Bewitching Fire Read online

  Devin’s mouth quirked in a disbelieving grin. “Seriously? Coffee in Boston is nothing special and the coffee at this place won’t be either.”

  Aaron held up a cautionary finger. “You haven’t had an espresso brewed by these girls. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s nothing like any I’ve had before.”

  Devin shrugged and hooked his thumbs into his uniform pockets. “Again, an espresso is an espresso. Just don’t be disappointed when I’m not impressed.”

  They passed by a donut shop that boasted a long line inside. Devin peered through the bay window and saw some of the customers eating their breakfast pastries and treats at the little café tables.

  “Why not get coffee there?” he asked. “They’ve got bagels.”

  Aaron hurried a little farther ahead and didn’t even seem to notice the scent of deep-fried dough and powdered sugar. “Mrs. McRae’s doesn’t sell coffee.”

  Devin’s brows shot up as he hustled to catch up. “A donut place doesn’t sell coffee?”

  A chilling breeze blew down the street, another sign that autumn was in full swing for Massachusetts. Devin was glad for the warm uniform shirt and jacket that the department issued for the coming winter season. The light windbreaker with the police department logo on the chest and upper arm was warm enough to fight off the cold, but when winter fully set in, he knew he would need something heavier.

  Aaron ran his fingers through his blonde hair to push aside a strand that had fallen in his face. “That’s right,” he replied. “McRae’s doesn’t sell coffee and Perfect Books and Brews doesn’t sell pastries.”

  “That seems a little counter intuitive for business, don’t you think?”

  Aaron chuckled just as the bright gold and purple sign of the coffee shop came into view. “Not at all. It’s actually a pretty good setup. No competition.”

  Devin looked ahead and somehow, he had hoped that the line of customers that had been standing outside on the walkway didn’t belong to the shop. Upon Aaron’s insistence, he hadn’t had any of his usual coffee that morning, and though he’d already been awake for a few hours, he was ready to crawl back into his wrought iron bed and call it a day. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.

  “Did they just open?” he asked as they stepped up to the end of the line that was straddling the curb. Devin cast a glance down either end of the street and saw how the line of parallel parked cars seemed to stretch on indefinitely. The same went for the other side of the narrow, two-way street lined with thick manicured bushes and towering trees that were beginning to lose their leaves. He imagined spring in Goldcrest Cove would be absolutely beautiful, especially on Johnson Avenue.

  “They’ve been open for probably five years,” Aaron answered.

  Though he was impressed that such a business was doing so well, even after five years, Devin shook his head. “No, I mean did they just open a little while ago? The line seems pretty long.”

  Aaron checked his watch. “They open at seven in the morning.”

  “And they’re still this crowded?”

  Aaron slapped a hand on Devin’s shoulder. “Come on, man. Just be patient. It’ll all be worth it.”

  That’s what he kept saying, but Devin still had his doubts. The line moved surprisingly fast and once they were inside the warm lobby, Devin stole a glance toward the front counter. His brows furrowed in confusion.

  There were only three women working the morning shift.

  That didn’t seem right for the kind of traffic they had to handle. These kinds of lines warranted at least five, maybe six baristas running around filling coffee cups and taking orders. There was only one cash register open. For being in business for five years, he imagined they should have been more efficient than that.

  That didn’t improve his first impression of the place, but the interior certainly did. He could see why people loved to come here. Sunlight streamed through the expansive windows at the front of the shop, giving the place an informal and sheltered feel. The air was warm and saturated with the strong, savory smells of coffee and herbs. Neither was it too loud, despite the fact that he couldn’t see an open table anywhere.

  It was hard to miss the bookcases that lined one of the long walls of the shop. That’s when he noticed that several customers were reading while they sipped on their drinks. A couple of college kids were huddled around a bigger table, tapping away on their laptops. A few were reading the morning newspaper, and couples were enjoying each other’s company while their hands wrapped around their steaming mugs.

  “They’ve got real mugs,” Devin commented quietly to his partner.

  He nodded. “Yeah, that’s another cool thing about the place. The customers who come in almost every day bring their own mugs, or have the girls keep their mugs here so they can just fill it up whenever they come in. Less waste that way.”

  Devin also nodded in approval. “I assume you’ve got a mug?”

  “Yep,” he announced proudly as they neared the front counter. “I snitched a mug from the station and told them to keep it here for me. It’s bigger than the other mugs I have at home.”

  “Remind me to tell Chief Nickels that you stole department property.”

  Aaron shot him a devious look. “Chief Nickels has his own mug here too. It’s the one with the basset hound on it.”

  He heard the bubbly laugh of the barista manning the counter and leaned around the portly businessman in front of him to take a peek. The blouse the woman wore sported billowy, long sleeves that were pulled up around her elbows by pull cords that scrunched up the grey-blue fabric. Her long ponytail of shiny black hair draped over her shoulder, and her brown eyes danced with genuine delight that made Devin stare a little longer than he normally would have.

  She certainly was beautiful with her slender nose and high cheekbones. His heart thrummed hard in his chest as the line moved forward. Soon, he’d be the focus of those brilliant eyes that were offset by her dark bangs that curtained over her forehead. The shop lights caught the tiny fragments of gold in her irises and one corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

  “Do you know what you want?” Aaron asked, snapping Devin out of his daze for a moment. Yeah, he knew exactly what he wanted, but it wasn’t anything that could be poured into a mug.

  He finally looked up to the huge menu board above the barista station and blinked at the wide variety of choices. Their selection was just as varied as any big-name coffee shop like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. There were coffees, teas, and other drinks like hot chocolate and smoothies.

  “Don’t they just have regular black coffee?” he mumbled as his eyes poured over the options.

  “Sure, but you’ll probably get a weird look from Krystal.”

  “Is that the girl at the front counter?” Devin hastily asked, hoping his partner wouldn’t pick up on his obvious interest. The last thing he wanted was an earful of ribbing in the squad car while they patrolled the town.

  Aaron slid him a knowing glance. “Yeah. The blonde is Alexa and Valerie’s the one with the red streaks in her hair. Don’t cross her on a bad day or she might put something in your coffee.”

  “You speak from experience?” Devin chuckled, watching the way the taller girl with short brown hair fixed the mixed hot drinks with such speed that he couldn’t begin to figure out what she was doing.

  Aaron laughed. “Oh, yeah. One time, I made some crack about a piece of studded jewelry she was wearing. After I left with my coffee, I had gas all day. And not the good kind.”

  Devin held his lips tight so he wouldn’t laugh out loud, because they were next in line.

  When the businessman paid for his highly modified and customized espresso, the two cops stepped up to the counter. Krystal didn’t look at him right away, but turned to Aaron first.

  “Good morning, Aaron!” she said with just about the prettiest smile he’d ever seen, then turned to fetch his Goldcrest Cove Police Department mug off the shelf.

  “Good morning, Krystal,
” he returned. “You girls are a little busy this morning.”

  “Tell me about it,” said the little blonde barista, Alexa, as she came forward with two cardboard drink holders loaded down with to-go coffee cups. She delivered the order to another lady waiting near the counter wearing a black polo and pair of faded jeans. The logo on her left lapel told that she worked for a furniture store just down the road. She must have been sent to get the company their coffee.

  When Krystal came back to the register after handing off Aaron’s mug to Valerie, she finally looked up to Devin. He gave her his best, friendly smile and he could see the faint pink color rising to her cheeks. At least he knew he was making a good impression already.

  “You must be that new cop from Boston,” she said.

  “How did you guess?” he asked, his smile faltering a bit. Did news of what had happened on his previous job reach all the way to this little coastal town?

  Krystal leaned against the counter and he saw the way she popped her hip out just a little. Her navy blue apron covered much of her front, but he could tell she had a nice set of curves underneath.

  “You’re a new face,” she replied. “The entire department has come in here at least once or twice, but I’ve never seen you before. I hope you’ll come around more often.”

  Devin wanted to think something in the way her gaze roamed over his torso made her say that, but it was far more likely she just wanted his business.

  “If Aaron has his way, I’ll be here every morning,” he half-way promised.

  “I guess we’ll get to see a lot of each other, then.” There was a little glimmer in her eyes that he couldn’t ignore. A hungry, flirty look that made his pants feel a little tighter. What the hell?

  “You having the usual, Aaron?” she asked his partner.

  Aaron shot her that corny finger-gun gesture and winked. “You got it.”

  Krystal glanced over her shoulder to Valerie, but before she could call out the order, her coworker waved her off.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Double espresso with coconut.”

  Devin looked to Aaron in utter disgust. “Coconut?”

  “And what can I get you, mister…”

  He immediately snapped back to Krystal. “Devin. Devin Daniels.”

  Almost out of reflex, he offered out his hand to her over the countertop. He had gotten so used to shaking everyone’s hand nowadays that it had grown into a weird sort of habit.

  Krystal didn’t seem bothered and shook it in return. He loved the way her hand felt so warm in his. More than that, he admired her strong grip. It wasn’t every day a lady could return his handshake with just as much force. “Krystal Hayden. Owner.”

  “Yeah, Aaron was telling me how you and your friends run this place. Impressive.”

  She shrugged one slender shoulder, making the fabric of her blouse slide in ways that made his heart thump a little harder. “We try.”

  It was then he realized they were still shaking hands and he finally let go, though he would have loved to keep touching her skin all day long. “And I’ll just have coffee. Black.”

  Krystal seemed surprised. “We can make anything your Boston coffee shops can make,” she said. “No need to go plain on us.”

  Devin slid his hand into his back pocket to fish out his wallet. “I got black coffee in Boston too. I’ve just never been one for all these fancy drinks.”

  Krystal nodded and passed the order onto Alexa as she came back around the counter. “Well, I think you’ll like our house blend. It’s a dark roast and I’ve been told it has a hint of nutmeg. Totally unintentional, but it’s pretty popular.”

  She took their money, but Devin kept his eye on Krystal, studying the way she typed in the orders on her register screen. Everything about her was absolutely entrancing, from the way her lips moved when she formed her words to the slight scent of flowery perfume that seemed to fight its way past the overwhelming aroma of coffee grounds.

  There was something about her that beckoned to him to fling himself headlong into getting to know her. It made him forget just about everything. His new job, this new town, what happened in Boston, it all faded when this girl looked at him. Had he lost his mind?

  She handed Devin his credit card and their fingertips brushed. His lungs nearly seized at the slight twinge of shock that passed along his skin when they touched by accident. He looked up and saw that there had to be something just on the tip of her tongue. She had that look like some people did when they were ready to confess, but didn’t know quite how to say it.

  Aaron moved to the side to wait for his order, but Devin didn’t budge.

  “You were going to say something?” he questioned as he returned his wallet to his pocket. He was well aware that there were customers waiting in line behind him, but he didn’t care. Probably the only reason they weren’t throwing a fit about tying up the barista’s time was because he was a cop. He normally wasn’t the kind to misuse his authority, but he’d take full advantage of it if it meant he could talk with Krystal a little longer.

  She seemed flabbergasted, but spoke anyway. “I’m usually pretty good at judging someone based off of their choice of coffee.”

  “Oh?” he asked and leaned his elbows against the high counter, so they could talk more intimately. “And what does my coffee say about me?”

  Krystal mimicked his pose and grinned, forgetting herself just as he did. “That you’re a realist,” she said softly, just loud enough for him to hear. “You don’t like your reality watered down or sugar coated. You want to experience every bitter and bold moment that comes your way. So naturally, you appreciate honesty and justice, which is probably why you’re a cop, right?”

  Devin prided himself on his poker face. He’d had to use it a lot in the last few months while he gathered up the sharp, broken pieces of his life, so he could move on from Boston. He didn’t want to use it on Krystal, but for the sake of his image, he had to. If he let his face do what it wanted, she would have seen the look of utter shock that mirrored what slithered down his spine when she pegged him so unerringly.

  “Well, I’d say you do have a knack for judging people,” he replied and then reverted the conversation right back to her. “And what does your coffee say about you?”

  The tip of her hair grazed the polished wooden countertop. “I like chai tea latte with a little cinnamon on top. Have you tried that before?”

  Devin shook his head, staring into her dazzling, almost hypnotic eyes.

  “You should try it sometime. I like to say it’s like a holiday craft store exploding in your mouth. It reminds me of when my mom would take me shopping with her when she needed to get more yarn or beads for her little projects. I add the cinnamon on top because I love the flavor.”

  If he wasn’t completely enraptured by her before, he was now. “I’ll certainly have to try one of those sometime,” he said through a grin. “Sounds like I could get to know you pretty well just by sipping on a drink like that.”

  That coquettish glint in her eye reemerged. “There are plenty of other ways you can get to know me, but I will definitely make you a chai tea latte whenever you’re ready. On the house.”

  Oh, yeah. His pants were definitely getting a little tighter around his crotch. He nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Valerie broke into their discussion when she came up with a to-go cup in one hand and Aaron’s mug in the other. “You mind wrapping that up?” she quipped as she blew a strand of her hair out of her face. “We do have other customers.”

  Devin laughed, took the drinks and thanked her. “I guess I’ll see you around,” he said to Krystal as he began to move out of the way, so the lady behind him could step up.

  “You know where to find me.”

  Chapter Two

  From the moment Aaron and his new partner stepped into the coffee shop, Krystal could feel a disturbance in the air, as if it had been electrified. That same energy pulsed through her skin, seeping into her blood. When she looked to the
front door and realized the strange force was wafting off the unfamiliar, hot cop standing next to Aaron, Krystal was ready to vault over the counter to tackle him.

  Damn, he was fine. The police department jacket he wore did little to hide his strong, built frame beneath. His arms alone bulged against his sleeves and she nearly salivated at the way his button-down black uniform shirt hugged his trim waist. His square jaw was covered in a layer of dark scruff that must have broken some kind of police department dress code. All of their other cops were clean shaven, including Aaron. His short black hair looked soft and Krystal wished she could run her fingers through it.

  She wasn’t so sure she could keep her composure when he stepped up to the counter. Those blue eyes were so easy to get lost in that she completely forgot her hands had been shaking up until that moment. Talking to him came easier than she anticipated, and a warmth spread across her body whenever he gave her that smoldering look. All anxiety melted into a kind of comfortableness that she hadn’t expected. As if beneath this man’s stare was where she belonged for the rest of eternity.

  He looked every inch a cop, but talked just like any other regular guy. She loved that. With Aaron being an exception, some cops came into the shop with poles up their asses when they were on duty, like they weren’t allowed to socialize like a normal human just because they were wearing a badge. She hated when people took themselves too seriously.

  She couldn’t deny that something happened while they exchanged banter about coffee. Something deep within her seemed to awaken, and a whole new woman came out. She was on the clock with a long line of waiting customers, but it might as well have been like the whole world didn’t exist as long as Devin was gazing at her like that, so intense and fixated.

  Long after the two cops left, Krystal could still feel that fire burn in her chest, threatening to consume every bit of logical reasoning she possessed. She had never been so drawn to a man before, never craved his company like she did with Devin. If they still weren’t in the middle of the morning rush, she would have thrown her apron at her two friends and run out the door to chase after him. What she would do when she caught him inspired a whole new level of excitement.