Give In To Me by Lacey Alexander Read Free Book Online

lot.
    His groin tightened now as he remembered the heat of those kisses last week. He’d
     had
sex
that hadn’t been as good as those kisses.
    And still . . . it had been a moment in time, nothing more. After all, hadn’t he decided
     he was just fine with short liaisons that revolved around heat and sex? And this had
     definitely been about heat—and sex, too, even if that part hadn’t actually happened.
    And no matter
what
he wanted from a woman these days, other things generally took priority in his life.
     There was little Rogan held sacred: his H.O.T. brothers, his real brothers—and now,
     lately, his work.
    But not women? Love? Ever?
    What about Mira? Is Mira sacred to you?
    He swallowed back the small sting of pain that still pierced his gut when she came
     to mind. But it
was
small now, barely there. And yeah, Mira
could have
been sacred to him. If she’d wanted to be. But she’d made another choice, a choice
     he even respected because he knew damn good and well that it was probably the best
     one for her. And life went on.
    As for his H.O.T. brothers, he’d trained with them at police academy more than ten
     years ago now. He and a select group of guys from his class had been placed on the
     Hostage Ops Team, given special training after showing aptitude for handling hostage
     and other high-pressure situations. He knew that particular feather in his cap had
     been part of what had gotten him a job on the Miami force—and that he’d be ready to
     use those skills whenever they were needed. And even when they weren’t put to use
     directly . . . well, the same skill set that made him good in hostage situations also
     made him an effective cop every single day.
    But more than the training he’d received, what had lasted was the bond he’d formed
     with the other guys on the team. They were his best friends. They got together each
     summer now, sometimes more than once, and those long weekends were always like coming
     home, no matter where they happened to take place. And sure, he was closer to some
     than others, but he considered each and every one of them brothers in a way.
    And his real brothers? Hell . . . the truth was, he didn’t want to think about them.
     He missed them, and most of his memories of them were sad ones. But they were still
     sacred to him and always would be.
    Taking another drink of his beer, he spun on the stool and took in the whole room.
     Like usual on a Friday night, the crowd was heavier—the same mix of tourists and locals,
     some eating, some drinking, a few dancing.
    It had been just about this time last week that all hell had broken loose in here
     and he’d—somehow—ended up making out with Ginger outside. His groin tightened a little
     further as a slow smile overtook him. Hell, maybe he should have chased her.
    If it had been only a moment in time, after all, what had caused this
second
moment in time a little while ago? And she very clearly hadn’t come past the Café
     Tropico looking for
him
, hoping to see him, or it wouldn’t have panicked her so much. So the more he thought
     about it, the more it seemed . . . almost fated or something that he’d run into her
     again.
    But that was silly. He didn’t believe in fate. He believed in learning from the past
     but leaving it behind. He believed in living a life that made you feel good. And what
     made him feel good right now was bringing down bad guys, making a difference. When
     he was young, maybe he hadn’t become a cop for the right reasons. Maybe it had seemed
     like a way out. Maybe it had seemed like a way to feel power over other people after
     a shitty childhood. Maybe it had made him feel tough. But now it was about making
     a difference, doing some good, and he liked having grown up enough to know that, to
     have reached that place.
    Yet making out with Ginger in that alley—hell, that had made him feel good, too, even
     if in a whole different way. That had been about power as