Page 63 of Whisper of Surrender (Whisper Lake 2)

CHAPTER 19

It was almost three a.m. and Ethan had been on duty for the past sixteen hours. He should’ve been pulling up to his house. But instead he was stopped at a red light on his way to Jess’s house, checking his phone one more time to see if she’d sent another text.

When he was leaving the station, he saw that he had a text from her. She’d messaged about an hour before to ask if he was off duty and he’d replied that yes, he was finally off duty and going home to sleep for the next ten hours.

So then she sent another text. One with a photo, a close-up of her bare belly standing next to the shower.

I’m feeling very dirty. Too bad I don’t have someone to help wash me off. And in other non-related news: my front door is unlocked.

He may have been exhausted, but after that text he had pure adrenaline coursing through him.

A car honked behind him. He looked up to see the light had turned. Shit. Jess drove him to complete distraction. He pulled out even more agitated than he had been.

In the back of his mind he knew she was kidding about the door being unlocked. Or at least he thought she was. But he’d feel a lot better about it if he could get confirmation. Which was impossible because she wasn’t picking up his call or answering his text back.

As he pulled onto her street, he knew that all of the agitation he was feeling was a culmination of a lot of things, the main one being that he’d barely seen Jess over the last two weeks.

She’d been avoiding him. He’d tried to see her and she’d made excuses. The talent show was in fourteen hours. That was technically the end of their arrangement. Not that they’d discussed it. They would’ve actually had to talk to do that.

He couldn’t say that this entire thing hadn’t been worth it. He’d never take back the weekend that they’d had together. Or the time he’d spent with her at rehearsals. He loved watching the pure joy on her face as she danced. It was her happy place and he felt honored to have been able to share that with her.

It was strange, but he felt closer to her than he ever had and at the same time more distant than he’d ever been. And he had no idea what to do about it.

He parked in front of her house and as he was getting out of his truck, he paused. He wasn’t sure how to approach things with her. And he was exhausted. Not just physically. He was emotionally drained trying to figure out how to end this charade and not lose Jess in the process.

At this point, he figured it was time to put his cards on the table. He needed to come clean about his true intentions. There was no way he was going to start a relationship, a real relationship, with a lie. If she wanted to be with him, it would make him the happiest man in the world. If she didn’t, he’d know that he’d been honest and opened himself up to what he thought was a chance at something real.

He climbed her porch steps two at a time and took a deep breath. He was ready to face this thing head on. As he reached for the door, it opened, and he looked up to see Jess, wearing a robe and holding her phone. She turned the screen toward him. The stopwatch app displayed a time of five minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

“Wow. That must be a record. It usually takes me at least ten to get home from the other side of the lake.” Mischief danced in her baby blues as she asked, “Tell me, was it the thought of me in the shower that gave you the lead foot or the fact that my door was unlocked?”

Relief washed over him. He’d missed her. A lot.

He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, making sure to turn the deadbolt as the realization that this was her idea of a joke sank in. That still didn’t stop him from saying as he turned back to her, “Do you know how dangerous it is not to lock your door?”

“I do.” She nodded in an exaggerated fashion as she pulled up her text messages and flipped the device back at him. “See? You told me.”

His text telling her that it was dangerous to leave her door unlocked and that she needed to lock it now was illuminated on the screen.

She chuckled a little as she backed up a step. “Don’t go all RGF on me.”

He grinned, not able to help himself. “This isn’t funny.”

She lifted her hand, pinching her thumb and forefinger together. “It’s a little funny.”

“You could’ve just asked me to come over.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She lifted one of her shoulders in a shrug and the light pink terrycloth material fell, exposing nothing but bare skin.

“What are you wearing under that robe?” His entire body grew tense with arousal.

“Hmm…I don’t know.” She said coyly. “Maybe we should find out.”

She set her phone down on the entryway table and untied the belt. As the material slid down to the ground his dick grew so fast and so full he could feel his heartbeat pulsing in it.

The only light in the darkened house came from the moon shining in through the kitchen window and it highlighted her show-stopping curves. As his eyes traveled over the body that he now knew like the back of his hand, he was finding that his breathing was shallow and the air around them had grown thick.

As much as he’d love to turn her around and take her up against this wall, he had a better idea. He’d been too tired to take a shower at the station and after the day he’d had, that was exactly what he needed.

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