Chapter 5

SETH

Her scent filled his senses as he slowly kissed her neck. She smelled minty with a hint of strawberries and reminded him of a warm summer day at the state fair.

Her skin was warm on his tongue as he traced a light path to the corner of her jaw.

She giggled softly when he blew into her ear, then moaned loudly as he sucked the lobe sharply, making his body tighten in response.

She whispered his name softly as he kissed her shoulder, then gasped as he pulled her sweet nipple deep into his mouth, his tongue gently playing with it before he nipped it with his teeth.

Her husky voice crying out made him so hard he groaned. Her hand fisted in his hair as he sucked her breast, the nails of the other hand biting deep into the skin of his back.

The sharpness of the pain ignited the fire already burning in his body, making him eager to feel her warmth tightly around him.

He moved to her other breast and enjoyed the sound of her moans, teasing them both with his slow path to her stomach.

She writhed beneath him as he moved between her legs, widening her thighs with his broad shoulders to give him better access to her velvety depths.

Her musky scent surrounded him as he breathed deeply, making him shudder in response.

The pink glistening of her intimate parts made him want to feast like a hungry man, yet he tempered the urge and slowly, gently touched her sensitive nub with the tip of his tongue.

“Seth!” Her voice cried out in the dim room. He groaned against her body, slipping his tongue deeper. “~Seth~!”

~Why did she sound like Sarah~? He blinked up at her. The gold in her eyes was bright with need as she stared back at him.

Her lush pink mouth moved but he was unable to hear her words through the fog in his mind.

“Seth! Wake up! You’re going to be late for work!”

“Shit,” he groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes to get the image of Miss Dawson out of his mind.

Sarah arched an eyebrow at him as he blinked at her. “What time is it?” he asked.

“Just after eleven.”

“Oh, no!” He scrambled out of bed and hurriedly made his way to the shower. The midnight shift was the worst, especially in winter.

This was the shift with the most accidents and reckless driving stops, and the heavy snowfall over the last few days wouldn’t help matters.

***

Felicity tilted her head at him as he entered the squad room after everyone else had settled in.

He looked around at the unusual silence that filled the large room and frowned as Captain Thomas Marsden stared at him.

Seth arched his brow at his commanding officer, waiting for the taunt that was sure to come his way.

“The one time I expected you to be late, Corporal Marshall, was not the night I was to introduce you to your colleagues as a ~sergeant~.

“I guess I will have to take this promotion back to the sheriff as your tardiness will have to go on your record.”

Captain Marsden leaned his large frame on the lectern and waited for Seth to speak.

All Seth could do was stare at the man who had taken him under his wing when he joined the department, sharing his knowledge and experience with a young Marine who was ready for action.

“No, sir, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Seth said slowly, the pleasure at the achievement fizzing through his mind like a shaken soda.

“I just wanted to see what a full squad room looks like from a latecomer’s perspective.”

“Ah, using your investigative powers then,” Marsden answered seriously.

“Exactly that, sir,” Seth retorted, his smile breaking through eventually.

“Congratulations, Sergeant Marshall.” The captain allowed his colleagues to celebrate the moment with Seth before calling them all to order again.

Twenty minutes later, Felicity reached over and kissed his cheek before climbing into her patrol car. “Well done, Marshall.”

“Thanks, Rhodes.” He slipped his hat from his head as he headed to his own car.

“By the way,” Felicity called from her window, making him turn to look at her.

“That jewelry lady is worth being late for. I hope she had as great a time as you obviously did.”

“I wish,” he mumbled as she drove away.

His body instantly sprang to life at the reminder that it had not reached fulfillment, making Seth more irritable despite the good news he had received that evening.

***

Seth heard the high-pitched voices before he rounded the smashed-up cars. It was the second accident scene of his shift, and he still had five hours to go.

An SUV had lost traction and skidded into a bright pink Chevrolet Spark, pushing it into the underside of a four-wheel drive.

The doors to the Spark were open and the airbags were deployed, but there was no one in the small vehicle.

Seth frowned. He wasn’t looking forward to chasing a wayward driver at three in the morning with a new layer of snow starting to fall.

He approached the two women standing on the side of the road, both with their hands on their hips, arguing loudly in Cantonese.

They started gesturing, their movements mirror images of each other as the argument escalated.

“Um, ladies,” he interrupted loudly.

“What?!” they both exclaimed, turning red as they realized he was a law enforcement officer.

“I just wanted to know which car is yours.”

“The one in the middle,” the younger woman explained.

Seth breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he wasn’t going to need to chase anyone for the time being but frowned as he stepped closer to them.

The younger woman’s face was vaguely familiar to him.

“Are you both okay? Are you injured?”

“No, we’re okay. She’s too stubborn to think about getting injured in a freaking car accident!”

The woman’s voice rose to full volume as she finished her sentence, her eyes shooting angry sparks at the older woman, who retaliated in full voice in Cantonese.

“Ma’am…,” Seth tried to interrupt. “Ma’am! …~Ladies~!”

They both stared at him with wide eyes, their features so identical that Seth had no doubt they were related. “What do you want?”

Seth stared at the older woman, trying his hardest to hold back his laughter.

She was just under five feet tall with silver-gray hair, and although her back was straight, Seth guessed that she was well past eighty.

“I just needed to know how the accident happened and why you ladies are out at this time of night.”

The old woman crossed her arms tightly and hmphed as she turned her back, leaving her…~daughter?~ …facing Seth with an embarrassed look on her face.

“My grandmother needed to go to the hospital because she was complaining of chest pains.

“We were on our way from there, but she insisted on driving because, according to her, ~I don’t know how to drive~.”

The woman directed the last few words over her shoulder at her grandmother, who retaliated in Cantonese.

“I just need to fill out the incident report, ma’am, but in the meantime, is there anyone you can call to pick you up? We can chat while we’re waiting.”

“Thank you.” She nodded and reached for her phone. Seth waited as she made a call.

“Indie, hi. I’m sorry I’m calling so late, but MaaMaa drove into the back of a car and now my car is smashed up…Can you come to pick us up? …Thanks.”

“Your grandmother drove into the back of the pickup?” Seth asked in surprise.

She nodded. “I warned her to slow down, but she just kept going, talking about the incompetence of the doctors at the hospital, and she didn’t see him slow down.

“We had just gotten out of the car when the one behind us tried to avoid the collision but ended up hitting the car anyway.”

“Okay, ma’am,” Seth soothed while taking a deep breath. “We’ll get this sort out. What’s your name?”

“I’m Grace Li, and that is my grandmother, Faith.”

“Right,” Seth said, taking another deep breath.

“Sergeant!” He looked up as Felicity called him. “Over here for a minute.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back with you in a moment.”

Seth worked the scene for the next twenty minutes when he heard someone call his name.

He carefully made his way to the deputy who was directing traffic that was surprisingly busy at that time of the morning.

“She says she’s here to pick up someone from the accident?”

Seth peered at the vehicle in front of him through the fast-falling snow.

A turquoise VW T- Cross. ~Great! ~There was only one person he knew of who drove a vehicle fitting that description.

He stepped up to the window and a pair of golden-brown eyes stared back at him. ~Do they become as light as a good brandy or as dark as honey when she climaxes? ~

He instantly dismissed the thought and cleared his throat as he felt himself harden at the images going through his mind.

“I’m Indie Dawson. I’m here to pick up Grace and her grandmother?” she said, her voice husky and hot as it reached him.

His heart started racing and he struggled to keep his breathing even as took in the soft minty scent coming from inside her car.

“Um,” he cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. You can park over there. I’ll bring them over to you.”

He took a deep breath before going back over the slippery road to the Li family. He gently ushered them to Miss Dawson—~Indie’s~—car, helping Faith into the back seat.

Before he closed the door, he heard Grace whisper to Indie, “We’ve been down this path before, Indie. Walk away.”

The door shut before he heard Miss Indie Dawson’s response. He turned to find Felicity watching him.

“You’re fucked, Marshall,” she said. Seth glared at her as he turned his attention back to the accident scene.