“She’s not married.”
Mac turned to her. “No. She’d drive any man insane, and you didn’t hear that from me.”
Jane chuckled, garnering satisfaction that Mac hadn’t found the brunette irresistible. “Why?”
“Never mind. I’ve said enough.”
“And what about other women, Mac? You’re not dating anyone. You don’t have a girlfriend. I find that hard to believe, since you’re so…”
“So hard to deal with?” he finished for her. “Or maybe, stubborn? Too dedicated to my work? Name any of the above.”
Jane softened her expression and took a seat on the sofa, looking up at him. “I was going to say so easy on the eye.”
Mac sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He looked at her with a gleam in his eyes. “Now you’re being sweet. But the truth is, sure, there are women who occasionally look me up. Sometimes I date, but it’ll never amount to anything. I’m not looking for anything permanent. I’ve done the marriage thing. It isn’t for me.”
What a waste, Jane thought. Mac had too many great qualities to give up on sharing a life with someone.
“Too bad,” she said aloud.
“I’m happy with my existence, Jane. Why do all the women in my life feel the need to push me into something I don’t want? And,” he said, leaning forward, pointing his index finger her way, “that goes for you, too. You’re so sure you’re wrecking my social life, but the truth is I don’t have one. So no more talk about that. Don’t worry, Jane.”
“So, you really didn’t want to spend time with Lola tonight?”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Jane nearly snorted. “I guess I have my answer. Tell me, just where, exactly, did you go to charm school?”
“What?”
She cast him a slow smile and stood. “It’s nothing, Mac. I think it’s time for bed.”
She walked over to him to say good-night, endeared to him more than she should be. Mac had been earnest with her. He’d shared part of his life. He’d tried to explain himself to her, the best he knew how. And now he stood before her, blocking her way to the hall leading to her room.
“Don’t worry about anything but regaining your memory,” he said, touching the tip of her nose.
The touch carried her over the edge. This time she kissed him fully on the mouth, surprising them both. Mac groaned, but he didn’t back off. Instead, he wrapped both arms around her and held her loosely, allowing her to lead the way.
Jane knew she was in deep trouble the minute their lips met again. She’d longed for this, for his lips to warm hers and for the heat of their bodies to carry them away. “Definitely not sweet, Mac. But so much more.” She parted her lips and their tongues met, the mating a sacred kind of homecoming.
Mac tightened his hold on her, drawing her up against him so that she felt his heart beating, each pulse in sync with her own. “Sometimes you amaze me, Jane,” he whispered into her mouth.
“I amaze myself, too,” she whispered back.
Just as their lips met again, Lizzie barged into the room, stopping short the minute she spotted them. “Oh, sorry!”
Jane immediately backed away from Mac and stared at his sister, the red heat of embarrassment climbing up her throat.
Lizzie, on the other hand, was beamimg. “On second thought, I’m not sorry. It’s about time!”
“Lizzie.” Mac offered up a stern warning. “You and I need to have a little talk.”
“Can’t, big brother. I’m all packed. I’m leaving first thing in the morning for Raleigh.”
“Okay, then, we’ll talk on the way to the airport. What time?”
Lizzie smiled at Jane, her eyes bright with appreciation. “Oh, I already have a ride to the airport. Jane made the arrangements for me.”
Mac looked at Jane with a quizzical expression. “You made arrangements for her? How?”
She smiled tentatively at Lizzie, ignoring his intense stare.
“Jane?” Mac moved to face her. “What did you do?”
“Nothing much, really,” she said, trying to shrug it off.
Impatient with her evasion, he turned to his sister. “So, who’s taking you to the airport?”
Chin up, Lizzie tossed out the one name that could make Mac crazy. “Deputy Lyle Brody.”
Two nights later, Jane shelved the last of the children’s books, tidied up the reading cove and met Jimmy at the cash register.
“All done,” he said, his blond hair flipping onto his forehead when he glanced up. Jane liked Jimmy a lot and she was sure with his clean-shaven, earnest good looks, he would melt more than one young girl’s heart. Yet he was always polite, a hard worker, and she knew that his grandfather adored him.
“So am I.”
Both headed for the front door, Jane watching Jimmy lock it up good and tight before turning to her. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride home?”
“I’m sure. Sheriff Riggs will be here shortly,” Jane said, glancing up and down the darkened street, looking for Mac’s black Trailblazer. Sometimes he picked her up in his patrol car, so she kept an eye out for that, too. She found it odd that he wasn’t parked outside waiting for her. Mac never arrived late to pick her up. “You go on home, Jimmy. I’ll be fine.”
Jimmy frowned, shaking his head, but with a little more urging, Jane finally convinced him to leave. She stood outside Touched with Love, waiting. When Mac didn’t appear for five full minutes, she began walking. She didn’t mind. She had a lot to go over in her head, and the hot summer day had finally cooled to a warm breezy evening.
Mac had been furious with her the other night, and she’d walked in the chilling shadow of his cold shoulder for the past two days. He hadn’t been happy with her interference in Lizzie’s life. He’d been blunt, almost cruel. She’d never forget the look of contempt on his face once Lizzie had left the room that night.
“It’s none of your concern, Jane,” he’d said sternly. “You don’t know all of it,” he’d added. “You have no right butting into my business.”
That last statement stung, and she’d tried defending herself valiantly, but Mac wouldn’t hear anything she had to say. He’d simply shut down, refusing to discuss Lyle or Lizzie or why he felt so strongly about Lizzie getting involved with his deputy.
Jane had no choice but to back off, but the damage had been done. Mac barely tolerated her now, keeping a safe distance away even though she’d catch him at times peering at her from across the room. Still, the budding friendship they’d slowly developed had vanished.
Mac had never once made her feel like an intruder, but she had to believe that now he wanted her gone. Perhaps she should consider Dr. Quarles’s invitation. Maybe it was time to leave Mac’s home. There was no telling how long it would take to regain her memory.
She hadn’t had any new revelations lately. She hadn’t recalled anything else other than that she owned custom-made leather boots crafted in some small village in Italy. Nothing much had happened with the media blitz the sheriff’s department had put out, either. Oh, there’d been one guy claiming her as his fiancée, but it turned out the man had been investigated as a single white male who had failed relationships with three online dating services. Jane couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, but at the same time she’d been greatly relieved to find that she wasn’t in any way tied to him.
There was only one man Jane wanted in her life and he was late picking her up. And just as she turned the corner on Elkwood Street
, she heard the familiar rumble of a motor from behind.
Mac pulled up close to her, slowing the patrol car. He rolled down the window and Jane’s ready smile disappeared. “Get in, Jane” was all he said, a deep frown marring his handsome face.
She raced around to the passenger side and slipped in. Realizing that something was wrong, she turned to him immediately. His face was bloodied and bruised, and he held one hand to his chest. Jane quaked with fear. “Mac, you’re hurt.”
The car moved forward and Mac nodded ever so slowly, the action causing him to wince even more. “Bad asses thought they could wreck Sully’s place. Had to go in there and straighten them out.”
Her mind jumbled, all she could think about was the extent of Mac’s injuries. He still held that hand to his chest and hadn’t let go. Blood oozed down his face where he’d been cut. “Where are you hurt?”
“Probably bruised a few ribs. Got a few cuts and scrapes. That’s all.”
“All?” Jane couldn’t stand to see him in any pain. “You need to go to the hospital, Mac.”
“No way, Jane. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” she said, her voice rising. “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”
“Gee, thanks. Appreciate the thought.”
“I’m not kidding, Mac. Just how many were there, and what kind of place is Sully’s, anyway?”
“About half a dozen. Bar and grill,” he answered, his tone clipped. Jane feared he had broken, not bruised, ribs.
“Six of them and how many of you?”
“Two of us, until we got backup.”
Jane’s heart pounded. Up until tonight she hadn’t thought much about Mac’s profession, the dangers and pitfalls. Winchester was a small, quiet town. But seeing him in pain, barely able to drive, she felt the reality of Mac’s job hit her with stark and unnerving force. Just like any other professional lawman, Mac put his life on the line each and every day. Jane couldn’t shake that notion loose. It stayed with her, swamping her with fear. Then she noticed that his shirtsleeve was rolled up. “Looks like your arm is bandaged. What happened?” she asked.
“It’s just a cut.”
“A cut? Are you saying someone attacked you with a knife?”
He nodded. “Assault with a deadly weapon. It’s been taken care of. The paramedic team patched me up.”
Jane’s gut tightened. Dear God. Mac could have been killed tonight. And that thought nearly destroyed her. Her feelings for Mac Riggs ran deeper than she’d believed. “Why didn’t they take you to the hospital?”
Mac lifted one shoulder in a small shrug as he pulled into his driveway. And then it dawned on her. The paramedics would have taken Mac to the hospital if he had allowed them to. Instead, he’d shown up on Elkwood Street
in his patrol car to pick her up. “I’m fine, Jane.” He killed the engine and got out of the car.
Jane raced around the vehicle to meet him at the driver’s side door. He stepped away from the SUV, hunching over a bit as he did so.
“Lean on me,” she said firmly, bracing his body with hers.
He pursed his lips, deciding, then finally nodded once Jane had given him her most obstinate look. He wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and she braced his weight the best she could.
Together, they made their way slowly to the front door. Mac handed her the key and she opened the lock, then slanted her body sideways so they both would fit through the opening. Once inside, Jane led Mac to his bedroom.
She helped him sit down on his bed, and he took a minute, breathing deeply.
“Is your head spinning?” she asked.
He let out a wry chuckle. “You might say that. Of all the ways I’ve dreamed of getting you into my bedroom, this wasn’t one of them.”
Jane smiled, reveling in his earnest admission. “Lie down, Sheriff.”
Mac obeyed, closing his eyes as he lowered his head and stretched out his long legs on the bed. Jane fussed with his pillow, propping it behind him.
She gave the pillow one last blow, then stood over Mac, gazing down at him. “You know, this isn’t exactly how I’d hoped to get into your bedroom, either.”
He opened one eye and peered at her, but she held her stance, refusing to let any embarrassment come through. The truth was the truth. “Now, stay put. Your forehead is bleeding again. I’ll be right back.”
She walked out of the room to the sound of Mac’s groan. This time she knew it wasn’t pain causing it, but her remark. At least Mac knew where she stood. There would be no second-guessing and no mistake. Jane wanted him, but tonight she’d realized something even more powerful. When she’d seen him bruised, battered and in so much pain, she knew she couldn’t deny her feelings any longer. She knew that to lose him would be to lose herself all over again. She’d fallen for him.
Jane Doe was crazy in love with Sheriff Mac Riggs.
She took a minute to let her feelings sink in and accept what had been inevitable. She’d seen it coming, yet hadn’t the power to deny or refuse the love that had begun building from the first moment she’d looked up into Mac’s piercing dark eyes on that canyon road.
With a heavy sigh, Jane grabbed the first-aid kit out of the bathroom and gathered up the other supplies she needed, then headed back to Mac’s room. She found him lying on the bed right where she’d left him, with eyes wide open, watching her.
She scooted next to him and dabbed at his head wound, the antiseptic oozing onto the cut above his eye. “Sorry, this must sting.”
He grunted a denial.
“I think your ribs might be broken.”
“Nah. I’ve broken ribs before when I played quarter-back for the Wildcats. I know the difference. They’re bruised, that’s all.”
Jane knew she had to get Mac more comfortable on his bed. “Can you get out of your clothes, or do you want me to do it?”
Mac cocked her a lopsided smile. “You do it.”
Jane snorted. “This isn’t funny, Mac. You scared me half out of my mind. It wasn’t so thrilling seeing you bloody and bruised, slumped over the steering wheel. I just about had a heart attack.”
“Sorry, Jane.” He reached for her hand and she allowed him to hold it. He stroked his thumb gently across her palm, sending goose bumps all over her body. “Fact is, Winchester is a quiet town. We don’t get a lot of excitement around here.” He winced, his eyes shutting briefly, and she sensed the pain he was trying hard to conceal. “But June has been an unusual month. First with a beautiful amnesia victim landing on my doorstep and then tangling with a bunch of out-of-towners looking for trouble.”
“Don’t forget the joyriders abandoning cars in the lake.”
“That, too. But for the most part, my job’s pretty mundane. It’s been a curious time in Winchester lately. Now, didn’t I hear something about you undressing me?”
Jane twisted her mouth. “Taking unfair advantage, Sheriff?”
“Just need a little TLC, Jane.” Then he lowered his voice, brought his lips to her outstretched palm and kissed her there. “From you.”
Jane’s heart stopped with that kiss, the moisture from his lips seeping into her skin. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand free to reach for the buttons on his uniform shirt. Carefully, she unfastened each one, then gently slid the shirt off his shoulders. She held back her own wince when she saw up close the bruises on his chest and the bandage on his arm.
Jane dipped a washcloth into a bowl of water and cooled down his heated skin, her fingers sliding leisurely over his chest. On impulse, she bent down to plant a tiny kiss on one of the larger bruises. Mac lifted his good arm and stroked her head, weaving his fingers through her hair. Then he guided her head up and leaned forward, showing Jane what he wanted. Their lips met briefly, a sweet, healing kiss that made her heart flip and Mac smile. “You give great TLC.”
Jane withdrew, stood up and headed for the end of the bed. She took a daunted look at his boots, then, with a steadying breath, pulled and twisted and finally yanked, until one boot came off, sock and all. “Not such good TLC here,” she offered.
“I’m not complaining.”
The other boot came off easier, and Jane felt a surge of satisfaction. She walked over to Mac, lying there bare-chested, looking vulnerable and sexy all at the same time.
“Can you manage your pants?” she asked, holding her breath.
Mac tried leaning forward, then bit back a howl of pain. He rested his head on his pillow. “Don’t think s
o.”
“Okay,” Jane said, reaching for his belt. She unhooked it, then slid her hands down to his zipper, the evidence of his bulging manhood hard to miss. “Mac, I thought you were injured.”
He didn’t bother holding back a devilish smile. “Nothing hurts below the waist.”
Jane stared down at him.
“Touch me there, and I can’t be responsible for my actions.”
Jane swallowed. “Is that an invitation or a warning?”
“Both,” Mac said, the teasing glint in his eyes gone now. The heat of his gaze penetrated her, warming her all over. “It’s crazy, you know. Denying what we both want.”
Apparently, Mac had sifted though his own denials, to come up with the truth, too. “I know,” she whispered, though she knew that she wouldn’t deny Mac anything, not ever again.
Jane reached for his zipper.
Eight
M ac had been furious with her when she’d butted into Lizzie’s business. He hadn’t wanted anyone, especially Jane, to interfere in his relationship with Lizzie. Jane had just come to Winchester and she didn’t know his history. She didn’t know the heartache Mac had endured trying to salvage an unsalvageable marriage. She didn’t know how Lyle Brody had interfered on his sister’s behalf, causing even more strife between them.
But the minute he’d walked out of Sully’s tonight, bloodied and bruised, the knife swipe having just missed his chest, cutting instead into the beefy part of his arm, all Mac could think about was Jane.
Getting to her.
Seeing her.
Wanting her.
He’d wasted too much time with her, too much of his life. That close call had him forgiving Jane everything. He’d forgotten all about his anger, and thought only about being with her.
And as she slowly slid his zipper down, the proof of his feelings were reflected in a powerful erection that only Jane could satisfy.
He watched her work his pants off without too much difficulty. She looked at him tentatively as she held his trousers to her chest protectively. “Wish I could undress you,” he admitted softly.
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