swallowed the words to tell her not
to worry. “What do you have going on this week? Preparing for the game next
weekend?”
“Yeah, just practice Wednesday and Thursday. Work should be
pretty light, so I’ll be around. I was thinking I might take off a day or two,
and actually, I think I will. I want to be around when you are.” She clung to
him tighter, her unspoken words coming across loud and clear. She was worried
and wanted to stick close to him.
They continued to chat about the week, the pauses growing
longer, eyes getting heavier until blissful sleep overcame them both.
Chapter Five
Tanya slammed on the car horn and brakes. Her heart pounded
ninety miles an hour.
“Fucktards,” she grumbled at a car stopped dead in the
street. In the middle of the one-way street.
As if traffic weren’t bad enough because of the Olympics,
even her backup routes were experiencing a dose of stupid. She waited for the
driver with out-of-state plates to turn around, nervously tapping the steering
wheel.
“Come on, come on, come on,” she chanted.
Cole had to report for patrol at the Olympic Village by
three for a twelve-hour shift. They hadn’t spoken much since their postcoital
discussion the day before, but it sounded as though his team was being extra
cautious. She was proud and worried for her husband, but right now all she
wanted to do was get home so she could eat lunch with him.
The car blocking the road was doing a sixteen-point turn.
Vehicles were piling up behind her, drivers laying on their horns. A few times
she was pretty certain the driver of the car in the road just went back and
forth, wasting more of her precious time.
“Finally.”
Twenty minutes later than she’d wanted to, Tanya pulled into
her driveway. Cole’s city-issue SWAT SUV and his personal truck, which had seen
a better decade, were still in the drive. She grabbed her things and rushed
inside.
“I’m home,” she called as she kicked the door shut.
“Hey, babe.”
Tanya dumped her stuff on the entryway table and entered the
kitchen. “Oh no, you’re eating a sandwich?” Her shoulders slumped.
Cole stood at the counter still in his sweatpants, a
sandwich halfway to his mouth and more than a quarter gone. He glanced from his
meal to her.
“I was going to cook you something.” She circled the bar as
he took another bite and pulled up a stool, accepting defeat. This time.
“Sorry,” he said around a mouthful of food.
“It’s okay. Traffic is stupid out there.”
He nodded and wiped his mouth. “They’ve shut down more
streets around the complexes and there are a lot of detours.”
“Oh.” Well, that made sense, but she didn’t have to like it.
“You’ll be home really late, won’t you?”
“Yup. You’ll probably be getting up by the time I drag in.”
He tucked into the sandwich, demolishing what was left in a few bites.
“Everything go okay this morning?”
“Yeah, client really likes my ideas, and that some will cut
costs in the long run. People always like to hear they’ll spend less money.”
She hadn’t driven halfway across the city to talk about work with her husband.
If she couldn’t feed him, she could pleasure him.
Pandora’s Box and her husband’s adventurous streak inspired
her.
“I’m going to go get ready.” Cole finished wiping down the
counter and headed toward the bedroom.
Tanya followed him and sat on the bed, legs crossed and her
skirt spread out around her while he brushed his teeth in the bathroom. The
navy-blue uniform was already spread out on the comforter on his side of the
bed.
It was a pity she hadn’t gotten home earlier. She’d thought
herself so clever coming up with this plan. Lunch had been just the start. They
hadn’t talked like they had yesterday in ages. That was what she wanted back.
Tanya consoled herself with the fact that there were still plenty of things in
Pandora’s Box to go through, and Cole seemed more than willing to use them.
“We should
to worry. “What do you have going on this week? Preparing for the game next
weekend?”
“Yeah, just practice Wednesday and Thursday. Work should be
pretty light, so I’ll be around. I was thinking I might take off a day or two,
and actually, I think I will. I want to be around when you are.” She clung to
him tighter, her unspoken words coming across loud and clear. She was worried
and wanted to stick close to him.
They continued to chat about the week, the pauses growing
longer, eyes getting heavier until blissful sleep overcame them both.
Chapter Five
Tanya slammed on the car horn and brakes. Her heart pounded
ninety miles an hour.
“Fucktards,” she grumbled at a car stopped dead in the
street. In the middle of the one-way street.
As if traffic weren’t bad enough because of the Olympics,
even her backup routes were experiencing a dose of stupid. She waited for the
driver with out-of-state plates to turn around, nervously tapping the steering
wheel.
“Come on, come on, come on,” she chanted.
Cole had to report for patrol at the Olympic Village by
three for a twelve-hour shift. They hadn’t spoken much since their postcoital
discussion the day before, but it sounded as though his team was being extra
cautious. She was proud and worried for her husband, but right now all she
wanted to do was get home so she could eat lunch with him.
The car blocking the road was doing a sixteen-point turn.
Vehicles were piling up behind her, drivers laying on their horns. A few times
she was pretty certain the driver of the car in the road just went back and
forth, wasting more of her precious time.
“Finally.”
Twenty minutes later than she’d wanted to, Tanya pulled into
her driveway. Cole’s city-issue SWAT SUV and his personal truck, which had seen
a better decade, were still in the drive. She grabbed her things and rushed
inside.
“I’m home,” she called as she kicked the door shut.
“Hey, babe.”
Tanya dumped her stuff on the entryway table and entered the
kitchen. “Oh no, you’re eating a sandwich?” Her shoulders slumped.
Cole stood at the counter still in his sweatpants, a
sandwich halfway to his mouth and more than a quarter gone. He glanced from his
meal to her.
“I was going to cook you something.” She circled the bar as
he took another bite and pulled up a stool, accepting defeat. This time.
“Sorry,” he said around a mouthful of food.
“It’s okay. Traffic is stupid out there.”
He nodded and wiped his mouth. “They’ve shut down more
streets around the complexes and there are a lot of detours.”
“Oh.” Well, that made sense, but she didn’t have to like it.
“You’ll be home really late, won’t you?”
“Yup. You’ll probably be getting up by the time I drag in.”
He tucked into the sandwich, demolishing what was left in a few bites.
“Everything go okay this morning?”
“Yeah, client really likes my ideas, and that some will cut
costs in the long run. People always like to hear they’ll spend less money.”
She hadn’t driven halfway across the city to talk about work with her husband.
If she couldn’t feed him, she could pleasure him.
Pandora’s Box and her husband’s adventurous streak inspired
her.
“I’m going to go get ready.” Cole finished wiping down the
counter and headed toward the bedroom.
Tanya followed him and sat on the bed, legs crossed and her
skirt spread out around her while he brushed his teeth in the bathroom. The
navy-blue uniform was already spread out on the comforter on his side of the
bed.
It was a pity she hadn’t gotten home earlier. She’d thought
herself so clever coming up with this plan. Lunch had been just the start. They
hadn’t talked like they had yesterday in ages. That was what she wanted back.
Tanya consoled herself with the fact that there were still plenty of things in
Pandora’s Box to go through, and Cole seemed more than willing to use them.
“We should
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