Sweet Hill Homecoming

by Ryan, Joya

  “She’s walking in now,” he said and headed toward the entrance.

  Annie and her bright red hair were hard to miss and Luke wasted no time wrapping her up and kissing her. Tate tried to remember when he kissed a woman like that and came up empty. A few dates here and there over the years but nothing that didn’t start bland and end amicably.

  Tate took a drink of his beer and realized he would need another, and maybe one more after that. But when Jen Randall came in, she wasn’t the blonde that caught Tate’s attention. It was the sultry golden-haired wanton behind her that made his jeans suddenly tighter.

  He’d never seen a woman look more exotic and cute at the same time. It was a mind fuck, which judging by the tight skirt, and low cut sweater paired with a pair of black knee high boots, was Mia Blake’s specialty. Her large almond shaped eyes scanned the room in a way he recognized. She was looking for a good time. Looking for something fun and easy. Two things Tate had never been called in his life.

  When her gaze landed on him, a fire set and yeah, it burnt him from across the room. He saluted his beer bottle in her direction which only seemed to piss her off more. Stomping over to him, he tried really hard not to notice the way her breasts subtly bounced with every determined stride, exposing just enough creamy cleavage to make his damn mouth itch for a taste.

  “Surprised to see you here,” she said, not bothering with niceties. “Thought maybe you’d be out ruining someone else’s night.”

  “Still upset because you didn’t get your way, huh?” he said with a casual smile, and felt anything but.

  “Let me inform you of something, Deputy, getting my own way is the least of my worries at the moment.”

  “Obviously.” Everything about this woman screamed high maintenance. From the way she “informed” him of things, to her entitled attitude. He’d seen her kind before. And he should let her be on her way, yet between the smell of her citrus perfume and the leather boots, he was having a hard time getting his dick on board with the idea of letting her leave.

  “Can I get a lemon drop, for Jen and me please,” she said, smiling at Cam and the bar owner hopped right to it.

  “Coming right up,” Cam said.

  Tate didn’t have to turn to see Cam’s giant grin and knew he was checking Mia out. Hell, every man in the room was checking her out. She wasn’t one of those fade into the background kind of people.

  “I just wanted to say that I’m not going to contest that ticket,” she said, eyes back on Tate. Instantly happy that her attention was focused on him instead of Cam. Which shouldn’t matter, but for some reason, everything about this woman affected him.

  “I’m surprised.”

  “Well, I parked there. Nothing I can do about that now. But I really didn’t see the red.”

  There was an honesty in her eyes. Tate was on the brink of giving in. Telling her to forget the ticket. But when she got bumped from behind, lunging her forward and into Tate’s chest, he lost any train of thought he’d had.

  She gasped a little and Tate kind of did too. Because they went from inches apart, to her breasts smashed against his chest and his hands cupping her hips. She looked up at him, her turquoise gaze fixated on his mouth, as she licked her own.

  No fucking way did he see that right. Could Mia Blake actually be thinking of kissing him? When her hips brushed his, Tate realized she was close to getting hard proof of just how into her he was.

  Tate dropped his hands and shifted his body so they were no longer touching. Whatever expression he was giving off, she didn’t seem to like it because she frowned at him and said, “I just don’t get your deal. All day I’ve heard how you’re this standup guy and there’s damn posters of your face all over town.”

  Tate glanced over at Luke and knew he was the one responsible for putting those voting postings up. He’d have to kick his ass later. Tate appreciated the support, but lawn posters?

  “Yet, all I see,” Mia said as she openly ran her eyes from his belt to his face, “is a guy on a power trip.”

  “Power trip?” He straightened, seriously heated now because the only reason he became a Deputy was to help and serve his town and his family. It was for the honor. For doing something good to help. Power wasn’t even on the list of things he wanted in life.

  “Well, you know what I see?” He leaned in. “I see a small town girl who went to a big city, got rejected and ran home with a chip on her shoulder expecting favors to be handed to her.”

  Her mouth parted and right before she frowned, Tate saw a flash of something in her eyes that made him feel like he really was the asshole she thought him to be. But as soon as it came, it went, and she was back to glares and attitude.

  Cam slid the drinks to Mia and said, “These are on the house.”

  Tate wanted to roll his eyes. Of course they were.

  She returned the smile, then her glare was back on Tate.

  “Understand one thing, Deputy,” she reached behind him to pick up the drinks Cam put down for her, brushing her breasts against his torso and Tate would bet—hoped—it was on purpose, “I don’t get rejected.”

  With the sexiest, scariest smile he’d ever seen a woman give, she took a sip of her drink and walked away.

  Damn if Tate didn’t believe her.

  ~

  Mia was fuming. Partly because Tatum West was everything controlled and unbreakable, and partly because her “attraction to him was based solely on uniform” theory went right out the window. Even in jeans and a white tee-shirt the man looked edible.

  Though she liked the Stetson, he went without tonight, showcasing thick black hair and matching five o’clock shadow.

  When she was pushed into him, a jolt of heat slithered up her body and the urge to close that last couple millimeters and kiss him was overwhelming. For a second she could have sworn he wanted her too. But then a terrible look soured his face and he brushed her aside like she was toxic.

  “Whoa, what just bit your ass?” Annie said, as Mia made her way back to her, Jen and Luke.

  “The Deputy bit my ass, actually.” She took a long swallow of her drink.

  “Sounds hot,” Jen said.

  Luke laughed. “That’d be a first for Tate. But good for him. I told him he needed a woman.”

  Annie elbowed Luke in the stomach which only made him chuckle harder.

  “Oh, he needs something,” Mia grumbled. “Like a personality transplant.”

  “Well, speaking of men, Cam over there has been glancing at you since you walked in.” Jen waved a little.

  Mia followed Jen’s glance at him. He was attractive enough. She remembered him always being cute back in high school. Judging by the ladies swarming around him, his bartender brother, and Tate, Mia wasn’t alone in her observation. But she had her eye on just one man.

  Tate radiated so much male testosterone and swagger it was almost hypnotic. Almost. Too bad she both knew better and how stubborn he could be.

  She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she wanted all the conflicting feelings for the Deputy to disappear. Only when she opened her eyes, she saw him loop one thumb along the top of his belt clasp, flashing a look of that worn black leather that lined his hips and giving him the stance of a care-free sex on a stick that was all man, all ego, and all wrong for her.

  Try as she might, Tate West and his swagger, wasn’t going anywhere near her.

  As if on cue, Cam walked over with a second round for all of them. “This is compliments of Jen being awesome and returning my wallet and not ripping me off,” he said.

  “Rip you off? You had like eleven bucks…not that I went through your wallet or anything,” Jen joked.

  Cam smiled, his country boy charm flashing and while she could see how it would work on the ladies, it didn’t do a thing for her. If she could focus, maybe she could try to relax. But there was a pair of dark eyes glaring at her from across the room. Tate had her all wired with annoyance, anger and this stupid buzz of lust. She was ready to go
punch him in the face for making her feel so off.

  And so painfully needy.

  She took a deep breath and clamped her thighs together, attempting to ward off the heat that was growing since she walked in there tonight and laid eyes on Tatum.

  “You like being home?” Cam asked.

  “Yeah. Still settling in. Parts of me miss the city,” she replied honestly, flashing a look at Tate.

  Cam nodded. “Well, you’re back now.”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “And she’s single,” Jen piped in, nudging her shoulder smiling. “Not even interested in long term.”

  “Thank you, Jen,” Mia said. Great, even her friend had her sounding like a pleasure ride for hire.

  “That’s cool,” Cam said casually. “Though I’d never guess you to be single for long.”

  Mia just smiled and tried not to look at Tate again. Which was a big fat fail. Did he think she was taken? Would he have treated her differently if he knew she was…what? Interested?

  Did she care?

  She silently cursed her brain for the twelfth time that night to shut up. Luckily, Cam just kept talking.

  “I left Sweet Hill for a while back in college. It’s not for everyone.”

  That’s for sure. Mia was struggling more here than she ever had on her own in the city. She’d never been so broke, so lost, and so depended on. She loved her brother and they had always been close despite their age difference. But overnight she became a mother figure and taking care of him was her priority. She was just sorry it took her all of last year with him in Seattle to realize how unhappy he was.

  She glanced at Tate whose eyes were still locked on her even though he leaned back to say something to Matt behind the counter.

  Apparently, the Deputy just thought she was a reject

  Whatever perception Deputy West had of her, he was wrong. But he didn’t care, and that didn’t matter. She had bigger issues to deal with.

  “Well if you ever want to hang out, get reacquainted with the town,” Cam smiled, “You just let me know.”

  With that, he walked back to the bar and took his place next to his brother serving drinks and laughing with patrons.

  “I think you should take him up on it,” Jen said. “That is, if you can stop staring at Tate.”

  “I’m not staring,” Mia instantly defended a little quicker than she meant. “I’m fuming.”

  Jen raised and eye brow. “Either way, you don’t find a way to deal with…” she waved her hand in Mia’s direction, “whatever pent up aggression you’re rocking there, and you’re liable to have a nuclear meltdown of epic proportions.”

  Nuclear Meltdown. That’s exactly what Mia felt on the brink of. Slowly boiling and bubbling until she didn’t trust her judgment, or her mouth.

  And mouthing off to the Deputy was probably a bad idea. Especially when she thought of biting his mouth, the one that was currently aiming a grin in her direction.

  “Damn this place,” she muttered, and drank down her lemon drop in one gulp.

  She had just finished drink number two when the Deputy threw a couple bills down on the bar and headed toward the back exit.

  “I’m going to get some air,” she said, excusing herself from the group and wove through the crowd, heading toward the exit.

  For the past two hours, he sat there, staring her way. She couldn’t tell if he wanted her. Hated her. But whatever it was, she felt it. Bone deep she felt those eyes on her all night. Felt it when his big hands squeezed her hips a little when she was up against him. And now what? He just left? No way. Somehow, telepathy or otherwise, he was fucking with her. And she was going to call him on it.

  “Hey,” she said throwing the back door open and rounding the outside corner. It was dark and with the back side of the bar facing an open field and acres of nothingness, it was quiet too.

  “Something you need, Miss Blake?” Tate said, stopping and turning to face her.

  “Yeah, there is,” she said, feeling her liquid courage sink in. She walked right up to him, gripped his belt clasp, yanked him toward her, and mashed her mouth against his.

  He went rigid and still as if shocked, which was exactly what she was going for. What she wasn’t prepared for was how good he felt against her lips. She also wasn’t prepared for him to linger. But he did. And Mia’s heart skipped.

  She snaked her tongue out to get a better taste. His hands encased her shoulders and gently held her back.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he said.

  She smiled. She may not have been sure before, but she was now. Tatum West may hate her, but he also wanted her. “I stepped up and did what you’ve been wanting to do all night.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She was going for it. For him. For no other reason than she just wanted him. Smart, stupid or crazy, she was going to have this man. And she’d use every piece of power she had to get him.

  “I see the way you look at me. I know men, Deputy, and I know what your mind was turning out.”

  “I don’t know what you think this will get you, Mia, but I assure you I wasn’t thinking anything.”

  “Oh no?” She tugged on his belt again, causing his body to press against hers, and felt his hard cock against her stomach. “I don’t believe you.”

  He looked down at her for a long moment, those dark eyes flickering with something hot. Something dangerous. Something Mia wanted to grab hold of and experience.

  Because this man pissed her off.

  He also got her wet by just shooting a look her way. It was obvious he was always in control. Which is why it took her longer to figure him out. His shoulders were always squared and his jaw always set. His persona spoke volumes. But that’s all it was, a persona. And Mia was about to call bullshit on the Deputy.

  “What is your end goal here, Mia?”

  “Is that how everything is with you? Some planned out list of bullet points that ends in…” she swayed her hips enough to rub against his erection, “a satisfying completion?”

  His breath went a little ragged. So she pushed further.

  She lifted her chin and skimmed her lips against his jaw when she said, “What if my end goal is you?”

  “That doesn’t sound logical or obtainable.”

  She leaned back enough to look him in the eye. He was a tough one to crack. Mia knew he was close, but Tatum with all his control, wasn’t pulling away.

  She had to give him credit though. Maybe he wasn’t like the others, because he’d be in her pants right now. Instead he was arguing logic? He was a man. And he wanted her. That was obvious. Now just time to make him admit it.

  She looked into his eyes and it made sense.

  “Oh, I get it,” she said. “You’re repressed.”

  He frowned, then scoffed and shifted his weight. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Oh, but she did. This was Mia’s specialty. Reading men. She didn’t have to sleep with them to know exactly what they were thinking. She just had to observe them.

  “I do know, Deputy.” She slowly walked her fingers up his torso and he flexed beneath her touch. The man was strong, those ridges of muscles he was hiding under that shirt made her mouth water, but she stayed focused. Her mission was to break the starchy Deputy and take back the upper hand.

  “I bet you like women who are delicate,” walk, walk, “the kind of women who ask you to make love to them,” walk, “with the lights out, missionary style, nothing too kinky.”

  A small growl came from his chest.

  She grinned, obviously hitting a nerve. “Oh, you don’t like that?” she mocked, walking her fingers just a bit higher until she reached his chest. “You obviously have your mind made up about me…about my kind.” She threw his words back at him, feeling more powerful by the moment. “You see Deputy,” she leaned in until her mouth was inches from his. “I wouldn’t ask you to lay me down and gently make love to me.” She flicked his bottom lip with her tongue. “I’d deman
d you to fuck me until I screamed.”

  Whatever dam the Deputy was clinging to, burst.

  His mouth closed the last piece of space between them and delivered a sizzling kiss so hot, it made Mia gasp.

  That growl she’d heard earlier? Was now rumbling his chest. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and the way he moved his lips over hers, consuming, dominating, made her knees weak. He gave in. Just like she thought. Hoped. And she couldn’t stop from giving in back.

  She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him back with all the raw need she felt. But when he slid that skilled mouth down her neck and started biting her pulse point, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she knew she had unleashed something dark in Tate. And she was excited to experience it.

  He backed her against the wall and kicked apart her feet. She spread her legs enough for him to wedge himself between them. Her skirt rode high. His jeans scratched her inner thighs and she grinded her hips against him. God she was crazed for him. Kissing, nipping, clawing. Anything she could do to get a better feel, a deeper drink of him.

  Tate stoked a fire she long thought smothered. And she wanted that fire back. Wanted him. Bad. Despite the reasons not to and despite the fact that she technically kind of hated him.

  She’d deal with that tomorrow. Because logic had never been her friend anyway.

  He cupped her hips. Using his thumbs, he pushed up her sweater just enough to bear her midriff. He bent down and ran his tongue along the waist band of her skirt and Mia closed her eyes and lost herself in the feel of this man. Licking her, kissing her, sampling her. Like it was his right, like he owned her. And he hadn’t even touched her anywhere intimately yet. Yet every touch was intimate.

  “More, Tatum,” she moaned and didn’t realize it until the words hit her ears.

  “Demanding?” he rasped and bit down on her hip bone, causing a small squeak of pleasure to pass her lips.

  “Yes,” she said firmly.

  He straightened and kissed her again. Fierce and hard. She fumbled with his belt, finally opening it and unbuttoning his jeans enough to push them low on his hips. His cock sprang free. She grabbed it and good lord the man was huge.