Page 37 of Everlasting Promises

She glances at me over her shoulder. “You can grab the chicken and potatoes out of the fridge for Rex. Evan, grab an empty ice cream container for Ben, please.”

We each set about our tasks and, in a short amount of time, we’re slipping into our seats at the table outside, ready to dig into the delicious meal Hope prepared. “Thanks for the invitation to dinner. This looks fantastic.”

“Mom’s the best cook,” Evan declares proudly, his eyes bright.

Hope chuckles quietly. “I don’t know about that.”

I swallow a seasoned sweet potato wedge. “I dunno. This tastes pretty great.”

She tucks a long, curly lock behind her ear, exposing pink splotches along her sexy throat. Her lips tip up at the corners and her eyes crinkle slightly. “Thanks.”

We eat quietly for a while, enjoying the meal too much to talk. Hope tops off our wine, and as our initial hunger is somewhat abated, the conversation begins again.

Hope takes a sip of her wine and places the glass back on the table. “Does stuff like today happen often?” I tilt my head to the side and narrow my eyes, trying to figure out what she’s asking. “You know … chasing after people when you’re not working?”

I finish chewing the food in my mouth and lean back in my chair, hooking my arm behind the wooden back. “I wouldn’t say it happens often. It’s happened maybe a dozen times during my career, but when it does, I can’t turn my back on the crime Iwitness. Technically, I’m always on duty. I swore to serve and protect, and I take that vow seriously. It’s why I became a cop. I like to help people and keep them safe. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning and gives me purpose.”

“Do you think I should be a cop, Mom?”

I turn to Evan. “What happened to writing?”

“I can do that too. You don’t work every day. I can write on my days off,” he shoots back like he’s had all the time in the world to think about it.

Hope’s already pale complexion lightens further beneath the porch light. “Uh.” Her eyes flick up to mine. “Why would you want to do that?”

“So I can help people like Ben does,” he answers casually, like he didn’t just flip my heart around in my chest. “It was really cool what he did today.” Warmth flows through my body, starting from my chest and making its way to my extremities. Hope turns toward me, her eyes soft and glistening.

17

HOPE

I moanat the swipe of Wyatt’s tongue through my throbbing pussy. With my thighs resting over his strong shoulders, I push my hips up to press harder against his mouth, seeking the friction I know he can give to me. The unexpected rasp of his short beard creates more sensation than I’m used to and I frown at the foreign feeling.

Perspiration coats my skin and my hair sticks to the side of my face as my temperature builds to the level of an inferno. My heart races and my muscles tighten as I grow closer to my release. He’s so good at this. His fingers pump in and out of me, feathering against the spot he knows so well. Another soft moan escapes and my eyes roll back in my head as sparks fly through my blood and I explode in a supernova of white light.

When I slide my fingers back into Wyatt’s short hair, something feels off. The texture’s wrong. It’s too soft, slightly too thick. The shoulders beneath my thighs are somehow broader, opening me wider and stretching my hips. I narrow my eyes in concentration as awareness slides over me that the fingers insidemy body feel thicker than what I’m used to. I drop my eyes down my body to work out what’s going on when instead of warm brown eyes, I’m greeted with playful gray ones.

My eyes snap open, and I jolt. Fast, uneven breaths escape as my already fragile heart pounds loudly in my ears, and I furiously kick away the tangled sheets wrapped around my sweaty body. My pussy throbs while tears of despair flood my eyes.

The deep ache in my chest cleaves open with each gut-wrenching sob that leaves my body, and I don’t know whether to hold my chest to keep it intact or cover my face to hide my shame.

I turn my head and drop my eyes to the empty side of the bed. Wyatt’s side. I still don’t sleep there. I don’t know why. It’s not like he’s ever coming back.

Guilt wraps around me like a python, crushing me from the inside out, and I drop back to the bed, fold over, and make myself as small as I can. The muscles in my back and across my stomach tense with each sob that shudders through me, and I wrap my arms around my knees, pressing them tighter to my chest. Like I can hide from what just happened.

I’m a dirty cheater.

A fresh flood of tears track down my cheeks at the revelation.

Devastation at losing him all over again builds from my core, spiraling outward until I feel it in every cell of my body.

How could I dream of another man?

How could I break my promise?

Overloaded with too many destructive thoughts, my mind shuts down as I stare into the blackness of my bedroom, curled into a ball with salty tears painting my cheeks. The darkness hiding my shame from the light, but not from me.

“Why did you have to leave us?” I whisper into his pillow.

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