Delaney pushed open the door of the diner and stepped inside. She threw Louie, the manager sitting beside the cash register a smile and friendly hello. He spared her a sharp glance and barely nodded at her cheerful greeting. Instead, he picked up a copy of the Avery Gazette and pretended to read it.
Dismayed and confused by his cool reception, she grabbed a menu from the stack sitting on the counter and found an empty booth. She took off her jacket, sat down and tried to concentrate on the menu. Despite her best efforts her gaze kept shifting to the manager who continued to ignore her. After a moment, the head waitress, Nadine, strolled over.
“Hi Nadine, how are you today?”
Nadine threw her a frosty glare. “Fine.” She rapidly tapped the end of her pen on her pad. “I’m waiting.”
Delaney put down the menu and looked up at Nadine. “Is something wrong?”
Nadine pursed her lips as a flash of icy contempt gleamed in her brown eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Did you say you wanted coffee?”
Delaney exhaled a deep breath. “No, I asked if something was wrong.”
Nadine arched a brow and stared at Delaney. “Why would anything be wrong?
Delaney lifted her right hand palm up. “I have no idea, it’s just that--“
“I’m really busy so if you’d like to order something--please do.”
Delaney looked around the diner at the empty booths and tables yet to be filled and wondered what she had done to cause this sudden shift in attitude toward her. Could her relationship with Rick have something to do with it? Was everyone hoping he and Lenore would end up together? Well, she’d be damned if she was going to get permission from Avery’s citizens regarding her love life. Delaney slid the menu across the table toward Nadine. “Coffee with cream, French toast and a side of bacon.”
Without a word, Nadine strode away with her nose scraping the ceiling. In a few minutes, she came back with a pot of coffee. Nadine stood beside Delaney holding the pot in her hand and glancing surreptitiously at Delaney’s lap. For a long, anxious moment, Delaney was afraid Nadine might dump the hot coffee in her lap. To Delaney’s relief, she filled her cup instead. Then without so much as a glance in her direction, she walked away.
Delaney poured a generous amount of cream in her coffee and stirred in two heaping spoonfuls of sugar, the spoon clanking against the sides of the cup. She frowned, her gaze moving from Louie at the front of the diner to Nadine in the back chatting and smiling at an older couple seated in a booth. What the heck was going on? What had she done to offend them?
Everyone had been so nice to her up until now. A feeling of disappointment mixed with sadness filled her. Maybe Avery wasn’t the place for her after all. Never one to dwell on the negative, she decided to enjoy the time she had with Rick and then move on. Just because she didn’t have a job waiting for her in New York didn’t mean she couldn’t go. She could always find a job however temporary until the one she really wanted came along. In the meantime, the mayor had agreed to pay her for helping them beautify the town. Glad that she’d made a decision to head for New York, she rested her hands on the table’s surface and waited for Nadine to serve her food.
The door of the diner swung open and Sara Farley shuffled in. Louie laid down the newspaper and greeted her warmly. “Sit anywhere you like,” Delaney heard him tell Sara.
Sara’s gaze locked on Delaney for maybe two seconds before she looked away. Obviously not wishing to speak to her, Sara stared straight ahead as she passed by Delaney’s booth. Delaney reached out and caught her arm. “Please Sara, sit down. Tell me what’s going on.”
Sara exhaled a deep breath her normally cheerful face pinched with annoyance and hurt. She hesitated a moment then stiffly sat across from Delaney. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and her tiny frame clothed in a pink, velour jogging suit.
Delaney folded her arms on top of the table and leaned toward Sara. “Why is every treating me as though I just contracted the clap?”
An expression of pained tolerance settled over Sara’s face. “Well...we heard from a reliable source that you don’t think very much of us or our town.” Her voice was cool and harsh.
Delaney’s mouth popped open. She blinked in utter dismay and slumped against the back of her seat while shock rolled through her. “What! Who is this reliable source?”
By the time Sara finished telling her about all of Lenore’s comments and vicious lies she was steaming. She was going to rip Lenore’s lungs out.
She looked Sara right in the eye. “They are bald faced lies, Sara.” She reached across the table and grasped Sara’s hand. “You have to believe me. I’m not that kind of person. Lenore is jealous because Rick and I have been seeing one another on a personal level. I know that you and everyone in this town have known Lenore Shaw a heck of a lot longer than you have me but I swear to you I never, ever said or thought any of those things.”
Sara’s face relaxed, the pinched expression smoothed away. She actually smiled. “Lenore has been in this town a long time. I watched her grow up, went to her wedding and mourned with her when her husband was killed in Desert Storm. I’m not saying Lenore doesn’t have faults because she does and nearly everybody in this town knows what they are. But she worked hard to start the B&B, to keep it going and she has contributed a lot to the town. However, that doesn’t excuse the way we’ve chosen to treat you. I’m sorry I fell for Lenore’s lines hook, line and sinker.” She patted Delaney’s hand. “I believe you dear and so will everybody else in this town by the time I’m done with them.”
Delaney watched Nadine walk toward her table with the breakfast she’d ordered. Suddenly she had completely lost her appetite. She turned to Sara. “Please, enjoy my breakfast. I need to go have a chat with Lenore.” She dug some bills out of her purse and put them on the table plus a generous tip and stood up to leave.
Sara looked up at her. “Don’t be too hard on her.”
Interesting that Rick said nearly the exact same thing. But it was high time somebody was hard on Lenore Shaw. Since everybody else in this town treated her with kid gloves she was going to have to get tough. Delaney smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to rip her lungs out.”
* * * * *
Delaney climbed into her Mini Cooper and cranked the engine. She listened to the engine hum. Linc had done a great job repairing her car, but at the moment she found it hard to appreciate his good work. She backed the compact car out of the parking space and tore over to the bed and breakfast while her anger simmered just below the boiling point.
In a few minutes, she pulled up in front of Shaw House, a white brick house with a wraparound porch and smoke curling lazily out of the chimney. Little hills of snow were piled on either side of the shoveled walkway. She shoved the gear into park, cut the engine and exhaled a breath as she gazed at the charming snowman some kids had built in the front yard. “Okay, I’m going to be calm...firm, but calm.” She pressed her lips together and seethed inside. “To hell with calm.”
Delaney threw open the car door, climbed out and marched up the walkway. She opened the front door, stepped inside and closed it at her back. The entryway was furnished with a southwestern flair. There was a pair of old spurs adorning the wall beneath a print of snowcapped mountains. A desk was situated at the base of the stairs.
Lenore sat behind it with a phone to her ear while she typed on a computer keyboard as she booked a reservation for New Year’s Eve. She flicked a glance in Delaney’s direction as she hung up. Her auburn hair looked perfect, her makeup fresh as though she’d just put it on. With a slight smile, she leaned back in her chair and raised a brow. “Well...what brings you here?”
Delaney was furious. She couldn’t believe Lenore’s smug, innocent attitude. She strode up to the desk and folded her arms over her chest. “You’ve been wagging your royal tongue around town, spreading lies about me and I don’t like it. Slander is against the law. You should know that, Lenore. Are you hoping Rick will come and arre
st you?”
An icy smile curved Lenore’s coral painted lips. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
Scalding anger rushed through Delaney’s veins. She wanted to wipe the self-satisfied expression from Lenore’s face. And she knew just how to do it. She placed her palms on the surface of the desk and moved in close to Lenore. “You’re so jealous you can’t see straight. There’s nothing sadder than a woman sniffing after a man who doesn’t want her.”
Lenore’s eyes turned hard and flat with indignation.
Bingo.
Lenore pressed her perfectly shaped lips into a thin line and slowly stood up. She leaned toward Delaney until they were nose to nose. “Jealous? Of you?” She chuckled in a derisive manner. “Not hardly. I can handle you just like I can handle Rick. Men are easily manipulated. They can’t help themselves, especially when a woman looks like a million bucks and turns on the charm.” She rapidly skimmed her gaze over Delaney. “Unlike some women I know.”
Lenore’s contempt had hurt Delaney when she’d first met her, but now after the red hot lovemaking she and Rick had shared, she knew without a doubt who was the better woman. “I’ve gotten rid of other women who tried to insinuate themselves into Rick’s life. He’ll be back in my arms as soon as you leave town.” Lenore snapped her fingers for emphasis.
Delaney smirked. “Who said I was leaving town?”
The self-assured look vanished from Lenore’s face. “You’re staying?”
“For the time being.” Delaney straightened and looked at Lenore. “Lenore, you should really open your eyes. Mark Griffin is so in love with you the man all but kisses your feet whenever you’re around.”
Lenore stared at her as if she’d grown another head. Her lips parted and she blinked a couple of times but she remained silent.
“Why would a smart woman like you run after a man who isn’t interested in her when there is a man waiting and willing with his arms open wide?” Delaney walked to the front door and stopped. She looked at Lenore over her shoulder. “By the way, Sara is undoing your little lies even as we speak.”
* * * * *
After a quick dinner at the diner, Delaney patted her mouth with her napkin, looked at Rick. “I drove up to Billings today, picked up a few things.” Her voice was low and sexy. She stroked the tip of her finger over the back of his hand and gave him a greedy, female look. “Meet me in my jail cell in five minutes.” She kept her gaze pinned to his and licked her lips. “Don’t be late.”
He imagined her naked and moaning as he pounded into her the other night at the hot springs. He grew hard in an instant. “What happens if I’m late?”
Delaney smiled and rose from her chair. “I’ll have to punish you.”
Lust and want glided through him settling warm and heavy in his groin. Rick watched the tantalizing sway of her hips and fanny as she left the diner. He took his time finishing his coffee and paying the check making sure he would be late. Wondering what kind of punishment she had planned made his skin tight. He would have made her wait a bit longer but the enormous hard on pressing against his pants needed relief--now. He made sure his coat was zipped and covering his crotch as he left the diner. Quickly, he walked to the sheriff’s office.
As soon as he stepped inside, he removed his coat, hung it on the coat rack and locked the door. Turning off the main lights in the office, he strolled to the doorway leading to the back of the office and Delaney’s cell. He stood quietly in the doorway watching her.
She wore nothing but a red silk thong and red spike heels on her feet. In her right hand she held a black, velvet whip. She paced from one side of the cell to the other like a lioness on the prowl, her bare ass and hips rocking seductively. As she paced, she slapped the soft whip against the cell floor. Her hair lay in a silken drape about her shoulders, her breasts were full and round, the nipples erect as if he’d had his mouth on them. If he shoved inside her at this very moment, would she be wet and ready to take him? The thought of her womanhood creaming for him made his erection slide toward pain.
Candlelight glowed from several fat candles sitting on a small table that normally sat in the bathroom. Soft light filled the cell and danced over Delaney’s body illuminating her like a voluptuous goddess. His penis hardened more and his blood beat in a wild ancient rhythm, the rhythm of a man who desperately needed to mate.
Rick moved slowly toward the cell unbuttoning his shirt and unzipping his pants. At the sound of his footsteps, Delaney’s chin snapped up, she stopped, licked her lips and swept her gaze over him. He moved to the cell door, shrugged out of his pants and underwear. His cock sprang free and the cool air wafted over it. He removed his shirt and kicked his clothes across the cell floor. They slid past Delaney’s feet.
She glanced briefly at them as they glided past. Her light pink tongue touched her upper lip before she gave his hard on a come-and-screw-me smile. Her gaze shifted from his penis up to his eyes. “You’re late.”
He smiled slightly. “On purpose.”
She pursed her lips and a smile played around her mouth. “Oh, you’ve been a very bad boy.”
Her husky, sensuous voice sparked a surge of sexual need inside him.
“Whatever am I going to do with you?” She slapped the whip against the floor.
He stepped inside the cell and walked to her side. He stood close; close enough for his penis to nudge against the tiny silk triangle covering her femininity. “It’s not what you’re going to do with me, but what I’m going to do to you, in you and with you.”
An eager expression glinted in her eyes. “Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
He wanted to tame her, dominate her even more than he had the other night in the hot springs. He wanted her pliant, legs spread, the essence of her open and ready to receive every solid, aroused inch of him. He dug his fingers under the straps barely holding the thong in place and tugged, hard. They snapped in two. The remainder of the thong floated to the floor leaving her naked and vulnerable. “Take off your shoes.”
Delaney raised a brow. “Make me.”
Her softly whispered challenge brushed over his nerve endings urging him to shove inside her. He put his right hand over her mound, parted the labia and ruthlessly rubbed his thumb over her clit once then stopped. With his other hand, he gave her buttocks a firm slap. Her breath caught in her throat. “Either you take off your shoes or that one little stroke over your clit is all you’re going to get until I’m good and ready to give you more.”
One corner of her mouth kicked up in a smile. She lifted her right leg bringing her foot about level with his hip. He took off the shoe, tossed it aside. She lowered her foot and did the same with her left leg.
He threw her shoe over his shoulder. “Better, much better. Now put your arms around my neck and wrap your legs around my waist. Oh, and don’t let go of that whip.”
She did as he asked and he pushed between her thighs but didn’t enter her. He felt his cock rub over her clit coating him with the essence of her body. He walked to the cot and laid her down. Climbing to his knees on the cot, he straddled her with his hard cock jutting between his legs. He gripped her ankles and bent her knees. Then he nudged the inside of her knees outward so that she opened for him even more. Her femininity appeared deep pink, wet and ready in the candlelight. She lay with her chest rising softly and her eyes fixed on cock. “Lift your hands and lay them under your breasts, holding them up as if offering them to me.”
She raised her breasts to him and rubbed her thumb over her nipples so they hardened further, the nipple dusky pink just begging for his lips and tongue. He shifted forward placing the palms of his hands on either side of her upper arms and looked at the delight waiting for him. “Don’t move your hands, don’t try to reach for me or touch me until I give you permission. I want to watch you fall apart; I want to see the passion and need rise in your eyes.” He stroked his thumb over her when she didn’t say anything. “Answer me.”
“Okay.” Her husky voice was filled with need, h
er blue eyes glazed with desire. Good, that’s just where he wanted her. He leaned forward and licked first her left nipple then the right. He sampled them like ice cream in a cone. Then he took the hard tip between his lips and nibbled. He heard her breath catch as he kissed his way over her breasts, tasting, arousing. When he felt her breasts begin to relax he knew she was loosening her hands, wanting to reach for him. “Keep holding up your breasts, I’m not done yet. Every time you obey me I’ll reward you.”
She tossed her head over the pillow. “Rick, please. . .I”
“I know what you need and what you want. But I need and want too. Let me take you at my leisure, let me reign over your body tonight.” He lowered his head, took the nipple of her left breast into his mouth and suckled hard. He created suction with his lips; he used his tongue on her until she whimpered. He removed his mouth looked down at her wet breasts and her beautiful face and eyes. “You can let go now.”
She dropped the whip and her hands fell to her sides. He knelt between her legs and placed his palms on her upraised knees. Sliding his hands over her thighs, he splayed his fingers and parted her with his thumbs. Then he took a long, slow lick over her, relishing her flavor on his tongue. He rubbed her clit softly at first, as lightly as possible then he gradually increased the pressure. When she swelled against his mouth, he pushed his tongue inside her as far as he could go.
She lifted her pelvis upward, placing her hands on the back of his head to hold him in. Slowly she moved her hips working his tongue deeper inside her. Soft cries escaped her throat as he felt her tighten and grip him in the hot throes of orgasm.
He withdrew his tongue, gave her womanhood a firm lick then shoved his penis inside her. Rick covered her lips thrusting his tongue inside her wet mouth even as he pushed deep within her. He increased the rhythm, lunging hard, feeling his body slap again and again against hers. If he could, he would have put his balls inside her as well, but he had to content himself with feeling them spank her buttocks, making his arousal soar even higher.
Sheriff in Her Stocking Page 9