He pulled out her leather wallet and unsnapped the clasp. One by one he sorted through the cards, reading each as he laid them out on the roof of her car. “You’re absolutely right, Ma’am. Looking in your purse has proven something. You must be quite the skilled thief.”
“What? No, look, you just call Kurt. He’ll tell you.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet, being as he’s the one to report this stolen. Why, I’d wager these are all reported stolen as well. You haven’t proved anything to me, except maybe that I need to hold tight to my wallet and keys.” She stood shocked as he swiped the cards all up, and stuffed everything back into her purse. In three wide steps, he returned to her side and had the Blazer’s door swung wide open. He motioned her to get in. “Let’s go.”
“No. You’ve got to understand. Kurt, he—”
“Lady, we’ll finish sorting this all out at the station. Let’s go. Get in or I’ll put you in.”
Kirsten shook her head, slow at first, then furiously. Oh God, if Kurt had gone as far as to report the car stolen, and cancel her cards, maybe he hadn’t taken her leaving so well.
Like a sudden shadow cast over a once bright and cheery land, the dark truth crept in. Reality sunk into her mind and wrapped its claws around her psyche. Kurt wasn’t going to let her go. Not ever.
No, she knew entirely too much.
And since she’d left like she did, no doubt he suspected that. He wouldn’t let her go. Oh gawd, what had she gotten herself into? “No, I can’t. I have to get out of here.”
“Fine, have it your way.” Before she could even open her mouth again he had her by the waist. She kicked as he lifted her, twisting in his hold. Cursing in pain, his grip relinquished. Rather than ending up over his shoulders, she half landed on her feet, half in his arms, still tight in his grasp.
She glanced up at him, shocked by his gaze. She’d expected anger. Instead, he looked like a hungry animal, one ready to ravish her mouth with a hot kiss. Her insides trembled, but she did not move away. She was too damn attracted to him. The sight of his lips paralyzed her.
Thank God he did not hesitate.
His mouth claimed hers into a hard, demanding kiss. Hot desire shot down her spine at the touch, shooting straight to her lower regions. Need possessed her body. She kissed him back, swooping her tongue into his mouth. She grazed it along his, enticing a battle.
The sheriff devoured her, flicks and swirls of his tongue matching hers. Their tongues fought each other with fury.
Every inch of her body tingled, her clit pulsating as she dampened. She wanted him to touch her, explore her, all while the cuffs still restrained her from resisting him.
He increased the demand of his lips, his grip around her lessening. He ran his hand up her back, the touch lighting her spine with electric heat. Cupping her left breast, he rubbed his thumb across her hardened nipple. Her areola burst with sensation.
She moaned in his mouth, and leaned into his touch. Damn, she wanted him to kiss her there. To…
Sudden awareness shot through her. He’d freed his hold on her. She fought between her lust for him and harsh reality.
Now was her chance to get away. The sensible side of her demanded she run.
All at once, she broke away and leapt for freedom. She gained a few feet on him before his hand caught her arm. Halting her escape, he pulled her back, and tossed her over his shoulder. Her ribs slammed into him, momentarily stealing her breath.
Kirsten gasped, then screamed. Overwrought with the sudden need to flee, she banged her head into his back. It bounced back like a pebble thrown against a rock wall. Dizzy, she fell limp. He tossed her in the seat, and glared down at her. His dark, narrowed eyes looked cold. A chill ran down her spine, followed by the strangest feeling in the pit of her stomach.
He pointed at her, freezing her with the fierceness in his stare. “I’m giving you one last warning. Do that again, and you can add assaulting an officer to your list of charges.”
She scrambled up just in time for him to slam the door in her face.
3
“Oh, come on,” Kirsten pleaded in almost a whine. “For the hundredth time, if you would just listen to me.”
He slammed down the phone and glared at her. “I know, I know. A drug dealer is going to murder you if I turn you in. I got it already.” Thick sarcasm laced his tone and dripped from his voice.
“But you don’t believe me,” she hissed, though her story seemed distinctly unbelievable, even to herself. She didn’t know how she could have been so blind for so very long.
Kurt’s money and charm had made her a fool, that’s how. In one full sweep he’d knocked her right off her feet with gifts and fast cars. She’d forgotten all about her dreams of becoming a star as he’d filled her wallet with credit cards and put her up in her own condo. It had been a new life for a small town nobody young enough to fall for its glitter.
Since then she’d changed.
Now she saw Kurt’s true colors. This morning when she’d overheard where all it really came from, she’d lit out of there. She’d just grabbed her purse and got in her Corvette, still in her sweats from her morning run with Snowball.
If only she’d gotten a clue years ago. Perhaps Kurt would’ve let her go more easily back then and she wouldn’t now be handcuffed and jailed by Sheriff Bighead.
She stared into his handsome eyes; their almond shape narrowed into a dark stare serving to make him look all the more attractive. Like the dark, silent type—brooding, mysterious.
Sexy.
With a gulp, she tried to force herself out of the trance. Visions of his mouth trailing up and down her body, just as his hands had, overtook her mind. Poisoned with want once again, Kirsten tore her gaze away from him. No doubt he could see her hardened nipples right through her shirt.
His words came in a slow growl to remind her of his distrust. “No, Ma’am. I don’t believe you.”
Kirsten’s anger increased. “I’m not freaking lying. Isn’t your duty to serve and protect? Well, you’re not doing a very good job. In fact—”
“Just be quiet already. Like a damned chatter box. My office has never been so noisy.”
“Well, if you’d listen to me—”
“Enough. I have to make another phone call.” He waved her away with the flick of his hand and picked up the phone. Kirsten stood and wandered around the sheet-covered desk in his office. Drywall dust covered everything, and buckets of mud and tools lay scattered everywhere. She swore she’d end up with cancer from the particles he had her inhaling.
The cuffs were still fastened tightly to her wrists, and though it hurt, she couldn’t stop from pulling and tugging at them.
Jerk. Mr. Know-It-All, I’m So Damned Fine—Jerk. Everything about him disgusted her. He wouldn’t even try to listen to her, and understand her dilemma. Worse, at the time when she had so much to worry over, all she could think of was what it would feel like to have him.
On the desk, the chair, the floor. Handcuffed.
She shook her head. She hadn’t had such impure thoughts since the accident. After that, she’d gone to Alcoholics Anonymous, put aside drinking and the behavior that went with it. It had been as if her thoughts were dry-cleaned.
One look at Sheriff Reid Walker mucked up her mind with dirty ideas.
She went to the window and leaned against the cool glass. Snowball sat out front, politely awaiting his owner. Traitor, she thought as she recalled how her pet had taken to her new worst enemy.
Reid’s escalating voice grabbed her attention. “No, damn it. We’ve been beating this around the bush for two hours now. Listen to me.”
Kirsten wanted to tell him if he wanted people to pay him attention, perhaps he should try extending the same courtesy.
“Is that a fact?” he growled to the person on the other end of the phone. “No, no. Wait a minute. Whispering Branch is over three hours away. It’s Friday evening. For one, you’d have me driving until the early morning hours. Two, it would b
e closed by the time I got there”
His face had turned beet red, and he looked ready to explode. “No. I told you I can’t keep her here. We’re into some remodeling right now.”
“Then let me go,” she whispered to him in a hiss.
Sheriff Reid shot her another mean look and went on with his call. His face contorted in twelve different expressions of disgust, then he shouted, “Fine. But you damned well better be here for her first thing Monday morning.”
He slammed down the phone and looked at her with sorry brown eyes. In contrast, a sexy little muscle in his jaw twitched in anger. “They cannot extradite you back to California until Monday.”
“Oh no.” Shaking, she stepped back. She looked around at the construction mess and held back the scream that threatened to explode. “No. I am not staying here until Monday. No way.”
He glared around the room and nodded his head. His dark eyes met hers, and a cold chill ran down her spine. “You are absolutely right. You cannot stay here. You’ll stay with me.”
Reid winced as Kirsten’s big eyes flashed in surprise. Golden flecks sparked from their green depths, and lit her face with disbelief, which quickly flashed into full-blown anger. Burned by her fiery glare, he averted his gaze.
He couldn’t believe it either. But there it was, all the same. He had no other choice but to take her home.
With a clenched jaw, Reid put on his hard shell and turned back to her. All he needed to do was stay professional from here on out. No more losing it and kissing her. He’d gone six years without sex. Surely he could resist a weekend with the most annoyingly attractive woman he’d ever met. “Let’s go.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and directed her outside. She yanked and jerked from his touch, but he kept his hand placed where he could guide her. With his luck, she’d run the second he turned his back.
Gripping her arm, he swung open the truck door and motioned for her to get in. As soon as he did, Snowball flew past them and leapt into the seat, finding his place on the floorboard. He curled into a huge white fluff ball and tucked his nose into his paws.
Kirsten stood firm, her eyes narrowed. “You know, this must be illegal.”
The look on her face bothered him even more. He didn’t like the way her eyes slanted into a feline glare when she didn’t get her way. No, he much preferred them wide and open, big and endearing. Sweet.
Not that he cared how she looked at him. It didn’t matter. Not one bit.
“Nope, ma’am. Don’t believe it is.”
“You could at least undo these cuffs. You can’t keep me in them all weekend. That’s mean and inhuman and I know it’s illegal. What’s it called? Cruel and unusual punishment. Punishment, hah! I didn’t even do anything wrong, you know. You—”
“Enough!” he growled. His ears rang from her complaints. Never had he met a woman with such a mouth. “Okay. Get in and I’ll take them off. And don’t bother with any escape ideas. Trust me, where we’re headed, you’d be a fool to even try.”
“And where is that?” she snapped.
“My ranch,” he answered as she climbed in and he unclasped the cuffs. As soon as he did, she started to try and shove past him. He held her back with one hand as his body blocked the door. “Where there’s nothing but endless fields filled with cattle. Then you can run all you want. You’ll only get tired.”
As they topped the only hill for probably miles on end, Reid’s ranch came into view. Red barns and white fencing corralling cattle surrounded an expansive single-story home. A huge porch wrapped around it, and chickens pecked in the front yard.
“We’re home,” Reid announced as he shut off the engine.
Kirsten frowned. What about those words felt so good? So comfy? “No, you’re home.”
She waited, quite impatiently, for him to open the door and let her out. Reid came around, and released her.
The smell of country filled the air, sweet and fresh as a breeze, and tickled her nose. On the porch, a swing blew back and forth, causing a tap-tap like the back rhythm against the music of a clucking and mewing orchestra.
Snowball hopped out after her, brushing along her legs to settle at her sides. Kirsten smiled. No doubt he’d like it here.
So would she, under any other circumstances, with anyone else.
“Let’s go.” Reid led her up the front stairs and swung open the door. Snowball breezed past them and disappeared in a flash, more than likely off for a drink from the toilet. Yuck.
A low chuckle emitted from Reid, deep and sexy. Amusement gleamed in his eyes, alluring with the shine in their deep, dark depths. She could have shaken him for it, but she was too afraid of what would happen if she touched him.
Or he touched her. All over. Like he had when he’d searched her. His hands roaming up and down her legs, her waist, then her rear. Touching. Feeling. Driving her crazy.
She automatically tightened at the memory, muscles in her lower regions contracting with desire. She started to drip with longing as she stared at him, her lower regions wetting to have him.
Reid slammed the door shut with a bang and knocked her out of her treacherous thoughts. Needing to distract herself, she wandered from the foyer into the living room.
Its emptiness hit her. He had nothing, nada, save for a large-screen television, a couch and a lazy boy. Not a thing for decoration, no wall hangings, no knick-knacks, nothing but bare white walls.
“It’s clean, at least,” she murmured, more to herself than him.
“Yeah.” He just shook his head, and stared at her.
“The fireplace is beautiful.” She nodded toward the huge stone focal point of the room.
“Yeah.”
“It would look great if there were some pictures or something, you know, on the mantle,” she hinted.
“Yeah.”
Okay, apparently he wasn’t much for decorating. Typical man. But still, you’d think he’d have something. It all seemed kind of weird to her. “Is the whole house like this?”
“Yeah,” he answered again, his voice hollow. “Pretty much.”
“Oh.”
“Hey, listen. I’m gonna fix us something to eat. You want to take a shower, get cleaned up or something? I can lend you some clothes.”
Yeah, she thought as her eyes ran over his brawny body once more, like they’d fit me.
Still, she’d welcome a bath. Especially since she felt grimy as hell, not having cleaned up after her jog.
Who knew when she’d next get somewhere safe enough to have one? When she escaped, she’d now be running not only from Kurt, but also Reid, and the law.
Besides, it’d look good to Reid. He’d figure she was done trying to escape. Yeah, right.
With a falsely planted smile, Kirsten nodded her head. “Sure, if you don’t mind. I know I must smell by now. I left in such a rush.”
“Right,” he grunted. “Follow me.”
He took her down a hall, and swung open a door. Kirsten took in the surroundings, a plain room with a king size bed, and nothing else. “What’s the deal?”
“This is my room. I figured I’ll sleep on the couch, and you can have the bed. Private bathroom is through that door. I’ll lay some clothes out for you.”
“What about the other rooms? Surely there must be other rooms in a house this big.”
“Yeah, I’ve got five bedrooms. They’re all empty.”
“Did you just move in or something?”
“No.” He moved to the closet and began to rummage through a shelf full of clothes. He pulled out a humongous Cowboys tee shirt and a pair of gray sweats. He tossed them on the bed and shrugged. “The pants have a drawstring so you can tighten them up.”
“What about underwear?”
“Go without. Best I can do on short notice,” he snapped and looked away.
Kirsten brushed past him into the bathroom.
“The—” He started after her.
She slammed the door right in his face.
Beyo
nd tears, Kirsten leaned against it and fought the flood of emotions. Now was not the time to cry. She had to think. Keep her head straight. Keep Reid Walker out of it.
A shower would help. Cool her down a bit. Reid seemed to have a talent for heating her up. She stripped off her clothes and started the shower. When steam rolled out from above the curtain she adjusted the cold nozzle and stepped in.
After a day of driving and a three-hour traffic jam while stuck in sweaty workout clothes, the water rolling over her skin felt like heaven. She reached for the soap, but as she lifted the green bar she realized it was men’s soap. The smell of cologne, of Reid, filled the air. She slipped her hand down her belly, to her folds. Her finger found her clit, rubbing it in a slow motion. Pleasure rippled through her body as she thought of Reid and his kiss. Of how glorious his skilled mouth would be on her sex…
She dropped the soap like it was poison. She needed to banish the man from her mind. She sucked in a deep breath and blew out, trying to collect herself. She would not masturbate to the scent and thought of Reid Walker.
She grabbed the bottle of innocent shampoo and used that like an all-over body wash.
She finished washing and glanced around. Great, she realized. No conditioner. Now her hair would be in a million knots. She wondered if the empty house even sported a comb. What was with this guy anyway? Eccentric, she supposed, or alone. Very alone.
She slung back the curtain and reached for a towel. Instead she found an empty rack. Shit.
A door by the sink looked like a linen closet. She’d just grab a towel and wipe up the mess on the floor when she was done.
Kirsten raced across the bathroom, creating puddles on the floor with every step. She flung open the closet, only to find it nearly empty. Except for a comb and a brand new bottle of conditioner.
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