Free Curve Patrol (BBW Erotic Romance) by Christa Wick

CURVE PATROL
    I exited the bathroom still wet from a long soak in the tub. With my terry robe wrapped tightly around me, I stalked toward the kitchen on the hunt for a giant mug of hot chocolate. A triple latte espresso would have been better, but it was nine at night and I'd had a long week working on a deadline cover illustration. I just wanted to put the finishing touches on the piece and call it a day.
    Pretty pathetic for a twenty-six year old on a Saturday, but I am what I am.
    My plan was obliterated the second I stepped into the living room. The red and blue flash of police lights bounced against my closed curtains as a heavy, authoritative knock landed on the front door. I hurried over, pressed my eye to the peephole and saw Noah Lodge, my brother's best friend and a city cop.
    Noah at my front door was nothing new. He lived three houses down on the opposite side of the street. With my brother Mike in Afghanistan, Noah was in charge of keeping an over-protective eye on me. That didn't explain why he was on the other side of my door so late in the evening, in his city police uniform with his lights flashing in the drive.
    He didn't patrol this neighborhood -- the city didn't allow it. I ripped the door open, my head suddenly filled with the idea that Mike had listed Noah as his emergency contact so someone he trusted could gently break any bad news to me.
    "What's wrong?" Tears were already filling my eyes. I didn't know what I'd do if I lost Mike. He was the only real family I had left.
    Noah's hands came up, landed on my shoulders and gave a soft squeeze. "Nothing to panic about."
    I didn't believe him. There was a slight tremor running through his voice and he gave my shoulders another squeeze that was harder than the first. "Is it Mike?"
    "God, no, baby girl." He shook his head and rubbed at my arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you--"
    "No one's hurt?" Now that I knew Mike was okay, I was even more confused. Something looked very wrong with Noah. His pupils were larger than normal and his skin was flushed, like he was in fight mode or something.
    He frowned. "No one's hurt -- yet."
    "Then why the hell are you standing at my front door with your lights flashing in my drive?" I tightened the robe around me, suddenly envisioning every last one of my neighbors peeking from behind their curtains. Most of them I didn't know -- wouldn't even recognize them in the local grocery store. Only a few people -- like Noah -- had grown up on the block.
    His cheeks, already flushed, grew a little pinker. "Sorry, baby, give me a second."
    Noah trotted back to his patrol car. He leaned across the front seat to turn the lights off, giving me a clear shot of his magnificent ass in the process. I quickly looked away before I had my own reason for blushing. It didn't matter that I've known Noah since before I could walk, or that I'd seen him go through dozens upon dozens of girls in his twenty-eight years, he still made all my parts tingle whenever I was around him.
    Cinching the robe tighter, I retreated further into my living room as he walked back to the house.
    Noah stepped inside and shut the door. "The Donovans reported seeing someone peeking in one of your windows."
    He pointed toward the east side of the house. The kitchen and my bedroom were on that side. The neighbors were relatively new, having moved in three, maybe four, months ago. I hadn't talked to them yet, didn't even know their names -- first or last -- but I nodded like I did. "The new couple next door."
    "If by new you mean eight months." He laughed and gave me an eye roll, my heart fluttering right along with the thick brown lashes that fringed his green-gray irises. "You need to get out of the house more, baby."
    In danger of getting lost in the perfection of his face, I blinked and turned away. I forcibly reminded myself that Noah was not only my brother's best friend, but also a man who went through women like a drunk goes through a six pack of beer on a Friday