Cop Appeal by Ava Meyers Page A

that made her fling back her head and throw out her
hands to clench at the sheets beneath her. The pressure inside her
grew and grew and grew…
    She yearned for satisfaction. She reached
for it. She strained to find the release that would drain her of
all worry and thought, even if it would only be temporary.
    But this time, just as it had for weeks now,
satisfaction eluded her.
    Dragging her eyes open, Sarah blinked
rapidly until the drab décor of her cheap motel room came into
focus. Of course, Luke was nowhere to be seen. She was alone—alone
except for her useless vibrator.
    Her fantasies of Luke, the ones that had
always brought her pleasure and a semblance of comfort in the past,
were now tainted.
    Because of him .
    Not Luke—whom she’d lived without for four
long years only to learn he’d recently returned home—but him . The one who’d been watching her. Threatening her.
Stalking her.
    The one who’d gotten too close. Because
she’d let him get close.
    Ironically, she’d met Richard because of
Luke; they’d been cops in the same precinct together. He’d seemed
nice; attractive and charming and far less overwhelming than Luke.
Blue-collar background. Just less…complicated overall. Less to live
up to.
    Soon after their honeymoon, Richard had
shown his true colors. He had a violent temper. A filthy mouth. A
cruel streak. She’d rightfully been wary of him. On edge. Waiting
for him to blow and show her that Jekyll and Hyde personality of
his again. However, after the divorce, as if he hadn’t been psycho
enough, he’d clearly lost a few more screws. He’d proven himself to
be a serious threat two weeks ago when he’d pushed her down in the
parking lot of the supermarket. Of course, he’d made sure there
weren’t any witnesses, and he’d been upping the ante ever
since.
    Richard had lost it.
    A few days ago, Sarah had gotten so scared
that she’d actually fled her home for the sterility of this hotel
room in a strange city, hopeful that Richard would never find her.
She’d left everything behind but the basics, her memories, and the
toy buried between her legs. And for what? The fear hadn’t
subsided. Plus, she’d heard second-hand that Luke was back in Palm
Springs and, if his failure to mention her was anything to go by,
obviously over her.
    With a frustrated cry, Sarah withdrew her
“Luke substitute,” a thick, blue latex dildo, from her body and
flung it across the room. “Damn you,” she shouted. “Damn you
both!”
    Curling into a ball, she hugged her knees to
her chest and struggled to catch a breath. “Damn me ,” she
murmured.
    She shouldn’t have run. She should have
reported Richard to the police. Should have stood her ground. At
the very least, she should have confided in her friend Meredith
about Richard’s freaky behavior, but she’d been too embarrassed to
reveal exactly how foolish she’d been to marry him.
    She’d just have to suck it up. In the
morning, she’d drive home, and her first stop would be the police
department.
    Her decision had nothing to do with Luke’s
return, she assured herself. She didn’t even know how long he’d be
in town, after all. Plus, it wasn’t like he’d joined the Palm
Springs PD. Most importantly, the man was just as likely to throw
her to the wolves than protect her. Far more likely to do so,
actually.
    But maybe, just maybe, she’d catch a brief
glimpse of the only man she’d ever loved. After all the heartache
she’d been through, she felt she deserved that much.
    With a sigh, she closed her eyes and
pictured Luke as he’d been the last time they’d really made
love—he’d been twenty-six to her twenty-eight, with slightly long
sandy brown hair, pale blue eyes fringed with the thickest lashes
she’d ever seen on a man, his starched navy patrol officer’s
uniform parting to reveal rippling abs and bulging muscles. She’d
spent months loving her “younger” man, so she tried to muster some
indignation that he hadn’t