Leaving her suitcase by the door, she kicked off her heels and marched over to the windows. A gasp escaped her as she took in the view of Columbia laid out before her. The city was picture-perfect. This was certainly different from the quiet country life.
“This is life.” She giggled, moving away from the window. After a long day of meetings with the mayor, the captain, and the two sergeants of SWAT, she was dead on her feet. Afterward, her father had taken them out for dinner. With a full belly, she was ready to relax for the rest of the night.
She made her way into the en suite and halted in the doorway. Her mouth dropped open at the luxury in front of her. The bathroom was fit for royalty with a large clawfoot tub that could accommodate four grown adults, a stand-alone shower, and dual sinks. The marble floor sparkled.
Excited, she rushed in and began stripping her clothes off. She headed straight for the tub. She ran the water and turned to find an assortment of bath salts in a basket on the counter. With a grin, she chose the best smelling ones and tossed them in the tub.
It was officially time for her to relax.
Wrapping the plush white robe around her body, Roxxy groaned. She left the room and headed to the couch. As much as she would love to dive into the large bed and go to sleep, she did have some work to do.
Her ‘break’ was over.
She pulled the files out of her bag, walked back into the bedroom and settled on her bed. She switched the television on to the local news. She wanted to study the files of each member of the SWAT team, ignoring the TV. If she was to do her job thoroughly, she would need to know something about each of the men. She did take notice that there weren’t any women. That wasn’t part of the recommendation they could make, but it was noted.
“I’m sure there has to be a worthy woman who could join,” she muttered. She pushed down her irritation and began plowing through the paperwork.
Her gaze landed on the photograph of the man who had taken her breath away at the station.
Myles Burton.
The intensity of his eyes in the picture made her pause. She studied it, memorizing his features. He was a drop-dead gorgeous man and certainly captured her attention.
His build was something only the gods above had blessed him with. Just the memory of the way his dark t-shirt had highlighted his hard muscular chest, his dark eyes, and that bald head with a shadow of a beard on his face had her almost tripping over her feet. Roxxy was proud of her calm demeanor when she’d returned his heated gaze. Even once she’d spun away, she’d felt his eyes on her.
Just thinking of him sent her heart racing.
“Calm down, girl.” She laughed, fanning herself.
Everything about him screamed the military. Roxxy didn’t need to look at his file to know that.
Her eyes had immediately been drawn to him once he’d come into the bullpen with his partner. His walk was that of a predator. Being an Army brat, she was very familiar with the body language of a soldier.
Roxxy had been too busy ogling the cop that she had missed everything her father and the captain had been speaking about.
She was just getting out of a relationship. Her ex-boyfriend, Korey Norman, had done a number on her. She had thought he had been the one, that they would spend forever together, but that wasn’t the case. She’d been attracted to his deep smooth skin, his country twang, and perfect smile. There weren’t many black cowboys in the area, and she was definitely drawn to the sight of him in a pair of jeans and a Stetson. The way that man sat on a horse had her heart skipping a beat.
The night she went over to his place and found another woman swallowing his cock halted all of her future dreams.
The waitress at the local diner they frequented. Roxxy had always pushed aside his harmless flirting with the woman.
“Baby, I’m just nice. I’m sure she gets a lot of assholes in here,” Korey had proclaimed when she’d complained about his flirting. “You catch more flies with honey.”
Roxxy had shrugged and figured he hadn’t meant any harm and let him off the hook. She was with him, and the waitress was more attentive to them even when she was super busy.
One night a few weeks ago, she had thought to surprise him. She’d just come back from an out-of-town job and let herself into his place with her key. She’d missed him and didn’t want to wait until the next day to see him. It was late, but she’d figured he’d still be up.
Walking into the living room, she’d dropped her purse at the sight that greeted her.
Korey on the couch with the waitress, Anna, on her knees, sucking his dick.
Her gaze met Korey’s, and he instantly pushed the woman off. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to her. Roxxy grabbed her purse and left.
For the next couple of days, Korey had tried to explain himself.
None of the excuses helped, but the one that pissed her off the most was where he put part of the blame on her and her work.
Roxxy, you’re always working. There’s no time for us.
His words echoed in her head.
She’d walked away from the man she’d thought she’d spend the rest of her life with, with a broken heart but her pride intact.
She would move on and find that special someone.
Someone who would love her for her.
Her gaze traveled back down to Myles Burton. His file spoke of him being a decorated member of the Special Forces. She was impressed to read he’d been a Green Beret and had been a sniper while in the military. Continuing her reading, she learned he’d had no demerits on his record. She pulled out her notes from her conversations with Sergeant MacArthur and Owen.
Even though her father had ignored her about the tryouts, Roxxy knew that would be a perfect way to assess the team members of SWAT and their screening process.
Gathering the papers from the bed, she placed them on the nightstand. She snuggled down into the covers and pulled them over her.
She wondered if her mother remembered to give her faithful mare, Sunshine, her treats. Each night, Roxxy spoiled her horse with fresh apples. She had left a bag of freshly picked ones next to her stall. A fleeting idea came that maybe she should call her mother, but she thought twice about it.
Her mother would be insulted if Roxxy didn’t trust her to take care of Sunshine.
