He was so close to Rye. Sometimes he would talk about his brother almost like Rye was the other half of him. She’d never been as close to another person as Max was with his brother. She was an only child, and now her whole family was gone. She knew Max’s parents were gone and his sister was off in college, but at least he had his brother.
“Hey.” Jen was scooting off the bench when Rachel made it to the booth. “I’m so glad you’re going on break. I have to go on the clock. I didn’t want to leave Callie in the lurch.”
She was leaving? Rachel stared at the woman across from her. She was a pretty woman, roughly the same age as Rachel. Callie Sheppard. She placed a name with the face. She’d seen her around a couple of times, but heard her name almost every day. Callie was the shoulder everyone in Bliss cried on. She was also Rye’s administrative assistant.
Callie turned her wide brown eyes up. There was something disarmingly innocent about Callie Sheppard. “I don’t like to eat alone. I’m afraid I was running late for my lunch date with Jen. Do you mind?”
Jen bounded away, her ponytail bobbing. Did she mind? Hell yeah, she minded. The last thing she wanted to do was sit down and talk to someone so close to Rye Harper. Everywhere she turned, it seemed Rye Harper was there waiting like a forbidden piece of fruit. She could still feel his hands surrounding hers, even after a full night in his brother’s bed. God, what kind of a woman was she?
“Or not,” Callie said with a sad twist of her mouth. “It’s okay. I can survive one meal by myself.”
Rachel slid into the booth. She wasn’t about to be rude. She could survive a thirty minute break. “Not at all. I’d love the company.”
Stella chose that moment to arrive with Rachel’s lunch. It was a very nice turkey sandwich with a bowl of minestrone soup and a glass of iced tea. She greeted Callie with a kiss on the cheek and then left the two alone. Rachel picked up her spoon. “Who wants to eat alone anyway? I’m glad for the company.”
Callie sat back and seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. “Would you change your mind if you knew I was here to plead Rye’s case?”
The spoon clattered to the table, and Rachel found herself taking a deep drink of her tea. She quickly composed herself. “Rye’s case? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m dating Max.”
“Yes, that’s the problem,” Callie replied.
It certainly was. Rachel forced herself to pick up the spoon. She could talk about this, or she could walk away and tell Callie it wasn’t any of her business. She knew she should do the latter, but she was so interested in talking about Max and Rye and how they used to conduct their affairs that she found herself staying put. “It’s not like it’s a grand love affair. Max and I are just having fun.” She had to keep it that way.
Callie huffed a little. “Max doesn’t have fun. He’s serious about you, Rachel. If you aren’t serious, it would be better if you broke it off now.” Her head tilted slightly to the side. “But I think you’re either lying to me or yourself. You’re in love with Max.”
“After knowing him a few weeks? I hardly think so.” Rachel kept her tone nonchalant.
A sad smile crossed Callie’s face. “You don’t believe in love at first sight?”
Callie did. Rachel could see that plainly. She softened a little. From everything she understood about the other woman, she was probably lonely. Bliss was a small town. There probably hadn’t been many prospects. From the stories Rachel had heard, Callie had been the only girl her age. She’d grown up with the Harper twins and Stef as her only real companions. They had been kids and then teens together. With so few suitable males her age, Callie had probably fallen in love with one of her friends. She couldn’t see Callie with the artist, so that left Max and Rye. Rachel’s heart ached a little. Callie wasn’t doing the whole “stay away from my men” business. She was watching out for two men she loved.
“I’m not trying to hurt anyone.” Rachel watched as the other woman looked away.
“I know. I just don’t think you understand them.” Callie took a long drink of her coffee. The salad in front of her went untouched. “I know it seems weird, but two men can be really nice.”
Now Rachel was the one leaning in. “Did you date them?”
Callie’s eyes widened. “God, no. I wasn’t talking about them. Look, I grew up with them. I’ll admit that when I was a kid I had a crush on them, but really, I’m over that. I love them, but I’m not in love with them anymore. Now they’re like my obnoxious brothers. My question is, are you even vaguely attracted to Rye?”
Was she attracted to Rye? Yes, but she shouldn’t be. She thought about the way it had felt to sit next to him in the truck the night before. His very presence had pulled at her. She’d wanted so badly to scoot over and sit next to him, their hips brushing each other as the Bronco bounced down the road. It was different than what she felt with Max. Despite her every instinct telling her to stay as far away from Rye Harper as she could, she couldn’t get the image of him standing over her out of her head. Max, for all his bluster, was sweet and so tender when it came to sex. Rye would be a different story.
“Okay, that answers that question,” Callie said. She had a big grin on her face, and Rachel felt herself flush. She’d given away way more than she thought she had.
“Fine, I find him attractive. That doesn’t mean I’m going to jump his bones.” She wasn’t going to do that. Even if she wanted to, it would hurt Max. She wasn’t going to cheat on Max.
“Are you fundamentally opposed to the whole idea of a threesome?”
Again, Rachel felt every inch of her face flood with blood. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. “How can you talk about this?” Something Callie had said earlier suddenly made sense. “You’re in a threesome, aren’t you?”
Finally, Callie showed some discomfort with the very intimate subject. Her hands twisted together. “No, not on a permanent basis. I mean, wow, that makes it sound like I’m going to an orgy every weekend. I’m not. My life would be way more interesting if that was happening.” She stuttered a little. “I only did it the once, but that was enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“Enough to make me think about it for the rest of my life.” Callie took a deep breath and visibly forced her hands to be still. “It was one weekend with two amazing men. At the end of the weekend, we went our separate ways. I haven’t seen them in years now. They were friends of Stef’s.”
But Callie hadn’t wanted the weekend to end, Rachel knew suddenly. It was written all over her face. Rachel felt a rush of empathy for Rye’s assistant. “What was it like?”
Rachel wasn’t necessarily talking about the sex, and Callie seemed to understand. A dreamy look came over her face. “I’ve never felt safer than I did with them. It was like I was their whole world. When I was with Zane and Nate, I was something more than just me. Maybe it works that way with just couples, but I was surrounded by them. I was the center of the whole world for a little while. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“But your heart got broken.” And that was what Rachel was terrified of.
Callie shrugged and shook off the fine sheen of moisture that coated her eyes. “You can’t make someone love you. I wouldn’t take back loving them, either. Loving makes us better. And you won’t have the same problem. Max is already in love with you. Rye can’t help but follow. It just works that way for them.”
“Always?”
Callie nodded. She seemed more comfortable getting back to the subject of Max and Rye. “Ever since we were kids. You know that connection thing a lot of twins have? Multiply it by a thousand, and that’s Max and Rye. I swear one can tell what the other one is thinking most of the time. When they started dating, they dated the same girl. At the same time. And then her father came after them with a shotgun, and they ran away together.”
Rachel felt a smile split her face. What must it be like to have someone to share your soul with? How hard would it be to suddenly stop?
She frowned. “Max hasn’t broached the subject with me. I don’t think he wants to share me.” And she wasn’t about to suggest a threesome. Even if she wanted to. Which she didn’t.
“I think he’s afraid of scaring you off. They’re both afraid of scaring you off. If you really care about Max, please think about giving Rye a shot. He’s a great guy.”
All thoughts of food were put on hold. What was she doing? She couldn’t stay here, could she? She couldn’t think about giving a relationship with a sheriff an honest try. He didn’t even know her real name.
“I mean he’s paranoid,” Callie was saying. “But you’re good. You passed the background check. Once your plates clear, and he’s sure you’re not a serial killer, you’ll find him to be the nicest guy ever. Of course, Mel might still think you’re an alien, but I have a test for that, too.”
Callie continued, but Rachel’s vision had shifted. Everything was a little blurry as she realized Rye Harper had already proven her point. She couldn’t trust him. God, what did he already know? Had he called around? Her current license listed her address as Houston, but cops shared info all the time. Was Tommy already on his way?
Rachel stood up, ignoring Callie’s surprised look. She walked to the counter and picked up her keys. Stella called out, but Rachel didn’t respond. She walked out the door and got into the Jeep. She would leave. No goodbyes, no last paychecks. She would point her Jeep to the north and head for Wyoming. She would drive past Denver because it was too close to the Harper twins for comfort. She would dump the Rachel Swift ID. When she had enough cash, she would make her way to Chicago and lose herself in the city. She wouldn’t make friends. She wouldn’t talk to anyone unless she had to. She sure as hell wouldn’t fall for another man. She turned the car around. She felt tears running down her face. How could he have done that to her?
She stopped at the red light. Something made her turn her head. She wanted one last look at Bliss. And then she saw him. Rye Harper was walking out of the sheriff’s office. He stretched and yawned, pulling his big body this way and that way. His eyes caught sight of her and lit up. There was a wide smile on his too sexy mouth, and his hand came up in greeting.
Suddenly, she just had to wipe that smile off his face. Jerking the car into park and pulling the keys out, Rachel opened the door and descended on the man who had just wrecked her life.
Chapter Six
Rye yawned as he walked into the sunshine. It was turning out to be a lazy day. No alien invasions. No complaints from the tourists about naked hikers. No bombs going off on the Farley land from out of control science experiments. It was a good thing, too, because he had a headache from drowning his sorrows the previous night. His stomach growled. A burger from Stella’s was what he needed. A little grease and his stomach would settle right down. If he hurried, he could catch up with Callie.
Rye turned as a battered Jeep stopped at the stop light in front of his office. He caught sight of Rachel’s strawberry blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. His breath hitched at the sight of her. God damn, he cursed inwardly, even as he felt a dippy smile cross his face. It was like she was the freaking sun. He felt his hand come up to wave at her.
She slammed her car door shut. She was wearing a tight white T-shirt and jeans that hugged her every curve. Her breasts were gloriously round and jiggled as she walked toward him. Her hips swayed. His hands itched to walk straight up to her and drag that hot body against his. He would grind his erection against her and force her to come at least twice before he shoved her over and shoved his cock inside. He would ride that pussy until he finally couldn’t take another second and then…oh, then, he would come. He would flood her with every last drop he had in his balls.
Damn it, he had an erection right in the middle of the street, and now he had to talk to her. Rye finally got a good look at Rachel’s face and took a step back. She looked righteously pissed, and all that anger seemed to be directed at him.
“You asshole!” She stalked across the distance between them.
Her anger practically vibrated through the air. Rye knew he should ask what was wrong, but something about the way she was coming at him got his back up. Not just his back, his cock was straining, too. She wanted to fight. He could fucking fight. He hadn’t done anything but facilitate her relationship with his brother and offer her his protection. He wasn’t about to take her shit.
“You want to move that car, Ms. Swift?” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her his best lawman stare.
It made her stop in her tracks, but only briefly. “What are you going to do, Sheriff? Give me a ticket? Lock me up?”
He could think of a few things he would do. None of them had anything to do with jail. “Maybe I’ll just spank that ass of yours, sweetheart.”
He shouldn’t have said it, but the words were out of his mouth before he could think twice. It was exactly what he’d do if she was his woman. If she belonged to him and she’d pulled this shit, he would lay her out over his knee, and she wouldn’t get up again until she’d nicely apologized.
“What did you say?” She practically growled the question at him. Her eyes narrowed, and she held her ground.
Rye towered over her. “I said I would spank that little ass of yours red, darlin’.”
“I think Max might have something to say about that.” She shot the words at him, but there was a telltale trembling to her voice. He would bet everything he had that she wasn’t entirely put off by the prospect of getting over his knee.
Max would watch if their relationship was on a normal footing. For all his anger issues, Max was softer than Rye when it came to sex. It didn’t mean Max didn’t enjoy playing a few games. He’d spanked a perky little ass on more than one occasion. “You push Max like you’re pushing me, and he’ll understand.”
Her eyes flared briefly before she hardened them to flinty green stones. “Yeah, well, you don’t have to worry about it. I’m leaving. Don’t worry about me screwing up your perfect world anymore.”
She started to turn, and Rye’s arm shot out. He was running on pure emotion. She was leaving? Not on his watch. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
She pulled against him, setting her sneakers solidly against the road. “It’s none of your fucking business, Sheriff. Let me go.”
Not on his life. Rye looked around and realized they were stopping traffic. Rachel’s car could wait. He needed to figure out what the hell had turned her into a raging maniac, and he couldn’t do it in public. Without letting go of her arm, he leaned down and slid his free arm beneath her leg. He hauled her up against his chest and strode back toward the sheriff’s office. No one was in there. They could yell at each other in perfect privacy.
He kicked the door open and walked her back to the small confines of his office. He set her down and swiftly blocked the door. “Now, do you want to be reasonable about this, or should I get ready to administer a little discipline?”
Her face was red, and her small hands were clenched into fists at her sides. “You let me go right now, or I swear I will sue you for everything you’re worth.”
“Feel free,” Rye shot back. “Take me for everything I’m worth. You’re not leaving.”
“You can’t keep me, asshole.”
“Watch me.” He leaned back against the door. “And watch your language, Rachel. You curse me one more time, and I won’t give a damn that you belong to Max. I will pull those jeans down and leave an imprint of my hand on your ass.”
“You’re a big man to threaten a woman, aren’t you?”
Rye laughed. “Yeah, poor little Rachel. You’re so downtrodden.” Tears filled her eyes, and Rye practically melted. He took a step toward her, his hands curving over her shoulders. “Baby, I didn’t mean it. I wouldn’t hurt you. It’s a game. Fuck, I’m sorry. Please tell me why you want to leave. I promise I’ll make it all right.” All of his anger evaporated like someone had taken a pin to a balloon, popping it, deflating him. He couldn’t help himself.
He pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry.” He was willing to say anything to make her stop crying.
Her hands came up across her chest as though she couldn’t stand to be so close to him. He would call Max. She only wanted Max. His heart hurt. And then her arms wound around his waist, and she sobbed into his chest. A great sigh of relief left Rye’s lungs. He let his head sink down against her hair. His hands soothed over her back. “I’m sorry.” He said it over and over. He wasn’t even sure who he was saying it to. He was sorry something bad had happened to her. He was sorry he’d done something to piss her off. He was so, so sorry she wasn’t his. He wanted nothing more than to call Max and take her home where they could take care of her. She would be their princess, their partner, their perfect lover. God, he was so sorry she didn’t want that.
After a long while her head came up, and she pulled away slightly. “I apologize for yelling at you, Sheriff.”
A veil had come down over her eyes. Rye’s chest constricted. She was shutting down the intimacy between them. It was good one of them had a lick of sense, but he wished she was still in his arms. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
She shook her head. “It’s best I just leave.”
“Baby…Rachel, I know something’s wrong. I’m not stupid. I also know none of it’s your fault.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
He sighed and brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen out of her previously perfect ponytail. “I just know. And even if it was your fault, I would take care of it.” He cleared his throat. “You’re my brother’s girl. I would take care of you. If someone’s after you, I’ll move heaven and earth to stop him. If you got caught up in something bad, I’ll take care of that, too.”
Her face contorted and, for a moment, he worried she would start crying all over again. Then she shook it off, and that wall of mulish strength she had came down between them. “No, I’m fine. But stay out of my business.”
Shit, she had found out about the trace he’d run on her. Damn Callie’s big mouth. And Rachel’s reaction did nothing but make him even more suspicious. “I don’t know if I can do that, Rachel.”
Oak, Sophie - Three to Ride [Nights in Bliss, Colorado 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8
