Page 23 of Playing With Forever (Hollow Point #4)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I was losing her, I could feel it.

Every day that passed, Josie was getting more agitated she couldn’t get to Diane and Bella. So far, she’d stayed the course. In the week since she saw Tyler in the parking lot, he’d been spotted three more times.

Josie was taking this as a cry for help.

The police were taking it as something else. The problem was, he wasn’t breaking into cars to steal. He wasn’t vandalizing. He wasn’t being a nuisance. He was trespassing. There wasn’t much anyone could do.

Saul Trapp’s house was under surveillance.

We knew Tyler was living there with him, the problem with that was he was fifteen and legally allowed to choose which parent he wanted to live with.

The other problem was Diane didn’t file to take away Saul’s parental rights or even for sole custody.

She’d banked on her ex being a dickwad criminal and never coming back for his children.

Social Services were involved due to school attendance, but that was a long process, and by the time Saul faced any charges, Tyler would likely be sixteen and could, with parental permission, withdrawl from school.

Unfortunately, in my line of work, I’d seen it all too often—Tyler would follow in his father’s footsteps until he was either buried so far under he’d never find his way to clean again or something would scare the shit out of him and he’d turn straight. There’d be no in between.

Josie was walking the tragic line of hope, and if I didn’t do something soon, I feared she’d fall to the wrong side and disregard everything we’d talked about in the last month.

Something was coming.

I could feel it.

And whatever it was, I had to find a way to talk Josie out of it.

The boys would be over this weekend—they’d keep her mind occupied, and I’d find time to have a quiet word and recruit them to help me keep their mother on the righteous path.

They were staying at Josie’s place since it was still furnished and hadn’t been rented yet.

However, we’d moved all of her clothes and most of her personal items to my house.

I’d been worried about how DJ would react to his mother moving in with a man he’d never met in person.

Shockingly, or maybe not since the man was level-headed and loved his mother beyond reason.

It helped that Kane was all for Josie moving in with me and Lindy.

And Lindy was thriving. Not only did she have Josie full-time, she had Carrie, who, according to Lindy, was the bomb and was going to take her thrifting while she was visiting. And Kane had done exactly what I knew he’d do—he’d fully pulled Lindy into the sibling fold.

Josie had told me Lindy had used Kane’s nickname for her. Since then, I’d heard Lindy call Josie ‘Mamalious’ on more than one occasion. I wasn’t sure who loved it more—Lindy, Kane, or Josie.

I’d suspect Josie if the way her eyes lit up every time my girl switched out her name for the nickname.

Which meant it was me who loved it the most. Anything that made my woman’s eyes alight and made my girl beam, I was all for.

Everything was great.

It was smooth.

Dare I say, it was fucking perfect.

Except it wasn’t.

All was not right in Josie’s world, and it wouldn’t be until she could get to Diane.

Josie stirred next to me, and all thoughts of everything except the sleepy, sexy woman pressed against my side vanished.

For the last three weeks, I’d woken up to some variation of this—Josie cuddled close, her hand resting on my chest, our legs tangled.

Some mornings I woke up and her back was to me, her ass firm against my crotch, our hands clasped tight.

The position might change however she was always close—same as when we fell asleep.

I never imagined myself as someone who would like a woman crowding me when I slept. I hadn’t been that way with Celeste, even in the beginning when shit was good. But with Josie, any time she moved, I moved with her.

“Morning,” Josie sleepily mumbled.

I glanced over at the clock. We had plenty of time until we had to drop her car off for service and get her to work.

“It’s about to be a good morning,” I told her and kissed the top of her head. “Hitch your leg up, baby, I want your pussy.”

Josie shifted and hitched her leg so her knee was resting on my stomach. My hand glided over her ass, down, and skimmed her sex.

“Your choice. You wanna ride me, or do you want me to fuck you?”

She nuzzled her cheek against my chest.

“I want you to fuck me.”

My already stiff dick pulsed.

I dipped a finger inside her, then two, and kept at her until her sex was drenched and her noises turned desperate.

“Hands and knees,” I ordered.

A naked Josie immediately complied.

I took my time, enjoying the view of her ass as I got to my knees behind her.

“Fuck, I love this ass.”

To punctuate the veracity of my claim, I grabbed two handfuls of sweet round ass.

Josie groaned, dropped to her forearms, and wiggled her ass.

Who was I to delay such a pretty invitation?

I let go of her ass—one hand slid up to curl around her hip, the other went to my dick, the tip caught, and in one thrust, I buried myself in Josie’s wet, warm pussy.

“Honey,” she whimpered.

My gaze devoured the soft, smooth skin of her back, the two indentations above her ass, and as I pulled out, my eyes locked onto our connection.

I watched my dick, wet with her excitement, disappear.

I continued to watch as I pulled back out and plunged back in.

Over and over, taking us closer and closer to the edge.

“You ready for more, Josie?”

“Yes.”

My fingers traced the bumps of her spine on their way up to the back of her neck. I bent forward, kissed her shoulder, slid my hand around, and collared her throat.

“Evan.”

“Yeah, baby.”

“I need you to make me come.”

“Do you?” I teased, keeping my thrust slow and shallow.

“Yes,” she hissed.

I didn’t change my pace or the depth, wanting her riding the edge for as long as possible. As soon as she went, she’d take me with her.

“Honey,” she pleaded and tipped her ass.

“You’ve got two choices. Ask me nicely or play with your clit and take it.”

I knew which one my stubborn woman would choose before she shoved her hand between her legs and went after her clit.

Her hips bucked, her breathing came in choppy exhales, and her pussy started rippling.

“So fucking good,” I groaned and drove my cock deep.

“Oh my God,” she gasped.

I lost myself in her moans, in her tight heat clenching around my cock, in her mewls and groans.

Lost in everything that was Josie.

With Josie, there was no isolation, no loneliness, no hiding.

In her, I did not find myself—I was simply a better man.

Josie was drying her hair when I came into the bathroom to deliver her coffee.

I set the mug down on the basin and told her, “Change of plans.”

Her eyes came to mine in the mirror, and she cut off the dryer.

“What’s the change?”

“Lindy’s taking you to drop off your car at the dealership, then taking you to work. I’ll still pick you up.”

“Everything okay?”

“Callout.”

Josie’s eyes flared before she quickly masked it.

I stepped behind her, fitted my chest to her back, and dropped a kiss on her neck. “Ask me.”

“Is it dangerous?” she whispered, the question I saw lingering in her eyes every day when I left for work.

I kept my eyes locked on hers in the mirror. “Yes.”

I heard her suck in a breath through her nose.

“You know the risks every cop faces, Josie. Every time I put on that vest and holster my sidearm, I’m in danger.

What I can say is I’m careful—always. I work with a highly trained and skilled team.

We mitigate as much as we can, but we can’t predict all outcomes.

Criminals don’t want to get caught. When they’re cornered, they’re unpredictable.

But we train hard individually and as a team.

Today’s callout is a raid on a stash house.

I can’t say it’s routine because once something becomes routine, complacency leaks in.

What I can tell you is we’ve performed similar raids hundreds of times.

Something you need to know, every day when I leave this house, my number one priority is coming home to you and Lindy. ”

“You’re right I do know the risks.”

“Don’t hide this shit from me, Josie. If you’re feeling uncertain or scared about my job, tell me, and we'll talk it out.”

“Okay, honey.”

“Mouth, baby. I need to hit the road.”

Josie turned her head to the side and tilted her head back. I gave her a too-short kiss with only a touch of tongue, knowing if I gave her more, I’d be late, and she’d need another shower before she left for work.

I broke the kiss but let my lips linger close to hers.

“Love you, Josie.”

“Love you, Evan.”

I heard the hitch in her voice and smiled.

“I’ll pick you up. Text me when you want me to come.”

“Be as safe as you can be."

"Promise."

Josie turned back to the mirror, picked up her blow dryer, and went back to work on her hair.

For some reason, I couldn’t get my legs to work, couldn’t stop staring at the beauty before me, couldn’t stop myself from taking in all that was Josie standing in our bathroom after hearing her tell me she loved me.

When she caught me staring, she smiled and winked.

For a moment, I was thrown back to that night at the bar when she was schooling the biker at a game of pool.

Nothing but class encased in tight jeans and red spiked heels. I’d been fantasizing about what those heels would feel like spearing my ass when she winked at me.

The realization hit me hard, if she hadn’t winked, I wouldn’t have approached. I would’ve missed out on all of this.

That wink was what had set us on the path of finding each other.

And, of course, Lindy.

My pager in my pocket vibrated, pulling me from my thoughts.

With one last look, and that ball of worry still sitting heavy in my gut, I left.

Twelve hours later, I wished I would’ve deepened that kiss, stood there just a little longer, told her one more time how much I loved her.

But I didn’t.