Chapter 11

“Fuck, you two make a bloody good team,” I said, surprising them both.

“So, how many times have you two done this act?” I asked.

“Well, I did train him while you were away, as you know,” Dad said defensively.

“I can tell,” I replied. “Do the Bigs know you trained Detective Kyle Reed?” I asked him.

I saw James’ ears prick up.

“It will be in his records,” Dad said non-committal.

“Is why he asked to be assigned to Cairns in your records too?” I inquired sweetly.

“Did he bother you in Cairns?” Dad growled.

“Nah, but he did investigate my complaint about Jake,” I told him.

“You have been very quiet about what happened with that,” Dad replied.

I shrugged, “Not much to tell. Kyle took my statement. He asked around and ended up with four other complaints. Jake was dismissed for, ‘Behaviour Unbecoming of an Officer’. Apparently, I wasn’t even mentioned as a complainant.”

“The Super played parts of my tape and told Jake, I hadn’t complained thinking that he was just hazing me. However, he objected to having one of his FYCs, being treated in that manner and wasn’t happy with Jake’s conduct in general. He didn’t even mention Jake getting the head-jobs as bribes.”

“What?” James exploded as he shot to his feet, knocking his chair to the floor.

“Not me,” I chuckled. “He was getting the women who he stopped for traffic violations to do it for him. I was normally away getting lunch when he did it, but I caught him doing it one time.”

“The sleaze-ball,” James said in disgust as he retrieved his chair and sat down beside me again.

“What about my son, Danny?” Dad asked me with raised eyebrows.

I nearly spat out my coffee as I went to laugh. “Dat’ Judge, he sure don’t love your Danny, no more.”

“I’m sorry, but I was unaware you had a son called Danny,” James stated in surprise.

“So was I,” Dad said wryly. He touched his tablet and showed James the picture of Marly and me.

“Wow, nice-looking boy. He sure looks a lot like Dusty,” James replied.

I pulled my tablet from my handbag and found my copy of the Danny pics. I handed James the tablet.

“Oh!” he said, raising his eyebrows.

He looked closer at one picture and then flipped back. “Bloody hell, Dusty, how did you pull that off? Can I have this one of you with your arse at the camera? That is very sexy.”

“What gave me away?” I asked. James gave me a crooked grin. “Shit! You’re an arse lover like John. I bet that he’d have picked me out too.”

“He ain’t getting this picture,” James said. “Is that the one you sent to the Judge?” he asked me.

‘No, I sent the one where I was looking down,” I said and flipped the pics to that photo.

“You do look like a Danny in that one. No, I’ll have the ‘Dusty’s sweet tushy’ one, please,” James asked me again.

“Men are strange creatures,” I said as he handed me the tablet back after he had sent my picture to himself and added his phone number to my contacts list.

“I’d better not find out you have masturbated while looking at that picture,” I told him.

James grinned at me and then pulled his tablet and made sure he did get the image. Dad chuckled and winked at James.

“James, considering the time, any chance you can be back here by eight-thirty?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered promptly.

“Good, you’re officially her bodyguard until I say otherwise,” Dad said.

“Why on earth do I need a bodyguard?” I said with a frown.

“There is something fishy about this heist,” Dad said grimly.

“Do you know what was in those crates?” I asked him.

“Need to know, Honeybun,” Dad said, avoiding my question.

“Fine, I’ll see James out and then I’m off to bed,” I said as I got up and slung my bag over my shoulder.

I picked up the milk container and put it back in the fridge. James and dad collected the coffee pot and cups and put them in the sink.

Dad shoed us away as he rinsed the cups, so I walked James to the door.

I walked out onto the veranda with James and said, “See you later, James.”

As I went to turn away, he stopped me and gently pulled me into his arms. He looked down into my face and tenderly touched his lips to mine. I shivered when his tongue brushed across my lips, and I found myself kissing him back.

He was a nice height difference, and I kinda got lost for a while as he drew me deeper into his kiss. I was surprised when his lips left mine that I wanted more. My lips were still tingling at his gentle but insistent method of gaining my attention.

He smiled and said softly, “I have wanted to do that for so long, Dusty.”

He lowered his lips to mine again, and I let him kiss me some more as my arms slid around his waist to hang on. This kiss was just as enjoyable as the first one. When one of his hands slid over my arse and pulled me closer, I could feel the effect I was having on him.

I rubbed against him, and he groaned into my mouth, making me feel the power of my impact. I felt urges that I’d not truly experienced before. He wasn’t my first kiss, but his kiss took the lead as the best and the one that affected me the most.

James released my lips long before I was ready. He dropped a little one on my nose and stepped back, but he hadn’t released me just yet.

“I’d better get moving if I have to be back here in a couple of hours. Try to get some sleep, Dusty,” he told me with his soft, sexy drawl as his hands dropped from me.

I watched him as he walked away. I liked his walk and his tight arse. Actually, I liked him, and I was starting to wonder why I had resisted dating him for so long. He’d not tried to put a move on me like Kyle had. He’d even hesitated before kissing me, making sure that I wanted him to do it.