v Ashley - Golden Trail

He started to roll away from her but she rolled with him, coming up on an elbow in the bed, she planted the other hand firm in his chest and he saw her shadow looming over at him.

“You asked your son to buy me a toothbrush?” she snapped, sounding hilariously disgusted.

“He was out so… yeah,” Layne answered.

She lifted her hand and smacked his shoulder with it, saying on a quiet shout, “Layne!”

He knifed up to sitting and his arms went around her, he twisted and took her down to her back, his torso pinning her to the bed.

When he got her in position, he informed her, “Sweetcheeks, everyone needs a toothbrush.”

“I can’t believe you,” she hissed.

“Am I wrong?”

“You are not to be believed!”

“Baby,” he murmured sounding only slightly less amused then he actually was.

“Layne,” she snapped back sounding probably just as pissed as she actually was.

Even though he couldn’t see her clearly in the dark, they went into stare down. He let this go on for awhile before he used option two, bent his head and kissed her hard. She resisted, he persisted and the minute he got his tongue in her mouth, her body relaxed under his.

He took his fill and enjoyed doing it, almost too much, before he lifted his head and ordered, “Get yourself sorted out, sweetcheeks, I’ll be back with your toothbrush.”

Then he intentionally squeezed the breath out of her so she couldn’t get a shot in by rolling his bodyweight over her, getting out of bed on her side, lighting the lamp on the nightstand and aiming a grin at her lying on her back but up on one elbow, the other hand holding the covers to her chest, glaring at him before he walked out of the room to get her toothbrush.

 When Layne hit the kitchen, he saw Devin sitting at a stool in his wife beater and boxer shorts, a mug of steaming coffee in his hand, his eyes on the News playing low on the TV. They cut to Layne when he appeared and they watched Layne walk to the toothbrush sitting on the island.

The toothbrush Jasper bought Rocky was white and pink. Yes, his son was sharp. As a tack.

Also on the island were two big, white baker’s boxes opened and stuffed full with Hilligoss donuts.

Layne stopped and looked at Devin. “Please tell me you put on your pants when you went to the bakery.”

“Of course, boy, it’s cold out there.”

Thank fuck.

Layne turned to the cupboard with the mugs, making a note to move them to the one over the coffeemaker and he did this in an effort not to think about why in the fuck Devin took off his pants when he arrived home from the bakery, when Devin went on, his tone mulish. “Calais is at the curb.”

“That’s good,” Layne returned, walking his mug to the coffeemaker. “’Cause Rocky’s gonna blow through here in about five minutes and she’s probably gonna take out the garage door when she goes and it’d be a cryin’ shame she damages the Calais, seein’ as you put so much effort into keepin’ it in pristine condition for twenty-five years.”

Without missing a beat, Dev muttered, “Better put my pants on then.”

Layne poured a cup of coffee, spooned in two sugars and was stirring it when he turned and saw Devin sauntering back to the island in wife beater and slacks.

“Remember a time when they left your room in the mornin’ with a smile on their face, boy, you must be losin’ your touch,” Devin remarked.

“Figure you’ll be in town for awhile, old man, it might be good to brace,” Layne advised, dropped the spoon on the counter and took a sip of joe.

Devin’s eyes locked on Layne’s. “We gonna have fireworks?”

Layne dropped his hand holding the mug but held Dev’s gaze. “How easy do you think it is for a man to talk a woman into takin’ a risk on dark and wild?”

“Lotta women not worth that effort,” Dev returned. “Though, the one you got on your hands, boy, it is and it is ‘cause it’s not gonna be easy at all and that means… kaboom!”

Layne walked to the toothbrush and tagged it, saying, “Like I said, brace.”

Then he turned and walked up the stairs and into his room. He found Rocky in the bathroom in her bra, her back to him, zipping up the back of her skirt.

“Toothbrush, sweetcheeks,” he said and she whirled, one arm going to her middle, one arm covering her breasts but not before he saw her bra, too, was deep pink and made entirely of lace.

Christ.

“A moment of privacy, Layne,” she snapped, her eyes full of fire.

Her hair was back in a ponytail and Layne tossed the toothbrush on the bathroom counter, set his mug down and walked up to her. He reached around, wrapped his fist around her ponytail, tugged her head gently back and kissed her hard and closed-mouthed.

When he lifted his head he kept his hand at her ponytail so she couldn’t move.

Therefore, she had to fight her fight verbally. “What was that?” she hissed up at him and he grinned down at her.

“Hot piece of ass in my bathroom wearin’ nothin’ but a sexy bra and a tight skirt after she spent the night pinnin’ me down to the bed, I walk in on her, I’m gonna kiss her.” He gave her ponytail a playful tug. “Just keepin’ it real, sweetcheeks.”

“Don’t call me a piece of ass,” she snapped, definitely pissed.

“Baby,” he replied, not pissed at all.

“And will you stop calling me sweetcheeks?” she asked on a demand.

“No,” he answered.

She glared at him then stated, “I did not pin you down to the bed.”

“Rocky, you were all over me.”

“Was not.”

“You were.”

“Was not!” Her voice was rising.

“Why do you think you got the wakeup call you got, Roc?” he lied through his teeth. “Man wakes up with a woman wrapped around him, he acts on instinct.”

She tugged her hair from his hand and stepped back, forgetting she was only wearing a bra and skirt, she planted her hands on her hips.

“I see us sleeping together is not going to work,” she declared.

“I don’t know,” he grinned, “worked for me.”

She leaned back. “You do know, every cop on the Force thinks of me like a sister? It’s highly unlikely they’ll arrest me for assault and battery.”

Layne couldn’t take it anymore, he tipped back his head and laughed and, since he didn’t have to fight the urge, his arm shot out and hooked her around the waist, yanking her forward roughly so her body slammed into his, he tilted his head forward and shoved his face in her neck so he could laugh there.

“Layne,” she called, her hands on his abs pushing.

“Give me a second, sweetcheeks, I’m tryin’ not to bust a gut here.”

“Layne!” she shouted.

His head came up and he smiled down at her. Then he kept smiling down at her as he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder blades and pulled her closer, trapping her hands between them.

Then he dipped his face close to hers and he whispered, “You’re cute as hell when you get pissed. You always were cute as hell when you got pissed. I used to piss you off just to see you get pissed, I liked it so much.”

Her hands stopped pushing and her lips parted as the fire died out of her eyes and she gazed up at him with that intensity in her eyes.

He dropped his head so his forehead was resting against hers. “And, baby, I don’t like it any less now,” he whispered.

He heard her suck in a soft breath but he ignored it, touched his mouth to hers and let her go.

Turning, he nabbed his coffee mug and didn’t look at her as he walked out of the room, saying, “Dev went to Hilligoss. There’s two dozen donuts downstairs. You better get down there before the boys do, sweetcheeks, or you’re gonna be disappointed.”

Then he walked out of the room.

The security beep sounded and Layne, sitting at his desk in his office, turned to look at the monitor.

Colt was walking up the steps.

Layne glanced at his watch and clenched his jaw. He was late. He was supposed to go over to Rocky’s for a quick dinner before they went to the boys’ game. But that afternoon a bitter wind started to whip through the ‘burg and he needed to go home and get a sweater. To get to Rocky’s, he should have left ten minutes ago. To get home and then get to Rocky’s, he should have left twenty minutes ago.

He heard the front office door open and close and he reached out to the desk to pick up his cell. He started to flip it open when Colt’s tall frame filled the doorway and his thumb on his phone stopped when he saw Colt’s expression.

“Have a minute?” Colt asked.

“I didn’t until I saw your face,” Layne answered.

Colt walked in, sat down in one of the two chairs facing Layne’s desk and didn’t say a word or take his eyes from Layne.

“Give me a second, I gotta call Rocky. I’m already late for dinner,” Layne told him and Colt nodded.

Layne flipped open the phone and scrolled down to Raquel’s number as he watched Colt lean forward and tag a yellow legal pad from Layne’s desk then he nabbed a pen. He sat back and started writing on the pad while Layne put the phone to his ear.

It rang once then, “Hey Layne!”

Layne blinked and his eyes unfocused so much Colt was there but he’d disappeared.

She sounded excited and happy, excited and happy to hear from him.

It had been two days since Keira, pasta bake and Rocky spending the night in his bed.

After that, Rocky had put her shields up but it wasn’t the same game as she’d been playing. It was friendlier, more open but she was still on guard. He let her have that play and backed off, not because he intended actually to back off but because he wanted to soften her up, get her guard down, take her off-balance before he made his next play.