by Taylor Lee
A couple minutes later, her phone signaled an incoming text.
Not an option, sweetheart. You don’t get to pretend last night didn’t happen.
Sam slammed her eyes closed and turned off her phone. Twenty minutes later, she was deciding if she would have another glass of Jameson or wait until she got home when she heard voices in the outer office. Hearing his cordial greeting, she clutched the arms of her chair for support.
“Good evening, Kate. No, that’s not necessary. I’ll show myself in. Chief Delgado is expecting me. She and I are going to grab a bite to eat. We have some pressing issues to discuss.”
Chapter 17
“Let’s go.”
Unlike his greeting to Kate, Jake’s curt order was anything but cordial. It didn’t take his granite-hard eyes or the ominous set of his rigid jaw to confirm that the tall commander advancing on her was pissed. It also didn’t take a clairvoyant to know that he was furious she’d refused to answer his calls.
While the serious expression on his face didn’t brook disobedience, Sam realized that she might be as angry as he was. Lifting her chin, she glared at him and said dismissively, “And why might you think that you can march into my office uninvited and order me to go with you? Oh, that’s right. You are the commander of the almighty Duluth Police Department then I’m merely the tribal police chief of the Crow Lake Reservation. The reservation that you barged onto uninvited. If you don’t mind, Commander—”
She stopped mid-sentence when Jake held up his hand, a hostile grin splitting his face. Unfortunately, his tight smile didn’t reach his hard eyes and his crisp tone was anything but amused. “I do mind, Chief Delgado. But please continue. It would be a pleasure to make Kate’s day along with all the other interested people who saw me march in here. All you have to do is raise that saucy chin of yours another half inch and I’ll toss you over my shoulder and haul you out of here faster than you knew was possible. That is, after I turn you over my knee and spank the hell out of you.”
He was now within a few feet of her, close enough for Sam to see the fury in his eyes. He glared at her and said with a sardonic sneer, “C’mon, Chief. Just a half an inch with that chin of yours. That’s all it will take.”
Sam stepped back and stammered, “You’re not funny, Jake. And…just so you know you don’t frighten me…”
He was now inches away from her. Close enough for her to see the surprising pain in his dark gray eyes. She tried to back away but bumped into the corner of her desk. His steely eyes hardened more, if possible. “If you think I’m amused, Sam, you’re as clueless as you appear to be. Since you seem to have zero knowledge of anyone’s feelings but your own paranoid ones, let me elucidate you. I don’t know when I have been as angry with another person that I care about as I am with you now. Not only did you have the temerity to dismiss my calls, but you honestly seem to believe that I will accept your actions. That I will allow you to shit all over the most spectacular night of my fucking life and not even answer your goddamned phone.”
Seeing the pain in his eyes, Sam was stricken when he pressed his lips together and stepped back. He held up his hands, closed his eyes and shook his head. When he turned to go, she cried out, “Jake, don’t. Please. Don’t go. Please.” She choked on a sob but forced herself to continue. “I’m sorry. I really am. I…I…”
Sam couldn’t continue. Surprising herself, she burst into tears. Hiding her face in her hands, she cried inconsolably. She truly thought her heart might break. Thinking that Jake had left, she was startled when she felt his arms around her. She buried her face against his chest and sobbed, praying that he wouldn’t let her go. He held her close to him and stroked her back with his big hands. His voice was soft, consoling. “Okay, baby, relax, sweetheart. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”
Samantha tried to explain, but it was impossible. She was astonished when she couldn’t stop crying, and instead sobbed even harder. All the pain and insecurity that had wracked her throughout the day finally tumbled out of her mouth in an incoherent torrent of tears. “You…you don’t understand. I’m…I’m scared, Jake. I…I don’t know how to do what we did last night. I’m not like you. You are so…accomplished…You…you and your brothers—”
Jake pressed his fingers against her lips, stopping her in mid-sentence. He held her chin and shook his head. “Stop, Sam. You don’t have to explain, sweetheart. I know you’re scared. I’m not that unaware, that insensitive. I know you haven’t had the kind of experiences that I’ve had. Believe it or not, that’s why I restrained you last night. I thought it might help you get by some of your fears, your inhibitions.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head, then pulled her closer to him. His voice was soft, sincere. “What you don’t know and probably can’t understand is that I’m scared too.” He hesitated and breathed out a hard sigh. “I’ve never felt about a woman the way I feel about you, Sam. I don’t know how to handle you or frankly, how to handle myself. I don’t want to scare you off, but I want you to know that I care for you. And Jesus God, woman, you have to be the most challenging little she-cat I’ve ever met. You’re so accomplished but so damned insecure. You said it yourself. If anyone is going to knock that boulder-sized chip off of your shoulder, it’s me. But Sam, you need to understand, you’re making it hard as hell for me to get close enough to knock the fucking thing off.”
She looked up at him and said in a wavering voice, “Does that mean that you aren’t going to throw me over your shoulder and haul me out of here…after you spank the hell out of me?”
Jake laughed then shook his head and sighed. “No, tiger, I’ll allow you to walk out tonight under your own power.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his hip pocket and scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks. “However, we’ll table the discussion on if, make that when, I’m going to spank the hell out of you.”
She managed a watery smile. “I’m starving, Jake. I haven’t had anything to eat or drink today except a glass of Jameson.”
His eyes sparkling, he grinned at her. “That’s not enough nourishment to prepare you for the night that I had planned.”
When she couldn’t hide her frown, he laughed. “Relax, Chief Delgado. Believe it or not, I had planned a working dinner. We have some serious issues to discuss. Now, that doesn’t mean that after dinner I don’t have other issues that I want to put on the table.” He pulled her up closer to him and rubbed his big hands over her bottom. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Maybe then we’ll decide how we’ll deal with this amazing ass of yours. It’s glorious enough as it is, but rosier? Flushed? Hmm, now that’s a thought worth considering…”
****
As they walked through the outer office, Sam was surprised to see Kate and her husband Will in the outer office. Both of them looked concerned. If anything, Will’s expression bordered on hostile. Sam knew that she probably looked like hell, at least like she’d been crying. She couldn’t imagine what the frowning couple had overheard.
Before she could make up an excuse, Kate asked point blank, “Are you okay, Sam? I mean, Chief Delgado?”
Will added, looking directly at her, “We’re here, Chief, if you need us.”
Wanting to alleviate their concern but not able to hide her embarrassment, Sam answered quickly. “I’m fine, Kate, Will.” She glanced up at Jake, who was studying the young woman and her husband carefully. “Commander Justice brought me some challenging news that I’m still coming to grips with. We’re going to get some dinner to see if we can work together to find solutions.”
Jake interjected, “I’m glad that Chief Delgado has good people looking out for her, Kate.” He eyed Will, who was frowning at him in return, then put out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Jake Justice—”
Will broke in with a strained smile that was closer to a sneer. “I know who you are, Commander. There ain’t a body on the rez who don’t know about you and your brothers.”
“Hmm, all good, I ho
pe.” Although Jake’s response was cordial Sam was surprised at the underlying edge. In addition, it was clear that his trademark grin didn’t reach his eyes. Turning back to Kate, Jake added, “The chief is lucky to have you as a confidant, Kate. She has a tough job and needs the support of loyal people around her.”
Kate quickly agreed. Her on-target response confirmed that she understood Jake’s implication about the importance of loyalty. “Believe me, if anyone knows how tough her job is, it’s me.” She added, “But everyone loves the chief. Well, almost everyone. Those who don’t are angry about everything, not just that the chief is a woman or that she’s seeing you.”
Sam choked back her surprise at the young woman’s bald assertion that she and Jake were more than professional colleagues. She started to demur but realized that Jake’s protective hand around her upper arm spoke louder than a feeble denial would have. As usual, Jake was more on top of the situation than she was. He smiled at the young woman and said exactly the right thing to put their relationship in a more neutral position. “I’ll tell you one of the things that both of you and I can do to help this impressive woman succeed, and that is to see that she eats more. If I had to guess, I’d bet she hasn’t left her office all day, much less had lunch.”
Kate eagerly agreed. “You’re right on, Commander Justice. Ask Will. I’m always telling him how worried I am about the chief. She hardly ever eats. I tried to get her to eat lunch today, and so did Deputy Jones and Deputy Staples, but even they couldn’t pry her away from her desk. God, and today is Saturday. Who but the chief works all day Saturday without a break? I was hoping that she’d get some R and R this weekend. I don’t think she has had a single day off since she became chief.”
“I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one nagging Chief Delgado, Kate. You, Henry, and Mark stay on her. Not only does she need to eat, she needs time away from this place. But enough talk about eating.” He turned to Sam with a pleasant smile. “How about it, Chief? Have you decided what you want for dinner? I don’t know about you, but a fresh walleye dinner sounds good to me. How about Clem’s Damned Good Fish Joint?”
Kate eagerly jumped in with her assessment. “We love that place, Commander Justice. Don’t we, Will? I could never get tired of it.” She turned an accusing look on Sam. “I’ll bet you haven’t been there, Sam—I mean, Chief.” She gave an aggrieved sigh. “I swear, Sam, you never go anywhere but the Pit Stop or home. You really should try Clem’s.”
Jake grinned and guided Sam closer to the door with his hand on her elbow. “Thanks for the endorsement, Kate. I’m going to hustle the chief out of here before she can change her mind. Oh, and by the way, Kate, Will, you can drop the ‘Commander.’ Call me Jake. All my friends do.”
Sam closed her eyes and shook her head with a disconsolate sigh when Jake parked her in the passenger seat of his Jag and rounded the high-end automobile to the driver’s side. She realized he must have heard her when he asked, “What was that sigh for, Chief Delgado? Don’t tell me that you don’t like walleye?”
Sam shrugged. “No, I love fish, and I’m so hungry my stomach is growling like a pack of pit bulls at the thought of food. It’s just that you’re…” She hesitated, then seeing Jake’s questioning frown, she continued. “You are so skillful. You took a challenging situation and not only soothed Kate’s concerns but made her feel important. Which she is, but I don’t think I’ve ever told her so.” She heaved a sigh. “And somehow you got us out of there without explaining why I was crying or acknowledging her off-hand assertion that some people don’t like that we are ‘seeing’ each other.” She snorted dismissively. “I think you even made sure that she and Will are going to be more protective of me than they already are.”
Jake shrugged in return as he guided his powerful automobile across the dusty reservation roads then asked, “Hmm, and that’s a bad thing, Sam?”
Sam replied without thinking, “No, but, well, it’s just that I can take care of myself. I always have, and I…” She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to see Jake’s troubled expression to know that she’d hit on the issue that had been at the heart of his anger at her not thirty minutes before. And she admitted would likely continue to be an issue simply because that’s who she was.
****
Sam leaned against the back of the vinyl-covered booth on the deck and closed her eyes. She hadn’t realized that she’d sighed until Jake asked, “I hope that was a contented sigh, Sam, not a worried one.”
She startled and then faced him with a challenging smile. “How could I be anything but contented, Jake? You brought me to a fabulous restaurant with a deck overlooking Lake Superior. You plied me with what was truly the best damned fish I’ve ever eaten, along with a basket of french fries and a huge bowl of coleslaw. Not only that, but you ordered a bottle of pinot grigio, that somehow you knew is my favorite white wine.” She glanced up at the starlit sky and grinned. “You’ve even arranged for a full moon. I repeat, Commander Justice, how could I be anything but contented? Furthermore, what could I possibly be worried about?”
Jake studied her thoughtfully for a long moment, then smiled and reached for her hand. “Well, Chief Delgado, if I try hard I might be able to think of a couple of things that likely are worrying you. The first is when I’m going to bring up the topic of Bobby Mackey, the undercover agent I placed on your reservation without consulting you.”
Sam managed what she hoped was a dispassionate shrug and replied, “Would it surprise you to know that I haven’t thought about Bobby Mackey since this afternoon, and believe it or not, he is the last thing I want to talk about now.”
Jake smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Chief. I couldn’t agree more. It’s the last thing I want to talk about. Instead, let’s talk about the issue that’s very much on both of our minds. That is how much longer we are going to sit here before we agree where we’re going to spend the night.”
At her gasp, Jake moved closer to her and tightened his grip on her hand, not allowing her to pull it away. “You see, Sam, as I told you earlier, you don’t get to pretend that last night didn’t happen. So the question is not whether we are going to spend the night together, rather, it’s a logistical issue.”
Sam struggled to answer and finally spoke past the huge lump clogging her throat. “Jake…I don’t think…”
Jake shook his head. “I agree, Samantha. Don’t think. Not thinking is the single best thing you can do. Just so you know, my lovely princess, I’ve given the location of our night together a great deal of thought. It’s not politic at this point to park my ostentatious automobile at your place overnight. Which makes my home, or even better, my cabin, which is just up the road from here, the optimum place.”
The tall, dark-eyed, imposing man rose and held her gaze. Pulling her to her feet, he tossed a large bill on the table and signaled his thanks to the owner. Wrapping his arm securely around her shoulders, he led her to the Jag. With an exaggerated bow he swept open the door and grinned. “Your chariot awaits you, my beautiful princess, as does your eager lover.”
Chapter 18
Jake hummed softly as he steered the Jag along the winding roads circling Lake Superior. He hadn’t lied when he told Sam that he’d thought hard about where they would spend the night. Kate’s endorsement of Clem’s had confirmed in his mind that his lakeside cabin was the perfect place to bring his reluctant lover. As much as he loved his hillside turn-of-the-century home close to the precinct and the Justice Mansion where he could keep tabs on the Judge, Jake’s log cabin was his sanctuary. He’d designed and built it himself. Given the demands of his job, it had taken him nearly five years to complete. It was such a labor of love that to date only his brothers, their fiancées, and of course, his grandfather had been invited to see the inside of what they called Jake’s Jewel.
Turning onto the heavily wooded road leading to the cabin, Jake studied the body language of the tightly wound woman sitting next to him. She was leaning as far away from him
as the plush leather bucket seats would allow. He wasn’t surprised that when she finally spoke, her voice was as determined as her rigid expression.
“Where are we going, Jake?”
“As I said, to my cabin.”
“What if I don’t want to go there? What if I want to go home?”
“As I said before, Sam, that isn’t an option.”
He turned a final corner and pulled onto the winding driveway leading to the glass and cedar log masterpiece. He was eager to show Sam his home and only wished that her introduction to the place he loved above all others wasn’t so challenging. Wondering if he’d overplayed his hand, he dismissed his momentary misgivings. Remembering the roller-coaster day he’d spent, he knew that if he and Sam were to have a chance to succeed, it was essential they have inviolable time together. If anything would convince him that he was doing the right thing by spiriting her away, it was the memory of her sobbing frantically in his arms, afraid that he’d left her. The fact that she thought that was a possibility convinced him that he had some major work to do. He knew how prickly she was, how violently independent. He also knew that she was an inexperienced lover.
What she didn’t know, and it was his great joy to be the one to tell her, was that she was without question the most passionate woman he’d ever made love to. The fact that she was unaware of the tumultuous lust he’d glimpsed last night both excited and concerned him. He could only hope that the extraordinary craving he felt for her would give him the wisdom to introduce her to the erotic world that was simmering just below the surface of her senses in a way that would bring joy to them both.
Jake hopped out of his seat and was at Sam’s side in seconds. Trying for humor as he opened her door, he said, “Welcome to the dungeon, madam. The guillotine awaits you.”
Sam brushed aside both his strained joke and Jake’s hand as she exited the Jag and walked stiffly up the flagstone walkway to the massive paneled door. Seeing her rigid carriage and defiant chin in the air, Jake stepped back and give her room. Rather than push her further, he came up behind and reached for her. Keeping her facing the cabin, he pulled her back against him and murmured in her ear, “Easy, tiger. Let’s stop here for a minute so you can get your bearings. Before we decide what’s going to happen here, let me tell you a little about this cabin.” Gratified at her surprised gasp, Jake kept him arms loosely around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head and continued. “I call this place my sanctuary, Sam. I designed and built it pretty much by myself, although, as always, my brothers pitched in. I couldn’t have done it without them. It took me nearly five years to complete. I finished it a just a couple of months ago. It was one of the more challenging endeavors I’ve undertaken, but every hour I spent on it was worthwhile. It truly was a labor of love.”