Piper laughed and shook her head. “Doris. You’re too much.”
“That’s what people say.”
Still chuckling, Piper sat up a little straighter as a big barrel of a man entered the building and walked with hard strides toward the desk. He slid his thumbs inside his suspenders as he addressed her. “I’m here to pick up my daughter. She was at a party y’all raided.”
“What’s her name?” The question had barely left her mouth when the father lifted his gaze and spied something over her head. “YOU!”
He charged around the counter.
“Sir!” she exclaimed. “You can’t come back here.” She rose and tried to cut him off, looking over her shoulder at whatever had him so distressed.
The guy sitting at Briggs’s desk glared with his one functioning eye across the distance at the angry father. Clearly they had beef. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have them within spitting distance of each other.
“Deputy Briggs,” Piper called, hoping to alert him to the situation while also attempting to stall the irate man’s progress.
Briggs looked up. “Oh, hey, Piper. Need something?”
She shot him an exasperated look as she tried to push the barrel-chested man back. Couldn’t he see what she needed?
“Piper!” Doris cried out, her voice sharp with warning.
She glanced at Doris. The older woman waved her over with an agitated motion. Get over here, she mouthed.
“You want something, Halpen?” The younger man pushed up from his chair to address the older man. He was slighter of build and banged up from the previous fight, but that didn’t lessen his bravado—or stupidity—as he swaggered forward.
“You got my baby girl arrested!”
“Hey. Can’t help it that she can’t stay away from me. Guess she likes what I give her.” He shrugged brashly.
“You bastard!” Halpen sidestepped around her and the two of them ran headlong into each other, fists swinging, striking each other wherever they could reach. They crashed into a desk, breaking it.
“Mr. Halpen,” she cried out, hovering over them as they rolled on the floor.
Briggs watched, slack-jawed. Awesome. So much for lightning-fast reflexes.
The two men wrestled their way back to their feet and she grabbed hold of Mr. Halpen’s brawny arm, hoping to stop them before they destroyed any other property. “Please, stop!”
Halpen flung back his arm and the force sent her flying. She landed hard, her teeth jarring from the fall. She heard Doris shout her name . . . and then suddenly there was an unfamiliar sound. A staccato clicking sound followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor.
She came up on her elbows, gaping at the sight of Mr. Halpen’s big body convulsing on the floor, wires stretching from his big belly to a Taser gun gripped in Hale’s hands.
The younger man froze, holding his hands up in the air. “Don’t Tase me!”
“Briggs! Why don’t you make yourself useful?” Hale snapped, his expression tight with fury. Briggs dove to action, cuffing the younger man.
Piper remained where she was, watching as Hale made quick work of cuffing the immobilized Halpen.
Suddenly Doris was there, helping Piper to her feet. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” she clucked.
She brushed at her slacks. “I’m fine. I’ve got lots of padding.” She rubbed her backside.
“You hit the floor hard, honey.”
“Piper.” Hale barked her name. She looked at him. Another deputy had joined him and was helping him with the stunned-looking Halpen.
“Wait for me in my office,” he directed as he guided Halpen into a sitting position.
“Uh-oh,” Doris said under her breath, and that was hardly heartening given she had known him all his life.
She motioned to the front desk. “Um, Doris and I have a lot of work to—”
“Now, Piper.” A muscle ticked high in his cheek. “I’ll be with you in a few moments.”
She nodded stiffly, fighting against the giant lump suddenly clogging her throat. She walked evenly to his office, hoping she looked composed and not like a scolded child—which was how she felt.
She sat on the couch, knees pressed together, hands knotted in her lap, feeling very much like she was waiting for her sentence.
So she had messed up. So she should have let the actual law enforcement officers do what they had been trained to do and handle the situation. She got caught up in the moment. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. She had just wanted to do good and here she was. Only a week in the job and she was already in trouble.
Several minutes passed and her palms grew sweaty. Surely he wouldn’t fire her? Right? How awkward would that be now that he had given them a temporary place to stay?
Finally the door opened and Hale walked in, looking even more intimidating than usual. That very official uniform covering his big body always gave him an added edge, but the scowl on his face certainly didn’t help.
He closed the door behind him. Her pulse jumped at the click of the lock. He advanced on her, stopping directly in front of her with his legs braced apart. She pressed her knees even tighter together and squirmed slightly, as if that might alleviate the sudden throb between her legs. She was so bad. He simply walked into the room and her girl parts woke up. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
He was pissed. Angrier than she’d ever seen him. Body tense as steel. Gray eyes snapping. Jaw clenched. She was ashamed to admit that looking at him this way turned her on.
She’d been around anger all her life. She’d witnessed it lead to violence. She should be alarmed and backing away . . . not thinking how incredibly hot he looked right now.
She attempted to explain. “I was only trying to help.”
“You work the fucking desk and answer the phone. You don’t get in the middle of brawls, Piper. You see that kind of shit going down and you back away. Don’t run into it.”
She flinched and nodded.
“What if you’d gotten hurt?” A nerve ticked madly near his eye. Still furious.
And she was still turned on.
“I’m fine.” She flattened her palms on the couch and shifted her weight. For the briefest moment, her gaze dropped to his crotch. It was eye level, after all. Mortified, her gaze shot back to his face.
He didn’t appear to notice. He blew out a breath and dragged his hand through his hair. “If you’re going to continue working here, you’re going to have to know your place.”
A thread of resentment flickered inside her. Her place? Her chin lifted a notch. “And what’s my place?”
He stared down at her, still as furious as ever. In fact, he looked even angrier. Like she had somehow disappointed him with her lack of deference.
She moistened her lips and his eyes dropped to her mouth, catching the movement. She couldn’t help herself. She licked her lips again.
His breathing fell harder.
She looked away again, her eyes lowering, and this time she noted there was a significant bulge in his pants. Her breath caught. The sight of it lit her every nerve on fire. She fidgeted again on the couch. Crackling moments passed. She could only gaze at that bulge as it continued to grow, her belly clenching and twisting.
Her gaze flew to his face, shock rippling through her, and something else. Something primal that made all her soft parts melt and quiver in submission. He was hard for her. Here. Now. Like this.
His gray eyes fixed on her, molten hot. He wanted her.
She glanced around his office, eyeing the locked door, the closed blinds. Yes. She was considering it—she wanted to. She wanted him so badly the ache was killing her.
“Piper.” His voice was thick, and there was a promise of punishment in the grain of it. She knew she should rebel against it. The core feminist in her should be offended—the part of her that had worked so hard to guarante
e that no person ever took advantage of her.
And yet her hands reached for him. Pulled down his zipper by slow degrees. She ventured inside, glancing at his face as she wrapped her fingers around his thick erection.
She pulled him free with a sigh of gratification. She stroked the beautiful length of him, so hard and pulsing. Her thumb rolled over the head, delighting as the skin deepened to near purple. Her stomach clenched as pre-cum beaded his slit. With a moan, she dipped her head and licked it up.
He groaned and buried his hand in her hair.
The taste of him undid her. She slid her lips around the crown of him and swallowed as much of him as she could, sucking as she went down.
He cursed and pushed up his hips, feeding her hungry mouth. His reaction gave her a heady sense of power that only stoked her arousal. Her sex clenched in near pain, desperate to be filled. One of her hands pressed between her legs and rubbed hard, grinding down on the clit, seeking out her own pleasure. Her hands were well familiar with how to do it. They were her only recourse these many years.
“No, you don’t. You don’t deserve to get off.” He pulled her hand out from between her legs and then hauled her to her feet. “Take off your pants.”
He sat on the couch, one of his big hands taking the place of her mouth and fisting himself.
She hesitated.
“Now.”
She hurried to action, kicking off her ballet flats and unbuttoning her pants and shimmying out of them. She straightened in front of him.
His eyes glittered at her as he worked his cock in slow pumps.
“Panties,” he said, the single word conveying exactly what he expected of her.
Her thumbs went to the waistband of her white cotton panties and then hesitated as sudden self-consciousness seized her.
His gaze snapped to her face. With a growl, he grabbed her by the waist and yanked her underwear down for her, prompting her to step out of them. Then, before she knew what he intended, he had her bent over his lap.
She squeaked and pushed both palms down on the couch, arching herself up. She was unprepared for the first spank. Her mouth parted in shock at the delicious sting.
Then he did it again and her core went from warm to pulsing, burning need.
“You don’t get to put yourself in danger. You’re mine,” he rasped as his hand covered her cheek and massaged where he had struck.
She dropped her forehead to the couch with a keening moan as his big hand kneaded her. Moisture rushed between her legs and she couldn’t stop herself from lifting her ass higher and parting her thighs slightly, hoping, praying, that he would lower those rubbing fingers and offer her some relief.
His fingers followed her unspoken plea, traveling over her wet lips and brushing at her opening. “This is mine.” Then he delved a finger inside her.
She bit the side of her palm to keep from crying out as he drove his finger deep. He explored her in steady strokes, finding that little spot and then pushing on it until she started to shake. Suddenly he stopped.
“Please,” she begged.
He resumed until he was only giving her slow and easy strokes again.
“Do you deserve it?” he growled.
Oh, he was cruel. How could he stand it? He hadn’t gotten off on any of their previous encounters. Didn’t he need his own release? He’d been all about giving her pleasure, but now he was tormenting both of them.
She wouldn’t have it. Not anymore.
She looked over her shoulder at his hard face and practically snarled. “Why don’t you just fuck me already?”
She didn’t know who she was anymore. She’d turned into a creature that would say anything . . . do anything to have this man inside her.
Something cracked in his expression. He grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over to straddle him.
The last of his control broke.
It should terrify her. This big sexy beast of a man was about to take her virginity. She should maybe mention that to him. She should backpedal and retract the invitation. Invitation? Hell, she’d taunted him into it.
Instead, she looked down, watching as he poised the crown of himself directly at her opening. He pushed inside her, just the head at first, and she gasped. Woah. That was way bigger than his finger.
Her hands flew to his shoulders.
His eyes trained on her face and she felt pinned beneath that stare, unable to look away.
“You feel . . . perfect, Piper,” he growled, and then let go, lunging up and pulling her down hard at the same time.
It was surreal. The sensation of him wedged deep, pulsing and so foreign inside her. She opened her mouth on a silent cry, overwhelmed at the fullness of him, at the burn of her inner muscles clamping around him.
He groaned softly and then moved again. He looked down at where they were joined and then all of him went still. “You’re bleeding.” His voice sounded stricken. “What—”
She followed his gaze, seeing the evidence with her own eyes. “That’s normal. For the first time.” At least that’s what she had always heard.
His gaze shot back to her face. “What the f—”
“It’s done,” she quickly said.
“You’ve never done this before?”
She wiggled her hips slightly, enjoying his sudden hiss and the pleasure it sent vibrating along her nerves. “It had to happen eventually.”
She kissed him, not wanting any more words between them to ruin this now. He was tense beneath her and she felt him waffling, undecided.
Clearly she was going to have to do some persuading.
“Hale,” she said against his mouth. “Come on.” She worked her hips over him, carefully testing out the way their bodies fit together and delighted that nothing seemed to hurt anymore.
“Piper,” he husked against her lips. “You should have told me. I would have made it better than this.”
“You can make it good. Just . . . don’t stop,” she panted as she rocked her hips, gasping at the friction and focusing on her pleasure.
His gray eyes fired and suddenly he lifted her up without dislodging himself from inside her. He flipped her onto her back on the couch, his eyes still holding hers. “Does it . . . hurt?”
She shook her head.
Then he began stroking her in steady thrusts. Her head fell back and she swallowed her cries, dimly aware there were people on the other side of the door.
He took one of her legs and propped it along the back of the couch and the angle just brought him deeper. The friction built and she felt herself tumbling. Her orgasm crashed over her in waves, but he didn’t let up. He rode through the tremors, increasing his pace. It was unending. A raging current without ebb.
She couldn’t stay silent anymore. A rattling cry rose up and his hand quickly came down, covering her mouth as he drove into her, sliding her along the couch with the force of his body. His fingers splayed over her cheek, his palm against her lips. She kissed the callused flesh there, reveling in this, in him, in the fierceness of their joining.
Just when she thought it couldn’t get better, something broke loose inside her and she screamed into his hand, arching her head and neck off the couch. The muffled noise gradually faded and she went limp, her body quivering in the aftershocks as she drifted back down.
He continued to move. One of his hands clamped down on her bare hip as he thrust, anchoring her, branding her. Suddenly he held himself still, a hoarse sound escaping his lips.
She felt his release, the pulse and twitch of him buried deep inside her. She watched his face in awe, the expression of bliss like nothing she had ever seen. Only something she had felt. Just now. With him.
He dropped his head into the crook of her neck and held himself still for several moments.
Gradually sounds returned. The birds outside the window. Voices carrying from inside the station. A metal drawer slamming. Footsteps passing the door.
Oh. God. What did she just do?
He climbed of
f her and moved to his desk. He grabbed several tissues from a box and then handed her the box.
A whisper shook out from her lips. “Th-thank you.”
She took the Kleenex and sat up slowly. Her legs trembled like a newborn colt’s. She turned sideways and cleaned between her legs, heat scalding her face.
She heard his slight movements and guessed he was cleaning himself as well. Still keeping her back to him, she reached for her underwear. Slipping them on, she quickly slipped into her pants, attempting to wrap her brain around the fact that they’d just had sex. Unprotected sex. Her mind couldn’t even dwell on the possible consequences of that right now.
“Piper.”
Dressed again, she turned slowly and faced him. Even though she didn’t want to. Even though she wanted to turn and run out the door without looking at him. Why couldn’t she be one of those sophisticated woman that slept with a man, patted him on the cheek, thanked him for a good time and strolled out of the room?
Because that’s not you. Because you’ve never done that.
Because you care about this man.
The last thought brought her up hard. Oh, crap. She did care about him. More than she had any right to. That’s why she had let this happen.
“I think you should take the rest of the day off.”
She stiffened. She didn’t know what she expected him to say, but it wasn’t that.
He must have read the bewilderment in her face—and yes, the hurt, too. He continued. “You can’t walk out there and act like nothing just happened.”
She nodded slowly. He was right, of course. She wasn’t that good of an actress. She just lost her virginity to her boss on a couch in his office. She doubted she could return to work for the day and act like her normal self.
“O-okay.”
“I’ll tell everyone you were shaken up after what happened.”
“They’ll think I’m some delicate little flower—”
“They’ll have seen or heard what you did. That will be the last thing they think.”
Beautiful Lawman Page 18