by Lora Leigh
“Uh, I’ll call ya back. Yeah, uh-huh. Bye.” He hung up and stared at her.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she held a hand up and stopped him. “I’m sorry. I was out of line this morning.”
Hunter nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Me too.”
That crooked smile of his sent her mind straight into the gutter. Why did every cell in her body want to merge with his so badly? “That being said, I’ve thought about it and agree that transferring to this department might be a good move for me.”
His eyes narrowed slightly and his head tilted. “Why do I feel like there’s something about this I’m not gonna like?”
“No, I don’t imagine you will. I don’t like it either. However, you know we have to end this thing between us.” She frowned at him. Frustration and arousal were making her snippy.
“If you want to end this thing, then you’re gonna have to stop coming into my office with plump nipples all firm and ripe, ready to be sucked.” Her scowl only prompted a grin from him. “Hey, you could try those padded bras. They may work.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Don’t know what you’re gonna do about the blush that creeps up your throat and the way your eyes get darker when you’re turned on.” Even his laugh was sultry.
“Hunter, if I’m gonna work under you…” He lifted his brows at her choice of words. “Dammit!” The word was forced through her clenched teeth. “You know what I mean! There have to be boundaries.”
He sighed. “Relax, Sam, I get what you’re saying. But people already know we’re having … a thing.”
Samantha didn’t have to ask what that meant. With a sigh, she sat in the chair opposite Hunter’s desk. “Oh well.”
“Just means we’ll have to be more discreet is all.” Hunter’s eyes were like molten steel, they didn’t match his nonchalant smile nor his indifferent shrug.
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “Be realistic, Hunter. If I’m working … for you, it’s inappropriate to continue a sexual relationship.”
“We’ll see.” He held her gaze.
“You are so arrogant,” she snarled at him as she stood. The man had a way of bringing to life nearly every emotion she harbored all at once with very little effort. At the moment, however, anger was leading the pack.
He stood as well and took a step toward her, his gaze still locked on hers. “So are you.”
She retreated a step involuntarily and frowned. “Me?” she snapped, her temper boiling just barely under the surface. “You’re the one who has to act all superior, in every aspect, I might add. You think you’re calling all the shots, but you’re not.”
He took another step toward her. “Yes, you. I’m not acting superior at all. But, Sam sugar, I am calling the shots.”
She shifted from one foot to another, fighting the urge to take another step back. He challenged her balance, kept her off center, hot, irritated. “Well, that’s not going to work for me.”
“No?” Slowly he stalked toward her. “We want the same things.” His voice was a near purr, pulling at her, making her want contact. The memory of the feel of his hot skin against hers flashed in her mind and she nearly gasped.
“Yes. We do. But we can’t always have what we want.” She took a step toward him in spite of her attempt at being stalwart and stoic.
He pulled her into his arms. “We can have this. Do you really want to pretend this doesn’t exist between us? Do you really believe we can ignore it and it will just go away?”
“Hunter,” she said softly, shaking her head.
He walked her back until she felt her body pressed between the wall and him. His hands were braced on either side of her head as he moved against her, pressing his thigh between her legs against her mound. A flood of pleasure flowed through her. How could she be so aroused so quickly? She closed her eyes and bit her lip against the hungry moan clawing from deep inside her.
The knock at the door sounded like a gunshot and had almost the same effect on Hunter. He jumped away from Samantha, his hand going to the weapon at his hip.
The door opened and Officer Warren popped in. “S’cuse me, Sheriff … uh…” His eyes scanned the room from the desk to the bookshelves to his left. He blinked twice when he found them. Samantha moved, her arms crossed over her chest again, to stand in front of Hunter, afraid Shane would notice the bulge pressing aggressively against the sheriff’s fly. Hunter glared at Shane, his hands on his hips. “Oh, hey, Sheriff, sorry to barge in … I didn’t mean to interrupt … I mean.”
“No big deal, Warren.” Hunter’s voice was husky with arousal. “Just going over some things with Officer Ryder. She’ll be transferring here.”
Warren smiled, looking from one to the other and nodded “Cool!” He fidgeted, with a hand still on the doorknob, and cleared his throat. “Anyway, shouldn’t have barged in … Sam … Officer Ryder, you have a call. I explained that you were in a meeting with the sheriff and offered to take a message. But the dude was kinda insistent that he talk to you immediately.”
Samantha knew before she asked. “Who is it?”
“Tom Novak. He said he’s a friend from Detroit.” Shane’s brows knit together as he watched her.
Samantha stilled; her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. That asshole was never going to leave her alone. She gritted her teeth and nodded once. “I’ll come take it.” Before she could take a step, she felt Hunter’s firm hand on her shoulder.
“Just put it through to my phone, Warren. You can take it in here, Sam.”
“No, I think it would be best if…” Samantha began.
“You can take it in here.” His tone left no room for negotiation. Shane frowned and backed out of the room.
Samantha frantically tried to think of a way out as Hunter strode across the room to his desk. The short, shrill rings began just as he turned the phone toward her then sat in his chair, leaned back, and folded his hands together over his stomach. She could feel Hunter watching her as she stared at the phone. She moved mechanically to the desk and picked up the receiver as she lowered herself to perch on the edge of the big overstuffed chair.
“Hello.”
“Samantha, sweetheart, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
Nausea swept through her, and she clenched her teeth against her desire to scream. If she could reclaim the two years she’d wasted with him, she would. The man wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Being that he worked closely with the chief information officer for the City of Detroit’s government offices, he’d been able to get around any official action she’d tried to take against him.
Feeling defeated, she sat there, avoiding Hunter’s perceptive gaze as she listened to Tom’s saccharine-sweet endearments, all the while trying to lead with her mind and not her emotions. Yet the image of Tom’s face contorted in disgust, the threats, and the bruises he left on the surface as well as deep inside her were all still fresh in her mind.
“What do you want?” A myriad of emotions coalesced into red-hot anger, and yet she kept her voice steady and calm. It was a testament to her control that she didn’t hang up on him.
“Still so cold.” He sounded as if she’d wounded him. “I heard about the shooting and investigation. I was concerned. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
God, he was infuriating. “I’m fine. I was cleared.”
“Of course. I knew you were cleared. Samantha. Enough of this now, I need to see you. We have to talk.” There was that edgy tone in his voice that made her shudder.
“No.” It was simple, firm, clear.
“Samantha, we will work through this. I’ve given you space, you’ve had plenty of time to think things through.”
Dear God, was he stalking her now? “There’s no reason for you to be in Deerhaven. Calling me here is wildly inappropriate. How did you know where I was?”
“You weren’t answering your cell, babe. I took a guess.”
Tom didn’t guess. He was too precise, too calculating.
; “I didn’t answer your call because I blocked your number. There’s no reason for you and me to talk.”
“You aren’t alone, are you?”
“Of course not. You know that, you called me at the police station.” She was shaking, starting to lose her temper. She needed to get him off the phone.
“Samantha, listen to me. I’ve heard things about the sheriff. Has he been harassing you?”
“Are you serious? No.”
“He has, hasn’t he?”
Samantha’s eyes widened. In any other circumstance, she would have laughed at Tom’s asinine question.
“Sheriff Steele has been a complete gentleman.” She swallowed her disgust. Why was she even talking to Tom? “If I need to file a restraining order against you, I will.”
His chuckle bordered on maniacal. “You and I both know that’s not necessary, Samantha. What would be the point?”
She knew what he meant by that. He had so many connections in the Detroit government he’d get past anything she attempted, unscathed.
She glanced up at Hunter, his eyes were cold and hard. She had to defuse this. Besides it being humiliating, it wasn’t something in which she wanted Hunter involved. She was moving away from Detroit. Eventually, Tom would move on. Wouldn’t he?
“Samantha, baby, listen to me. I love you. I’m worried about you.” He had softened his voice and injected just enough faux emotion to make her temper boil.
“Well, you can relax. I am perfectly fine. As you well know, I can hold my own. Go home, Tom.” She slammed the receiver onto the cradle and took a deep, steadying breath.
“You want to explain that?” Hunter didn’t bother to hide the anger in his voice.
“How does he know about you?” Uneasy suspicion had her brows knitted over her narrowed eyes. “What’s going on, Hunter?”
Hunter leaned back in his chair and watched her thoughtfully. “I was called into the mayor’s office this morning. I met your ‘pretty boy’ there.”
Samantha clenched her teeth. “He’s not my ‘pretty boy,’ Hunter. Don’t pull that shit with me now.” He lifted a brow and held her gaze. If he was trying to intimidate her, he was gonna fail. “What did he want?”
“He tried to convince me he had talked to you this morning and you were accusing me of sexual harassment.” His statement was matter of fact, calm, and didn’t match what she saw in his eyes.
Though she wasn’t shocked at all, she was still feeling incredulous that this was happening. “I can’t believe this.”
“And in the next breath he demanded the mayor insist that I resign from office.”
Samantha stared at him, unable to form words. The audacity! “That son of a bitch. I actually thought he was smarter than that.”
Hunter rubbed his chin. “Well, honey, to be honest, if I wasn’t curled up nice and tight with you about the time Novak said he talked to you, I might have been pissed enough to doubt your word. I’m not a real trusting type.”
She glared at him. “Are you telling me you wouldn’t have at least asked me about this?”
“Eventually.” He shrugged. “Thing is, people know about the night we left together at the Night Hawk. There’s already talk, and the mayor has heard it.”
“This isn’t happening.” Samantha groaned as she rubbed her temples.
“Oh, but it is, sugar.” Hunter was smiling now, but his eyes were still cold, hard steel, which wasn’t necessarily a good sign. “Hey, I can understand his desire to get you back in his bed, can’t fault him for that. The problem is, it’s clear you aren’t interested, and he’s being pushy about it. That’s bad enough. Add to that, he’s here now, and it didn’t sound like he’s going to leave any time soon. Unless I miss my guess, he and our self-important mayor are just a little too tight to suit me.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head. “Why would he want to lie, or even care if you resigned?”
Hunter shrugged. “Tryin’ to get you back, evidently.”
Samantha made a disgruntled sound in response. There was more to it than that. Why did he go to the mayor, and how did he even know the mayor?
“How well did you know him?”
It was her turn to shrug. “We were lovers for two years. We got engaged. I lived with him. It was a volatile breakup. Tom’s not easy to get along with and even harder to get away from.”
“Did he hit you?” Hunter’s voice took on a harsh tone. She glanced up at him and did a double take. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his fierce expression.
“Yes,” she answered cautiously, her voice softer than she’d wanted it to be. She cleared her throat and paused for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to trust him not to judge her. With a nod, she continued, “There are worse ways to hurt a woman, Hunter. He was dogmatic and demeaning. He was very charming and manipulative. He was demanding, critical, and controlling. But yes, there were a few times that he became physically violent.”
She watched the muscle in his jaw pulse, “Oh. Just a few times,” he said sardonically. “How did you deal with it?” Maybe she shouldn’t have told him Tom hit her. Hunter looked like he wanted to break something.
“I reported it. Tried pressing charges…” She really didn’t want to go into all of that with Hunter. Not right now. “I just wanted to be free of him.”
After a moment Hunter nodded in understanding and didn’t press. “First things first. We need to get you set up as an employee. Paperwork is a bitch.”
Samantha felt the tension begin to leave her muscles. “I’m well aware.”
chapter thirteen
Focusing on the tasks at hand were difficult the rest of the day for Hunter.
Novak was gonna be a big problem; the bastard wasn’t gonna leave Sam alone. There was a lot more going on there. She’d told him more with her expressive eyes than she had verbally. Novak had hurt her and then he’d hit her.
If Hunter wanted to get anything productive accomplished, he couldn’t be thinking about that. It made his blood boil, every muscle in his body coiled up ready for attack. That wasn’t going to help anything and especially not Sam.
Back in his office he picked up the phone and punched Mark’s number.
“Ferguson,” the burly trooper answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Mark, it’s Hunter. How’s my sister doing?” Hunter didn’t even try to smother his laughter.
“Damn you, Hunter, that woman’s making me crazy. Do you know she painted the front room purple? Freaking purple. What drives that woman?”
Hunter held the phone away from his mouth. He couldn’t control his laughter on that one.
“Laugh it up. You’ll be laughing when I cart her ass back up that mountain to you,” Mark threatened good-naturedly. “She’s been fretting over you anyway. Talking about how you’re all pitiful and lonely now, probably not eating right and all that crap. Let her paint your living room purple. Now why the hell are you calling? If you wanted to check on Hannah, you could have called her yourself.”
Hunter chuckled. “You know some people in Michigan, right?
“Some,” Mark answered cautiously.
“I need to know all you know about the City of Detroit’s CIO’s right-hand man.”
Mark was one of the few people aware that Hunter was investigating the three deaths on the down low. There was silence across the line for a long moment.
“Fucking Tom Novak?”
“Yep, that’s the one.” Hunter’s brows lifted at the edge in Mark’s tone. “Showed up in town this morning all buddy-buddy with Henderson.”
Mark paused. “I’ve heard some pretty shady things about him. What do you think is going on?”
“Don’t know. That’s what I’m tryin’ to figure out. Look, Samantha Ryder’s here to handle Dottie’s estate, and Henderson was pushin’ hard for me to talk her into taking a position on the force here. Come to find out she and Novak had a relationship that ended badly about a year ago.”
“You thin
k she’s involved?” Mark asked, his voice low.
Hunter frowned. “I don’t think she is. But hell if I know for sure. I knew her way back, Mark, when she was just a little thing. I can’t see her being part of her aunt’s murder.”
“Right. Okay, I’ll see what I can find. In the meantime, I heard an interesting rumor the other day that I wanted to run by you. We uncovered a human trafficking ring up here a few weeks ago. One of the women we rescued, an illegal Latina who could speak a little English, says they spent some time in what sounds like a cave system down there. Aren’t there some old gold mines and tunnels in your area?”
Hunter frowned. “Yeah, especially up close to Feather Falls.”
Mark sighed. “Look, Hunter, there could be something very ugly going on down there. Just keep your eyes open, let me know if you come across anything.”
Hunter shook his head. Deerhaven was pretty laid-back and off the beaten track. Made sense to use old mines and the caves for something like that. “I’ll keep you updated as much as I can.”
“You do that, and I’ll hold Hannah off from that visit she wants to make home,” Mark laughingly promised.
Hunter winced. He didn’t need Hannah here right now.
“Seriously, Mark. Promise me for sure.” Hunter shook his head. Damn, Hannah could throw a monkey wrench in his plans right fast.
The last thing he needed was his baby sister finding out he was working with a woman, much less that he was attracted to her.
Attracted … ha, that was a gross understatement.
Mark chuckled. “All right, good plan then. I’ll call if I get any new info,” Mark said decisively. “Later there, bro.”
Bro. Hunter swallowed his laughter. Mark only called him bro when he was put out with Hannah, his little Southern honey.
Hunter disconnected, frowning thoughtfully.
He was pretty certain the caves in Deerhaven would be a good place to hide without someone hearing about it. Newcomers stood out like a sore thumb, so hiding out would be smart. He could put out a few feelers, check things out. Until then, he had to get Sam set up and get her working.
It was gonna be imperative that he get back into that woman’s bed right soon. Just the thought of her had his cock swelling. He shifted in his chair, hoping to ease the pressure. Damn, if he wasn’t pantin’ over her like a dog over a bone. Sam was extremely warm, soft, and so damn juicy. Holy hell, he was a hungry man. This was not gonna be an easy job if he didn’t exert some strong will power. He wasn’t sure he had it where Sam was concerned. Keeping his mind on work was his only hope. He couldn’t walk around the station dick first. Good time as any to formally introduce Sam to Rodgers and Decker. Yep, that would help him curb his libido.