by Taylor Lee
Chapter 13
Jake walked over to the mini fridge and yanked out a couple bottles of water. He put one on the edge of his desk and nodded to the chair in front of the desk. He knew the only reason Sam obeyed his silent order was because she was too shaky to stand. As furious as he was, he admired her pluck. At one point he’d thought that he’d have to pick her up and carry her into his office. But true to form, shoving his hand off her arm, she’d made it in by her own power.
Her anger radiated off of her, a looming thundercloud ready to spill its fierce storm on anyone in its path. Jake could handle her anger. It was the ragged pain in her flashing agate eyes that had his gut clenching. He knew she thought he had betrayed her. Unfortunately, there was truth to that accusation.
Jake spoke quietly. “Look, Sam, I know this is a crappy way to find out about our agent. I apologize. But he’s there now, and we need to figure out a way to keep his identity hidden and frankly, keep him alive.”
“What are you apologizing for, Jake? That you got caught? That you betrayed me but were confident that you had me so under your spell that I would never believe you could do such a dishonorable thing to me? Don’t lie to me, Jake. We’ve been together more than I’ve been with my deputies lately, and like the idiot that I am, I believed you liked me. Fuck, maybe even respected me.”
She rose to her feet, her voice rising shrilly. “And all the while you were betraying me. You were just one more fucking law enforcement officer who’s spent his life ensuring that no goddamned Indian was going to tell him what the Anglo assholes could or could not do on her reservation.”
Backing away from him toward the door, Samantha’s face was wracked with emotion. Jake didn’t have to see the torrent of tears flooding her stormy eyes to know that he had hurt her badly. Unfortunately, he had a crisis to navigate. For better or worse, he was the captain who had to maneuver this craft through treacherous waters. He needed Sam to understand that going forward they had to work together. And that her contrarian attitude made a difficult task almost impossible.
“Look Chief, you have a chip on your shoulder the size of the stone at Gethsemane. Someday, someone is going to knock it off and you’re going to find that your life isn’t nearly as hard as you’ve made it.”
She snorted. “And who’s going to do that? You, Commander? Humph! You think I’ll let you come within three feet of me or my reservation? Go ahead, try it, if you want to see what an irate woman can do when a group of asshole men think they can betray her and not expect her to fight back.”
Before he could respond, the torrent of temper and tears Jake had been expecting broke though. She managed to speak through her tears. “I hate you. I…I’ve made such a fool of myself. I stupidly thought that you cared about me. Did you tell your fucking brothers that the uptight police chief had dinner with you at the Pit Stop? Sent you a text at midnight? Did you all get a good laugh at my expense?”
Seeing that she was beginning to unravel, Jake started toward her. It was clear that reasoning with her, at least at this point, wasn’t going to work. “No, Sam, I did not. I also didn’t tell my brothers that I sent you texts in the early morning hours. Or that I invited you to attend the Judge’s Summer Solstice party with me.” He allowed his anger at her outrageous accusation to heat his response. “You’re being unfair. You know that, don’t you?”
She was halfway to the door when she whirled to confront him, her voice rising to a shriek. “Unfair? I’m being unfair? Go to hell, Commander Justice, or go anywhere you wish. Just know that if you put one foot on the reservation I’ll arrest your ass and throw you in jail with Mackey so fast your head will spin. Oh, and go fuck yourself in the process!”
He rounded his desk and was on her before she could get to the door. He grabbed her and jerked her up in his arms.
“Uh-uh, Chief Delgado, you aren’t going anywhere today that I don’t allow.” His voice was dangerously cool. “As for someone knocking that chip off your shoulder? You said it, sweetheart. I am that man. In addition to that giant chip, Samantha, you have a nasty mouth on you. I think I may have to wash your mouth out with soap. On second thought…”
He pulled her tight up against him and smacked her bottom hard.
She startled, then shrieked. “Jake! You…hit me! How dare you?!”
“Hmm, that wasn’t a hit. That was a spank. As is this!” He smacked her other ass cheek and held her tight against him so she couldn’t get free.
“Damn you, Jake! That hurt! What…what’s the difference? A hit is a hit!”
Jake murmured against her ear, “The difference is the intention.”
“I…I don’t know what you mean.”
Pulling her closer, Jake rubbed her curvy ass with his big hands then pressed his erection up between her thighs. “I think you do, Sam.”
He held her next to him reveling in her soft moan and the shivers sweeping her body. After a long moment, when he was sure he could speak relatively normally, he lifted her chin and stared into her shocked, storm-filled eyes. Running his finger across her lips, he smiled and gently pinched the corner of her mouth. “Now, that we have that settled, Chief Delgado, let me tell you what we are going to do with that prisoner you have locked in your jail.”
****
It took him a little less than the ten minutes he’d promised his team to get Sam to begrudgingly agree. Jared, Jude, and Solly were sitting quietly in the conference room where he’d left them. He nudged Samantha forward, easing her toward the conference table. He pulled out her chair and seated her across from Jared, then moved to the head of the table.
“Okay, men and woman, the chief and I have talked this over and agreed how we will go forward. Bobby Mackey will stay undercover. In an odd way, his untimely arrest can serve us. It ups his cred as a badass with the people we are trying to snare. The chief and her team will continue to interrogate him. We’ll tell Bobby to refuse to answer any of the tribes’ questions. When he continues to stonewall, Chief Delgado will conclude that Mackey is not going to crack. She’ll declare that they can make better use of him if they let him go—and watch him like white on rice twenty-four-seven.”
Sam broke in, glaring at Jake. “Are you saying I can’t tell anyone the truth, even Henry and Mark?”
“That is precisely what I’m saying.” When she frowned, obviously disagreeing, Jake continued. “It’s critical that we protect Mackey. We can’t even allow the people we trust to know that Mackey is undercover. They might say something inadvertently, endangering Mackey and you.”
Sam snorted dismissively. “You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I don’t want or need your protection. You and your posse need to focus on your UC. He’s the one in danger.”
Jake pinned her with a narrow gaze, then said carefully, “Let me be crystal clear. The people at this table are the only ones who know Mackey’s true identity. And that’s the way it’s going to stay. Any questions?”
He looked at his brothers. “Jude?”
“None from me, Commander.”
“Jared?”
“Nope, totally on board, boss.”
“Solly?”
“No, sir. You’re the boss.”
Jake waited for a moment, then focused on Sam. Seeing her flushed cheeks and clenched fists in her lap, he asked, “Chief Delgado, do you agree?”
Meeting his gaze, she hesitated then said with an insolent shrug, “Sure. Why not? You’re the master of the universe, go for it.” Pushing back her chair she stood and turned a fierce glare on him. “Is that all, Commander?”
Jake blew out a breath and nodded to her. “It isn’t, but it’ll do for now.”
He shook his head and nodded apologetically to his team as the infuriated woman stormed toward the door, a cloud of anger emanating from her slender body.
As the door slammed hard behind her, Jude spoke first, breaking the tense silence. Scrubbing at his beard shadow, his sea-green eyes danced with amusement. “Methinks you’
ve landed yourself a feisty one, big brother. A tiger fish if I’ve ever seen one. Hell, those predaceous babies will fight to the end rather than give into the captor. If you don’t mind, I think the three of us will step back and wait for the next act in this entertaining drama.”
Jared concurred with a chuckle. “But, damn, bro, give us some warning so that I can bring the popcorn.”
Jake groaned and said with an ironic grin, “Thanks, men, good to know that you have my back.”
****
Sitting on her deck, Sam sipped on her Jameson and reviewed the events of the day. It didn’t do any good to try to minimize what had happened. Rather, glutton for punishment that she was, she continued to replay the horrendous events as if by dissecting them again and again she could create a different outcome. It was still hard to believe that she’d gone from a stratospheric professional high when they arrested Mackey, to leaving Jake’s office with her tail between her legs. Talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous. Only there was nothing ridiculous about the scene in Jake’s conference room. Unless, of course, seeing her thoroughly embarrassed both personally and professionally was your idea of good theater.
When she returned to the rez, they interrogated Mackey for several more hours to no avail. After Henry and Mark had grudgingly accepted her orders to release Mackey, Sam still ached with the ignominy of her botched arrest. She tried to comfort herself. How in God’s name could she have known that Mackey was a UC? For the DPD, no less? It was at this point in her debilitating castigation that Sam’s mea culpa flared from embarrassment to fury. She stopped focusing on what she’d done wrong and put the real miscreants in her gun barrel sights. Jake’s team had undermined her, went behind her back, because they didn’t believe that she was capable of handling an undercover operation. Or, more likely, they thought she’d never let it happen on her rez. Which, she admitted, was damn close to the truth.
But it wasn’t Jake’s team that she was furious with, it was their arrogant commander. Unfortunately, it was when she focused on Jake that her outraged musings got confused. Dammit, she should be furious with Jake, and she was. He’d embarrassed her professionally, he’d betrayed her trust, and…he’d spanked her. It was there that her consternation reached new heights. Not only had the arrogant man smacked her bottom, but he’d made it clear that was what he intended to do. Just as he knew what he was doing when he’d pulled her up against him, pressing his fearsome erection between her thighs. She was shocked that just the memory of his outrageous actions shot a flurry of sensations across her body, from her quivering thighs to the telltale dampness between her legs. Struggling with her self-flagellating cogitations, Sam gave in to what was truly bothering her. Even after all the ways Jake had embarrassed her, when he lifted her up on his strong thigh to ride his aroused cock, she admitted that she hadn’t wanted him to stop. To be honest, she would have killed if, instead of setting her down, Jake had made good on his erotic promise.
Sam refilled her glass and sunk onto her recliner. She was exhausted, tired of vacillating between her anger at Jake and her desire for his masculine presence. Her feelings were so intense she knew she couldn’t let down enough to sleep. Hearing a soft knock on her door, she was relieved to be interrupted. At least talking with Mark or Henry she wouldn’t have to go to a sleepless bed or continue drinking alone.
The knock sounded again, louder this time, more insistent. Glad that she was still dressed in her ubiquitous tank top and sweatpants she glanced in the mirror to make sure she looked halfway decent. As if either Mark or Henry would notice what she was wearing. At the persistent knocking, she griped, “I’m coming for God’s sake. In case you didn’t notice, it’s one o’clock in the morning!”
She yanked open the door, preparing to give her deputies a piece of her mind, but the hand-tooled leather boots her eyes landed on weren’t Mark’s or Henry’s. Neither were the long muscular legs or the broad chest. Forcing herself to meet his eyes, Sam managed to spit out, “What the fuck do you want?”
Jake’s lip quirked up at the corner. “You’re close, Chief. The words in your hostile query are correct, they’re just in the wrong order.”
Knowing her cheeks had to be flaming, Sam tried to close the door but the force in front of her was as forbidding and as unmovable as Cerberus, the three-headed hound guarding the gates of Hades.
Sam’s dismay escalated when Jake stepped inside and reached behind him to lock her door. It was then she acknowledged that the man who’d undone her in so many ways was standing inside her foyer, looking very much as though he intended to stay.
She managed to choke out the obvious question, “What do you want, Jake?”
Not hiding his grin, he closed the distance between them. His penetrating, slate-hard gaze conflicted with his easy humor. He continued studying her, not allowing her to look away, then said, “You asked me today what the difference was between me hitting you and spanking you. I’m here to tell you, or to be more accurate, show you the difference.”
Chapter 14
“I want you to leave, Jake. Now!”
Jake sighed, a loud exhalation. “There are two problems with that request, Sam. First, as you know, I have no intention of leaving, and second, you don’t want me to go.”
“You’re wrong, Jake. I do want you to leave, now. Please go!”
He studied her for a long moment. It didn’t take a mind reader to see the conflicting emotions she was feeling. Her anger was palpable. It showed in the strained expression on her face. Her jaw was rigid and her lips were clamped together in a firm line. Her hands were clenched in tight fists at her sides. Everything about her posture confirmed that she was in fight or flight mode. Seeing her lips tighten further, Jake decided fight was likely her first choice, although given her darkening azure eyes, he wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to flee.
Whether she knew it or not, the problem for Sam was that whichever route she chose, Jake knew he had her beat, cornered. It wasn’t because he was a cocky son of a bitch, although he was that. What convinced Jake that he would soon have this lovely, infuriated woman in his arms were her eyes. Deep blue, almost purple in color, they were layered with complex emotions. The flashing streaks of lightening confirmed her anger. But Jake saw another emotion, one that he was feeling as well. It was passion. Jake knew that Sam wanted him. She’d given herself away when he’d smacked her bottom this afternoon. He hadn’t missed her shock or the flush that flamed her cheeks when he smacked her again, then pressed his iron hard shaft between her thighs.
The erotic memory spurred him on. If he could just get past her anger and tap the hunger surging inches below her heavily guarded shell, he knew that nothing would stop either one of them tonight. But even though his cock was pressing against his zipper, begging to spring free, her hesitancy underscored that he needed to go slow. A wrong move at this point would be disastrous. A flight into fury replete with angry expletives was as likely as her giving in to the deeper hunger she was trying to suppress. Jake was determined to mine those deeper passions, but acknowledged that it would take his considerable lovemaking skills to harness her volatile emotions.
Reaching for her chin, he held it firmly between his thumb and fingers. When she tried to twist free, he shook his head. Not allowing her to look away, he said, “Uh-uh, tiger, tonight you don’t get to run. Not from me. Tell you what, little Indian princess, how about you relax for a moment and let me kiss you?” At her startled gasp, he persisted. “One kiss, Sam. After that, if you want me to leave, I will.”
A massive shiver shook her slender body, confirming that she was as hungry as he was. Although unlike Jake, he knew Sam wasn’t experienced enough to know how much she wanted him. The difference between them was that Jake was an accomplished lover. He had years of experience with women of all kinds—the good and on occasion, the bad. As much as he enjoyed women, he rarely sought the flavor of the day a second time. One deterrent to participating in a longer relationship was his role at the DPD.
As the police commander, women openly chased him, eager for more. Jake refused to take the bait. He didn’t want a whisper of scandal or impropriety to mar his reputation as the exceedingly professional commander. Besides, he’d never met a woman who interested him enough to make him question his resistance to an intimate relationship.
In the past, it was mostly the women who did the pursuing. But here he was, in the middle of the night, determined to make love to the beautiful woman who’d bedeviled him from the moment he saw her. Jake could still see Sam’s angry expression and hear her rude dismissal when he’d marched into her inner sanctum that fateful day and took her on. Under other circumstances, he would have assigned one of his men, such as Solly, to manage the Crow Lake Reservation’s prickly police chief. But from the moment he met her, Jake knew that Sam was different. He wasn’t about to turn her over to anyone else’s care. That role he claimed for himself. He admitted with a hard sigh that not only did he choose to manage her, contrary to his usual aloof MO, he’d come damn close to stalking her.
Jake breathed a rueful sigh, acknowledging that he was like a prowling lion on the savanna, casing a high-strung gazelle as he prepared to run her to ground. With a jolt of excitement, he admitted that tonight he would do what he’d intended to do since he first saw her. He would capture this flighty young gazelle and claim her. He should have been shocked at his single-minded intention, but seeing her wide-eyed expression and flushed cheeks, he knew in the way that the stalking lion knew there was a moment to attack and this was it.
“How about it, Samantha? Will you take a chance and do what your eager body is begging you to do?” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her full bottom lip and lightly pinched it. Her body-shaking quiver confirmed that at her core she was as eager as he was. Even with this acknowledgement of her desire Jake knew he needed to proceed carefully. He understood at an intuitive level that as tough and dismissive as she acted, Sam was likely innocent, a novice in the art of making love.