Page 23 of Ember (Royal Harlots: Yonkers, NY Chapter #1)

“Let’s go in, I can hear Mandy barking from here.

You should hold the pizza cause she’s gonna attack me as soon as I walk through the door.

” Shep handed April the pizza box, his fingers brushed hers, and she could feel those damn sparks again.

Every time the man touched her body, it seemed to hum with awareness.

He smiled down at her, and all she wanted to do was go up on her tiptoes and kiss his mouth.

“Later, Honey.” Shep winked down at her and walked into his cabin. Had he just read her mind? She shook off her brain fog and followed him into his house while admiring the way his jeans cupped his tight ass. She tried to keep the pizza out of reach as she tripped over a very jumpy, happy puppy.

∞

Shep knew that he was already in deep with this woman.

When she looked into his eyes and leaned in slightly, he wanted to take her into his front yard.

But he knew from his conversation with Sarge that they were being watched.

Simons followed them back from Alabama. At least he was smart enough not to pull onto Shep’s gravel driveway; April would have surely picked up on their tail.

She wasn’t just beautiful, but she seemed pretty damn smart.

That combo was dangerous, but his dick wasn’t listening to his brain right now.

All he could think about was getting Mandy settled and showing April to his bedroom.

He wanted to lay her across his bed and strip her bare.

He needed to keep it together because after this little date was over, he had a meeting with Sarge, and boy, was that man pissed.

Shep really couldn’t explain, with April sitting on his porch, why the hell he’d brought her back to his place.

He couldn’t tell Sarge that he let his dick make that decision while his brain was malfunctioning.

“I love your place,” April gushed, twirling in a complete circle to take in his small cabin.

“Thanks. It’s small, but I’ve just about got it the way that I want it.

It was a real fixer-upper when I found it a few years back.

The roof was caving in, but I was able to get her back on her feet.

” Shep felt a little on edge having a woman in his cabin.

April was the first woman that he’d ever brought back with him.

That she was his current assignment made the entire situation one complete fuck up.

“Yeah, well, I guess owning your own construction company has its perks.” April couldn’t seem to get enough of his place.

He hated lying to her about his job, but he couldn’t just tell her that he was a detective.

That would open up a whole can of worms that he preferred to keep a lid on.

He liked the idea of getting close to her; he just hated lying to do it.

April was the first woman that he had any interest in, in a very long time.

Sure, it didn’t hurt that he felt like he already knew her from watching her for the past five months.

He could say with certainty that the more he got to know her, the more he wanted to know about her.

Officially, April was a person of interest in the case his department was building against her ex-boyfriend, Malcolm Diggs.

Yeah, he was a real piece of work. It seemed like the man brought trouble with him wherever he went.

Now he was bringing that trouble to Tennessee, and Shep wanted to nail the asshole.

Malcolm Diggs was a loan shark with a temper.

He didn’t just collect the money owed to him; he terrorized the people who owed him money until they paid or ended up dead.

An undercover officer on the force with Shep, Danny White, got too close to Digg’s new operation in Tennessee, and Digg’s killed him.

Shep wanted to take Diggs down so badly, he could taste it, and no one was going to get in his way.

At first, April was just being watched because Sarge thought she would lead them to Diggs.

She left Georgia a few months before Diggs’ activities started in Tennessee, so Sarge felt that maybe she was linked to Diggs’ criminal activity.

Shep never really bought the whole “She’s in on it theory,” but he couldn’t completely rule it out.

He knew that Diggs probably hurt April repeatedly.

She was in and out of the hospital more times than a ninety-year-old woman.

She never pressed charges against the asshole, not even when he broke her arm.

And fuck that bothered him. The woman sitting in front of him didn’t seem like a victim.

She seemed strong and capable. But knowing how Diggs beat her, broke her, and all but destroyed her, made him want to kill the fucker.

He knew that he was probably getting too close to April, but that wasn’t something that he wanted to change, so he would just need to roll with it.

Convincing Sarge to go with his new plan was going to be a challenge.

His boss wanted Shep to drop April off at the nearest corner and walk away like they had never met, but he knew that was going to be impossible now.

He not only met her, but he also wanted her.

He’d just have to convince his boss that getting close to her was a good plan; the best they had in the past five months.

He just didn’t know how to move forward without spooking April.

If he came on too strong, she’d bolt, and they would possibly lose their only lead to Diggs.

On the other hand, if he got close to her and she later found out that he was a detective, she’d hate his fucking guts.

Maybe this plan wasn’t the best. Either way, he’d be screwed.

“Um, can we eat?” April was watching him with those green eyes of hers, and he wanted to do more than serve her pizza.

“Sure, why don’t we sit at the table?” Shep moved into his kitchen and started to get out some plates and glasses for drinks.

“Everything is so neat and tidy. I almost feel like I shouldn’t touch anything.” April pulled a chair out and sat at his little kitchen table.

“Well, Honey, you can touch just about anything in here. I’m not too particular about stuff like that.” Shep set the table and served her pizza. “I hope sweet tea is alright, it’s all I have right now, besides beer.” April was watching him, nodding.

“When you say that I can touch anything, does that include you?” Shep lost his grip on his plate, and it hit the table with a clang.

She laughed, “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.

For some reason, I just like to rattle your chains.

” April was standing next to him, helping him clean up the mess from his pizza falling onto the table.

“I got this,” Shep all but barked. He didn’t like feeling this off-kilter, but boy, the woman seemed to knock him sideways.

He kind of liked that April wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted, but did she want him?

She had sent him some mixed signals on the ride home.

He wasn’t sure if this woman meant what she said or if she was just a tease.

“Time to find out,” Shep turned to April, pulling her into his arms.

“Um,” she squeaked, all confidence gone, “time to find out what?” She stared into his eyes, and he could see that she was a little frightened.

Yeah, Diggs did a number on her. He’d just have to show April that he wasn’t Diggs.

He hauled her against his body and sealed his mouth over hers.

At first, she seemed nervous, even fidgety.

But when she relaxed against him and sighed into his mouth, he took that as a sign that she was okay with his taking control.

He wrapped her long ponytail around his hand and tugged gently, giving himself a better angle.

He licked and kissed his way into her mouth, and damn, she felt right.

He growled in frustration, breaking their kiss.

Taking April on his kitchen table wasn’t part of the plan.

He just didn’t expect her to be so sweet and willing.

She smiled up at him, breathless from their kiss, and damn if he didn’t kiss her again, this time a little more forcefully than the first. He longed to be able to lay her out on his table and run his tongue all over her hot, naked body.

He wanted to wrap her long legs around his waist and carry her down the hallway to his room.

April moaned, and he seemed to find his senses again.

This time, when he broke the kiss, he moved away from her. He didn’t trust himself not to do exactly what he fantasized about doing to her, all those months that he watched her. “I needed to find out if you were just a tease or not.” Shep sat and waited her out.

“And?” She seemed a little pissed, and damn it was cute the way she thrust her hip out and rested her hand on it.

Yeah, she was a little pissed. It took every ounce of his willpower not to pull her down on his lap.

But that would only allow her to feel his erection, and that just might scare her off. This woman did it for him.

“Don’t be mad, honey. You’ve sent me some mixed signals. I just needed to get them straight. If it makes you feel any better, I think we’re on the same page.” He got up and went around to her side of the table, pulling out her chair.

April plunked down into her seat, “Yeah, and what page is that, Shep?”

“The page where we both want each other.” Shep took his seat and got himself a fresh piece of pizza.

“You should eat, Honey. I’m going to have to cut our evening short.

There’s some trouble on one of my jobs, and I need to go in for a bit.

” Not a total lie. Shep was surprised to see April deflate in front of him.

Was she disappointed that he had to call it an early night?

God, if she only knew that after he left her, he’d be watching her all night, remembering the scorching kiss they just shared.

Yeah, he’d be keeping that little piece of information to himself.

He didn’t think that would come off as not being creepy.

“I can just call a cab,” April almost looked defeated, “I don’t want to put you out.” Shy, unsure of herself, April was back, and that pissed the hell out of Shep. He didn’t know what brought it on, but he knew how to stop it.

“No fucking way, Honey. I’ll drive you home. How else will I get another kiss?” She smiled back at him, her mood seeming brighter.

“So, it’s the goodnight kiss that you’re after, Mr. Jackson? I see how it is.” April laughed, and Shep relaxed. Whatever Diggs did to April, he’d do just about anything to reverse the damage.

“Well, I did like kissing you, Miss Magness. I was hoping to steal another when I drop you off tonight if that’s okay with you.” April nodded and looked down at her pizza.

“Yeah, I’d like that, Shep,” she whispered.

He just hoped Sarge was as compliant as April was. Convincing his boss that he needed to get closer to April wasn’t going to be easy. But, either way, he planned on getting a hell of a lot closer to April Magness, even if that meant giving up the case.