Gabe went easily when Emerson shoved him around the corner, thinking he might possibly have crossed the line. Or maybe not. His mind wasn’t tracking well enough just then to figure that out. The only thing he was certain of was that the moment he’d laid eyes on Jasper his system had gone haywire, attraction stronger than anything he’d felt before taking over, flaring so hot it had scared the fuck out of him.

So he’d reacted like any rational man would in that situation and had tried to fight it off with anger. When that hadn’t worked, he’d reminded himself that guys like Jasper were bad news and brought nothing but trouble—something he knew, being burned by them before—but even that hadn’t been enough, which had taken his fear to a whole new level, a level matched only by his lust.

A lust that was partially cooled when his back slammed against the brick wall, Gabe’s first clue that Emerson was pissed. The second clue—

“Are you out of your goddamned mind?” Emerson yelled, then fisted the front of his jacket and slammed him against the wall again.

—was that.

“Reporters,” Gabe gasped, the second hit knocking the wind out of him.

Emerson froze, then glanced at the reporters a few yards away. Turning back to Gabe, he leaned close and hissed, “Tell me you weren’t seriously going to arrest Belmont.”

Sucking in air, Gabe nodded. Damned right he’d been going to arrest him. Finding out that not only was he the one who’d caused a sensation on the evening news but was also responsible for the fucking disaster on Canyon Drive because of his porno shots had solidified Gabe’s instinctive distrust of him. Jasper calling his mother to pull strings with the captain, the paint on his hands—visible proof of his guilt in vandalizing the mural—them him destroying evidence, not once but two times, were the chocolate sauce, nuts, and cherry on top of Gabe’s arrest-his-ass-and-throw-him-in-the-slammer sundae.

And what the fuck was that with him fondling Gabe’s cuffs, staring him right in the eyes as he taunted him, filling his mind with forbidden images, fucking daring Gabe to do things he knew he shouldn’t do…at least not with him. And then to boldly steal them, leaving Gabe with no choice but to take them back. Didn’t he realize Gabe was too fucking dangerous to play that game with?

Unless…

Gabe’s eyes narrowed. Maybe he did. Maybe he knew damned well and wasn’t worried about what Gabe would do to him. Hell, what if he wanted Gabe to do those dark and dirty things to him? The idea that Jasper wasn’t afraid of him, like so many were, and that he might crave what Gabe could give him, was far more tempting than seeing him lock Gabe’s cuffs around his wrist, his eyes glazed over with passion.

Which made him too fucking dangerous for Gabe’s well-being and sanity. He needed to stay the hell away from him so he didn’t do something stupid. The fact that Jasper had no qualms about breaking the law and using his mother’s status to get away with it should make that easy.

His back hit the wall a third time. “Would you fucking stop,” Gabe gasped out, shoving Emerson back. That was starting to fucking hurt.

“Not until you pull your head out of your ass and tell me you’re not going to arrest him.”

“I am going to arrest him. He’s a goddamned criminal.”

“No, he’s not.”

“He is and I’m—”

“Being fucking stupid. The Captain’s a personal friend of his mother’s. He’ll have your balls, and maybe even your badge, if you arrest her son.”

That brought Gabe’s anger back full force. Grabbing Emerson by the lapels of his suit jacket, he pivoted and slammed him into the wall. “I’m not going to fucking let him get away with breaking the law because his mother leaned on the Captain.” If anything, that made Gabe even more determined to make sure he paid for his crimes.

Emerson shoved him back. “He didn’t break the law.”

“He sure the fuck did. You saw the paint on his hands as well as I did.”

“There could be a thousand reasons for that. None of which make him guilty.”

“Or just one, because he fucking is.”

“He’s not.”

Gabe shoved off of him. “Come on, Em. Surely you’re not that blind you can’t see what’s going on. Between whatever that was on the news the other night to the billboard this morning, this guy’s pulling in major coverage.” He jerked his head toward the gathered reporters. “Any fool can see this so-called stalker is nothing but a ploy to drum up interest for his Grand Opening.”

“The only fool here is you if you think Belmont’s behind this. The kid is innocent.”

Gabe clenched his teeth at his partner’s stubborn refusal to see what was so obvious. “He’s fucking guilty. He’s nothing but an entitled punk who uses his mother’s connections to get away with doing whatever the fuck he wants. And I’m not going to fucking let him get away with it. Not this time.”

“He’s not guilty…wait.” Emerson frowned at him. “What do you mean, this time?”

Gabe stiffened.

“Oh shit. You’re talking about—”

“Don’t,” Gabe said, holding up his hand. Then he had to look away, not able to meet Emerson’s eyes when they filled with compassion, which felt a lot like pity. And fucking burned.

“Belmont’s not Robbie,” Emerson said, putting his hand on Gabe’s shoulder and giving him a gentle shake. “He’s not like your ex-boyfriend.”

Gabe snorted, still not looking at him. Emerson was wrong. Jasper was exactly like his ex-boyfriend. Or close enough to make no difference. And Gabe should know since he was intimately familiar with the type.

Before moving to Starfall Grove five years earlier, Gabe had been a homicide detective in Chicago. Within a few years of reaching that rank, the violence, drugs, corruption, and evils of what one human could do to another had come close to breaking him. But Gabe had held on and kept going, determined to find justice for the victims and their families.

And he’d found justice for many in that violent city.

Until the day he’d discovered his boyfriend, the man he’d intended to marry, had been using his relationship with Gabe to get out of numerous traffic violations and more than a few minor drug possession charges.

And when tossing Gabe’s name and rank around hadn’t been enough, Robbie would offer up his lithe dancer’s body and fuck his way out of a ticket.

The fact that his fellow officers, the guys who should have had his back, had slept with Gabe’s boyfriend had been bad enough—and had hurt him more than he wanted to admit—but that they’d done so in return for letting Robbie off for his crimes, ultimately breaking the law themselves, had been more disillusionment than he could handle

Gabe had been done.

Done with the betrayal, done the never-ending violence, done with the corruption, especially among his brothers in blue—which is what had finally broken him—Gabe had handed in his weapon and badge. He’d gone home and canceled his lease, put his belongings in storage, then driven out of the city with no destination in mind. All he’d known was that he’d needed to get away before he ended up killing someone, namely his lying, cheating, douche-bag ex-boyfriend and whichever cop he’d been fucking when Gabe had dumped a box of his shit onto the hood of the police car parked in Robbie’s parking spot.

The next day when Robbie, his faithless, dirtbag ex had phoned to ask why his key to Gabe’s place wasn’t working, Gabe had gleefully informed him that he didn’t live there anymore.

“What!” Robbie shrieked. “You just moved out without telling me? What the fuck, Gabe?”

Gabe snorted. Served the little bastard right.

“Where did you move to?” Then before Gabe could answer, his tone abruptly shifted. “Is your new place closer to the studio? Because that would be perfect. They’ve offered to let me teach the senior classes, which is more money, but also longer hours. If I don’t have such a long commute from your place, I’ll be able to do the extra classes and still get my Gabe time.”

Gabe just shook his head, amazed at how quickly Robbie had turned that around to how it would benefit him. And how the fuck did he plan on squeezing in Gabe time around everyone else he was fucking if he was working longer hours?

“So when do I get my new key?”

“You don’t. I’m moving away. Out of the city.”

“But…what about me? Your job? You can’t just leave everything.”

“I sure the fuck can. And I did.”

There was a brief hesitation, like maybe Robbie was finally getting a clue. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere where I don’t have to run into men you fucked behind my back every time I turn around.”

Robbie’s gasp was loud. And the denials came fast. “I never cheated on you, Gabe. Not once. Whoever said I did was lying.”

“Save it,” Gabe snarled. “My fellow officers had a lot to say about how much fun they had fucking my boyfriend.” Mostly because they hadn’t known he was listening.

“I didn’t,” Robbie said, his voice quivering, his eyes probably welling up with crocodile tears, an act Gabe would never fall for again. “You have to believe me, baby. I would never betray you. You’re my one and only. The man I’m going to marry.”

At those words, all of his suppressed hurt, his disillusionment, his anger, boiled over. Too furious to drive, Gabe pulled over to the side of the road and slammed his car into park, then sat there, his body rigid, fingers opening and closing, clenching the steering wheel then loosening, his breaths coming hard and fast. Fuck Robbie and fuck marriage. Gabe couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been to think Robbie was the one. How gullible he’d been to fall for his act, for all of his lies. Working far too many hours, raw and almost broken from seeing the worst of humanity, Gabe had been easy pickings, too blinded by need and, let’s face it, lust—Robbie’s long bendy body and tight little ass hard to resist—to see what Robbie was really like when he’d swooped in and slotted himself neatly into Gabe’s life.

Gabe had been so grateful to have someone to come home to on the nights Robbie was free, so thankful to have a warm body to sink into to wash away the horrors of that day, he hadn’t questioned all the nights Robbie hadn’t been available. He’d been so happy, felt so fortunate to have someone there to hold him, to tell him everything would be all right, someone whose kisses and caring–which he’d mistaken for love—had patched the worst of the wounds on his soul, that he’d blindly trusted, believing Robbie when he’d said dance rehearsals had put those marks on his body.

Finding out everything had been a lie, that Robbie had only been using him, stringing him along for whatever the fuck reason he had, had ripped a hole in his heart. But the betrayal from his brothers on the force had cut deeper, tearing his soul open so wide he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.

“Tell me you believe me, baby,” Robbie said, his voice wobbling as he sniffed back those fake tears. “Tell me you know I wouldn’t be unfaithful.”

Gabe’s knuckles turned white, the steering wheel creaking under the strain of how hard he was squeezing it, part of him wishing it was Robbie’s neck. Or the bastards who’d fucked him.  “Reg and Tate had pictures of the time they double-teamed you.”

“Baby, no. That wasn’t… I didn’t—”

“In my own fucking bed, Robbie,” Gabe yelled, feeling murderous all over again. Only his partner holding him back had stopped Gabe from killing those two motherfuckers when he’d caught them flashing the photos around the locker room. But he hadn’t been fast enough to stop Gabe from breaking their faces. “You fucked those fuckers in my bed. More than once.”

There was a loud sob. Followed by a sniff. “I, I…they made me, Gabe. You have to believe me. They said if I didn’t do what they said…”

“Stop fucking lying to me,” Gabe roared. “You fucking went after them. You fucking threw yourself at them. At all of my brothers. Don’t fucking try to turn this around on them.”

A louder sob. “I’m sorry. I think…I think I have a problem. I need help.”

“I don’t fucking care.” Which was a lie. But he was going to try his damnedest to make it true.

There was a long silence, punctuated by sobs, before Robbie asked, his voice sounding lost, “Will I…” Another long sniff. “Will I ever see you again?”

“Not if I can fucking help it.” Then, needing to be done, Gabe ended the call, blocked Robbie’s number, and tossed his phone into the backseat, closing that chapter of his life.

He’d driven into Starfall Grove three weeks later and known immediately that he’d come home. He’d built a new life, filled with people he trusted, doing a job he loved in a community he was proud to serve. He wasn’t about to let some pretty, entitled, magic boy fuck it all up.

Been there, done that, and wasn’t about to drink from that well again.

No matter how much he might be tempted to.

“Gabe.” Fingers snapped in front of his face. “Are you listening to me?”

Blinking, Gabe came back to the present and saw Emerson frowning at him.

“Did you hear me? Belmont’s not like Robbie.”

“Yeah, he is,” Gabe said, then holding his hand up to stop whatever else Emerson was going to say, walked to the corner of the building. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the brick wall, eyes narrowed as he watched the animated conversation Jasper was having with his artist friend. Against his will, Gabe could feel his body reacting, everything growing tight, hardening at the sight of that lanky form stuffed into skin-tight jeans and a blue and pink t-shirt that sat higher than his waistband, exposing a strip of pale skin Gabe wanted to sink his teeth into.

Which pissed him off, but that didn’t stop his cop’s eyes from taking in all the details, from the untamed, light brown hair with a slight curl at the ends—long enough to get a good grip of—to his wicked mouth—the full bottom lip just begging to be bitten—that had a natural twist to it that made it seem as if Jasper was laughing at a private joke. Then there was the protruding Adam’s apple Gabe could easily visualize stretched out as Jasper threw his head back in ecstasy, exposing the hollow at the base of his throat where sweat would pool until it spilled over the sides and streamed down the long, slender column of his neck as he looked at Gabe out of half-slitted eyes amber eyes full of mysteries Gabe wanted to unravel.

Just then those dark golden eyes looked over and locked on him. Gabe clenched his teeth when the side of that laughing mouth curled up as Jasper cocked an eyebrow, his expression telling Gabe he was an idiot. And since Gabe couldn’t decide if he wanted to strangle the infuriatingly sexy man or kiss the smug look off his face—or better yet, fuck him until they both couldn’t walk—he probably was.

Which was annoying as fuck.

He glanced over when Emerson came up beside him.

“Look at him, Gabe. Even though he’s trying to hide it, you can see how upset he is about his mural. That’s not the face of a guilty man.”

No. It was the face of a good actor. Gabe’s Spidey senses, the ones he’d developed shortly after moving to Starfall Grove and had come to depend on, were telling him something was going on with Jasper, that he needed to be wary of him. He turned to his partner and shook his head. “You’re wrong, Em. I know he’s behind this stalking crap and I’m going to prove it.”

Emerson sighed. “Gabe—”

“Don’t fucking Gabe me. Our job is to look at all the evidence, not just assume someone’s telling the truth because they have a pretty face.” Gabe stopped. Fuck. Why the hell had he said that?

Emerson squinted at him. “You think he has a pretty face?”

Gabe shook his head. “No.”

“That’s what you just said.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I think you did,” Emerson said. “You want him. That’s why you’re being such an ass.”

“I’m being an ass because he’s guilty as fuck.”

“Sure you are,” Emerson said, then snorted. “I saw the way he was looking at you. And you were looking right back.”

Motherfucker. “You saw nothing,” Gabe snarled.

“I saw everything. You want him, Gabe.” Emerson leaned in, whispering in his ear. “You want him real bad.”

Gabe shoved him back. “Would you fucking stop?”

Emerson just snickered and made kissy faces at him.

Gabe gave him a disgusted look, mostly to hide the fact that Emerson had hit too close to a truth he wasn’t about to admit, and jerked his head to where Jasper was standing. “Let’s just finish taking his fucking statement so we can get on with some real police work.”

Part of which would be proving Jasper was guilty.

“Alright, but this conversation isn’t over.”

“It’s over.” Bumping Emerson’s shoulder, Gabe started walking to where Jasper and his artist friend were waiting.

Catching up with him, Emerson said, “Maybe you should let me do the talking this time. Your new boyfriend already thinks you’re an idiot. No need to let him know you want to cuff him to your bed and go bad cop all over his ass.

Fucking Emerson. He should have known he hadn’t missed that.

They only got a few steps before one of the reporters, moving fast on stiletto heels—how the fuck women could do that without breaking their necks was something Gabe would never understand—called out to them. “Detectives, a word please.”

Gabe scowled at her, which only slowed her down for a second, then she kept coming. Shoving Emerson in her direction, he said, “You fucking deal with this.” Then he took off.

“You asshole. Get your ass…would you get that thing out of my face.”

Looking back over his shoulder, Gabe laughed when he saw Emerson leaning away from the microphone the reporter had shoved at him.

Undaunted, the reporter kept holding the microphone out to him as she asked, “Are you here to investigate the recent spate of indecent exposure incidents involving Jasper Belmont?”

“I can’t discuss an ongoing investigation,” Emerson said, trying to move around her, but the reporter shifted quickly to stay in front of him.

“Then you must be here to make an arrest. What are the charges?”

“I really can’t comment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with my partner.” Gabe snickered when Emerson tried to go around her again, but moving like lightning in those heels, she cut him off, shoving the microphone back in his face.

“The public has a right to know what’s going on, Detective.”

 “And they’ll find out once we’ve finished our investigation. Now please move.” Emerson held out his arm to block her, and finally got away, scowling at Gabe who didn’t even try to hold back his laughter when his partner reached him.

“You’re an ass, you know that.”

“Yep.”

 “My editor will be calling your Captain about your lack of cooperation,” the reporter shouted after them.

“We’ll let him know to expect their call,” Gabe called back, smirking when she glared at them before storming off, her heels clicking loudly against the pavement. Turning back, the smile fell from his face when he saw Jasper watching him with those witchy amber eyes.

Emerson glanced between him and Jasper, his shrewd gaze missing nothing. He snorted, made another kissy face at Gabe—fucker—then walked over to where Jasper was waiting.

“We have just a few more questions for you, Mr. Belmont, then we’ll let you get back to your day.”

Jasper nodded, his eyes staying on Gabe’s as he ran his slender fingers over those damned cuffs. Then he tugged on them.

Gabe went instantly hard.

Fucking fuck. He was so screwed.