my panties to the side and replaced his thumb with his tongue, licking and sucking while I moaned in pleasure. I closed my eyes and gripped the edge of the table with my hands as it began to shake.

Noticing the table wobble, he wrapped
my legs around his neck and pulled me closer to his face.

“Oh…God…” I whimper
ed as his fingers slide in and out of me.

“Say my name,” he demanded, sucking greedily.

“Jake,” I moaned.

“Baby, you taste so good,” he w
hispered, reaching up to caress one of my breasts.

My body was on fire as his tongue danced around my labia and his fingers continued their glorious assault.
I closed my eyes and gripped the muscles of his arms, digging my nails into the skin.

“Fuck
, Lindsey, you turn me on.”

Hearing his
deep, sexy voice say my name brought me over the edge. “Oh, yes!” I screamed as my stomach clenched up and I came longer and harder than I could ever remember. After a few more strokes of his tongue, it became too intense and I tried pushing him away, but he held me down until he was satisfied with the results.

“Wow
,” I breathed as my legs finally stopped trembling.

He
raised his head and gave me a devilish grin. “You know what? I guess I
can
hold my own in the kitchen.”

Before I could agree
, someone rang the doorbell.

“Perfect timing,” he grunted, standing up
.

I scrambled
off of the table and rushed to get my clothes back on. “Were you expecting anyone?” I asked.

He
washed his hands and headed towards the living room. “Nope. Wait right here.”

A minute later, he walked back into the kitchen with a grim expression on his face.

“Who was it?” I asked.

“Couple of cops,” he said.
“They’re looking for you.”

I quickly followed him to the front door where two men dressed in suits stood outside, waiting.

“Are you Lindsey Shepard?” asked the taller of the t
wo, his dark blue eyes regarding me coolly.

“Yes,” I answered, crossing my arms under my chest. “What’s this about
and how in the world did you even know I was here?”

“The neighbor from across the street told
us,” replied the other cop with a smug look on his face. “We weren’t interrupting anything?”

I stared at nosy old Mrs. Hanson who
was watching us from her garden. “We were having lunch, actually.”

The tall detective flashed me his badge. “
Sorry to interrupt your meal. I’m Detective Reed Parker and this is my partner, Dave Franklin.”

I nodded
. “What can I do for you?”

“When was the last time you spoke to your h
usband?” asked Detective Parker. “Scott Shepard.”

Scott? Lord, what has
he gotten himself into now?

“Last night. Around four o’clock.”

He took out a notepad and began writing.

“So
, yesterday around four o’clock was the last time you had any contact with him? Did he happen to say where he was going afterwards?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Detective Parker glanced at Jake again and frowned. “You know, I think it would be better if we interview you alone, Mrs. Shepard.”

“
Can you tell us what’s going on here?” interrupted Jake.

Parker’s lips thinned.
“We’ll get into that momentarily with Mrs. Shepard, although I’m starting to think we should interview you, too, since you’re their neighbor. What was your name?”

“
Jake Sharp.”

Parker frowned. “Jake Sharp?
That name sounds familiar.”

“
It very well might. I work in Narcotics,” said Jake. “The North Central Drug Task Force, to be specific. We’ve probably crossed paths before.”

Parker’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you have I.D.?
”

Jake
reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. “I just moved here a few months ago,” he said, flashing his badge. “Before that, I worked in the Hennepin County Task Force, in Minnesota.”

Parker glanced at the badge and then nodded. “Okay, well I’d definitely like
to talk to you some more. First and foremost, however, Mrs. Shepard, can we take a walk back over to your house to speak in private?”

I nodded.
“Of course.”

“I’m coming with,” said Jake.

Parker held up his hand. “No offense, but we really need to talk to her alone. You understand.”

Jake nodded
, reluctantly. “Fine. But, remember, I’m here if you need me, Lindsey.”

I smiled weakly
. “Okay.”

I could feel Jake’s eyes on me as
I followed the detectives back to my home. It was very obvious that he didn’t like taking orders from anyone, let alone two other cops.

“Would you like some coffee or anything?” I asked, as they followed me into the kitch
en.

Parker shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

“I’m good, too,” said the other cop. He was a short, squat man with a bulbous nose and beady little eyes. Parker, on the other hand, looked more like a television version of an investigator. He was attractive with dazzling blue eyes, wavy blonde hair, and a five o’clock shadow. There was no doubt in my mind that if Darcy was here, she’d be investigating him.