To Protect & Serve (9 page)

Alex cursed beneath her breath as she headed for the lat machine. As if the situation wasn’t complicated enough, would she now be working with a subordinate she had the hots for?

The next thirty minutes dragged. Keri punched the treadmill speed up to six and easily kept pace. Every time she looked at Alex her mind reeled from the possibilities of what could happen between them if she accepted the task force assignment. Maybe Alex would give her a second chance. Or perhaps she’d just prejudge her again. Or maybe they’d become friends bonded by professional necessity. And it was even possible that they could become involved with each other. Keri’s legs weakened at the visual her mind played and she momentarily lost her rhythm. Alex was certainly attractive and Keri’s body responded to her readily. But Alex was her superior and nothing could ever change that. Their relationship was and always would be professional.

Keri adjusted the treadmill speed, stumbling to remain vertical. A strange tension mingled with the rising heat in the room. With only an occasional grunt or moan of exertion, the other two women worked silently through the exercise machines that lined the gray gym walls. Beth offered occasional thumbs-up of encouragement in Keri’s direction and some not-too-subtle glances at her small bouncing breasts.

Alex hadn’t looked at her since she started her run. An infrequent word of motivation or a brief consultation about weight or technique was the only conversation that passed between Alex and Beth, unlike the friendly banter she’d witnessed upon entering the gym. She felt as if she’d interrupted something private then.

Keri mashed the treadmill Stop button and stepped off, wet clothes clinging to her body. She pulled a towel from the storage rack and wiped her face and neck. Beads of perspiration trickled down between her breasts. She raised her shirt and captured the moisture in the ribbed cotton material. Eyes closed, enjoying the rough-textured fabric on her skin, she wiped the flat surface of her stomach to the top of her shorts just below the navel. With an exhausted sigh, she opened her eyes and noticed Alex look quickly away.

“Are you ready to spot me?” Alex asked Beth.

“I’ve got a few more leg presses first.”

“I’d be glad to help out,” Keri said.

“No, I wouldn’t want to impose.” Alex was unwilling to encourage a closer proximity of their bodies. “I can wait for Beth to finish.”

“Oh, let her spot you, Alex. I’ll be on this a few more minutes.”

Reluctantly, Alex agreed. “If you’re sure it’s no bother.”

Keri admired Alex’s fluid movements as she positioned herself on the bench, long legs up, feet resting on the edge of the seat. Placing her gloved hands equal distance from the weights on either side, she wrapped her slender fingers around the bar, stared straight up at the ceiling, and began the exercise.

Veins bulged in her neck and hands as she pumped the weight up and down. Perspiration dotted her forehead and rolled away from the headband. Keri observed the rhythmic rise and fall of Alex’s toned chest muscles, the dip of her stomach, and marveled at the beauty of a well-formed female body, clearly visible under the clingy outfit.

“Set,” Alex said, placing the weights back on the rack. As she let go of the bar and withdrew her hands, a wet strand of hair fell across her face. Without a thought, Keri reached to push it aside.

Alex saw Keri’s hand moving in slow motion toward her face. She wanted that touch more than she realized but simultaneously feared it. She turned her head to avert the connection and rose from the bench. “Please, don’t.”

Keri thought Alex’s voice sounded deliberately polite but strangely cool. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything.” The warning in Alex’s eyes had been clear. “Write me up for an invasion of PBS.” She tried to laugh off the encounter.

Beth was instantly at Alex’s side. “How about violating my personal body space? I could use a good massage.”

Alex grabbed her towel off the bench. “I’m going to head out. Thanks for the workout, Beth…and the spot, Morgan.”

Keri stood motionless, watching Alex’s retreating back. When the locker room door closed behind her, she turned to Beth. “What was that?”

“That’s just Alex. She’s a private person and that’s how she likes to keep things.”

“Fine with me.” Keri flipped the thin gym towel over her shoulder. “Good night, Sergeant, and thanks for your concern.” She headed for the locker room fully expecting Alex Troy to be long gone. But when she opened the door, Alex stood in front of her opened locker as if waiting.

Keri spoke without invitation. She had to strike before her courage waned. “Lieutenant, I’m sorry—”

“Morgan, I didn’t mean—”

“No, please, let me.” Keri stepped within touching distance of Alex and felt the heat radiating from her body. A misty sheen of perspiration glistened over muscles straining with tension. Keri’s breath caught in her throat as she struggled to speak. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. It was just a reflex.”
And what about this urge you have to touch her right now? Is that a reflex?
Keri wondered.

Alex’s gaze hadn’t left Keri’s mouth since she entered the room. It was as if she watched the words form on her lips but never heard the sounds. Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, she responded, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just not very good with being touched.”

Keri watched the pulse along Alex’s neck quicken and her body posture tighten as she spoke. “I don’t know who did that to you, but I’m so sorry.”

Alex’s eyes grew wide with disbelief. “I didn’t say anyone—”

“It’s okay. I’ve been on the receiving end of an out-of-control loved one and I know the look.” Keri moved carefully toward Alex and in slow motion raised her hand to Alex’s face. “Touch is meant to be loving and healing. Don’t accept any that isn’t.”

She cupped Alex’s cheek in her palm and felt Alex lean into her. The simultaneous warmth of her face and the lean hardness of her body fired jolts of desire through Keri’s system. Maybe she was oxygen deprived after the vigorous run. She’d never felt this excited, and there had to be a logical reason. Arousal spiraled from her core. Her muscles trembled with an unfamiliar need. Moisture flooded the suddenly aching folds of her sex.
What is happening to me?

Alex lightly touched Keri’s arms and slid her hands tentatively upward. She raked her fingers through the damp curls at Keri’s temples and teasingly dragged her index finger across Keri’s bottom lip. The pink tip of her tongue appeared between her lips and left a moistened trail. Keri felt herself moving closer to those inviting lips, unsure if the advance was hers or Alex’s. Brown eyes, hazy and hooded with desire, bored into her soul. Hot breath caressed her face. She closed her eyes and lightly parted her lips in surrender.

Suddenly the room around Keri turned cold.

“I can’t do this.” Alex backed away from her as if she were poison. “I apologize. This is wrong on so many levels.” She grabbed her gym bag, slammed her locker, and raced toward the exit without a backward glance.

“But what about the task force? I’ve made a decision.” Keri couldn’t believe what she’d said. It wasn’t until she touched Alex that she realized why she’d made the decision that felt so uneasy earlier that day. The last thing she wanted to talk about was the damn job, but she thought that might stop Alex’s hasty retreat. The slamming of the locker room door was her only answer.

Miserable and depressed, Keri changed clothes and thought about what just happened. Had she really almost kissed the woman who’d tried to destroy her credibility? She had strong feelings about Alex but they weren’t sexual. Or were they? She and Alex had almost kissed, of that she was certain. But why did Alex stop? Was she really so concerned about professional propriety? Her eyes said she wanted that kiss. Her body definitely wanted that kiss. So what could possibly elicit such an obvious withdrawal from simple human touch?

*

Alex clutched the rough steering wheel cover of her old Mercedes, marveling at the contrast to Keri’s soft skin only minutes before. Her body reacted immediately to the tactile sensation, as it had then, with a strong bolt of sexual energy. Her nerve endings vibrated with a need bordering on addiction. How had her feelings gotten so out of control so quickly?

It all started with that damn skimpy outfit. The water-spotted T-shirt had the same effect on Alex that it would’ve on the hormonally challenged male of the species at a wrestling match. She’d never wanted to simultaneously strip and completely swaddle someone’s body before. She’d managed to avoid Keri’s first attempt at contact, but her gut registered a desire for that touch much deeper than Alex could’ve imagined.

It had been a long time since anyone aroused her interest, emotionally or sexually, so it was only natural that she responded to the deadly combination of beauty and honesty. The latter was something Alex had always craved in her relationships and seemed unable to find. Keri Morgan seemed to spout the truth like an innocent child, unaware of its impact or implications and unsure why others should care.

Her compassion and empathy in the locker room affected Alex deeply. And the courage it must’ve taken for Keri to physically reach out to her again tugged at something well buried. How had they gotten so close, close enough for her to effortlessly stroke Keri’s arms and caress her full, hot lips? Sensory memory sent a shard of uncontrolled passion down Alex’s body and she mashed her foot against the accelerator to stop it.

As the car shot forward, Alex thought, she too was charging toward a collision with this train of thought. Had she actually confessed her fear of being touched to a subordinate while in a lust-induced haze? Then she’d leaned against Keri and almost kissed her.
Almost kissed her, for God’s sake.
Miraculously, Keri hadn’t pulled away. Her eyes closed and those gorgeous lips opened in an invitation Alex wanted desperately to accept. Keri had wanted that kiss as much as she did. Longing coursed through her anew as she relived the softness of Keri’s skin under her fingers and the heat of her breath.

When she was near Keri Morgan, the well-defined and never-violated boundaries between work and personal life blurred unrecognizably. But it was her job to maintain those boundaries at all costs. Anything else was out of the question. An attraction to someone as vibrant, open, and candid as Keri was easy to imagine. But they were like antipodal points of a sphere, exact opposites. And just like the softly curving sides of a sphere, people had the capability of changing and melding into one another.

Stop it,
Alex cautioned herself. Sexual chemistry was understandable and could be enjoyed at a safe distance through fantasy, but that’s where it had to end. Keri Morgan was the job and the job was Keri Morgan.
Repeat it until you believe it.

Alex tried to remember what Keri had said to her as she exited the gym. Something about a decision regarding the task force, but the demanding pulses between her legs had made rational thought impossible. She only knew she had to get away from Keri quickly. What if she’d agreed to work with the team? As Alex pushed the garage door opener and pulled inside, she wondered if she’d be able to keep her double-crossing emotions in check and remain focused on the assignment. Stacey Chambers deserved her best, and a fleeting lapse into previously contained passion wasn’t going to interfere with her determination to find justice for the young woman. Her professional integrity demanded nothing less.

But what about her integrity where Keri Morgan was concerned? She’d already violated her number one rule: Don’t even
think
about getting involved with a subordinate. That coupled with their unresolved history spelled disaster. Not to mention the other deception Alex was perpetrating. She had led Keri to believe she had to compete for the task force assignment just like everyone else. If Keri found out that the chief had all but ordered her inclusion, she would probably consider the interview another betrayal by Alex. Maybe she should tell her. After all, Alex had put her through the process because she genuinely intended to see how she stood up on her own merits. But would Keri understand that or see another reason to distrust her?

Distrust seemed to be a theme with Keri, an unsettled past, secrets about the assignment, and Alex’s own annoying attraction to the woman. Needless to say, there was more than one conflict of interest. But Alex had risen in her career predominately by handling conflicts. She thought about the last task force she’d worked on and the myriad of problems with Helen. Her ambition had made Alex’s look like a childhood dream. She’d commanded the organized crime team and Alex with unquestionable authority. To Helen, bending the rules a little was acceptable to achieve the desired results, and those results had everything to do with making her look good and receive the glory.

Alex didn’t plan to let Helen jeopardize this investigation with her questionable tactics or her overt attempts to bed her. Thoughts of her time with Helen still stirred an array of emotions Alex could not control; fortunately, the bad times outweighed the good and made it easier to stay focused on the main priority—this assignment. And Keri was a big part of this task force, assuming she’d decided to accept the opportunity. How would she figure into the mix: in a new position, working for someone she despised, chasing a drug dealer who could very possibly be a killer, watching acrimonious lovers at each other’s throats, and dodging a supervisor with a crush on her?

Alex sighed. Why did combining attractive women and police work always involve drama?