Authors: Aliyah Burke
but I think Kacy needs to just go out and have some fun.‖
Nodding his understanding, Brett said, ―Okay. Stay safe and have a
good time.‖ Kissing his wife on the lips, he gathered their trash and walked
away, leaving the women alone.
Lisa pulled on her arm. ―Let‘s go, Kacy. We are going out.‖
―I don‘t want to go out. I have work to do at home,‖ Kacy protested.
Seeing Ernst made her want to curl up in a small ball and cry over her stupid
loss. He had confessed his love to her and now he was kissing another
woman.
It’s your own damn fault, Koali Cynemon Travis,
her mind taunted.
―It‘ll keep. Let‘s go. I want to play a game of pool,‖ Lisa said.
Why not?
―Okay,‖ Kacy replied as the two women walked to her car.
She had to admit she did like to play a game of pool every now and then.
Despite how clumsy Lisa was normally, the woman was a kick-ass
pool player. She and Kacy had teamed up against a couple of guys. The place
was well-lit and atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.
Leaning on her pool cue and sipping a soda, Kacy watched as Lisa
sank another ball, much to the chagrin of the men there. The guy next to her
just groaned causing her to look over at him. ―Didn‘t think she was going to
be that good, did you?‖
He laughed a rich, kind laugh. ―Not really, especially when I saw her
stumble in through the door.‖ His dark eyes sparkled as he shook his head.
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―That makes two of us,‖ Kacy admitted. Her heart felt light and she
was glad Lisa hadn‘t taken no for an answer.
―Makes me glad we are just playing for fun and not money,‖ the man
who‘d introduced himself as Jake admitted.
―See, now I am feeling just the opposite. I could have made some
cash.‖ Kacy‘s grin was full of teasing mischief. ―What do you do, Jake?‖ she
asked as she lifted her hair up off her neck for a moment.
―I‘m a cop.‖
Releasing her hair, Kacy looked back at him with wide eyes. ―For
real?‖
He nodded. ―For real.‖
―Well, then, I guess it‘s good we
aren’t
betting on this game.‖ She
pointed to his friend. ―And Rick, is he a cop as well?‖
―Yes, ma‘am. We‘re partners. Been partners for ten years now.‖ Jake
took a swig of his beer, all the while watching the woman beside him.
Kacy turned to face him totally. ―Can I ask you something?‖
Jake nodded. ―Anything.‖
Before she could speak, a cackling laugh filled the air, grabbing both
of their attentions. It was Ernst again with the same people. This time,
however, their eyes met across the establishment.
Frozen to the spot, Kacy could only stare as Ernst brushed the blonde
woman‘s hand off his arm and headed towards her. Swallowing hard, Kacy
tried to remain calm and collected.
Wanting nothing more than to end the date and get home to plan
how he was going to get Kacy back into his life, Ernst had agreed very
reluctantly to go to the bar with his group. It was one he didn‘t know.
The woman on his arm was driving him crazy. Nothing but endless
babble came out of her mouth. He would bet she didn‘t even know what she
was rambling about half the time. But he owed the Chief a favor, and so into
the place they went.
As one patron inside said something to the woman on his arm, she
cackled like a hyena and grated out about how lucky she was that the man on
her arm was her date and a military man. Her laugh was like nails on a
chalkboard to his ears. It made his skin crawl.
Looking across the room to try and regain control of his rising tem-
per, Ernst felt his knees go weak. Kacy. She was standing next to a tall, good-
looking black man by a pool table. They were talking, but her conversation
stopped as their eyes met.
Immediately his body responded with surging lust, desire, and jeal-
ousy.
She was with a man.
The warrior in Ernst wanted to rip him limb from
limb for daring to look at his woman, but the man who loved her witnessed
the pain she unsuccessfully tried to conceal at seeing him with another
woman.
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Aliyah Burke
As if the woman beside him was no more than an annoying insect, he
brushed her off his arm and flowed towards the woman he knew was his
soul mate. Walking past the pool table she stood behind, Ernst recognized the
woman who had been sitting with Brett at the table along the boardwalk.
His spectral gaze didn‘t relinquish its hold on Kacy, however. He
moved right up to her so her head had to tip back to maintain eye contact.
The subtle scent of the lotion she wore filled his nose, his senses. Filled his
heart. Filled his soul.
―Hello, Kacy,‖ he spoke in his deep timbre.
―Mr. Zimmermann,‖ she responded.
Something foreign flared in his eyes at her greeting. ―How are you
doing?‖ He could feel his fists clenching to keep his hands from entwining
themselves in her thick locks.
―Never better,‖ she chirped, sounding false to his ears. ―You?‖ It was
like no one else existed in the business.
―Better now.‖ His response fell gently.
Kacy, I love you so much.
―I see you are out on a date so I won‘t keep you from her.‖ Swallow-
ing hard, Kacy tried bravely to keep from showing how much it hurt her to
say that. ―It was good seeing you again.‖
Ernst saw the final brick fall into place around her heart when she
stepped closer to the man beside her. Finally focusing on someone other than
Kacy, Ernst looked at the man beside
his woman
. ―Sorry, nice to meet you.
Name‘s Ernst Zimmermann.‖
Reaching out one strong hand, he shook the offered one and re-
sponded. ―Nice to meet you. My name‘s Jacob Trask.‖
Staunchly refusing to let them continue their date Ernst asked, ―What
do you do?‖ This time there was unconcealed hostility in his words.
―I‘m a cop.‖ Ernst didn‘t bother to hide his possessive stare on Kacy.
―And you?‖
A cop? Kacy was dating a cop?
―I‘m Navy.‖ Those unforgettable eyes
focused back on Kacy who reluctantly answered the mental call he gave her
to look at him. ―Well, I should get going. It was
really
good to see you again,
liebling
.‖ Ernst turned and walked away before he touched her.
Jake looked down at the cute woman beside him. Her hand was
pressed to her mouth as if she were trying to keep from calling out that man‘s
name as he walked away from her. Tears swarmed in her vast eyes and he
was amazed they weren‘t running down her face.
―Ex-boyfriend?‖ he asked as he handed her a napkin to wipe her
eyes.
―You could say that,‖ she mumbled as her trembling hand dabbed
away the traitorous tears. How could Ernst still call her that?
Lisa stood in front of her. ―You okay?‖
Taking a deep breath, Kacy nodded. ―I will be. Is it my turn now?‖
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Lisa nodded and soon Kacy was battling it out with Jake at the pool
table. One of the hardest things Kacy had ever done was ignoring the tall,
blond German who kept watching her the whole time they were in there.
Ernst was still watching them as the four walked outside. He fol-
lowed under the pretense of getting some air. He saw her friend climb in the
car and then watched Kacy stand too close to that cop and his friend while
talking.
They chatted for a long time until Kacy reached up and kissed Jake
on the cheek before slipping behind the wheel of her gray Camaro. Both men
remained until the car had left the lot, and then the two got in their own
vehicles and went their own ways.
At least she didn’t go home with him.
Ernst felt hollow as he walked
back inside. Finding the Chief, he made his excuses and left. The blonde date
had tried to get him to take her with him, but Ernst refused.
Back at his apartment Ernst climbed the stairs to get to his floor. He
didn‘t want to feel trapped in the elevator. He wanted to go to Kacy‘s house
and make her listen to him, make her understand there was nothing between
him and that blonde woman. Make sure she knew they belonged together.
Glancing at the machine, he felt saddened there was no message for
him. It was three in the morning. He wanted to call Kacy. Instead, he went to
bed after washing off the smell of the blonde woman‘s perfume from his skin.
Ernst fell asleep dreaming of Kacy beside him.
When he woke up the next morning, her image was just as clear as it
had been when he‘d seen her in the bar: her full and succulent lips, luscious
curves, and those eyes that made him want to protect her for the rest of her
life.
―I‘m not letting you give up on our love, Kacy,‖ he vowed as he
stood beneath the pounding water in the shower.
Dried, dressed, and determined Ernst walked to the elevator and
headed to his truck. He really should go to the base; but first, there was
something more important he had to do.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - F O U R
Pulling along the sidewalk, Ernst looked across the street to Kacy‘s
house. There was an unknown car in the drive—a white Camaro with tinted
windows. It was much newer model than Kacy‘s.
He watched as her front door opened and she walked out followed
closely by who‘d been with her at the bar. Jacob Trask. A low, lumbering
growl rose up from Ernst‘s throat as he observed them together. They made a
very attractive couple.
She seemed completely at ease with that man. They were gesturing
around and nodding as they spoke. Kacy walked him to the waiting car and
smiled as he leaned down to whisper something to her.
Stepping back from him she laughed. Jacob leaned down and ac-
cepted the kiss she placed on his cheek before opening the door to his car and
sliding in behind the wheel.
The window rolled down and as Jake backed out of her driveway
and Ernst saw his hand reach out of the car and wave to Kacy before he
drove away. With an answering wave and smile, Kacy waited until Jake was
at the corner before she turned to go back in her house.
Standing on her steps, she turned around and Ernst knew she recog-
nized his truck, for she briefly froze like a deer in headlights. Then, a somber
expression crossed her face and she stared deliberately at him, only to look
away and walk into her house without a backward glance.
Once the door was shut between them, Kacy crumbled to the floor.
Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. Her legs couldn‘t
hold her any longer. Why did that man have such a dominant hold over her?
It took all of her willpower not to run across the street and beg him to give
them another chance.
―What is he doing here? Maybe he wants the clothes back he left.‖
Moving slower than a snail in winter, she rose and gathered the small bag of
his clean clothes she had. Time stood still as her fingers drifted lightly across
the top shirt in the bag. Each touch filled her with such memories.
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Ding-dong.
The doorbell chime jolted her out of her reverie. It didn‘t
take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was. Taking the bag with, she
forced her feet walk back up the hall to answer the door.
Placing the bag by the door, she didn‘t even look out the peephole
before opening it. Her eyes filled with the delectable and scrumptious vision
that stood before her. The door swung open and she stopped it with one
hand, holding the solid wood of the door that consequently held her up.
The affect he had on her was astounding. Every one of her nerves
cried out for his touch. Her eyes roamed up and down his hardened physi-
que. He wore a black leather jacket under which she could see a brown shirt.
Moving lower, she saw he was poured into another pair of black jeans and on
his feet were gray hiking boots. Unconsciously, she licked her lips even as a
soft moan escaped her mouth.
Ernst was having the same issues himself. When the door opened, it
was like his life had meaning again. Being in her presence gave him such
hope, joy, and elation. Like at the bar, the scent of her lotion wrapped him in
a cocoon and held him close. The smell was gentle like she was, and he knew
how soft it made every inch of her skin.
―Hello, Kacy,‖ he managed to mutter.
―Hey.‖ Her greeting seemed forced as well.
Again silence fell as they just stared at one another. He moved his
gaze over her gorgeous body. She wore a pair of worn blue jeans that he
knew settled so perfectly around that ass of hers. Covering the top half of her
body was a sage green sweater. Even as bulky as it was, hanging down to her
knees, it did nothing but accentuate her full chest and inflame his lust.
His tongue snuck out to wet his lips. Ernst almost gloated at the raw
passion that flared in her eyes at the sight. But he still wasn‘t any better off.
One thing flashed through his mind and that was to take her and make slow,
sweet love to her until the only words that left her succulent mouth were his
name and ―yes!‖
―Can I come in?‖ Ernst asked.