Page 288 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

“Good,” I replied.

“Good?”

“Because I think I might actually love you, too.”

“Might?” he asked as he backed me up toward the couch.

I held up two fingers and spaced them about a half inch apart. “About this much.”

Easton chuckled. “We’ll see about that tonight. For now, I have to go to the station. Would you like me to bring you home?”

It was depressing to know we’d have to wait to finish what he’d just started, but I did need to see my cousin. I had questions of my own for her, and my interrogation would be even worse than any the Denver Police Department would give her.

“I’d like to go to the station with you.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded hoping it displayed a confidence I wasn’t sure I felt.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I then straightened my dress, grabbed my things, then followed him out to his Jaguar.

Epilogue

EASTON

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO

A lot had happened in the six months since Shelby was officially exonerated. Carley hadn’t fared as well after being charged in Denver. While she was implicated in the drug trafficking ring the DEA had previously busted in Los Angeles, there was no direct evidence tying her to any of the sales that led to the deaths of those half dozen college kids. They chose to only charge her in the death where they had indisputable proof of her involvement.

The news had been extremely worrisome to Shelby because the charge was murder. While she had understood that I’d had a job to do, it’d still been a slight wedge between the two of us. That was until Carley finally did the right thing for the first time in her life, and decided to take accountability for her actions. The plea deal she was given cut more than half of the expected sentence in half.

In cooperation for pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, Carley was sentenced to a hundred and forty five months which was just over twelve years. Part of the leniency of her sentence included giving up the names of others she worked with that the DEA hadn’t been able to apprehend. Evidently, the drug ring she worked for was expansive and spread across the entire country. It didn’t shut all of it down, but an additional fifty people had been arrested nationwide.

Once everything with Carley’s sentence was finalized, Shelby and I could move on with our lives, and one that included each other. I’d never intended to fall as hard or as deeply as I had, but it didn’t change the fact that I did. I couldn’t stand to be away from her for any length of time, and I probably had as many suits and other clothing at her place as I had at mine. We’d spend night after night at each other’s place, and I realized how much better I slept having her in my arms. It didn’t matter whether in what was once my bachelor’s pad, her condo, or a private room at Syn.

While we eventually fell into a somewhat domesticated routine, life still went on for the both of us. In fact, we’d recently spent several days in Los Angeles together. My time had been spent wrapping up the California part of the case while she wowed another hotel owner which led to her being offered spa space in three of their upcoming properties in and around the city. After we’d decided to run off and have the romantic vacation we both needed. As workaholics, we often had little time to ourselves as is, but we’d decided to make time for each other and went to Cabo instead of flying back right away to Denver. Now, I was watching how beautiful she looked as she stood on the balcony with her fiery hair blowing in the wind.

I walked out to her, but since our door was open, she didn’t hear me. Smirking as I drew closer to her, I timed my moment and she almost shrieked the second I touched her. “Oh my God, Easton. You’re going to give me a damn heart attack.”

“I want to set your pulse to racing, but for a different reason,” I murmured into her ear while I held her against me.

“You’ve mastered that art a long time ago,” she admitted.

“I did?” I asked.

I moved one of my hands to her dainty throat, then slid the other down to her breast, The moment I squeezed one of them, she moaned. “You know you have... that you do.”

And I did. From the first night I had her on my lap, she had been putty in my hands. Shelby never hid her reactions from me, even when she’d once tried to hide other things. I’d scoff when people would often mention lucky nights, but that one at Syn had been fate stepping in to prove me wrong.

“You’ve had me since that first night, too,” I confessed to her.

Shelby tried to turn in my arms, but I held her too tightly for her to do so. My hand lazily moved back and forth over her breasts as I took my time alternating between the two as I kissed along her neck, cheek, and bared collarbone.

“I know we have dinner reservations, but I just want to undress you here where we stand so I can eat you like a five course meal.

Shelby shivered at my words. “We should probably get ready to go so we don’t keep them waiting.”

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