Thoughts of him without his uniform were good. Well, not “good” so much as “motivating”. Yeah, the image of Sheriff Mack without his shirt on…without his clothes…whoa boy! She actually increased her pace slightly.
“So, explain to me why you’re doing this?”
She didn’t bother to glance in his direction, focusing only on him naked. Hmm…with the hat on. And the gun. Yeah…that was a pretty good look. Okay, so maybe unrealistic because she wasn’t exactly sure how he would keep the gun on his hip. Interesting problem, she thought, swallowing a giggle.
“Umm…I need the exercise,” she told him, thinking that should be obvious.
“Why do you need the exercise?” he asked.
She frowned at him, but she doubted her glare was any more effective now than it had been…she glanced at her watch and mentally swore…thirty seconds ago.
“Because my butt is too big.”
The man actually slowed down slightly and she knew…she just knew that he was looking at her butt. Stopping, she turned to glare daggers at him. “You are NOT looking at my butt, Sheriff!”
His deep, sexy chuckle sent shivers through her sweaty, overly exerted body. “And don’t do that either!”
She turned back and started running up the road, determined to finish this run and eat those fritters. The added stress of his presence sent her heart rate into overdrive. All the better for her butt, she told herself. Higher heartrate, higher metabolism, and maybe his irritating presence would burn off a few calories and fat cells.
“Don’t do what?” he asked.
Turning around, she stomped up to the vehicle and poked her finger through the open window. “Don’t laugh like that!”
“Like what?”
She waved her hands expansively. “All sexy and husky and manly and stuff!”
There was a pause while they absorbed what she’d just said. “Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.” She turned away and headed up the hill, running as fast as she could in the hopes that she might be able to get away from the man. Fat chance. He was in a truck and she was on foot.
“You think my laugh is sexy?”
She stopped, almost tripping once again. Darn him!
“No. Your laugh is not sexy.”
“But, you just said it was.”
She huffed and puffed, trying to ignore him. “You must have misheard me. I didn’t say that.”
“You’re pretty sexy too.”
She spun around and stopped. “NO! You can’t say that!”
“I can’t? Another rule?”
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. Another rule.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Could you clarify that rule?”
She huffed and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Nope? No clarification?”
She cringed, realizing that she wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. “No! Can’t you see that I’m running up a forty-five degree incline? I need to concentrate to do that.”
Another one of those sexy chuckles and she gritted her teeth, speeding up her pace as much as possible. Which was really just…well, not at all. She was going full out and even that effort wasn’t very impressive. All the more reason she needed to get rid of Sheriff Mack.
“Then let me clarify for you. You want me to fight the attraction between us. Does that sum it up?’
That stopped her cold. “No!” She spun around, facing him once more. “There is no attraction. You’re not attracted to me and I’m…” her eyes drifted down towards his arms. His shoulders. His mouth and…well, she got a bit lost. Blinking, she struggled to recover. “We’re not attracted to each other.”
“We’re not?”
“Absolutely not!” She turned around and started running. This starting and stopping was really putting a dent in her time. But…she blamed him. He’d distracted her, so this run didn’t count.
“Two things,” he began, as she tried to ignore him. “First of all, this isn’t a forty-five degree incline, honey. Not even close. They don’t make roads with that steep of an incline around here. Not safe.”
“Details,” she muttered with dismissive wave. She would have done a better flippant wave but…well, she was out of breath again.
“And secondly, I’m very attracted to you.”
“No you’re not.”
Again with the sexy laugh?! Seriously? “Stop doing that!” she growled. “And why are you following me? I’m not doing anything illegal.”
“Nope. Nothing illegal. Do you have your bear spray?”
She stopped. Again! “Why would I have bear spray? I’m on a road!”
It was his turn to look stunned, but she didn’t really think it was an equivalent moment.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Eve shrugged. “Not really.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m guessing that you’re going to explain to me the fallacy of my logic, aren’t you?”
He continued to stare at her and she shifted uncomfortably. “You honestly think bears obey traffic laws?”
Eve looked up into the sunshine, then at the hood of his car, unwilling to look him in the eye after that statement. “Well, not when you put it that way,” she replied.
“Honey, bears go where food is. And what’s worse, you’re out here in an isolated area in the springtime!”
She continued to wait, but she wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “I’m sure that there’s some significance to the season but...” she thought about it for a moment. “Sorry. No clue.”
He sighed, but she could see the patient amusement in those green eyes of his. “Eve, wild animals have sex in the fall.” He smiled slightly when the pink blush hit her cheeks. “The mothers are pregnant during their hibernation period and then they come out in the springtime with their babies to teach them how to survive and forage for food.”
Eve looked around, excited by the possibility of seeing bear cubs. “So, I might see some baby bears? That would be adorable!”
He shook his head again. “No, Eve. It is dangerous.”
She looked back at him with disbelief. “Seriously? How could a baby bear be dangerous? They look like teddy bears.”
“Eve…” he rubbed his forehead as he sighed in exasperation.
She threw her hands up in the air. “Look! I’m from the city! These things are new to me! Why don’t you just spell it out?!”
“Momma bears are extremely dangerous when they think their cubs are threatened. And any human that comes even remotely close to her babies is considered a threat. If you see any bear cubs, you are in danger!”
She still looked skeptical. “I’ll stay away from bear cubs. Got it!”
Sexual frustration and just plain old astonishment at her utter lack of knowledge about the dangers of wildlife warred within him. “Get in the truck, Eve. I’m taking you back to town.”
The thought that they were out here, alone, on an isolated stretch of the road, had definitely crossed his mind. Not to mention the fact that they were less than two miles from his cabin. He could toss her over his shoulder, drop her in the passenger seat, and have her in his bed in…
Damn, what was he thinking? She was definitely off limits.
Drinking in her figure clad in the tight leggings that showed off every inch of her curvy figure, he was definitely re-evaluating his hands-off approach. Maybe they should just enjoy each other’s company for the time she was here. Why not?
Because she wasn’t the kind of woman he could simply enjoy and walk away from when her time here was finished. Eve was the kind of woman that…well, she was the keeper-kind. She was the babies and lifetime kind of woman.
And Mack wasn’t the babies and lifetime kind of guy. He was a temporary lover kind of man. Looking at her made him wish things were different but…they weren’t. Better to leave those thoughts alone and carry on with his usual routine.
She shook her head. “No. I’m going to finish my run. I’m making sweet potato fritters for appeti
zers tonight, calling them spicy haystacks because I invented an awesome mayonnaise dipping sauce!” Her enthusiasm dimmed slightly, but her determination was solid as she looked up the hill. “I need to finish this run so that I can enjoy some of the appetizers without guilt.”
“Get in the truck, Eve,” he ordered. “You can definitely enjoy the…haystacks or whatever without guilt. Your ass looks perfect but you’d better get it into the truck before I arrest you.”
She shifted, thinking the idea of being handcuffed by this man definitely held a certain appeal. But…no. “I’m not doing anything illegal. You’ve already admitted that so you have no call to arrest me.” More’s the pity. Maybe she could…
What was she thinking?! She didn’t want to be arrested by this man! She was…they were fighting their attraction. Wasn’t that how they got onto the whole bear cub discussion?
“Okay, so if a rattlesnake slithers onto the street, what are you going to do?”
She stared at him, unaware of her mouth falling open in horror. “Um…snakes?”
He stopped himself from rolling his eyes, but just barely. “Yes, Eve. There are snakes in the mountain. Rattlesnakes are just one of them. There’s also the garter snake, which can be about three feet long. The gopher snake…those things can get to be five feet long…then there’s the…”
“Fine! I’m getting in! No more snakes!” She shuddered as she walked around the truck. Yanking open the passenger door, she huffed a bit as she dropped into the seat. “You didn’t need to bring snakes into the discussion.”
He did that whole sexy-laugh thing again, which was really starting to irritate her.
“Yeah, well, you admitted that you aren’t a wilderness woman.”
She tilted her head as the Bronco roared up the road. “Were you just teasing me?”
“Nope,” he replied. “Everything I said was the truth. Bears, mountain lions, snakes, rattle snakes especially…oh, and has anyone mentioned the black widow spiders?” He actually heard her swallow. “Just be careful opening a box that hasn’t been used in a while. And don’t stick your hands into any bushes.”
“Got it,” she replied, feeling a bit green as she contemplated the amount of time she’d spent dusting off old boxes in Cynthia’s storage area. “So what do I do if I see a black widow spider?”
He shrugged and she pulled her eyes away from his shoulders, focusing on the road ahead. “Kill it.”
Umm…no, that wasn’t really going to work for her. “What if I called nine-one-one?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You wouldn’t really do that.”
Eve heard the confidence in his voice, knew that he thought she was kidding but…she kinda wasn’t. “Seriously though, what do I do?”
He glanced at her as he pulled into the parking lot. “You kill it, Eve. Just step on it with your shoe or smack it with a fly swatter.”
She nodded her head. They were parked now but she was afraid of getting out of the truck. “And snakes? What do I do if I see a snake?”
He smothered another smile. “Well, if it’s a garter or gopher snake, just take a broom, lift it up and toss it into the woods.”
Eve closed her eyes, slightly queasy at the idea. “That’s just…not going to happen.”
He watched her, realized that she really was alarmed. “Eve, snakes are more afraid of you than you are of them. Trust me, give them an exit and they’ll take it. A rattlesnake will tell you well beforehand if it’s around and feeling threatened. You’ll hear the tail shaking. You know what that sounds like.”
“Yeah,” she swallowed, thinking of movies where a rattlesnake sneaked up on an unobservant character. “So, I just…use the broom?”
“Hell no! If you hear a rattle snake inside your place, you call me. I’ll take care of it.”
She breathed a bit easier with that assurance. “Will you shoot it?”
He laughed again. “No. I’ll catch it and transport it out of the area.”
Eve winced. “I’d prefer you shoot it.”
He shook his head, the smile still hovering around those sexy lips. “I’m not going to shoot it, Eve. They have a right to live just as much as you do. But, I don’t want them around the town. So I’ll take it somewhere far away. Deal?”
She thought about it, then nodded her head. “Deal. Now, about those spiders…”
He waited, but she only opened the door to his truck and peered down at the ground.
He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. She was adorable! “Want me to go inside and check out the area for you? Make sure there aren’t any spiders around?”
Eve bit her lower lip. “At the risk of sounding like a wimpy girl who is relying on the big, strong guy while obliterating decades of progress towards feminist principles…yes.”
He threw back his head and laughed, thinking she was adorable. “Fine. I won’t tell anyone that you asked a big, sexy, strong guy to make sure there aren’t any spiders in Cynthia’s house. And you promise not to go out into the woods on your own anymore. Deal?”
“Deal!”
“Good. Come on,” he shut off the Bronco. He watched as she hesitated, enjoying the view of her butt as she bent over in the passenger seat to make sure there weren’t any snakes or spiders in the gravel beneath the truck. He waited until she’d jumped down before he exited as well. Coming around to the other side, he waited for her, holding the door of The Bull Frog open. “If it’s any help, snakes would prefer smooth rock, like a boulder, versus the rough gravel.”
She looked at him over the hood of the Bronco. “I’m not sure that really helps. But if you were to tell me that they wouldn’t come onto the gravel, that would help me a bit.”
He lifted that dark eyebrow again and she wondered what he would do if she shaved it off.
“Do you want me to lie to you?”
She sighed and looked down again, contemplating her answer. “Maybe,” she muttered.
“Fine. Snakes wouldn’t crawl around on gravel. If there was a juicy, slow-moving rodent on one side of the gravel parking lot, the snake would go find another meal, something that was easier than slithering across the gravel.”
“Okay!” she gasped, lifting her hands up in the air to stop him. “Fine! I get it! The snake is hungry and they’ll go after whatever is easily available!”
He pulled the door open for her, laughing at her response. “You’re catching on.”
Eve grumbled as she followed. The blast of laughter from the kitchen hit her full force and she thought about those sweet potato stacks. With a groan, she realized that she hadn’t fully justified her snacks. “You know you’ve messed up my day’s plan with your scare tactics.”
Mack grabbed her arm, swinging her around so that she was facing him. “Eve, I wasn’t trying to scare you. I was serious.”
She tried to pull away from him, but gripped her upper arms, holding her in place. “If a bear came around, I’d climb a tree. No need to worry. And you’ve already told me that a rattlesnake warns with that rattling sound when it feels threatened, so I’ll be listening for that too. A mountain lion…? Well, I’m sure I’d hear that as well. I mean, how stealthy can a mountain lion really be?”
He lowered his head in defeat. “Are you crazy?”
She looked up into those dreamy, green eyes, thinking, yeah, she might be a bit nuts. Crazy. Whatever adjective might fit. Because she was standing in his arms, he was trying to warn her about the dangers of the Rocky Mountain wildlife and all she could think about was kissing him. What would it be like to be kissed by a man with that level of intensity? She shivered as she imagined just how amazing a kiss from a man like Mack might be. It would be incredible!
Obviously, he felt her reaction to his proximity but completely misinterpreted her shiver. “You’re right to be scared. But I don’t want you scared. I want you to understand and be cautious, Eve.”
“Cautious,” she repeated, nodding her head. “I’ll be very cautious.”
His eyes moved ov
er her features. She didn’t meant to lick her lips. Honestly! So when his eyes moved to her mouth, it was completely unintentional.
Okay, sort of unintentional. Well, yeah, it was completely unintentional, but she liked his reaction. Those dark eyes on her mouth, the way his fingers tightened ever so slightly and he pulled her a step closer.
“I’m starting to understand that you don’t really know the meaning of the word,” his voice a low, grumbling sound that caused her body to do another one of those shiver things.
“I’m very cautious.”
He shook his head even while pulling her closer. “You said you’d climb a tree to avoid a bear.”
Her head tilted back a bit. It had nothing to do with the desire for him to kiss her, she thought to herself. It was only because he was pulling her closer and he was tall. Tilting her head back was necessary to maintain eye contact.
Just because she wasn’t looking at his eyes only meant that she….
He kissed her. It wasn’t a light, easy, exploratory kiss. When this man did anything, he went full force! His lips moved over hers, shocking her with the explosion of need. She wasn’t aware of her hands sliding up his chest, wrapping around his neck. Nor had she thought about tangling her fingers in his hair. It just seemed to happen and she absently wondered how a man could be so strong and hard everywhere else, but have such incredibly soft hair.
Then his tongue demanded entry and she opened to him, needing more. Wanting to taste him and feel more of him. This kiss was heavenly, but it only made her want more. Over and over, he slanted his mouth over hers, devouring hers, and she loved every moment of it.
Unfortunately, the burst of laughter from the kitchen snapped them both back to the present. Stepping away from Mack, Eve looked up at him, shocked at what she’d just done. “You just kissed me!” she whispered, her hand reaching up to touch her tingling lips.
“Yeah. I did.”
A moment later, he was gone, leaving her standing in the middle of the dining area, watching his butt as he left.
Taming Mack (Sinful Nights Book 3) Page 3