In the Line of Duty (First Responders 2)

He took the tube from her hand and knelt on the towel behind her. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body as he buffered her from the wind. Her breath started to come in shallow gasps as he gently swept her hair over her shoulder, leaving her back bare.

He squirted the cream on her back, the cold of it making her catch her breath, and he laughed softly.

But neither of them laughed as his wide hand smoothed the cream over her skin. He took his sweet time about it and she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his fingers trailing over her shoulders and spine. She dropped her head, felt her pelvic muscles contract and her nipples tighten as he pressed deep into her flesh. The sunscreen had been worked in long ago. Now it was just…

Foreplay.

She wasn’t quite ready for that.

She shrugged off his hands and forced a smile. “Thanks, Jake.”

“Do you mind sharing? I didn’t bring any.”

She handed over the tube and ran her fingers through her hair. He was going to ask, wasn’t he? For her to return the favor. Could she? Her hands itched to touch him. It would be a huge mistake. But to decline…well, that would speak volumes, wouldn’t it? He’d know then. Know that he affected her far more than she’d like. Know that his kiss had been the tastiest thing to cross her lips in ages.

“Do my back?” he requested, looking at her with a wide-eyed innocence that didn’t fool her in the least.

“Turn around,” she ordered, and took a breath.

She put a dollop of lotion in her palm and rubbed her hands together, and then went to work smoothing the cream over his back. Heaven help her, he had muscles. Lots of them, hard curves and ripples over his shoulders and back while the skin there was soft and supple. She skimmed her fingers over his ribs—after all, how many chances would she have to legitimately touch him this way? She smoothed her way up over his lats and around to the front of his shoulders. On the right side she felt a pucker in the skin and her fingers paused for a moment, examining it briefly by touch.

“What’s this?” she asked, even though she already suspected the answer.

He pulled away and shrugged. “Aw, shucks, ma’am. That’s nothing but an old army flesh wound.”

She frowned. “You’re making a stupid joke about it.”

He shrugged again. “What else am I supposed to do? It’s healed up, and I’m fine except for the scar.”

“How did it happen?”

He gave her a hard stare. “The stupid joke means you’re not supposed to ask that.”

“I’m asking anyway. How’d you get shot, Jake?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Who said I got shot?”

She tried not to get frustrated. “I know what a gunshot wound looks like. I’m a cop, remember?”

“Yeah, I think I forgot that for a while out there.”

Ouch. But then again, this could all be part of his divert-Kendra-from-the-truth plan.

“If it’s too hard, all you have to say is that you don’t want to talk about it.”

He met her gaze earnestly. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he replied so quietly that she could barely hear him over the roar of the ocean.

“Then show me what’s in the cooler,” she suggested, leaning back on her towel and resting her weight on her hands. She didn’t wa

nt to press him. She knew well enough that some things were too hard to talk about. Especially on a first date…

She sat back. First date? What about only date? A first date assumed there would be more, and she didn’t intend to make Jake a habit.

He unzipped the insulated case and began taking out food. “Nothing fancy. Toasted baguette and bruschetta, cold chicken, pasta salad. And dessert that does not come in a coffee cup.” He laid out the offerings one by one, followed it with two plates and cutlery. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want to drink. I’ve got a bottle of white wine here, but I brought some iced tea too.”

She was glad there was an alternative. “I’ll have the tea, I think. It’s…” She faltered then caught her breath. “It’s a little early for wine.”

He shrugged and took out a sealed pitcher of iced tea. “Suit yourself.”