Training the Rookie, page 1
Training the Rookie
A Reverse Harem Romance
Natasha L. Black
Copyright © 2018 by Natasha L. Black
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Epilogue
Pretend You’re Mine (Sample)
A Note from the Author
About the Author
Introduction
I was just a rookie.
I never knew how dirty a cop could be.
Until I had three of them in my bed at once.
When I started on the force, I knew I’d have a partner.
I didn’t know Jeremy would be hot as hell.
Or that he’d have two brothers that are just as sexy.
What I didn’t know turned out to be delicious.
They’re gorgeous, strong and protective.
I never planned to get involved with all three of them
But I can’t keep my mind off them.
And they can’t keep their hands off me.
Danger approaches and I have three men to keep me safe.
Can I keep all three of them satisfied?
Could a girl pass out from too much pleasure?
I’m about to find out.
1
Blair
You’ve got this.
I repeated it to myself as I made my way to the police station, in order to cram out all the other thoughts. The ones about how hard I’d worked to get there, how I couldn’t let Mom and Dad and Ella down, how I didn’t quite get the ketchup stain out of the hem of my white shirt.
Talk about making a good impression. Chief Fallows was a notorious hard ass too. According to a girl who was in my class at the Academy whose brother had actually worked for her, he summarized her as a “talented bitch”.
This was my first day on the job. I couldn’t afford to mess up so early. No, I’d worked too hard for that.
Wow.
The guy walking past me was the kind you see on the front of some copper romance novel. The kind with shaggy dark hair and blue eyes that see right through you. Ridiculous, but I could almost see him, the way he was looking at me, pressing me to the wall with the flat of his hand.
When his smile quirked on the left side and he said, “Hey,” I came to my senses.
“Hey,” I said quickly, as I passed by.
There was no time to stop and talk, not that I would’ve known what to stay if I had. What were you supposed to say to the hottest guy you’d seen in months?
Anyway, finally, I was there. The last door on the hallway to the left.. There, I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock. You’ve got this.
Then I knocked, three short knocks. They sounded way too loud to my ears, but I was just jittery. When the Chief’s voice came through, I could’ve fainted on the spot. This was it. This would decide everything. Sure, I had managed to land the job on the police force, but would I be able to keep it?
Inside, the Chief looked about the same as her picture on the wall. Silver hair strangled into a tight ponytail, curiously unlined face with dark eyes that pinned you to your spot.
“Ms. Collins,” she said in a voice devoid of emotion.
“Chief.” I stuck out my hand. “Thank you again for this opportunity. I’m excited to get to work.”
The chief gave her head a slight incline, as if to say, “We will see.”
I sat down at the only other chair there was in the room.
“So,” she said.
Her eyes began dissecting me like I was an insect on a clear slide.
Evidently having liked what she saw enough to proceed, the Chief continued, “I’m going to give it to you straight. I’m not going to give you an easy time just because you’re another woman.” She gestured to the door, seemingly indicating the people outside of it. “They’re certainly not. You're just another cop. I’d expect you to act as such. Not overdoing it, just because you’re a female trying to prove a point..”
Unsure if how to respond, all I said was, “Yes, ma’am.”
“This isn't your stereotypical cop job either,” she continued. “I don’t allow slackers on my force. The kind to frequent doughnut shops instead of catching actual criminals. And, as for your personal behavior, you better just hope that I don’t catch you doing anything you’re not supposed to. We're the police. We're supposed to be the upholders of law, not the ones removed from it. Remember that, and you’ll do fine with me.”
Judging by the harshness of her tone and face, part of me somewhat doubted that, although I only nodded once again.
“And what’s more,” she was saying. “I don’t tolerate laziness; just clocking in and out instead of challenging yourself. And that applies to now as much as ten years from now.”
She slapped her open palm on the desk, and I jumped a bit. “You better tell me how much you want this position now. And tell it to me good.”
While my mind fumbled for a response, I blurted out, “A lot.”
No expression. “Yes?”
“Yes,” I said. I was so sure I was practically speechless with it. Medusa boss or not, I wanted this job. I wanted to help people. “Ever since I was little. I started going to the gym, reading up on what I’d need to get in when I was a preteen.”
I didn’t add the why, the part about Ella and what had happened to her. How I hadn’t helped her then. Something told me the Chief wasn’t a fan of sob stories or sentiment.
As it stood, now she was the one nodding, still eyeing me critically.
“Then you may have what it takes,” she finally said.
“Thank you,” I said.
Her gaze returned to some papers on her desk, and to them she said, “You can go.”
My limbs feeling weak, I rose and made my way to the door. Was that what you would call a good interview? Or a bad one? Was there more I should’ve said or shouldn’t have?
I was at the door when her voice stopped me, “And Officer. Collins?”
“Yes?” I said.
Her face wore the slightest trace of a smile. “Good luck out there. I think you’ll do great.”
I mentally reminded myself to close my open mouth. Was that an actual compliment?
It occurred to me that it was long past time for me to go, so I said, “Thank you, ma’am.”
I’d just turned back to the door, when she added, “Oh, yes. Almost forgot. Your partner, Jeremy.”
And once again, I found myself gaping like a child who sees a monkey for the first time. Thing was, this was no monkey in front of me. This was the hot cop himself, the one I’d seen out in the hallway. Jeremy.
Worse still, he was looking at me as if I wasn’t alone in my attraction.
For my part, all I knew now was that one thing was for sure: the odds of me doing great had just decreased.
Significantly.
2
Jeremy
It's her.
Shake her hand, I ordered myself. Say nice to meet you, convincingly.
“Nice to meet you,” I said
For shit’s sake, though, would you just look at her. Soft brown hair, soft brown eyes, chin with a tilt that seems a touch cocky. The kind of chin I'd tilt even higher, so her lips could reach mine… Hang on there, cowboy.
I gulped. The Chief was saying something, but all I knew was that if the Chief had the foggiest idea what I was just thinking about, she’d fry me up on the staff barbecue and eat me alive like an oversized sausage.
That first touch of the woman’s skin as we shook hands went through me like a knife. Her hand was rigid though. Was she noticing how I was looking at her?
“Jeremy will show you the ropes,” the Chief was saying. “One of the best we have, him and his brothers. First day, you can start out easy. Just checking for the same old speeders on the road. Not a lot of action. So, if you’ve got any questions, you ask them.”
Now that the Chief mentioned it, I had a hell of a lot of questions for the new girl. Too bad none of them were appropriate for work.
“You ready, Jeremy?” Chief asked. “Or would you rather stay in here and help me clean up my office?”
That got me out of there pretty damn quick. One time the Chief punished me by making me help her clean the dusty old basement wit
My new partner– Blair -- and I were halfway out of the station, when I realized I still hadn’t said anything.
“Don’t let the Chief scare you,” I told her. “She gives that hard ass speech to the rookies when they come in.” A smile quirked at the corner of my lips. “Although she does kind of mean it. Doesn’t tolerate any bullshit, the Chief.”
“Clearly,” Blair said.
“You’ll see,” I continued. “You’ll do fine. As long as you’re good, that is.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said, with that chin tilt of hers.
“I wasn’t.”
“Good.”
Yep, my new partner definitely had a saucy side to her.
Once we got to the cruiser, I gave her a brief tour of the layout – the leather interior with the buzzer and all that jazz. All was going swimmingly, until I opened up the glove compartment and what had to be at least five bags of barbeque chips fell out.
I slammed it shut. Fucking Noah.
To her clearly amused smile, I explained, “Yes, I like barbeque chips. Gives me something to do on these long-ass sitting sprees, waiting, praying for someone to break the law.”
Even though she only nodded, I got the annoying impression that she was laughing at me. I breathed in a whiff of some scented soap and my dick twitched in my uniform pants.
I twisted away. No way was I going down that road. I liked my job, and I fully intended to keep it. With the Chief being how she was, the fastest way to get fired would be to get involved with another cop, especially a new one at that.
So, when we got in and I got driving, finally pulling the cruiser over around the corner, I didn’t say much. Although, as we waited for speeders to pass, I couldn’t help saying, “You’re not really what I expected for my new partner.”
“No?”
One look at those expectant, soft brown eyes, and I was done for. Don’t tell the truth, I counseled myself. Whatever you do, don’t go telling the goddamn truth.
“Forget it,” I said, feeling like an idiot.
She did.
I kept the radar gun pointed at the road, waiting for the next car to come. The unfinished words were eating at me, so finally I blurted out, “I just meant that some girl cops I meet seem pretty gruff and intense. You don’t seem like that.” That seemed to both disappoint and please her.
“No?” she said again.
I shrugged. “You just seem a bit nervous, if anything.”
She turned to watch the empty road in front of us. “You’re right. I’m a little freaked out. Chief Fallows is notorious, and I really don’t want to screw this up.”
“Hey.” I put my hand on hers. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t.”
She said nothing, her gaze dropping to my hand – what the hell had I done that for?
“Anyway.” I forced a laugh as I ripped my had back. “You’re my partner now. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I meant it. It was almost radiating off Blair in waves, how much she wanted this job. If she really was capable, which I assumed she was - having made it through the Academy and gotten hired here - then there was no reason why she wouldn’t be an excellent cop.
A beep distracted my attention away from her.
“Got one!” Blair said. Sure enough, the red Honda that I’d just clocked with my radar gun was going ninety in a fifty. Yes, this was going to be good.
I turned to Blair. “Want to drive?”
“Now?”
I jumped out of the car and raced over to her side while she lunged into the driver seat. “Let’s go.”
And then we were off. The red Honda had gotten a bit ahead because of my ill-advised pause, but this was a fairly unused road so I wasn’t overly worried. Besides, I knew the stretch ahead for miles. Our target wasn’t going anywhere. Not to mention that Blair’s driving skills were on point. She accelerated smoothly and easily, making an easy pass around a Lexus and a BMW in our way.
A few more seconds of accelerating, and she was behind the car, blaring her lights and sirens.
Pulling the car over was fairly routine. The driver herself, however, was something else, with her orange afro and a wailing purse-sized dog that seemed more upset about being stopped than she was.
After Blair asked her for her license, the woman leaned in with a strong licorice waft, and asked if there wasn’t any way to come to a mutually beneficial situation.
For a beat, Blair paused. Her eyes met mine, as if to say, is she really hinting at that?
“How much, ma’am?” I asked abruptly. As Blair ogled me and began to speak, I shushed her.
“Three — I mean five hundred dollars,” the woman said. Leaning in, she said, “I can’t afford anything more on my license, no more points.”
I nodded, and as Blair watched on, said, “That’s really too bad. Then you shouldn’t be speeding.”
Then, I nodded to Blair. “Write up the ticket, Collins.”
“And be glad I’m not hauling your ass in for attempting to bribe a police officer,” I added.
As we drove away, Blair’s gaze rested on me.
“What?” I said, now the one at the wheel.
“Just… For a minute there, I thought you were actually going to accept her bribe.”
I shrugged. “Not worth it in the end. Too much at stake, even if they offer you a couple thousand.”
“You been offered a couple thousand for avoiding a speeding ticket?”
I laughed. “Not for that, no. You’ll see. You get to see all sorts of wild shit out here. Makes it interesting, but also makes you lose faith in the human race, seeing the same bad shit day in and day out.”
Blair was looking out the window, her ponytail slacker than it was earlier. “People aren’t that bad, really,” I tried correcting myself. “Just a bit crazy, some of them.”
She adjusted her elastic, setting her ponytail higher. “Yeah, I guess so.”
--
The rest of the night was fairly uneventful. We didn’t talk much, as we caught one speeder after another. Mainly because of me, although Blair seemed hyper-concentrated on doing a good job.
Although, near the end, the conversation picked up when I mentioned my brothers and how close we all were.
“My sister is my best friend, too.” Blair’s smile softened her face considerably. “She’s younger and…”
Blair checked her phone, laughed. “Looks like I’ve got to return her call.”
“Good thing we’re almost off shift,” I said.
I pulled the cruiser into the parking lot of the station and turned off the engine.
“Some of us are going out for a beer if you want to join?” I asked her, not wanting her to go just then.
She smiled but shook her head. “Thanks, but I think I’ll take a rain check. My adrenaline is about to run out and I’m gonna crash pretty hard,” she said as she climbed from the car.
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember my first day on the job too. Well have a good night then,” I said. “Thanks for today,” she said. “And for showing me the ropes.”
“Just my job.” I waved a hand. “What kind of partner would I be if I expected you to be some kind of pro on the first day?”
“Still,” she said. “Thanks.”
As she turned away preparing to go, I tried to think of something to say.
“See you tomorrow,” I said with a brisk wave.
“Bye,” she said, turning away and heading toward her car.
I headed into the station to change out of my uniform and meet up with my brothers for that beer. I couldn’t wait to tell them all about my new partner.
