The Deputies: 3 Novella Box Set

by Olivia Jaymes

  “It only made things harder,” he observed.

  Laughter bubbled from her lips and he frowned, not getting the joke. “It certainly did. Very hard.”

  Her gaze rested on his crotch where it was obvious something was still quite hard. Drake felt himself relax and chuckled right along with her. He loved that she could laugh at a tense moment.

  “And painful.” He grimaced at the tent in his pants. “Maybe we should get some air.”

  She tucked her arm into his and handed him the box of cupcakes. “Air is a good idea. I could use some myself. You can use this box to cover your, uh…”

  They walked out into the warm night, Drake making sure Tori locked up behind them. Keeping out of Tori’s bed wasn’t easy but it was worth it. He was starting to fall for her and he wanted her to know he took this seriously. He took her seriously. She wasn’t just another woman—that was clear. Tori Saunders was special.

  Chapter Seven

  “So you told him?” Kasi asked as she and Tori relaxed over dinner at the diner. It had been another hectic day getting the bakery ready for its grand opening.

  “Well,” Tori hedged. “I said I’d had a crush. I was all ready to tell him the extent of the crush when we were interrupted.”

  Kasi tapped her chin, her eyebrows pulled together. “So you really didn’t tell him the whole truth? He has no idea that you’ve picked out a house and named your children?”

  Tori ignored Kasi’s sarcastic tone.

  “I’m not proud of being a total chickenshit. I’ll tell him. Eventually. Things are just going so well. I don’t want him to think I’m creepy or anything. He brought me flowers, Kasi.” Tori sighed as she remembered the kiss from the night before. She liked this Drake James more than her fantasy man. He wasn’t as perfect but he was real.

  And she was afraid. If she told him the truth, would she lose him?

  “You’re not creepy. Just a hopeless romantic. It does sound very nice.” Kasi sipped her drink. “Drake seems like he’s a good man. I’m happy for you, but I wish things would look up for me as well. I must be the dumbest woman on the planet.”

  Kasi’s words were bitterly spoken. The man she had been previously dating that turned out to be married was calling her night and day, making a real nuisance of himself. He kept saying he was going to leave his wife and Kasi didn’t want to hear it. He’d already shown up at the office where she was a legal secretary and almost got her fired.

  “You are not dumb. Not even close.” Tori reached across the table and squeezed Kasi’s hand. “You’re not the first woman to be taken in by a husband cheating on his wife and you won’t be the last, I’d wager. Just keep ignoring him and he’ll eventually get the message.”

  The bell above the door rang and Sheriff Logan Wright and Drake walked in. Tori’s stomach tightened pleasantly as her gaze roamed his handsome figure. When he passed their table, he pushed up the brim of his hat and shot her a wink and a grin before heading to the other side of the diner with his boss.

  “Is that why you were free tonight? Drake’s on duty?”

  Tori dragged her attention from his wide shoulders. “I didn’t even know he was on duty this late. He did tell me he had to be at work this morning by eight. Maybe they’re finishing up?”

  “We certainly can’t complain about how hard law enforcement works in this town,” Kasi replied. “Pretty much every time I see them they’re in uniform.”

  Drake had impressed her by how hard working he was. He eventually wanted to be sheriff of his own town. He’d had a few offers but they had never been quite right.

  “My dad is always saying Logan is the best sheriff we’ve ever had,” Tori observed. She hoped her father’s enthusiasm would extend to Drake. If things worked out, she might be introducing him to her parents before long.

  “Son of a bitch,” Kasi hissed, slumping down into the seat of the booth. “It’s Larry. He’s crossing the street and heading right here. Shit!”

  Tori’s friend was practically cowering under the table as her ex-boyfriend pushed open the door of the diner. He wasn’t a bad-looking man although he was cursed with a weak looking chin. He looked like your average business man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a blue suit, his tie askew.

  His pretty boy features were scowling as his gaze swept the diner before resting on Tori and Kasi’s booth. He strode over to the table, ignoring Tori completely.

  “We need to talk,” he stated.

  Knowing hiding wasn’t going to work, Kasi backed into the booth to put distance between them. “It’s over, Larry. Go back to your wife and leave me alone. I mean it.”

  “I don’t accept that. I said I’ll leave Nancy for you.” He made it sound as if Kasi should be grateful.

  “Don’t bother,” Kasi said dryly. “I’m not interested in getting involved with a cheater. Shove off.”

  Kasi’s rude words didn’t even faze the man. Instead, he leaned forward, placing his palms on the table. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Yes, she does,” Tori said hotly. It wasn’t her nature usually, but she’d taken an instant dislike to him.

  “Shut up.” Larry hardly spared Tori a glance. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “She’s right. I mean what I’m saying. Get out and don’t come back. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. In fact, don’t even allow a memory of me to cross your mind. Forget I even exist. That’s what I’m going to do with you.”

  Kasi’s tone dripped disgust and for a moment it seemed to disconcert Larry.

  “I love you,” he said desperately, his cheeks red and his forehead shiny with perspiration.

  “You don’t love anyone but yourself,” Kasi scoffed. “You just can’t stand that I ended it before you did. Go home, Larry.”

  “No—,” he began before a large hand came down on his shoulder. Larry started and his face turned white. Drake was standing on one side of him and Logan on the other.

  “Is this man bothering you, ladies?” Drake asked, his tone abrupt and hard.

  “Yes, he is,” Tori responded quickly. “He won’t leave Kasi alone.”

  Larry was gaping like a fish at Drake and Logan. Drake shook his head and grasped Larry by the arm. “Not again. This has to stop. Every time you get involved with a young lady, you never seem to know when to back off.”

  “Maybe we should drive you home to Nancy and the kids and let her know that you’ve been a bad boy. Again.” Logan’s expression was menacing, his blue eyes cold and stony. “I’ve about had it with you. Leave this woman alone or deal with me and Drake.”

  Larry nodded, his hands shaking. “I was just leaving. Really.”

  “Funny it didn’t sound that way,” Drake observed mildly. “It sounded like you’re being obsessive. Get out of here and don’t bother her again.”

  Drake got nose to nose with the trembling man. “You’ve got some bad habits. Cheating on your wife is one of them. Not understanding the word ‘no’ is the second. Fix them or you’ll be dealing directly with us.”

  Larry practically bolted out the door of the diner and down the street. Kasi sighed as she watched him disappear around the corner.

  “I’ve never seen him move that fast. I take it from what you said that I’m not the first poor girl who has fallen for his pathetic lines?” Kasi asked.

  Drake hooked his thumbs in his gun belt. “No, you’re not, unfortunately. Larry McLean is one bad apple. The women of this town should give him a wide berth. I have no idea why Nancy puts up with him.”

  “She’s got three small kids at home and no job.” Logan shrugged. “Hell, she probably loves him although he sure as shit doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Love makes women stupid.” If anyone knew that, Tori did.

  “Amen to that,” Kasi agreed. “What an asshole. Thank you for intervening. He’s been driving me crazy. Calling all the time. He even showed up at my office. He almost got me fired.”

  Drake waved away the thanks. “Just doing our job. If he ca
lls or shows up again, just let me know. I’ll make sure I make a personal visit to his residence.”

  Logan pushed up the brim of his hat. “He shouldn’t bother you again, though. His normal procedure is to bug the woman until we tell him to back off. But if he does contact you again, call us.”

  “I will.” Kasi nodded. “I really am grateful you were here.”

  “Me too.” Tori gave Drake a smile that he returned. For a moment, they were the only two people in the room.

  “Ahem.” Logan was clearing his throwing, a knowing grin spread across his face. “If you’ll excuse us we need to finish our meal and get back on duty. Ladies.” Logan tipped his hat and nudged Drake’s arm.

  Drake leaned forward, his words meant only for Tori. “I get off at nine. Will you still be awake?”

  “Yes.” Tori nodded and a warm feeling suffused her entire body at the look in his eye. Perhaps her enforced celibacy might come to an end this evening.

  “I’ll stop by then.”

  Drake headed back to his table with Logan and Tori allowed herself to fantasize about what Drake might have planned for later. When she finally looked across the table, Kasi was shaking her head and laughing.

  “Any date after nine o’clock at night is nothing but a booty call.”

  Tori couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up. “If you could hear yourself say ‘booty call’, you wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face.”

  “Way to ignore the situation.” Kasi picked up her glass and sipped the iced tea. “So you’re going to have sex with him tonight.”

  It was a statement, not a question.

  “I might,” Tori hedged. “We’ve learned a lot about each other.”

  “Has he learned how you don’t like delayed gratification? Shit, Tori, you went out on one date without doing the deed. That’s hardly waiting.”

  “If you’d had sex with Drake James, you wouldn’t want to wait either,” Tori argued. “I like him. He likes me. We’re attracted to one another. It’s not a sin.”

  “No, it’s not. Just make sure it’s really him you like this time. The grown up Drake. Not the teenage one.”

  It was the man he’d become that was so attractive. Tori was falling for Drake James all over again.

  It was almost nine-thirty when Drake pulled up in front of Tori’s apartment building and his ass was dragging. He and Logan had put in a fifteen hour day trying to catch a neighborhood Peeping Tom. The suspect in question had finally shown himself in a cul-de-sac south of town looking in the window of a woman who had to be about seventy fucking years old. The man, in his mid-thirties, appeared to get his thrills from breaking the law, not the bare flesh he was spying on. The guy needed a few days in jail and some serious therapy.

  Logan had generously offered to fill out the arrest paperwork, grinning at Drake and telling him, “Get out of here, Romeo. Don’t make her wait.”

  Drake hadn’t argued and here he was knocking on her door with sweaty palms, a racing heart, and a painful hard-on. This celibacy thing wasn’t as easy as he’d thought it would be, and he hadn’t thought it would be all that easy. With Tori around, all he could think about was the scent of her hair and the feel of her skin.

  Fuck, now he was all fired up again. He needed to calm the hell down. He’d given her his word he would behave. The door swung open and Tori stood in the doorway looking way too good for his blood pressure.

  She must have just got out of the bath because a few damp curls still clung to her neck and cheeks. Dressed in a dark blue T-shirt and black shorts that accentuated every line and curve, Drake felt his cock swell against the fly of his jeans. It was both heaven and hell to be near her.

  “You’re here. Come on in.” Tori stepped back and Drake walked past her into the room trying to hold onto his control. The fatigue that had hung over him only moments ago was gone and he felt refreshed and energized.

  “I hope I’m not too late. We got caught up in a stakeout.” Drake pulled off his hat and set it down on the coffee table while she bustled into the kitchen.

  “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can make some coffee,” she called from the other room. She stuck her head around the corner. “I have some tiramisu in the fridge.”

  Drake settled onto the couch with a sigh. “That sounds really good. But just water with it, okay?”

  He heard the opening and closing of cabinets and drawers and then Tori sat next to him, holding out his dessert with a smile.

  “I hope you like this. It’s my variation on the recipe.”

  Drake scooped up a forkful and hummed with appreciation. “Damn, this is good. Are these chocolate shavings on top instead of cocoa?”

  “It is,” she said, a smug smile on her face. “Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content.” Tori tucked her feet under her and relaxed against the cushions. “So what kind of stakeout were you on?”

  It didn’t matter if he told her. It would be in the paper tomorrow when the guy was arraigned.

  “We’ve had complaints of a Peeping Tom in some of the residential neighborhoods around town. Logan and I were staking out some of his more common haunts.”

  Tori’s mouth fell open. He’d obviously shocked her.

  “Do you think this only happens in big cities? We have our share of perverts,” Drake laughed and took another bite of his tiramisu. “Anyway, it took all damn day as he seemed to be one step ahead of us the entire time.”

  “He doesn’t have a job during the day?”

  “Not at the moment. He’s here visiting his aunt and uncle, the Moseby family who bought the ranch not far from the Perrys. Apparently when he gets bored this is what he does. He didn’t even sound that sorry. Said that the women get a thrill knowing that a strange man is watching them.”

  Tori was frowning as if she was trying to understand. “Is that true?” she asked. “Were the women happy?”

  “Not the ones that called us.” Drake vividly remembered Gloria Aldridge stomping into their office yesterday madder than the proverbial wet hen. There’d definitely been no thrill involved there. “I think that’s probably how he justifies his kink. He’s sitting in jail tonight and he can tell it to the judge tomorrow morning.”

  Tori’s lip curled with distaste. “Ick. That is really creepy. I hope he hasn’t been anywhere around here.”

  “You wouldn’t believe the crazy stalker types I’ve dealt with. There has to be something wrong with someone who does that.”

  If anything, Tori turned a shade paler, licking her lips nervously. “Yes, something really wrong with them.”

  “I didn’t come here to talk about some weird guy. I came here to tell you how smokin’ hot you looked today.”

  Drake gave her his best cocky grin. He only wished he felt that confident with Tori. She seemed to have him turned on his ear at all times. He simply couldn’t think straight when she was in the same room.

  “Really?” She giggled and his heart did a flip in his chest. “You have a thing for khaki shorts and orange T-shirts? Have you been like this all your life?”

  “Honey, it isn’t clothes that make the woman. The woman makes the clothes. In fact, I’d be just as happy if you weren’t wearing anything at all.”

  Now why had he said that? Out loud? Thinking it was one thing…

  Instead of being disgusted that he was breaking his word, she leaned in closer, a teasing smile on her face. “You know what, Deputy? I feel the same way about you.”

  Her brown eyes were sparkling and her hand trailed up his arm, sending waves of heat through his body. His woman was being a naughty girl tempting him like this.

  “I’m trying to keep things non-sexual between us, Tori, and you’re not helping right now.”

  His voice came out a little strangled and she smiled as her fingertips skated across his jaw and over his lips. He couldn’t resist the urge to lick at the flesh before nipping at the pad of her thumb. Tori closed her eyes and moaned softly as he pulled her into his arms.

  “
You’re a dangerous woman, Victoria Saunders. I came here with the best of intentions tonight.”

  She laughed and the sound reverberated through his chest. “Maybe you should handcuff me, Deputy. If I’m such a troublemaker and all.”

  He didn’t think it was possible but his cock swelled further in his jeans. He tilted her face up so she was looking directly into his eyes.

  “I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to teach you about the long arm of the law, little lady.”

  Drake reached back into his belt for his handcuffs and dangled them in front of her face. He’d only been teasing but one look at her lustful expression told him this was the woman for him.

  She wanted it as much as he did. Thank the gods, he’d found his perfect match.

  Chapter Eight

  The jangling of the metal cuffs did nothing to cool off Tori’s overheated senses. Since the moment Drake James had walked into her apartment she’d been a quivering mass of hormones. Even his mention of a creepy Peeping Tom and stalkers hadn’t cooled her down. For a moment she’d wanted to unburden herself with a confession but her aroused state got the better of her. There would be time for truth telling later. Now was the time for some pleasures of the flesh.

  And a pleasure it was.

  His playful exploration of her fingers with his lips and tongue had almost sent her into a climax, fast and hard. She hadn’t realized a person could come simply from a look and some fairly innocent foreplay, but she’d been close. Her panties were soaked and she was sure he could smell her arousal in the air.

  “Are you going to handcuff me, Deputy?” Tori licked her suddenly dry lips and tried to control her racing pulse.

  “I certainly am. Turn around and place your hands behind your back.” Drake’s deep voice sent shivers down her spine and she twisted on the cushion to obey him, her heart thudding in her chest.

  The heavy bracelet quickly enclosed one wrist but before he could do the other, he muttered a curse under his breath and paused.