Crossing the thin blue line
Paula Drummond is finally back on a police force. And with so much at stakeâsheâs a single mom atoning for an almost career-ending mistakeâsheâs not risking anything but stellar performance. That means, regardless of whatever attraction is brewing between her and her partner Officer Riley Henning, she will not get involved.
Still, working side by side with a man as hot as Riley and not giving in to temptation isnât easy. Especially when he goes above and beyond to help keep her son safe. With all that evidence piling up, it seems as though her partner on the job is destined to become her partner in bedâ¦and maybe even in life.
This was crazyâ¦insaneâ¦and everything she wanted
A sweet hot rush of desire swept over Paula. Sheâd wanted to kiss Riley for so long. Sheâd held back for a whole lot of good reasons.
The reasons hadnât gone away.
Reason itself had disappeared.
He began to undo her buttons. She pushed his hands away.
âYouâre right. This is inappropriate. Iâm soââ
âDonât you dare apologize.â And to prove she had no intention of stopping, she whipped her shirt over her head.
Inappropriate or not, she didnât care. His touch felt like heaven. His kisses were better than chocolate. She liked him, she liked what he was doing to her. And she wanted more.
She was tired of being cautious. Tired of examining every feeling to see if she should act or clamp down on her desires. Riley was an honorable man and he was hot for her. So what if they gave each other a bit of release this once? If they were adult about this, they could have sex without it interfering with their work.
Feeling his corded muscles and broad shoulders, sheâd imagined what it would be like skin to skin. Now she knew, and it was good. He claimed her mouth again and rose to his feet, pulling her up with him.
âCome with me.â She took his hand and led him to her bedroom.
Dear Reader,
When my editor suggested making my hero and heroine police officers (instead of newspaper reporters) I agreed immediately. Higher stakes, more excitementâfabulous! As I began to think about the story and flesh out the characters I realized just how high the stakes could go.
What if my detective heroine Paula Drummond had a son by a drug lord sheâd put in jail? What would happen when that criminal got out of jail and wanted his son? What if, by association, Paula is inadvertently responsible for hard drugs coming to her adopted town of Summerside?
Thatâs a lot for any woman to cope with. Paula is probably the strongest and most assertive heroine Iâve written. She neededâand deservedâa strong partner, so I created ex-Special Forces soldier, Riley Henning. Because we writers like to make life difficult for our characters, I decided Riley had to battle his own demonsâpost-traumatic stress disorder from his tour of duty in Afghanistanâeven as he helped Paula protect her little boy, Jamie, from his criminal father.
Protecting Her Son is the fourth book set in my fictional Australian seaside town of Summerside. In it, I introduce a new set of characters with cameo appearances from old favorites. This book stands alone but expands and enriches the picture of village life in Summerside.
I love to hear from readers. Drop me a line at [email protected] or write snail mail to, c/o Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, CANADA, M3B 3K9. Check out my website, www.joankilby.com.
Happy reading!
Joan Kilby
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joan Kilby is a great believer in law and order, but like many people, gets nervous for no reason when she sees a police car following her on the highway. So it was with some trepidation that she wrote a story about a couple of cops. She felt better once she was done. Somehow the police seemed more human now that she knew them better. (Yes, she knows sheâs writing fiction and these people arenât real. They just seem that way.) Joan lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and three children. Sheâs the law-abiding and award-winning author of more than twenty Harlequin Superromance books.
To police officers everywhere
who put their lives on the line to serve and protect the community.
CHAPTER ONE
Seven years earlier
DETECTIVE PAULA DRUMMONDâS long-legged stride through the bull pen was more of a wiggle than a walk in her tight skirt and teetering high heels. Her clinging silk blouse with plunging neckline displayed a generous cleavage.
Catcalls and wolf whistles erupted in her wake. Paula grinned, flipped up her middle finger and exaggerated her hipsâ sway as she carried on to the detective sergeantâs office.
Tim Hudsonâs shiny bald head was bent over his computer keyboard as he typed furiously with two fingers. Knocking once, Paula entered and lowered herself onto a guest chair. She crossed her legs, one rhinestone-studded shoe bobbing briskly. âWhatâs up, boss? Why did you call me in?â