by Stacy Finz
“Of what?” Her brain had trouble functioning while his tongue restlessly tangled with hers.
“The department.” His hands had crawled under her coat and fumbled with the buttons on her sweater.
“This is not the way to win taxpayers over.”
“You’re no fun.” He nibbled on her ear, his hands continuing to explore as her skin grew hotter and hotter under his touch.
“Give me the tour.” She forced herself to her feet.
He tapped his head against the back of the couch and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re killing me here.”
They didn’t have a lot of opportunities to be together, only during the nighttime, when the boys were sound asleep. And even then, they had to keep one ear open in case Travis or Grady woke up and went looking for Jace. During the day, Jace was usually swamped at work. It wasn’t ideal, but their clandestine romance made her gloriously happy just the same.
“You’ll manage to live.” She offered him a hand to pull him off the couch. “Tour, please.”
He tucked his shirt into his pants and took her down the hall to a large room filled with workstations. A few heads popped up from their cubicles.
“Hey, Sheriff.” One of the deputies, a nice-looking man with blond hair and a ski-goggle tan, came over to where they were standing. He obviously wanted an introduction.
Jace draped his arm over Charlotte’s shoulder, which surprised her. “This is Charlie. Charlie, Reggie, our watch commander.”
She shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Not as pleased as I am to meet you.” It was a cheesy line.
Jace thought so too because he rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Reggie grinned and went back to his workstation.
Jace watched him for a second and shook his head. “He loves to mess with me.”
“Why’s that?” She looked up at him.
“It’s a guy thing.”
Charlotte didn’t sense any hostility between the two men. In fact, she got the distinct impression they were friends. Still, Jace had been openly proprietary, even though they’d never discussed the terms of their relationship. Jace’s sudden possessiveness should’ve bothered her because of her experience with Corbin. He’d been jealous and controlling, constantly questioning her comings and goings, accusing her of flirting whenever she was remotely friendly to a member of the opposite sex. At one point, he even forbade her from talking to her male customers, demanding that her assistant do it instead.
The difference, though, was Jace wasn’t a psycho and Corbin was.
He gave her a peek of the locker rooms and a walk-through of the tiny space they called a lunchroom. By far the most interesting part of the tour was the jail. Just a wing off the main building with four small cells. Though it was built in the early 2000s, it reminded Charlotte of the old West. Perhaps it was the pinewood paneling and the heavy iron bars on the cells.
Across the courtyard was the courthouse, a building slightly smaller than the sheriff’s department. This one, though, was actually built in the old West at around the time of the Gold Rush. Charlotte imagined that the building had been seismically retrofitted and modernized many times over, including what looked to her like double-pane windows. But the brick, and the portico with its Western-style posts, appeared original.
There was a plaque on a brick pedestal at the entrance, describing the courthouse’s history. Charlotte didn’t take the time to read it because she didn’t want to hold Jace up. Next time she was at the coffee shop, she’d make a point of coming back.
Dry Creek was drenched in Gold Rush history and Charlotte wanted to soak it up.
Jace peered at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting in five. Let me walk you back to your CR-V.”
“I’m fine, Jace. I parked in the lot.” There were plenty of people milling around, just like at the coffee shop. Corbin wouldn’t dare violate the restraining order in front of witnesses.
“So.” He hunched his shoulders. “I want to walk a pretty woman to her car.”
“If you insist. I just don’t want to interfere with your day.”
They crossed the square and the parking lot, where he stood watch until she started her engine.
“You heading back to the ranch?”
She nodded. “I’ll put in a couple of hours on my chair before I pick up the kids from school. Travis has junior rodeo this afternoon. Is he cleared to go?” Jace hadn’t told her the terms of Travis’s punishment other than he wasn’t allowed to use the phone.
“Yeah, but that’s it. No hanging out with friends afterward. Be sure to lock the gate when you get home.”
Home? She didn’t think of it that way. Everything still felt temporary, like any minute she might have to jump in her Honda and press the pedal to the metal.
Chapter 18
Jace crept across the hardwood floor, trying not to make a sound. He wasn’t the lightest on his feet and tended to be a heavy walker. At least he didn’t have his boots on. Sneaking around in his own home was beyond ridiculous. But he couldn’t exactly preach abstinence to Travis while openly sleeping with Charlie, even if he was a grown man.
He was sorely tempted to send the boys for a sleepover with Uncle Sawyer sometime this week. Sawyer’s book deadline be damned. There was always Cash and Aubrey, but their cabin was already tight as a squeeze chute. They didn’t need two hyper boys making the place smaller.
Smack!
Ah, shit. He tripped over one of the dog’s damn chew toys and slapped the wall to keep from falling and breaking his neck. Praying that one of the kids hadn’t heard him, Jace waited a beat. When it seemed safe, he continued in the pitch blackness. No moon tonight and he’d forgotten to turn on the goddamn nightlight.
He felt his way in the dark until the hallway wall ended, turned the corner into the guest wing, and tapped lightly on Charlie’s door.
“Come in,” she whispered. She’d been waiting for him.
A smile blossomed in his chest and he got hard.
The door creaked as he opened it. Tomorrow, which was actually today, he planned to spray the shit out of the hinges with a can of WD-40.
He shucked his jeans, left them on the floor, and climbed into bed with her.
“What took you so long?” She had on an oversized T-shirt, which normally he would’ve found sexy. But right now, he wanted her naked.
“Grady came to my room about eleven and talked my ear off until midnight. I wanted to make sure he was fully asleep.”
She muffled a laugh with the blanket. “All this sneaking around reminds me of high school.”
“Really? You used to sneak around a lot?” He dragged the nightshirt over her head and planned to get rid of her panties as soon as he laved some attention on her breasts.
“No, but you know what I mean.” She pulled him closer. “Kiss me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He rolled onto his side and tugged her into his arms. Damn, she felt good. Her skin was soft, her breasts firm pressed against his chest and she smelled sweet, like soap and talcum powder.
The hot pull of her mouth made him a little crazy. He wanted to go slow, savor what was left of the night, but at this rate didn’t think he’d last past the eight-second bell. She was so sexy, so supple, so freaking everything. His heart raced as she ground into him, pleading.
“Slow down, baby.”
“Can’t.” She pushed him onto his back and straddled him, rubbing up and down his length until he thought he’d go off like a fire hydrant. “I’ve been lying here, thinking about this all night.”
Her need and desperation made his entire body throb until he couldn’t wait any longer. Jace clasped her hip with one hand and guided himself into her opening with the other. And with one sharp thrust he was inside her.
“Shit.” He clenched his teeth and s
tarted to pull out.
“No, no.” She arched up and pulled him back in, her warm tightness enveloping him like a glove.
It took every dint of his willpower to roll out from under her. “Condom.” He hung over the bed and realized he didn’t bring anything with him and muttered a curse. “Be right back.”
She thrashed her head against the pillow in sheer frustration. “Hurry.”
He didn’t bother with his pants and ran from the guest wing down the hallway to his bedroom, naked, inadvertently kicking that goddamn chew toy against the wall where it made a loud thwack.
“Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered aloud and stood stock still to listen. No one stirred and he resumed the race to his nightstand, returning to Charlotte a few seconds later.
This time, he locked her door.
One look at Charlotte lying on the bed, the blanket rucked around her hips with her amazing breasts bare, and his mouth watered. He ripped open one of the foil packets, suited up, and climbed back in.
He kissed her gently and let his hands wander over her breasts, then to the flat plane of her belly. Sliding down, he buried his face between her legs and felt her breath catch. She tasted sweet and musky and he couldn’t get enough.
He used his tongue and fingers until he felt Charlie clench and her breathing quicken. Soon came a succession of hot spasms and a moan of such deep pleasure that it set Jace on fire. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this much.
“Oh, Jace.” Her hands were in his hair.
He lifted his head up. “Good?”
She tilted her head back. “Mm” was all she could manage.
His chest filled with pride, knowing he could do this to her. That he could make her come undone.
He moved over her, kissing her breasts and drawing her nipples into his mouth. She cried out and he hushed her.
“As soon as we get this damn barbecue behind us, I’m taking you somewhere where we can be alone,” he whispered against her ear.
He held her arms over her head and continued to feast on her breasts. They were flushed pink and so damn perfect they made him ache. Charlie ran her nails up and down his back, urging him for more.
He held himself above her and in one long, hard thrust was inside her again, moving. She whimpered and the sound, along with her heat, drove him wild. She pulled her legs up and planted her feet on the bed so he could go deeper.
He pulled out and entered her again with a powerful stroke that made her gasp. “Too much?” He stopped.
“No, no. So good.” She ground against him, pleading for more.
“Oh, baby.” He devoured her mouth as his thrusts quickened.
In a minute, he was going to lose his mind. He loved the way she responded to him. Every kiss, every touch, every stroke seemed to take her to new heights. And the little sounds she made. Whimpers, pants, moans drove him to the brink.
“You with me?” He hovered over her, looking down, not knowing how much longer he could last.
She closed her eyes and her lips parted, forming an O. “Yes…Jace…yes.”
He urged her to wrap her legs around him and plunged into her deeper and deeper. Faster and faster. Harder and harder. She thrust up, meeting him stroke for stroke. Her body shook and he felt as if he were flying. Like he was soaring above the clouds and all he saw was her. Charlie.
She called out his name and broke apart, her body wracked with shudders.
He grit his teeth, trying to hold on and make it last forever. But he couldn’t stop the tide pushing against him and he let it take him over until his mind went blank and his body erupted. Then he collapsed on top of her until he could steady his breathing.
He rolled to his side, taking her with him. She curled into his chest, tucking her head under his chin. Jace needed to get rid of the condom but he didn’t want to let her go just yet.
He combed his fingers through her hair. “Did that work for you?” It was a self-serving question because he knew damned well that it had.
“Arrogant much?” She laughed and the sound of it made Jace’s heart skip a beat.
“Give me a sec.” He got off the bed and ducked into the bathroom.
When he finished disposing of the condom, he washed his face. Charlie kept the bathroom neat.
Too neat.
Her toiletries were tucked away in a cosmetic bag sitting on the corner of the vanity, not out on the shelves or in a drawer. Her soap, shampoos, and lotions were ready to go when she was. The implication of that stabbed at him. Don’t get used to this, he told himself but couldn’t stop from rushing back to her bed.
When he dove beneath the covers with her, she crawled under his arm and nestled into his chest. He pulled her leg over his and they slept like that until he woke a few hours later. One look at the clock and he got out of bed. Charlie was still down for the count. He tucked the quilt around her, kissed her softly, and returned to his own bedroom.
The sun was already coming up and shafts of early morning light made shadows on the walls. Instead of going back to sleep, he decided to saddle up Amigo and ride a few fences. He could be back in time to share his morning coffee with Charlie.
But that wouldn’t be. His cell buzzed on the nightstand and he checked the caller ID. Duty called.
* * * *
Charlotte spent most of the day in her workshop. The slipcover for the chair was coming along nicely, and by the time Aubrey brought her client it would be done. It was getting time to do a little scouting at yard sales and flea markets. Between Dee Dee and Aubrey, who was in the middle of a big decorating project and had taken a few pieces on consignment, Charlotte needed fresh stock.
Jace had mentioned that a sheep ranch down the road had recently sold and the new buyers were tearing down the old barn to make room for a vineyard. What she wouldn’t do to have a look around and see if there was anything worth scavenging. If she had time, she’d drop by the property on her way to pick Travis and Grady up from school. While Travis was at his Junior rodeo meeting, she’d promised to take Grady to the craft store over in Auburn for supplies for a project he was working on.
She played music on Jace’s iPod while she sewed. All he had was country and western music, which she was quickly acquiring a taste for.
Twice, she’d picked up her phone to call Allison. If nothing else, she just wanted to hear her sister’s voice.
Al owned a nursery in Portland and would be at work. Charlotte visualized her sister at her potting bench with her hands deep in dirt. While Charlotte liked to make old things new, Al loved growing plants and flowers. One visit to Dry Creek Ranch and Allison would fall hopelessly in love.
Charlotte wanted to tell her all about Jace. About Travis and Grady. But how absurd would it sound to her sister?
Hi, Al. I know it’s been a while but you were right about Corbin. He was everything you said he was and more. I ran from him. Loaded up my car with as many things that would fit and drove for my life and for the life of the child growing inside me. But it was too late. I lost the baby, Al. I thought I’d lost everything. And then I met a man who made me believe in myself again. Who gave me hope and courage and safety. I’m here now, Al, with him and his two young sons. And I think I’m in love with him.
She closed her eyes because even to herself she sounded out of touch with reality. A complete wackjob. A weak woman, who’d jumped into the arms of a new man when she hadn’t even recovered from the pain inflicted by the first.
There was a knock outside and she jumped. She was here alone and hadn’t even remembered her pepper spray. Through the window she saw Cash’s SUV and pressed her hands to her stomach with relief.
“Anyone here?”
She opened the side door and stuck her head out. “I am.” That’s when she noticed a second car—a Subaru Outback—had pulled alongside his truck and two women were climbing out.
> “I found these ladies parked at the gate. They say they came to see your store.” He raised his brows as if to say what store?
“O-h-h-h,” she said, surprised. The barn was hardly a store, but she didn’t want to dissuade the women from shopping. Charlotte just hoped she hadn’t put Cash out.
“Thanks for letting them in.”
He responded by folding his arms over his chest and staying rooted next to his truck.
The Dalton men were sticklers for security. She certainly wasn’t complaining because they were doing it on her behalf. Still, the women appeared harmless.
“I can handle it from here. Thank you, Cash. I hope you weren’t inconvenienced.”
“Nope.” He was a man of few words where she was concerned.
“Come on in.” She greeted the women, who were staring at the barn as if they might have come to the wrong place.
Charlotte opened the big sliding door, letting the sunlight in. She expected Cash to leave. But he continued to lean against his truck like he had all the time in the world.
“How did you hear about me?” she asked the women, curious because she hadn’t advertised, though it had become public knowledge that she regularly perused garage and yard sales between shuttling the boys to and from school and their activities.
“We’re friends of Dee Dee’s,” the woman with the Hermès handbag said.
Charlotte had spotted the designer purse the minute she’d laid eyes on the two women. Dee Dee clearly ran with a well-heeled crowd, though these women seemed more subdued. Despite the fancy bag, the woman was in a pair of yoga pants and tennis shoes. The other woman wore leggings and a long sweater layered under a wool coat with a pair of Ugg knockoffs.
“Feel free to browse,” she said. “Let me know if you have any questions.”
While they explored her inventory, she joined Cash at the side of his truck, where she could still keep an eye on the barn if the women needed her help. “Sorry. This was not planned. I don’t even know them.”
“I got that. Sounds like word is spreading.”