Fool Me Once (Codie Snow #1): A Romantic Suspense Series Page 5

  Chapter Seven

  CODIE ALLOWED HERSELF to enjoy Pete’s sensual kiss with everything in her. She hadn’t realized till just that moment that she’d been tense. Maybe the evening’s events had stressed her out more than she realized.

  Maybe she should give up the fool notion of being in law enforcement.

  For now, though, that thought floated away as Pete’s tongue lightly brushed her bottom lip, teasing her senses. Part of her thought she should pull away, because this activity was blurring the professional barrier, but the selfish part of her—the part of her that had been increasingly turned on by this old flame throughout the night—wanted to instead hold him close.

  It was then that she noticed the fingers of her left hand had wrapped around his shirt—the uniform he wore for work, a starchy-feeling, thick cotton thing that she desperately wanted to yank off him.

  But she didn’t know his intentions. It was then that she loosened the grip of both hands, but she still allowed herself to relish the taste of his lips and tongue on hers. And there was no way in hell she could control the pounding of her heart in her chest, any more than she could control the way her blood pressure was spiking in response to this guy.

  She drew his tongue in her mouth for a deeper kiss, all while realizing it would be smart to call a halt to this action right now. She knew she would now have a hell of a time riding in his cruiser, thinking about him in not-so-nice-girl ways.

  Yeah. Really naughty thoughts.

  Oh, hell. They had to stop. Right. This. Second.

  When the kiss ended, she slid her right hand from his neck to his chest and then gently pushed against him. Their lips broke apart and she said, “Pete, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

  There was that all-American grin, reminding her just how much she’d adored him in her youth. “You seemed to like kissing me just now.”

  She let out a small breath, unable to stifle her own smile. “I liked it too much.”

  “There’s no such thing. Come here.” His hands around her waist pulled her close once more and he laid his lips on hers again. This time, though, he allowed his fingers to drift down as his hands slowly cupped her ass and pushed her more into him—if that was even possible. Her eyes closed and she let herself enjoy the kiss again. When he stopped, he let her go slowly, teasing her once more, and he even took a small step back.

  It was weird. Even though there was now a gap between their bodies, she could still feel his warmth.

  And those stupid sweatpants. She could feel them trying to fall off her slender hips again. She grabbed them with one hand and caught her breath, trying to solidify her thoughts. Before she could speak, though, Pete said, “Okay. Lunch, I guess, and then back to work.”

  Codie blinked. “So that’s it?”

  Another captivating grin. “What do you mean?”

  She could feel her eyes grow wide. “You get me all hot and bothered and then that’s it. Back to work?”

  It was almost imperceptible, but she could see how he cocked his head slightly. Hmm. She knew he was confident to the point of being cocky, but was he signaling that he couldn’t read her? How was that possible? This guy—a cop, trained to read people—was having a hard time sensing her emotions?

  If she’d been wearing panties, they’d have been soaked, for heaven’s sake. How could he not know?

  “That’s what you’re here for, right? The ride-along? And, besides, you said kissing you wasn’t a good idea.”

  She pursed her lips to stifle a smile and then said, “Jesus, Pete. It doesn’t matter what I said.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “That’s not what we’re taught. No means no, remember?”

  Codie swallowed. “I didn’t say no. I just mentioned that it might not be a good idea, but…yeah. I want you.” Whoa. She actually said it.

  Immediately, Codie wondered if she’d stepped out of bounds. Pete might not have been able to read her, but that went both ways. She thought maybe he was feeling the same way she’d been—that they were old lovers and the embers still glowed down deep, and now that they were older and maybe wiser, why not see if the chemistry was still there? Aside from the awkwardness they’d experienced early on as kids—when she gave him her virginity and then as they began exploring their budding sexuality—their bodies had been compatible, even when their minds hadn’t.

  Now, though, she wasn’t so sure. She could see in Pete’s eyes some kind of struggle. Yeah, she’d definitely misread the situation. Shit. Talk about awkward. And there was no graceful way to correct any of that. All she could do would be to apologize and then ask him to take her home.

  While she was trying to formulate just how to say all that, Pete pulled her close again. Okay, so she hadn’t misread him. Not by a long shot. And as she felt him grow hard against her before picking her up so she could wrap her legs around his torso before the damned sweatpants slipped again, she let him carry her to his bedroom.

  Her curiosity got the best of her when he flipped on the light switch and set her on her feet. He was kissing her neck and she turned her head to the side, allowing him full access to the delicate skin there…but she opened her eyes. She knew he’d been in a long-term relationship with his last girlfriend (she couldn’t remember if they’d been engaged or not), but she was hoping to see all trace of her gone.

  So far, so good. No pictures on the headboard announcing her absence.

  Pete’s hand was splayed against her hip, underneath the t-shirt and beginning its journey up. Her stiffening nipples eagerly awaiting his touch pulled her away from investigating his digs. She got in the game then and brought her hands around to the front of his coarse uniform shirt and began prying the buttons out of the fabric. She almost felt like a little kid opening a present. What the hell did Pete’s pecs and abs look like nowadays? He hadn’t been a slouch in high school, but she imagined he’d be even yummier today.

  The loose sweatpants dropped of their own accord, leaving her entire bottom half exposed. Kind of made things a little easier, she supposed, and it definitely made her aware of how wet she was between her legs, but it made her feel slutty.

  Uh…once Pete’s fingers grazed her bare nipple, that didn’t matter. She sucked in a little breath as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

  Holy shit. When had Pete become such an amazing lover? Guess she had to thank his ex.

  He had her engine completely primed, so much so that she was fumbling with the bottom button on his shirt. Pull it together, Snow. Pete wasn’t going to find her skills impressive if she continued acting like an astonished little girl.

  Focus. Underneath the uniform shirt was something else—a t-shirt, she thought—so she pulled the shirt off his shoulders. His cooperation was necessary and she almost groaned when he removed his hand from her breast, but he pulled off the white tee as well before cupping her cheeks and drawing her into a hard, passionate kiss. His lips and tongue had been teasing and toying with her before, but now he meant business.

  God, he tasted amazing.

  So there was no sense wasting time. His fingers were teasing her nipple again and she ran her hands up his chest. So hard, so firm, and responsive to her touch. It wasn’t as cool in his bedroom as it had been in the kitchen, but it felt like the little hairs on his chest were standing on end.

  Maybe it was mutual excitement.

  So that meant it was time to let her lips explore too. She began kissing along his jaw and down his throat as she trailed her fingers down his abdomen until she reached the waistband of his pants. There was a belt that had to be contended with first and it was then that she felt him move his hands to her back. His touch felt like fire against her skin but she tried to ignore it so she could concentrate on getting the belt unbuckled.

  As she worked the button on the pants, she could feel his cock straining against the fabric—that was all for her, all because of her, and based on the way he’d been kissing and touching her, she knew he was going to feel amazing inside her.


  He’d better have a condom.

  Inside, though all the clothing hiding him from her, she glided her hand…until she found what she’d been seeking—not that he was hard to find, but she had to tease, and she brushed the back of her fingernails along his shaft.

  Would be much easier off.

  A small noise formed in his throat, letting her know she was on the right track, and he squeezed her ass cheeks in his hands, pushing her into him so that she couldn’t move her hand about freely anymore. She could feel him kicking off his shoes and then, before it fully registered, she realized he had turned her around and was lowering her to the bed.

  He was holding himself up on one arm over her as he drew her bottom lip back into his mouth when she felt his other hand brush her knee before trailing up her thigh. Her pussy clenched then, aching for his touch. She drove her fingers into his hair and kissed him hard, needing to feel something with force. The roughness of their lips smashing into each other helped distract her from the painful slowness of his fingers below, and she was able to keep herself from begging to feel him immediately.

  His hand paused just centimeters from her pussy and she drew her fingernails down his back. By the time he moved a finger to her slit, searching for the throbbing nub pleading for his attention, she had her hands on his ass, wanting to guide him inside her. Instead, she felt herself lose all focus as he slid over her clit. “Oh,” she breathed.

  “Like that?”

  She muttered something incoherent, unable to concentrate on anything else. After a few seconds, though, Pete paused and opened the top drawer in the nightstand beside the bed. Good. A condom. She wouldn’t have to tell him the merits of one…not that she could have at this point. A minute or so ago, yes, but now she was his helpless slave.

  While he messed with taking the condom out of its wrapper, she decided to help by making sure he was completely warmed up. She took his cock in her right hand and rubbed down the shaft until coming to the tip. She could feel a small bead of moisture peeking out and she smeared it into the entire head, causing Pete to let out a loud breath. In seconds, he was paused, enjoying her attention far too much to make her quit just because he wanted to don a pesky condom.

  But she wouldn’t get any satisfaction as long as he was waiting, so she traced a finger back down his shaft until her hand reached his body. She slid her hand away as if inviting Pete to do what he needed to. He was no idiot and he had his cock covered shortly thereafter, but then he lowered himself between her legs and teased her once more, touching her with his hardness without actually entering her. She felt herself tilting her pelvis, lifting her ass off the bed, more than meeting him halfway in her desperation. She opened her eyes and looked at him, catching a twinkle in his gaze before he slammed his lips into hers while entering her below.

  That was almost her undoing, but she clenched against him and matched his motion. He moved slowly at first but built to a crescendo. Her breathing grew rapid and shallow and she knew nothing except the delightful friction below.

  Until the world came crashing down around her in beautiful ecstasy.

  * * *

  Holy hell. Codie’s world had just been rocked hard. She didn’t remember Pete being that good a lover when they were kids.

  Of course, she probably hadn’t been the greatest, either.

  She let out another long, slow breath as her heartbeat slowed and she rested her head on his chest. He smelled really nice. And, yeah, he might have been in good shape back when he’d played football for the Dalton Tigers, but he was hard and tight all over now. So many rock hard places for her fingers to explore.

  Slade who?

  She pressed her lips into Pete’s pec and then looked up at him in the dim light of his bedroom. She felt sleepy now. Pete might have been used to working graveyards, but Codie was a day person. It was sometime after two in the morning and, after such a busy, tense night, she was feeling tired. “When do you have to go back on patrol?”

  He’d had his left hand tucked under his head while his right arm held her close to him. He slid the left hand out from under his head and held his wrist up so he could look at his watch. After squinting at the dial, he said, “About ten minutes.”

  She felt herself frown and tried to hide it. Forcing her eyes to open wider—trying to fake wakefulness—she said, “Guess we’d better get up then.”

  Pete grinned so that one of his dimples showed. He stroked her hair and said, “Just rest your head a few more minutes. We got time.” Wow. He—no, that. Yes, that. The meticulous attention to her. How many times in the past had she and Slade finished making love, only to have him either zonk out immediately or start checking his emails or get back to perusing some brief? Yeah, she loved that being driven was a huge part of who Slade was, but she was really enjoying being the only thing Pete seemed to care about—if only for a moment.

  She dozed off while he stroked her hair, lulling her into a deep, restful sleep, and it wasn’t until she heard him moving around in the bedroom that she stirred—and even then, she struggled to half open her eyes. “Oh, crap. Gimme a minute.”

  “No, you just sleep. I can catch the bad guys without you.”

  “But—”

  “Shh.” He kissed the top of her head and said, “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back later.”

  He didn’t need to convince her. She was out like a light before he closed the front door.

  Chapter Eight

  CODIE FELL INTO a deep sleep but managed to awaken a little when she heard Pete making noise as he walked in the front door. She forced her eyes open and squinted at the clock beside the bed. It was almost seven-thirty, so she imagined he was done for the evening. She could barely believe she hadn’t awakened—or even budged—since he’d left hours earlier.

  She kept dozing off but after a few more minutes, she heard Pete start the shower and then drifted back into a deeper sleep, so it seemed like only seconds passed before he was back in bed with her and pulling her close to his warm torso. He kissed her earlobe before whispering, “You didn’t miss much. The most exciting part of the night is usually the beginning of the shift.”

  She’d been considering sleeping a little longer and then bailing, but his firm body holding her close—and smelling fresh to boot—made her change her mind. “You’re just saying that so I feel better.”

  He chuckled. “Nah. But if you don’t believe me, we can schedule another ride-along next week.”

  “Hmm. We might have to do that.”

  “I’ll ask for a longer lunch break too.”

  She laughed before falling asleep once more.

  * * *

  “You what?” Codie stood next to her best friend and roommate Matthew Parsons while they waited in line to order sub sandwiches for lunch.

  Codie raised her eyebrows. Her friend tended to be a little dramatic on occasion. Okay—a lot dramatic. “You heard me.”

  “How the hell did that even happen?” Matthew was chiding her but smiling at the same time. She knew her gay bestie all too well. He was protesting too much while actually wanting all the dirty details—Codie already knew it. They’d been friends for far too long. And he’d likely get it all out of her before the end of his lunch break.

  “You know. Shit just happens.”

  The girl at the counter said, “What’ll it be?”

  “Oh.” Codie turned from Matthew to face the girl ready to make her sandwich. He was just going to have to wait, because there was a huge line behind them. So Codie began giving her order to the girl while Matthew was soon helped by another person behind the counter. In less than five minutes, they were sitting in a booth, ready to eat potato salad and sandwiches while sipping iced tea.

  “So…dish.” Matthew smiled at her, his hands laced in front of him, indicating that he wasn’t even going to touch his food until she began telling him her story. Why he always needed the dirty details was beyond her. She’d heard more tales over the past several years about gay s
ex than she’d have ever dreamed possible, but Matthew made everything fun, from work to friendships to his crazy sex life. His normally blonde hair was dyed jet black at the moment, but next week it might be apple red or full of blue streaks. She blamed his boss, who—in spite of expecting professionalism—had no issues with Matthew’s eccentricity in regard to fashion and appearance. Codie stuck a fork in her potato salad but had no intentions of taking a bite yet. Matthew enjoyed the buildup just as much as he loved the actual storytelling, so she was prolonging it a bit. She looked up in his sparkling blue eyes, his movie star chin set firmly as if he wasn’t planning to budge.

  And she knew he wouldn’t. Not till the tale was told.

  Playing the game, she added a nonchalant lilt to her voice. “There’s not much to tell, Matthew. We, uh…we did the deed.”

  “Wonder what my boss is gonna think about that.”

  Well, that statement alone took the air out of her balloon. What would Slade think indeed? And should she care?

  She rolled her eyes but quelled her tongue, trying to decide exactly how she wanted to respond to Matthew’s statement. After all, he’d been wanting all the dirty details, but bringing up her ex-boyfriend wasn’t the way to do it. Matthew was the only reason why she and Slade had ever met in the first place. Slade Sheppard—attorney at law, one of Dalton’s best—had hired Matthew as a receptionist/paralegal when her friend had been a freshman attending the local community college. One night a few months later, Slade had been celebrating a big win with his staff of two, and Matthew had invited Codie along for the tiny party. It had been calculated, Codie had learned later. Misguided, yes, but Matthew had been certain Slade and Codie were soulmates.

  She wasn’t convinced…although, when they were together, it often seemed like magic.

  But Slade could be a bit of a dick and aloof at times, and Codie was tired of putting up with it. They were currently not dating—so she could play the field with a clear conscience. “I don’t give a shit what your boss thinks.”