Justice for Boone: Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes, Book 6 (17 page)

Yeah. What’s up?

Hayden took a deep breath and changed her mind. She was going to ask if she could come out to his place and talk, but decided to just wait until the next day. She’d tell him what Dana had sent her then, and they’d figure out what to do tomorrow.

I just wanted to say good night and that I missed you.

You sure you’re okay?

Yeah.

Okay. I miss you too. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Pick you up at 7?

Sounds good.

See you tomorrow.

Hayden headed to her door, double checked it was locked and bolted, then made her way to her room, making sure her pistol was locked and loaded and within easy reach. In her gut, she knew Boone was safe. It was
her
Dana was pissed at. Whatever she had planned would make the GHB incident look like child’s play.

All Hayden could think was
bring it
.

H
ayden smiled
at Boone when she opened her door the next evening. She’d had a long talk with the sheriff that day at work. While he wasn’t a patrol deputy anymore, she wanted him to know what had been happening and her suspicions. There wasn’t anything either of them could do until Dana made her move, but having him know that she suspected Dana was going to do something made Hayden feel better. If push came to shove and she had to protect Boone, or herself, she wanted it on record that she feared Dana would try to hurt one of them.

She was ready to go when she opened the door, so she kissed Boone quickly and shuffled them out of her place.

“In a hurry?” Boone asked with a smile in his voice.

“Yeah, actually.” Hayden locked her door and made the decision to tell Boone what Dana had sent her after they’d made love that night. He was usually more relaxed and maybe he’d take it better. He wasn’t going to be happy at all that Dana was targeting her again.

Boone leaned into her and kissed the back of her neck as she turned to lock her door. Cognizant of Dana’s penchant for taking pictures of them kissing in public, Hayden didn’t let Boone distract her. As soon as she’d locked her door, she grabbed up her bag and took Boone’s hand and led their way to his truck. She hoped he’d think she was anxious to get him home, but knew he was probably too observant for her to pull the wool over his eyes.

As soon as they were on their way back to his place, Boone said, a bit too nonchalantly, “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

“No. But I will. Later.”

Boone didn’t look happy, but he didn’t push. Hayden put her hand on his thigh as they drove, and she sighed in relief when he reached down and held it in his own. She hated keeping anything from him, but figured that was probably a good thing in regards to any future relationship they might have.

They pulled up to his house and he parked in the garage. Boone grabbed her bag from the backseat and met Hayden at the front of his truck and they went into the house together.

Boone had put together a small dinner, and they ate, discussing nothing in particular. After the dishes had been done and put away, Boone held out his hand to Hayden. She took it and they headed down the hall to his room.

“I thought we’d take a bath before going to sleep tonight. That all right?”

“Sounds heavenly,” Hayden told him honestly. She watched as he turned on the water and put the stopper in the tub. He squirted a healthy dollop of bubble bath into the stream of hot water and then turned and crooked his finger at her. “Come ‘ere, Hay.”

Hayden smiled and went to him.

“Arms up.”

She gladly held her arms over her head and smiled as Boone pulled her shirt off. She didn’t move, knowing he liked to undress her himself. He looked down and concentrated on undoing the button of her jeans and easing the zipper apart. He gave the denim a push and inhaled sharply at seeing her lack of underwear and that she’d shaved off the auburn curls covering her pussy.

“Really?” His eyes came up to hers, even as his hand went straight to her core as if drawn there by a magnet.

Hayden smiled at him and blew out a breath as his fingers parted her and swiped through the wetness already dampening her skin. “Really.”

“Jesus, you’re fucking killing me.” The words were said under his breath, but Hayden heard them anyway. “If you’d asked me, I would’ve said not to change a thing. I loved that your hair down here was as red as on your head, but this…” Boone paused a moment to run the backs of his fingers from her soaking wet pussy up to her clit and the smooth skin above it, then back down until he eased a finger inside and held it there. “Damn, you feel good, Hay.”

Hayden grabbed hold of his biceps with her hands and held on tightly as Boone teased her. She’d hoped he would like her surprise, and it seemed as if he did. “So do you,” she said breathily as he moved his finger lazily in and out of her body.

Slowly he removed his finger and brought it up to his mouth, using his tongue to clean it off as if he was eating an ice cream cone. Only once he was sure he’d cleaned every bit of her musk off his finger did he reach for her. His arms went around her, undoing her bra, smoothing his hands over her breasts and briefly massaging away any soreness from being encased in the constricting cotton all day. Boone ran his fingers over the still fading marks on her sides that the bulletproof vest left in her skin.

“I can’t believe you squeeze yourself into that thing every day.”

They’d been over this, but Hayden repeated what she knew Boone was already aware of. He was just complaining because he didn’t like to think about her being uncomfortable. “I happily wear it. I’ve taken a bullet before, and am standing here today because I was wearing the vest.”

“I know,” Boone murmured before bending down and kissing the marks lightly. He stood up and quickly stripped off his shirt and jeans, then his boxers, before turning to the tub to check the water.

Hayden squeezed his tight ass cheeks as he bent over and he practically squealed and shot upright. She couldn’t help it, and laughed at his girly reaction.

“Laugh at me, huh?” Boone warned, seconds before reaching out and tickling her sides mercilessly until she begged him to stop. They were both grinning when he brought her into his embrace.

Hayden loved when Boone hugged her. He didn’t just wrap his arms around her and squeeze, he enfolded her into his body and it seemed as though he tried to absorb her. It was the best feeling in the world.

Finally, he pulled away and turned off the water. He stepped into the tub, not losing hold of her hand as he eased down. He inhaled sharply. “Fuck, it’s hot. Hang on, Hay, let me put in some more cold water before you get in.”

Hayden ignored his words and stepped in front of him and eased her body down. She sat between his legs and leaned back into him. “Mmmmm, it’s hot, but it feels so damn good.”

Boone relaxed under her and they lay in the tub together, enjoying the heat of the water and simply being close to one another. At first it wasn’t sexual at all. It was just two people enjoying the feeling of skin-on-skin contact.

But eventually, as it did most of the time, with their naked bodies rubbing against each other, Boone’s hands started to roam over Hayden. He had easy access to her as she was lying with her back to his chest. He covered her breasts with his hands and massaged them, making sure to lightly pinch and tease her nipples until they were hard points. Hayden could feel his growing erection at her back and she squirmed against him as he played.

Eventually his hand made its way between her legs and stroked the slick skin there. He used his fingers to tease her clit, then would move down to put one, then two, fingers inside her. His other hand kept busy at her nipples, until she was literally writhing in his grasp and her hips were undulating with his movements. He kept her on the edge until she moaned, “Boone. Please.” As if her words were what he was waiting for, he pinched a nipple tightly and used two fingers to roughly strum her clit. As she came apart in his arms, Boone took her mouth and Hayden couldn’t do anything but hold on and trust Boone to keep her head above the water as she had one of the hardest orgasms of her life.

When Hayden finally stopped shaking, Boone stood up, holding on to her so she didn’t slip. He stepped out and grabbed a towel and slicked it over his body quickly, not taking his eyes from Hayden’s body as she not-so-patiently waited for him. He helped Hayden step out of the tub and spent a lot more time making sure every inch of her body was cleared of any water droplets.

Then he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom and settled her on her back on the bed. He took his time showing her how much she meant to him and Hayden did the same right back.

Finally, when they lay naked and exhausted in each other’s arms, Hayden brought up the “gift” Dana had left her today.

“I received some hate mail from Dana today.”

She’d apparently underestimated Boone’s languid mood, because he tensed against her. “What?”

“Hate mail. I can only assume it was from her, as she didn’t exactly write me a love letter to go with the pictures she left. She’s been following us…taking pictures. She put a bunch in an envelope and sent them to me.”

“She sent you pictures of us?” Boone’s voice was hard and flat and the muscle in his jaw clenched as he ground his teeth.

“Yeah. But she scratched out my face in all the pictures first.”

At that, Boone rolled out of bed and headed into his closet, not saying another word.

Hayden leaped up after him, the relaxed feeling she had after Boone made love to her now gone.

She grabbed a button-down shirt of Boone’s that was lying on the floor and quickly shoved her arms into it as she followed him into his closet.

“Boone…”

He’d already pulled on a pair of jeans and was shoving a foot into a cowboy boot. He ignored her, totally focused on getting dressed.

Hayden tried again. “Boone, seriously, I’ve dealt with this. I called Juan and he came over and got the pictures. They’re on it.”

“You might have dealt with it your way, but it’s time I quit fucking around and dealt with her myself.”

Hayden put a hand on Boone’s arm, not really shocked when he yanked it away from her and reached for his second boot.

“Look, if you go off half-cocked and race to her right now, you’re playing right into her hands. She wants you to come to her. She wants you to get up in her face.”

“Oh really? And now you’re an expert on crazy ex-girlfriends?” Boone barked, still not looking at her.

Hayden started getting pissed. She’d been trying to deal with this rationally, but clearly Boone was past that. “Yeah, actually, I am. I’ve dealt with a lot more pissed-off girlfriends, boyfriends, and exes than you have.”

“Don’t throw your job at me, Hayden. I’m pissed at you,” Boone said yanking on the boot to get it on his foot. “You deliberately kept this from me. Do you know how that makes me feel?” Without giving her a chance to answer, he kept talking. “Like you think I’m helpless and a weak, pathetic man. That’s how.”

“That’s not—”

He talked over her, reaching for a shirt on a nearby hanger. “I know it’s ridiculous to let myself get beaten by her, I do, but I honestly thought she’d finally get a clue and move on. But it’s obvious that’s not going to happen until I talk to her.”

“Boone!” Hayden said sternly, “You know I don’t think of you that way, and this is all on Dana, not you.”

When he stood in front of her fully dressed, Hayden started to panic. She had to stop him somehow.

“I didn’t immediately tell you what she did because I have a gut feeling she’s reaching the end of her rope. She’s been spying on us. She’s watched us together for a while now. She’s losing it. She’s gonna break, and we have to be ready for it. I spoke with the sheriff today and gave him a head’s up…mostly to cover my ass in case I have to hurt her.” Her voice lowered and she hoped Boone was hearing her. Truly hearing her. “Boone, I only received the pictures yesterday. It’s not as if I’ve kept this from you for weeks. I had to talk to my boss, but I also didn’t want you to worry. I won’t keep things from you; that’s not how I work.

“I love you, Boone Hatcher. I’ll do anything in my power to keep you safe. If that means keeping you in the dark for a few fucking hours over shit like this, I will. If it means shooting that crazy bitch, I will. Don’t you get it? You’re
it
for me.”

Hayden stood blocking the closet door with her body. She had her hands on her hips, waiting for Boone to do something.

“That’s a low blow, Hayden,” Boone said looking over her shoulder, refusing to meet her eyes. “Saying you love me for the first time when you know how pissed I am at you is not cool. And you know why. You
know
I hate it when you keep shit from me, and to know you kept
this
from me shows how much you
don’t
care about me.”

Hayden’s face didn’t show the absolute devastation he’d just dealt her. She hadn’t been trying to manipulate him in any way. She’d been trying to make her point, but obviously hadn’t gone about it the right way. She stood still, waiting for his next move as she had no idea what to say.

“I’ll deal with Dana. Get out of my way,” Boone bit out bitterly, his hands clenched at his sides.

Hayden ground her teeth together as hard as she could and pressed her lips together. Knowing she’d given him everything she had, and he’d completely ignored her words as if they meant shit to him, she did the only thing she could.

She stepped out of his way and Boone stalked past her as if she hadn’t just laid her heart at his feet, and watched as he stomped on it with his size-fourteen cowboy boots.

H
ayden sat
in Boone’s house in an easy chair in his living room. She’d methodically gotten dressed in her own clothes when she’d heard the garage door close behind Boone’s truck. She’d hoped against hope that he’d come to his senses before he left the house, but he hadn’t.

She could’ve gotten any one of his employees to take her home, but she wanted to make sure Boone arrived back at the house all right. It was stupid of her, but she’d been honest with him. She loved him.

She was pretty sure he loved her back, but wasn’t a hundred percent sure, especially after he’d ignored her declaration of love and stalked out of the house. He’d been mad because Dana had messed with her…again. If he didn’t care about her a little, she didn’t figure he would’ve gotten so upset. So she was gambling on their future.

Sure, she could’ve acted like a pissed-off bitch, rightly so, but she loved him, and even mostly understood his frustration with the entire situation. That being said, she wasn’t going to let him get away with acting like an ass to her. No fucking way. Things were intense, and he was upset when he’d heard about Dana’s threat to her, but it was still no excuse to race out of the house in the middle of the night.

So she sat in his chair, feet planted at her ass, knees bent, her legs folded up. Her arms were around her legs and her cheek rested against her drawn-up knees.

Hayden tried to control her temper. The last thing she wanted to do was get up in Boone’s face when he got back. But she was pissed and devastated all at the same time. It wasn’t in her nature to break down and lose it, so she waited. Hoping like hell Boone wouldn’t be able to find Dana and he’d be back sooner rather than later.

It took about an hour, but finally Hayden heard the garage door go back up. She let out a relieved breath, at least Dana hadn’t shot him through the heart, but didn’t otherwise move. The ball was in Boone’s court now.

She kept her eyes on him as he came into the living room and looked down the hall to his bedroom. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

“You find her?” Hayden’s voice was soft. She didn’t want to startle him, but it was better he knew she was here.

Boone twirled around and saw her sitting in the shadows of his living room. “You’re still here,” he said, surprised.

“Yeah. I’m still here. You drove me here, for one thing.”

Boone came toward her and sat on the sofa across from her rather than getting into her space. Smart man. “No. I didn’t find her. Shit, Hay, I got about halfway to her apartment before I realized you were right. About all of it. I’m not going to solve anything by getting up in her face. I’d only give her another chance to throw something at me or hit me. She knows I won’t hit her back, so going over there would’ve just been stupid.”

Hayden didn’t move and stayed silent, waiting to hear what else he had to say.

“I’m sorry, Hay. You didn’t deserve that. I was pissed at Dana for what she’d put you through. I can take whatever she dishes out, but you shouldn’t have to. I want to protect you, and I feel like I’ve failed miserably.” When Hayden didn’t move or say anything, Boone sighed and continued, “You’re over there in a defensive ball, and I fucking hate it. But what I really hate is that
I
did that to you. I heard you, Hay. And for what it’s worth, I love you too. That’s why I was so upset. I know you’re a big bad sheriff’s deputy and can take care of yourself, but it doesn’t stop the Neanderthal inside me wanting to shield you from every danger, and every asshole who is out there. The fact that it was an asshole
I
brought to your doorstep makes me absolutely insane.”

When she still didn’t respond, Boone let out a huge breath and put his head in his hands and said in a tortured voice, “I’ll take you home. I’m sorry I left you stranded here.”

“You hurt me, Boone.”

At Hayden’s soft words, Boone’s head came up and he looked at her.

“I bared my soul to you and you tromped on it. That wasn’t cool.”

“I know,” he whispered. “And I’m sorry.”

“I’ve been doing my job for a long time. I deal with this kind of shit every day. Every day, Boone. I know you want to take care of me, and I appreciate it most of the time. But what you did tonight was uncalled for and out of line. Way out of line.”

“I know,” Boone said again.

“As much as you might hate it, I
can
protect you. It’s what I do. I won’t ever be the ‘little woman’ who sits at home while you save the world. I’ll never spend all day cooking you a dinner fit for a king. Like it or not, my job isn’t safe. I’m gonna be in shootouts, tracking down serial killers, and even dealing with everyday people who have a grudge against police officers. You storming out of here after we’d just made love to each other and not even talking or truly listening to me, was bullshit…and as much as I love you, I won’t put up with it. It’ll tear me apart and I’m not willing to live like that. I’m sorry I didn’t call you the second I realized what Dana had done, but I did what I thought was right for both of us. And I
did
tell you. Just like I told you about the cat, and my tires, and the pizza deliveries. I’ve loved being with you, Boone, but if you’re going to turn into a macho asshole every time you feel like I’m not acting like a helpless female, we might as well end this now.”

“You’re not a man, Hayden. No matter how much your dad tried to make you into one.” Boone said, his voice tight with emotion.

“You’re right, I’m not,” Hayden agreed immediately. “But I’ve been practically raised as one, I work in a male-dominated field, and I can kick just about any man’s ass if he gets out of line. My point is, I appreciate more than I can say that you want to keep me from harm, but it’s just not necessary and frankly, that’s not what I need from you. I need your support. I need a shoulder to cry on when I’ve had a shit day. I need someone to laugh with and to feel like I matter to.”

“Hay…”

Ignoring his pleading tone of voice, Hayden hurried to finish her thought. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like the way you see me. That I don’t like how you treat me. That I don’t like it when you do things for me. But don’t ever doubt that I have
your
best interests in mind when it comes to safety. I don’t blame you for Dana’s actions, just as you don’t blame me for anything anyone else might do in regards to us. We can only control our own actions, and tonight your actions were fucked up and you hurt me.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do it again. Okay?”

“I won’t. I swear.” Boone had heard the hurt as well as the steel in Hayden’s voice. He’d been frustrated that Dana continued to harass Hayden, when she’d done nothing wrong, and he’d taken it out on her. It wasn’t fair, and he’d been a dick about it. Boone couldn’t believe Hayden was forgiving him that easily.
Was
she forgiving him?

He watched as she put her legs down and stood up. She walked toward him and held out her hand. “Come on. We’ve both had a piss-poor day. Can we please go upstairs and get some sleep now?”

He immediately took hold of the hand she held out to him, sighing in relief at the familiar feel of her slender fingers closing around his own. “Hayden, I have to ask. You’re forgiving me for being an ass? Just like that?”

“It wasn’t ‘just like that.’ I sat here tonight before you got back, wondering how I’d go through the rest of my life without you. Imagining the look on your face when I said I was leaving you. In the end, I knew I couldn’t do either…live without you,
or
leave. We’re gonna fight, Boone. I’m gonna get pissed at you and you’re gonna get pissed at me. If I stormed off and ended things with us every time it happened, we’d be living on a roller coaster…and honestly, I’ve always hated roller coasters at the amusement park. I’d rather yell, get pissed, and talk this kind of shit out than let it fester, or quit on us at the first sign of disagreement. But I’m glad this happened. You now know I won’t put up with you hurting me again as you did tonight. And I expect you to tell me if I do or say anything that
you
truly can’t put up with. I’m not Dana. I’m not going to go crazy on you. So yes, I can forgive you. We’re human. We’re gonna fuck things up…but because I care about you, I’m not willing to let it end us. Are you?”

“No! Hell no. I just…I’m not used to this.”

“Dana didn’t forgive easily, did she?”

Boone shook his head. “Understatement of the century. If I’d done to her what I did to you tonight, she literally would’ve knocked me upside the head with a skillet and screamed at me for at least half an hour telling me what an idiot and asshole I am.”

Hayden winced, knowing he was right. “Again, I’m not Dana. And I’m not any of the other immature women you’ve apparently dated. I know why you were pissed. I’m not saying you didn’t hurt me. But…” her voice dropped and cracked with emotion, “…I love you, Boone. I figured you reacted the way you did because you cared about me. If I didn’t think that, I would’ve been right on your heels, getting the fuck out of your house and out of your life.”

“I love you too, Hayden. I more than simply care about you.”

“Right, so that’s why I waited for you to come back. So we could talk it through like adults. We’ve done that now. I’m tired, and tomorrow you can make it up to me. Deal?”

Boone smiled and squeezed Hayden’s hand as he stood up. “Deal.” He pulled her into his embrace, the all-consuming one that Hayden loved. Damn, his arms almost wrapped completely around her back and touched in front. His head was buried in her neck and she could feel his hot breaths against her skin. She snuggled into him and took a deep breath, trying not to cry. She hadn’t been sure this was where they’d end up when and if he came home, but she thanked her lucky stars it was.

Boone finally pulled back from Hayden, and took her head in his large hands. He pulled her up to him and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Hayden Yates. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If I wasn’t so pissed at Dana, I would thank her right now for trying to get me arrested, because it brought you to my doorstep.”

Hayden laughed lightly, glad the tension in the room had finally seemed to dissipate once and for all. “That’s warped, but I have to say I agree.” They smiled at each other and silently moved to the bedroom.

They undressed without a word and crawled into bed and immediately into each other’s arms. Hayden fell asleep fairly quickly, happy to be back in Boone’s arms, and content now that he was home safely, but it took Boone a lot longer.

He’d been an ass, and he knew it. He recalled the stoic look on Hayden’s face when he’d ignored her declaration of love. He swore never to do or say anything again that would put that stony blank look on her face. Because if he’d learned anything about Hayden, it was that she’d hide any hurt or pain she was feeling if she knew it would negatively affect him. It was just one more way he’d take care of her…whether she knew it or not.