Page 20 of Ember (Royal Harlots: Yonkers, NY Chapter #1)

S hep wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do with April once he got her home.

The crazy thing was, he was on duty tonight to sit and watch her outside her townhome.

What was he supposed to do, drop her off at her front door, tell her it was nice to meet her, and then sit in his truck and stalk her the rest of the night?

He loved his job, and he loved protecting innocent people.

The problem with protecting April was that he didn’t know if she was innocent or not.

He wasn’t sure if she was someone who needed his protection or if she was someone he needed to protect others from.

Either way, she was his job right now, and he was damn good at his job.

He worked hard to get where he was in such a short time.

It was almost three years ago that he decided to join the local police academy.

He got a degree in criminal justice, and his mom was hoping that he’d become a lawyer, but that was never in his heart.

He had known since he was a young boy that he wanted to become a police officer, and that decision seemed to disappoint his parents more than he ever wanted to.

He just followed his dreams, and he wished his parents could accept that.

After he graduated from the academy, he was offered a job in Tennessee, and he jumped at the opportunity.

It was not only a great offer, but it was a good excuse to leave Alabama.

Things with his mom were a little rocky, and he was ready to put some distance between his family and himself.

His brothers—Drew and Ryan, had both settled down and were popping out kids like they were in competition with each other.

His little sister, Maddie, was in her last year at the University of Alabama.

He was always the black sheep of his family.

Being the youngest boy, he never seemed to find his niche in his family’s dynamic.

So, he packed up all his shit and moved two hours away.

He bought a little fixer-upper log cabin, out in the middle of nowhere, and he was never happier.

He tried not to look over in her direction, but when April heaved a deep sigh and started fidgeting, he couldn’t help but glance over at her.

She was gorgeous with her long brown hair and fire engine red lipstick that she painted on her pouty lips.

He wanted to kiss and lick all her lipstick off while wrapping her long ponytail around his hands.

Yeah, he knew that he was fucked, but watching her for five months hadn’t done much to curb his libido and desire for a woman that he wasn’t sure he could even trust.

April must have taken his glance as an invitation to start up a conversation. Shep guessed that continuing with the silent treatment was too much to ask.

“Um,” April squeaked and cleared her throat, “I appreciate you driving me all the way back to Tennessee.”

“Yeah,” Shep’s throat felt a little dry, “It’s not a problem. As you know, I live in the same town.” Shep hadn’t felt this nervous talking to a girl since he was in high school.

“Well, it’s a small world,” April seemed like she didn’t know what to say to him, either.

She started fidgeting again, looking out her window.

He felt like a heel, making her so nervous.

He knew that he could do better to help ease her nerves without blowing his cover.

As far as she knew, he was just Drew’s little brother.

“So, tell me about your design business.” Maybe he could get some information from her to help with his investigation. Of course, everything she would tell him would have to be off the books. It wasn’t like he could formally question her and have any of it hold up in court.

April pulled her attention from the landscape and smiled at Shep, taking his breath away.

“Thank you for that,” she reached across his center console and covered his hand with hers.

He immediately felt sparks shoot up his arm, and he wanted to pull away, but he needed her to be comfortable, so he wrapped his hand in hers and squeezed.

“I’m feeling a little out of sorts lately; a little nervous.

Thanks for trying to strike up a conversation.

” She squeezed his hand in return and turned her attention to the passing landscape again.

“I guess you could say that I’ve just been a little on edge lately.

Life just isn’t going like I planned.” Shep loved the little southern twang that played with her voice when she talked to him—sexy.

He loved a country girl. God, he needed to just get laid and get it out of his system.

Otherwise, April was going to turn into trouble that he didn’t need.

“I’m sorry to hear that, April.” Shep caught himself rubbing his thumb over her little, soft hand that he held in his, and he froze. April seemed to sense his tension, pulling her hand back to rest on her lap.

“Business is going well,” So, she was going to keep things formal?

“As you know, I just finished up most of your brother’s house.

I hope that Jenna likes it. I know that she wants to become a designer.

I just hope I didn’t step on her toes with what I did to her home.

Ryan and Karlie came up with the idea to have me do the main living room, master bedroom, and kids' rooms. I guess with all of their little ones,” April sighed, “Jenna doesn’t have a whole lot of time for decorating. ”

This time, Shep couldn’t help himself; he was the one to reach across and take April’s hand in his, linking their fingers. She seemed to feel the same longing that he had for what his brothers found with their women.

“So, is there someone special in your life? Do you have any kids?” He already knew the answer, but he needed to pretend to be ignorant when it came to April Magness.

“Well, no. Would you be holding my hand if you thought that I had a husband or kids?” Good point, she seemed like a smart girl.

“Um, no. I just assumed that since you grabbed my hand first, you were single.” April seemed to accept his reasoning, but boy, was it hard to pretend that he hadn’t watched this beautiful woman for the past five months. She had even played some major roles in his late-night fantasies.

“So, how about you, Shep?” He couldn’t help but freeze, like a deer in the headlights. He didn’t want to talk about himself. He couldn’t go with the truth, but lying to her wouldn’t be easy. “Do you have anyone special in your life?” she asked.

Well, that one was easy to answer, “No,” he breathed.

“How can a good-looking guy, like yourself, not have anyone special?” She seemed surprised by his relationship status; his mother would approve of April. “I mean, look at you—seriously, no one?”

Shep checked his reflection in his rear-view mirror, making sure that she was seeing the same guy he saw every morning. He wasn’t ugly, but all he could see was someone tired and with no promise of sleep anytime soon; his reflection likely wouldn’t change.

April laughed, pulling his attention away from his reflection, “You seemed confused, Shep. You don’t see it?

I mean those baby blues of yours with that light brown hair, a girl would love to run her fingers through—totally hot.

And your body- how many times a day do you work out?

Your arms are almost the size of my thighs, and I’m guessing you have a six-pack under that t-shirt? ”

He could feel his face heat and knew that he was blushing. Seriously, he was like a fucking schoolgirl. April laughed again. “Well, I’m happy that I am so amusing,” he growled with a serious scowl. “Geeze, you’re not too shy about telling people what you think, Sweetheart.”

Now it was April’s turn to blush, and Shep couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I just call them like I see them, Shep. And you’re hot.”

Yeah, he needed to change the subject because her talking about how she noticed his body only made him want her more.

It was nice to be noticed for a change. His life seemed to be a revolving cycle of the gym, work, food, more work, and sometimes sleep.

He hadn’t had a soft, warm female under or over him, for that matter, for about six months now.

His poor dick had probably forgotten what a pussy felt like.

At the thought, his underused appendage seemed to stand up and take notice of April—yeah, down boy.

“So, what do you do for a living?” April’s change of subject grabbed his attention, and he felt a split second of panic.

Now, he couldn’t tell her the truth because she would most certainly bolt.

He’d been trained to be undercover, but lying to April felt wrong.

She seemed too open and honest with him.

But he couldn’t forget that this woman was probably trouble.

“I own a construction company.” The lie rolled a little too easily off his tongue. It was his go-to cover since he had worked construction in high school and college; he would least know what he was talking about if someone asked too many questions.

“Huh- I didn’t expect you to be in construction.

” April was studying him, and he feared that she could see through his lie.

“I think I imagined you being something more—heroic.” April’s blush was adorable.

“I mean, I was thinking more along the lines of a fireman, EMT, or even police officer.” She shrugged, “Do you like working in construction?”