Into the Deep 02 Out of the Shallows Read Free Page B

had a crush on Lowe, but that’s all it was or ever would be. What I felt for Jake… it burned in my very depths. No one had ever come close to making me feel what I felt for him.
    He was my missing puzzle piece.
    “Nope,” I finally concluded. “He’s sexy as sin and I like him, but he doesn’t come close to Jacob.”
    “Aww, Jacob ,” she teased.
    “Please don’t start calling him that.”
    “Oh, I believe you started it.”
    “Great. He’ll kill me.”
    Claudia laughed, coming to a stop outside her door. Her laughter melted into a smile. “Thanks for making me feel better.”
    “You’re my family. I hurt when you hurt.”
    Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Dude!” She shook her head as she unlocked her door. “This mascara is not waterproof!”
    The door slammed shut in my face and I burst out laughing. “Good night, then!” I moved slowly to unlock my own door.
    Once inside, I felt the butterflies come back to me with a vengeance. Fighting through the nerves, I hurried to set up my laptop on my desk, plugging into the hardline Internet connection. My Skype page opened and I sat on the narrow bed in front of my desk to wait.
    Eight years ago I earned the nickname “Supergirl” from my entire town. When the people of Lanton, Indiana, heard the name Charlotte Redford, that’s the first word that popped into their heads. However, I’ve never felt as brave as people tell me I am. I certainly didn’t feel brave as I waited to face my kryptonite—my parents.
    There was nothing I hated more than disappointing Jim and Delia Redford. My parents had always been loving and supportive, and my sister Andie and I almost felt like we owed it to them to be good, obliging kids. But my mom and dad hated the idea of me becoming a cop from the moment I mentioned it to them. I think they might’ve been okay with it if they thought I had any intention of settling for a deputy job in Lanton. There wasn’t a whole lot of crime in my hometown. But nope. They knew I had every intention of hightailing it to the Chicago Police Academy in the hope that I would one day join the illustrious ranks of the Chicago PD. My sister’s fiancé, Rick, happened to be a detective in the city. And I wanted to specialize—possibly work the homicide division—so I understood their reservations, their desire for me to go to law school instead.
    It was Jake who pushed me to realize I was sick of compromising for them…

 

     
    “Is it possible to die of sex exhaustion?” I panted, collapsing in a sprawl across Jake’s sweat-dampened chest.
    He lazily stroked my spine. “I’m thinking yes.”
    “That was…” I groaned at the feel of him inside me.
    “Mind-blowing?” he offered with a suspicious amount of smugness. “Told you it would be.”
    I bit his shoulder gently. “Cocky.”
    “I dare you to leave teeth marks.” Jake cupped my ass. “I’d love explaining it to people.”
    “What people?” I mumbled. “You’re inside the only person who should be seeing you shirtless, mister.”
    He chuckled and I burrowed deeper against the sound in his throat. “The guys and I don’t really care about walking around the apartment shirtless.”
    Despite my exhaustion, I found the energy to jerk away from him, my hands pressed to his chest as I scowled down at him. “In other words, you’d love to explain those marks to Lowe.”
    Inured to my glower, Jake tucked my long hair behind my ear before following the wavy strand of platinum down over my breast. “It would make a point.”
    “A point he is well aware of. The traitor dumped me in your hands last night.”
    Jake offered me an unrepentant grin. “That’s true.”
    Before I could respond, he took me by surprise, wrapping his arms tightly around me as he sat up. Our lips almost brushed as he brought us chest to chest. Sensing I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I shifted off my knees and wrapped my legs around his waist. Jake’s eyes darkened with the