Book 2 of the Brothers in Blue Series...
BROTHERS IN BLUE: MARC
The Brothers in Blue Series, book #2
Jeanne St. James
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Meet the men of
Manning Grove, three small-town cops and brothers, who meet the women who will
change the rest of their lives. This is Marc’s story…
Officer Marc Bryson doesn’t believe women should be in law
enforcement. Ever. When his older brother, Max, is promoted to the small town’s
police chief the first thing he does is hire a woman fresh out of the academy.
Then makes Marc her Field Training Officer.
Determined to follow in her late father’s footsteps, Leah
Grant has the moxie to break any glass ceiling that stands in the way from
becoming a police officer. Even if that means proving to her coach—who only
wants her in his bed and not in the field—she’s worthy of being a permanent
member of the force.
Working in a man’s world, Leah challenges Marc’s
misconceptions about women in the line of duty. But as they struggle to
separate their work life from their undeniable chemistry, things continue to steam
up and get a little kinky. These two officers of the law must toe the line
after being caught red-handed.
In the end, can Leah prove to Marc that she is good as
backup as well as in bed?
Marc let himself in his parents’ front door, his ten-month old puppy,
Menace, squeezing past him in a rush.
“Jeez, asshole, you almost knocked me over,” he scolded the dog, not
that the gangly mastiff was listening. He was already bee-lining to the kitchen
where he knew there would be food. After all, he was a growing dog, now wasn’t
he.
Marc was beat. After doing the double-back from the three to eleven
shift last night to working the seven to three shift this morning, he was
freaking exhausted. And he wasn’t even including the wrestling he and Leah had
gotten into on the mat. That had taken a toll also, as well as their stilted
conversations throughout the rest of the day.
He didn’t seem to be the only one relieved at three when their shift
ended. He bet Leah had gone home and collapsed. If he hadn’t already committed
to dinner at his parents’, he’d be snoozing on the couch with the TV on, a cold
beer next to him, and a farting mastiff doubling as a blanket.
But family obligations and all that. And anyway, his mother was a
better cook than him. So no complaints there.
He followed the direction Menace had gone and ended up in the kitchen.
The oversized puppy sat at his mother’s feet, his tail thumping heavily against
the floor, as she stirred something on the stove.
“Smells good, Ma.” He walked over and peered into the pot before
landing a loud, sloppy kiss on her cheek.
Mary Ann Bryson pushed him away with a laugh. “Stop it. You’re as bad
as Dennis with sloppy kisses. You’re never going to find a woman if you kiss
like that.”
Ew. He’d never kiss her the same way as he would a woman. Not his
mother.
And, obviously, one of his mother’s immediate goals in life was to get
him hitched and to start producing offspring like he was a prized farm animal.
“Ma, his name is Menace.”
She wiped her hands on the dish towel tucked into her waist band. “You
know I refuse to call him that.”
“You don’t have any problem with Chaos’ name.”
Marc could see no difference between his puppy’s name and Max and
Amanda’s border collie Chaos. It was probably only because Max was her first
born. Being the middle child always sucked.
His mother just waved her hand at him like he was a gnat buzzing near
her ear.
“Who names their dog Menace?”
Marc spun toward the female voice. The rookie stood in the doorway to
the kitchen, leaning against the jamb, her arms crossed at her chest.
What in the holy fuck was she doing here?
“Someone cool, that’s who,” he answered her with a frown. He lifted his
hands up in question wanting to know what the hell was happening here.
Leah ignored the gesture and gave him an exaggerated eye roll. “Someone
cool, huh?” If the eye roll was any bigger, she would’ve sprained them.
She wore form-fitting blue jeans and a maroon, snug—Yes!—long-sleeved T-shirt. Her feet were bare against the wood
floor, and—Sweet baby Jesus—her hair
was down. It draped around her shoulders like a silk curtain. Straight as an
ironing board. Not one curl to be seen.
An image of him running his fingers through all that length flashed
through him, but he pushed it away when he noticed the dark smudges under both
of her eyes. She was just as exhausted as he was.
Menace got off his lanky ass and barreled toward her like a galloping
giraffe. Leah moved to brace herself before the impact. Marc rushed forward and
snagged his collar just in time as the dog launched himself at her.
“Settle, you fool,” he told the excited puppy.
Ignoring the near disaster, his mother asked in her booming voice, “Oh
Leah! How was your shower?”
“Hot and deliciously wonderful.”
Like the woman in front of him.
“I’m sure it felt good after that stupid quick turnaround shift. Those
ridiculous things. I don’t know why the department does that. I’ve never agreed
with it, even when your father did them way back when.” She shook the wooden
spoon at Marc before turning back to the stove.
It was Marc’s turn to roll his eyes. Like he had any control over double-back shifts. She needed to talk to
her eldest son, the one that was actually in
charge. “Where’s Pop?”
“I don’t know. But you know he won’t miss dinner. That man never misses
a meal. Honey, why don’t you go into the living room and cuddle up with a
blanket until dinner is done.”
Great idea! He could use a little nap.
“That sounds like a plan,” Leah murmured and she disappeared into the
next room. Menace followed on her heels.
Apparently, his mother hadn’t been talking to him, her own son. Leah
had usurped the “honey” title in the house. That was just wrong. But never mind that, why was his mother acting as though she
was family? Was Leah related somehow and Max never said anything? He thought
back in horror at the episode in the wrestling gym earlier.
No way.
Marc brought this voice down to a rough whisper. “What’s she doing
here? She’s not related to us, right?”
Oh say no. Please say no.
“No, silly! When Max hired her, she had no place to stay, so we offered
to put her up until she finds a place of her own.”
Fucking Max. “So Max suggested
this?”
“Yes. He actually encouraged it.”
He was going to kill his brother. It was bad enough that he not only hired a woman, but he was making Marc coach her, and now… Now his pupil, recruit, rookie—fuck—his sexual fantasy was living in
his parent’s home. Right. Next. Door.
Pork roll. Pig cheeks. Pork belly.
Shit.
“Don’t you think it’s a noble gesture that she wanted to become a
police officer like her father?”
When his mother spoke, he realized he’d been staring blindly at the
empty doorway since Leah had left. He shook his head to clear it. “What? What are
you talking about?”
“Her wanting to be a cop after her dad died in the line of duty.”
Now he’d have to resurrect Max’s dead body and kill him all over again.
“Yeah, that’s great,” he said absently, thinking about all the ways he could
murder his older brother and dispose of the body.
His mother stopped what she was doing and glanced at him. “You did
know, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Ma. Of course I did. She’s my rookie.”
His mother’s eyebrows pinned together as she clicked her tongue.
“Silly, she’s the department’s rookie… Or…is she your rookie, Marc?”
Well if that wasn’t a loaded question then he didn’t know what was. And
he certainly was not falling into his mother’s trap. One slip and she’d have
the rings picked out and the venue booked. No matter that he’d only known Grant
for three days. She’s a female and to his mother a potential candidate for
popping out grandchildren. She probably already inspected Leah’s womb, just to
check her potential.
JEANNE ST. JAMES is an erotic
romance author who loves an Alpha male (or two). She was only 13 started
writing when she started writing since it gave her an escape from teenage
angst! Her first paid published piece was an erotic story in Playgirl magazine.
Her first erotic romance novel, Banged Up,
was published in 2009. She is happily owned by farting French bulldogs. She
writes M/F, M/M, and M/M/F ménages.
She has a few new releases coming up
in 2017. So keep an eye on her website at www.jeannestjames.com or sign up for
her newsletter here.
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