MORGAN

by Lori Foster

  "Somehow, I think it suits you. Especially because you're in charge."

  "It does," he agreed, ignoring her teasing tone. "You want to see inside where you'll be working?"

  "Sure." She turned to the men and smiled. "Howard, Jesse, it was nice meeting you."

  They each nodded, ridiculous smiles on their faces. Morgan could only shake his head in wonder. Was no man immune? As they walked through the back door, he saw her smile and raised a brow in question.

  "They're very sweet."

  He gave her an incredulous look. "Uh-huh. You go right on wearing those rose-colored glasses, sweetheart."

  She gasped at him in disapproval. "You're such a cynic. They're very nice men who are working hard for you. I'd think you'd appreciate that a little."

  Morgan led her into his office, which had once been the dining room. It had a large white stone fireplace, now filled with lush ferns instead of burning logs. He'd had the arched doorway framed and fitted so he could close the door for privacy. He'd never needed or wanted that privacy more than now.

  He propped his shoulders against the mantel. "Jesse was picked up for fighting two weekends ago. He broke two pool sticks and several lights after a man accused him of cheating at a game. Jesse wouldn't cheat, but he does have a terrible temper."

  Misty stared at him in blank surprise.

  "Now Howard, he's cooler than that. You won't catch him causing a brawl."

  "You're dying to tell me, so spit it out." She mimicked his stance, leaning against the opposite wall.

  Grinning, Morgan said, "He slipped into the theater without paying – five times in a row. He loves the movies, but says the prices have gotten too high. Arnold kept kicking him out and Howard kept creeping back in. No one would have known, but during the last movie, he tried stealing a bite of popcorn from the woman sitting next to him."

  "And she complained over that?"

  Morgan winked at her. "The woman was Marsha Werner, and he'd recently broken off a relationship with her and was, I imagine, trying to worm his way back into her good graces. She wasn't impressed, so she raised a ruckus and I finally had to arrest him. But it was Marsha who came and bailed him out, so who knows what's happening there?"

  Misty tried to stifle a smile. "It's a little hard to imagine him in a relationship."

  "That's only because you haven't met Marsha. Things soured between them when she wanted to get married, but they were a good couple, like the best grandma and grandpa you'd ever met." Morgan watched her smile widen and added, "Marsha's real fond of the movies, too, but as she continually explains to me in rather loud tones, she's an upstanding citizen and she pays for her entertainment."

  Misty lost control of her twitching smile and laughed out loud. Morgan watched her, seeing the way the heat and humidity outside had made her shirt stick to her breasts. She'd smell all warm and womanly now if he could just get close enough to her to nuzzle her soft skin.

  "So what kind of sentence did each of them get?"

  He held her gaze and murmured, "Community work. That's why they're fixing the yard. I bought the bushes and they agreed to do the work. In addition, of course, Jesse had to promise to stay out of the pool hall for a month, and Howard had to pay for the movies he'd seen."

  "Ah. They considered that a terrible punishment?"

  "Not the yard work, but the other, yeah. With any luck, it'll make an impression this time. But I hate to see them in any real trouble. They're both pushing seventy, and even though they get around well enough to get into mischief, they don't mean any real harm. I think they're just lonely and a little bored, more than anything else."

  She twisted her mouth in a near grimace, then asked, "When you arrested them..."

  "No, I didn't handcuff them," he answered gently, able to read her train of thought. It hurt him to see her so hesitant, to know that her own memories ate at her. He'd fix things for her one way or another, he vowed. "I didn't stick them in back of the Bronco, either. They both rode up front with me. That way, I could give them a stern talking-to during the ride. They hate that."

  Misty smiled at him for a nearly endless moment, then turned up her can of soda and finished it off. She set the can on his desk. "I'm impressed, Morgan."

  "With what?"

  "Your compassion. And the fact that you obviously have a soft side, which you hide pretty well, by the way."

  He wasn't at all sure he wanted her noticing his soft side, not that he had one, anyway. He frowned at the mere thought.

  Misty gave a loud sigh. "Now what are you scowling about? I insult you and you laugh, I compliment you and you start glowering at me."

  Morgan didn't move. She had an impish look about her that intrigued him. "Come closer and I'll tell you why I'm frowning."

  "Oh, no, you don't."

  "Afraid of me, Malone?"

  She made a rude sound, refusing to be drawn in by his obvious challenge. "Not likely. You're as big as an ox and built like a ton of bricks, but you don't beat up on women."

  He made his own rude sound. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." He lowered his voice to a suggestive rumble. "You're afraid if you get too close, you won't want to move away again. But this is my office and I don't do hanky-panky here. At least, not any serious hanky-panky. So you're safe enough."

  "And what constitutes the serious stuff?"

  He looked at her breasts and felt his heartbeat accelerate. "Anything below the waist?"

  She swallowed and he could see the thrumming pulse in her throat. "Howard and Jesse are right outside."

  "Not for much longer. I only let them work for a few hours a day, mostly in the morning because the afternoon heat is too much for them."

  "Then why have them doing that job at all?"

  She was bound and determined to distract him, so Morgan let her. The last thing he wanted was for her to be wary of him. "Their pride is important to them, and to me. Already they have told anyone who'd listen that I've given them such a hard, impossible job, then they come here and have a great time futzing around, proving that they can do it. In fact, they complain about the short days I insist on, because Jesse used to be in construction and Howard was a farmer. They say they're used to the heat, but—" He realized he was rambling and ground to a halt.

  "You're pretty wonderful sometimes, Sheriff, you know that?"

  He unfolded his arms, letting them hang at his sides. In a rough whisper, he said again, "Come here."

  She took one step toward him, then halted. "This is crazy."

  Morgan nodded in agreement. Crazy didn't even begin to describe the way she made him feel.

  She looked undecided and he held his breath, but she turned away. She pretended an interest in the office. Her voice shook when she started talking again. "This is your desk?"

  She picked up a framed school picture of Casey and studied it.

  "You know it is. My office is the biggest room. The cells are in the basement, though they seldom get used – and yes, I'll take you on a tour in a bit. The kitchen has been rearranged into a lobby of sorts, and there's always coffee there for anyone who wants it. The family room faces the kitchen through open doorways across the hall, and that'll be where you work. There's a lot of office equipment in there. I'll have my deputy, Nate Brewer, show you where he keeps things and how to use the file system. The upstairs has been turned into conference rooms for different community events."

  He watched her inch closer to him to look at a plaque hanging on the wall. Not wanting to scare her off now that she was almost within reach, he said, "That's my mission statement."

  "Mission statement?"

  "My intent for holding office as sheriff. The community got to read it prior to the election." He was thankful she didn't read the whole thing. His patience was about run out and he just wanted to taste her.

  "You had the plaque made?"

  "Nope. The advisory board did." He saw her start to ask and said, "They're a group of citizens that bring concerns to me. Sort of a
community awareness system."

  She leaned closer to the plaque. "It says here that you founded the advisory board during your first term in office."

  He shook his head. "I was the one who suggested a voice in the community, so they'd all feel more involved in decisions. But they're the ones who organized the board and set up the structure for it. Now they have these big elections to decide who gets to serve in the various advisory board positions."

  She moved closer stilt examining a trophy on the mantel beside him. Morgan tried to block it with his shoulders, but she inched around him until she could see it clearly. "What's this for?"

  Feeling uncomfortable with her inquisition, Morgan cleared his throat. "That was given to me by the student council at the high school."

  "It says, outstanding community leadership."

  "I know what it says, Malone." He glared, but she glared right back, and he gave up with a sigh. "I started a program where the students can interact with the elders in the community, helping out with chores and such. I'd hoped to give the kids some direction and the elders some company, that's all. But now participation is recognized by the governor for qualifications to state scholarships."

  She looked at him. "That's remarkable."

  Morgan shifted to face her, determined to satisfy her curiosity so he could get her mind on more pleasurable topics. "Naw. The students took it a lot further than I did, making it a hell of a program. That's why I thought it deserved to be brought to the governor's notice."

  She glanced at the writing on the base of the trophy. "It says here that you help supply scholarship funds, as well."

  Morgan rubbed his ear and bit back a curse. "Yeah, well, that's just something I sort of thought would help...."

  Misty reached up and took his hand, enfolding it in both of her own. Her blue eyes were filled with amusement and something else. He was almost afraid to figure out what. "Don't be modest, now, Sheriff."

  "I'm not!"

  "And don't be embarrassed, either."

  He gave her his blackest scowl. "That's just plain foolish. Of course I'm not embarrassed. No reason to be. It's all just part and parcel of my job."

  Misty shook her head as if scolding him, and it rankled. "I can't quite figure you out, Morgan."

  Slowly, so she wouldn't bolt, he slipped his hand free and trailed his fingers up her bare arm to the back of her neck. He'd always loved the feel of women, the smoothness compared to a man's rough angles. But for whatever reason, he loved the feel of Misty more.

  Just touching her arm made his heart race, his groin throb. He could only imagine how it would be once he had her naked beneath him, able to touch and taste and investigate every small part of her. He shook with the thought.

  Goose bumps appeared where he'd touched her, and she gave a small shiver. "I'm as clear as glass, sweetheart." He was aware of how husky his voice had gone, but damn, he felt like he was burning up. Gently rubbing the back of her neck, he urged her a tiny bit closer, then closer still. He stared at her thick eyelashes, resting against her cheeks, at the warm flush of her skin. "I'm just a man who wants you."

  She answered in a similar husky whisper. "That part has been plain enough." Staring at his throat, her small hands restless, she refused to meet his gaze. "It's the rest that confounds me."

  "But anything else is unimportant." And then he kissed her.

  MISTY KNEW HER JOKE about making Morgan miserable had backfired in a big way. She was the one suffering, not him. She realized she actually liked the big guy, and almost cursed. He was so cavalier about all he did, all the responsibility he accepted.

  And she seemed to have no control around him at all. He was just so big and so strong and so incredibly handsome. But it was more than that.

  Morgan was a nice man.

  He was also an honorable man who took his job very seriously and cared about people, not just the people he called family, but all the people in his community. Like an overlord of old, he felt responsible for their safety and happiness. And that made him almost too appealing to resist.

  A soft moan escaped her when Morgan touched his mouth to hers and she felt his tongue teasing her lips.

  "Open up for me, Malone."

  Her hand fisted in his shirt over his hard chest. She felt the trembling of his muscles, the pounding of his heartbeat – and her lips parted.

  Morgan let out his own groan only seconds before his tongue was in her mouth. She'd never known kissing like this, so hot and intimate and something more than just mouth on mouth. Maybe it was because Morgan was unique, but being kissed by him seemed more exciting than anything she'd ever done.

  Beneath her fingers she could feel his labored breaths, and she opened her palm, amazed by the way his hard muscles shifted and moved in response to her touch. She felt powerful – no man had ever made her feel that way before.

  As if he'd known her thoughts, he caught her other hand, which had been idly clasped at his waistband, and dragged it up to his chest. "Damn, I love it when you touch me."

  Misty tucked her face beneath his chin and tried to take a calming breath. Instead, she inhaled his hot male scent and renewed desire. Rather than pushing his advantage, Morgan looped both arms around her and rocked her gently.

  "It's almost too much, isn't it?" he growled against her temple.

  Words were too difficult, so she nodded, bumping his chin. She felt like crying and hated herself for it. She'd never been a woman who wept over every little thing, so she assumed it must be the pregnancy making her so weak.

  Then again, Morgan wasn't a little thing. He was a great big hulking gorgeous thing, and how he made her feel was enough to shake the earth.

  His fingertips smoothed over her cheek. "I'm trying to give you time, sweetheart. I know you've been through a lot and until this morning, I've done nothing but push you away. But it's not easy." He gave a shaky laugh and admitted, "It's damn near impossible, if you want the truth."

  His words prompted a new thought, but there was no way she could look him in the eyes right now. Morgan would see everything she felt and he'd stop trying to be so considerate. If he pushed even the tiniest bit, she'd give in to him and she knew it. As much as she wanted him, she didn't know if it was the right thing to do. She needed more time.

  Hiding her face close to his chest, she did her best to sound casual when she spoke. "It was a rather quick turnaround for you."

  "No." He kissed her ear, then nipped her lobe, making her jump. "I wanted you something fierce the first second I saw you. I just figured it'd be too complicated if we got involved."

  "Because you're looking for a wife?"

  He stiffened slightly, then deliberately began rubbing her back. "Because you're Honey's sister, so you were off-limits for a fling."

  It felt like her heart broke, his honest words hurt so much. Her throat was constricted, and she swallowed hard so he wouldn't know how strongly he'd affected her. "But now, since it's obvious what type of woman I am, my relationship to Honey no longer matters?"

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Morgan tried to tip her back to see her face, but she held onto him like a dinging vine and he finally quit trying. His mouth pressed warmly to her temple and his arms tightened. "I don't think you're easy, Malone, if that's what you're getting at."

  "No?" She forced herself to unclench his shirt. The man would wear wrinkles all day thanks to her. And his brothers would probably take one look at him and know why. "I'm pregnant, with no husband, no job. I'm a convict, for crying out loud. What's your definition of easy?"

  He took her off guard, thrusting her back a good foot with his hands wrapped securely around her upper arms. His scowl was enough to scare demons back to hell. Misty held her breath, not afraid of him physically, really, but very uncertain of his mood.

  He started to say something, then paused. "Damn it," he growled, "don't look at me like that. I would never hurt you."

  She nodded. "I know it."

  "Then why are you shaki
ng?"

  "You're shaking me."

  He looked poleaxed by that observation, then dropped his hands to shove them onto his hips in a thoroughly arrogant stance. Misty wrapped her arms around herself and watched him cautiously.

  He didn't apologize. "And you deserve it, too."

  "For asking a question?" Now that he wasn't touching her, she could regain her edge.

  "For suggesting something so stupid." He took a quick step toward her, leaned down in a most unnerving way and practically shouted, "I do not think you're easy!"

  Misty blinked.

  "Hell, woman, you're about the most difficult female I've ever run across. You fight me at every damn turn."

  For some reason, Misty felt like smiling. She bit her lip, knowing Morgan wouldn't appreciate it one bit. "That's not true."

  "No? I go crazy for you, and you ignore me, then flirt outrageously with every other male in the county."

  That got her good and mad. "I did no such thing! And you ignored me first." She hadn't meant to bring that up; it made her sound spiteful, as if she'd ignored him to get even. She frowned at him for making her say too much.

  "I tell you to leave, you argue about it. I all but beg you to stay, you argue about it."

  "I did not argue about leaving."

  "You got snide, I remember that well enough." He rubbed his neck and groaned. "Hell, it was all I could do to keep my hands to myself, to put up with having you in the house until Sawyer's wedding, and you just kept sniping at me, and for some fool reason that only made me want you more."

  "How could I have ignored you and sniped at you at the same time? That doesn't make sense, Morgan."

  His eyes narrowed. "You'd snipe with silence, by being there, making me want you, then chatting with one of my disreputable brothers as if I wasn't in the room when I knew damn good and well you were aware of me. Admit it, Malone."

  This time she gave in to the grin; she couldn't help herself. "Admit I was aware of you? Sure. You're a mite hard to miss, Morgan, being so big and all."