Read Online Dark Blue (South Island PD Book 1) by Ranae Rose - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ranae Rose
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she’d rolled down her window the other day and he’d seen her face.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t had a chance to fuck things up after they’d spent those incredible hours together. Those hours were perfect in his memory, and he couldn’t help thinking back.
It was crazy, too, that he had another chance now.
Even crazier that during their years apart, he’d made something of himself.
He’d grown up ashamed of his family, ashamed of a lot of things. But four years ago, he’d experienced pride for the first time when he’d graduated from the police academy. He still carried that sense of pride, just as he carried his badge and gun. He was no millionaire, no paragon of society or success. But he was a cop, and that suited him better than anything else he could imagine.
Law and order. Fairness and justice. His early life had lacked those things, and now he upheld them, enforced them to the best of his ability. He was proud of that, and so when he knocked on Belle’s door, he stood straight and tall.
CHAPTER 7
When Belle opened the door, their eyes met and desire gripped Jackson anew, vise-like.
She wore a dress that bared most of her shoulders and fell to just above the knee. It was the deep blue-green of the sea on a clear day, and the color contrasted nicely with her fair skin and dark hair and eyes. Her hair was up in some sort of knot and little jewels dripped from her ear lobes, glittering. All those cool, dark colors, and then there was her mouth: stained a soft pink that glowed in the evening light.
She’d chosen every detail of the outfit knowing he’d be coming for her, that she’d be spending the evening with him. The knowledge simmered under his skin, making his nerves buzz as he remembered how soft her skin had felt beneath his work-calloused hands.
A goddess. That was what she looked like: some beautiful being risen from the sea, inhumanly perfect.
“Evening, Belle.” Even her name was just right for her. Her mother must’ve had a premonition when she’d been born – some foresight of the beauty her daughter would become.
She smiled. “Hey, Jackson. You look nice, and you’re perfectly on time.”
He had to look down to remember what he was wearing: khakis and a polo in a safe, easy shade of blue. His clothes would fade into the background next to her, a neutral backdrop for her beauty. In that respect, they were perfect.
“You look gorgeous,” he said. “You need to grab your purse or powder your nose before we go? I need a minute to put my eyes back into my head.”
That made her laugh, and he reveled in the sound, his gaze drawn to the way her earrings glimmered and swung when she tipped her head.
“Flatterer.” She pointed one sandaled foot, glancing down at her skirts. “This is the first time I’ve worn this. Mariah talked me into trying it on a couple months ago.”
“Mariah Cardiff, right? Y’all are still friends?”
“The very best.”
“Well, I haven’t seen her in years, but if I do, I’ll have to thank her. That dress was made for you.”
He couldn’t help fantasizing about sliding his hands up her thighs, straight under the skirt. Hopefully, it didn’t show on his face.
After last night, he got the sense she was a little wary of his motivations.
“Let me grab my purse,” she said, and disappeared into the apartment.
She was back within seconds. He’d barely had time to blink, and he certainly wasn’t done staring.
Training took over when they got to his car, though – after opening the passenger side door for her, he managed to keep his eyes on the road.
The drive went by slowly. When they got to Moreno’s, it was a relief to park and walk around to the front door with her by his side.
She paused by one of the building’s corners, beneath a palm tree, to cast her gaze out to sea. She’d always loved the water and had spent endless hours on the island’s beaches during her summers off from college.
So had Jackson,
Maybe it was because he hadn’t had a chance to fuck things up after they’d spent those incredible hours together. Those hours were perfect in his memory, and he couldn’t help thinking back.
It was crazy, too, that he had another chance now.
Even crazier that during their years apart, he’d made something of himself.
He’d grown up ashamed of his family, ashamed of a lot of things. But four years ago, he’d experienced pride for the first time when he’d graduated from the police academy. He still carried that sense of pride, just as he carried his badge and gun. He was no millionaire, no paragon of society or success. But he was a cop, and that suited him better than anything else he could imagine.
Law and order. Fairness and justice. His early life had lacked those things, and now he upheld them, enforced them to the best of his ability. He was proud of that, and so when he knocked on Belle’s door, he stood straight and tall.
CHAPTER 7
When Belle opened the door, their eyes met and desire gripped Jackson anew, vise-like.
She wore a dress that bared most of her shoulders and fell to just above the knee. It was the deep blue-green of the sea on a clear day, and the color contrasted nicely with her fair skin and dark hair and eyes. Her hair was up in some sort of knot and little jewels dripped from her ear lobes, glittering. All those cool, dark colors, and then there was her mouth: stained a soft pink that glowed in the evening light.
She’d chosen every detail of the outfit knowing he’d be coming for her, that she’d be spending the evening with him. The knowledge simmered under his skin, making his nerves buzz as he remembered how soft her skin had felt beneath his work-calloused hands.
A goddess. That was what she looked like: some beautiful being risen from the sea, inhumanly perfect.
“Evening, Belle.” Even her name was just right for her. Her mother must’ve had a premonition when she’d been born – some foresight of the beauty her daughter would become.
She smiled. “Hey, Jackson. You look nice, and you’re perfectly on time.”
He had to look down to remember what he was wearing: khakis and a polo in a safe, easy shade of blue. His clothes would fade into the background next to her, a neutral backdrop for her beauty. In that respect, they were perfect.
“You look gorgeous,” he said. “You need to grab your purse or powder your nose before we go? I need a minute to put my eyes back into my head.”
That made her laugh, and he reveled in the sound, his gaze drawn to the way her earrings glimmered and swung when she tipped her head.
“Flatterer.” She pointed one sandaled foot, glancing down at her skirts. “This is the first time I’ve worn this. Mariah talked me into trying it on a couple months ago.”
“Mariah Cardiff, right? Y’all are still friends?”
“The very best.”
“Well, I haven’t seen her in years, but if I do, I’ll have to thank her. That dress was made for you.”
He couldn’t help fantasizing about sliding his hands up her thighs, straight under the skirt. Hopefully, it didn’t show on his face.
After last night, he got the sense she was a little wary of his motivations.
“Let me grab my purse,” she said, and disappeared into the apartment.
She was back within seconds. He’d barely had time to blink, and he certainly wasn’t done staring.
Training took over when they got to his car, though – after opening the passenger side door for her, he managed to keep his eyes on the road.
The drive went by slowly. When they got to Moreno’s, it was a relief to park and walk around to the front door with her by his side.
She paused by one of the building’s corners, beneath a palm tree, to cast her gaze out to sea. She’d always loved the water and had spent endless hours on the island’s beaches during her summers off from college.
So had Jackson,
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