Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association)

by Olivia Jaymes

  His lips traveled across her jaw to her ear where he nibbled on the lobe. Giggling, she slapped lightly at his arms but he just pulled her even closer until the heat of his body penetrated her clothes. She could feel the outline of his hard cock against her belly and she rubbed herself against it until he groaned.

  “I saw you brought some of those girly bath liquids. How about a soak in the tub?”

  She loved soaking in a bubble bath and had brought along a bottle of suds in the hope the hotel had a big tub. Unfortunately the motel in Hope Lake didn’t fall into that category but Griffin’s tub certainly did. It wasn’t jetted but it was plenty large enough for the two of them. It was sweet of him to offer as he probably didn’t hang out in a sweet-smelling bath very often.

  “You’ll smell like citrus,” she warned him. “Specifically oranges. Can you handle it?”

  “It’s better than purty flowers,” he groaned. “I can handle it if you’re there.”

  She let her hands glide up his muscular back loving the way he felt, so firm and strong. “I’ll be there alright. Last one there’s a rotten egg.”

  She dashed toward the bathroom but a long arm snagged her around the waist and lifted her up and over his shoulder. She was destined to never enter the bedroom under her own steam. Beating on his lower back with her fists, she waggled her legs to try and distract him but as always he was goal-oriented. Before she knew it, she was being gently placed on her feet in the middle of his bathroom.

  “Strip, Hollywood.” His voice was gruff with arousal and she could clearly see the ridge pressing against the fly of his jeans. Her mouth watered at the thought of driving him crazy with her lips and tongue.

  He twisted the handles on the faucet and the tub began to fill. She grabbed her bath bubbles from the cabinet under the sink and poured a generous amount into the steamy water. Immediately the churn of the water began to create a creamy foam that she couldn’t wait to lie in and relax.

  She shucked off her clothes but he still beat her into the tub, relaxing back and beckoning for her to join him. Stepping into the hot water, her tight muscles loosened and she breathed a sigh of relief as she lay on top of him, her back to his front. He seemed to need the silence so she didn’t speak as he turned off the faucets and then picked up a washcloth, running it over her already sensitive skin.

  Goosebumps broke out as the rough material slid over her shoulders and down to her breasts. She arched her back as he made ever tightening circles around and around until the nap of the fabric abraded her already hard nipples, sending arrows of pleasure straight to her pussy and clit. Moaning her approval, she luxuriated in her arousal and her eyelids drooped keeping the world at bay. There was nothing but his talented, giving hands and the sound of the water lapping against the sides of the tub.

  “You are so fucking beautiful.”

  Heat swept through Jazz at his hoarsely voiced words. She rarely felt beautiful in a town where everyone was gorgeous. Talented makeup artists and hairdressers could wave their wand and make her look good for a few hours but in her everyday life…she was just Jazz. Hips too wide. Boobs too small. Lips too thin. Legs too short. She’d heard it all in the last several years.

  But this man thought she was beautiful. Griffin was the type of man who would never say something he didn’t truly mean.

  “So are you,” she said because she honestly thought he was. It wasn’t only his physical appearance that was impressive—although it was—it was his heart. The way he loved his family, and the way he took care of his town. Even the way he wanted to protect her from the bogeymen in her life.

  His lips near her ear, he chuckled and slid the washcloth down over her belly to her clit, already swollen and aching with need. Taking his time, he rubbed slow circles around the nub, never breaking the rhythm that was surely going to send her over. Shuddering with pleasure, she braced her legs on the edge of the tub, letting them fall open.

  “Men can’t be beautiful,” he chided, pressing a kiss to the damp skin of her shoulder.

  “You are,” she insisted, the words coming out as a half-groan. “And men can be beautiful.”

  He didn’t answer her this time. Instead, he increased the pressure on her clit until the room spun. Grabbing hold of his powerful thighs to stay steady, she teetered on the edge of release.

  “Come for me, Hollywood. It’s time, honey.”

  His voice was deep and rich and his hands were doing magical things. At some point the washcloth had drifted away and his callused fingers were rubbing the sides and top of her clit.

  “Griffin.”

  She didn’t know if she whispered or screamed his name but her climax hit hard and fast. Water sloshed over the sides and onto the floor as her body bucked with each wave of pleasure. He crooned soothing words as she let it take control, giving herself up to it until it left her weak and wrung out.

  Curling into his arms, he wrapped them protectively around her, capturing her lips with his own in a carnal kiss of promise. There would be more pleasure to come.

  He lifted up slightly in the water and she moved to the end of the tub as he dug for a condom from his pants pocket. Jazz let her gaze wander lazily down his masculine frame taking in every curve and dip of his muscles.

  Rivulets of water ran down his torso and across his ridged abdomen tempting her to follow that silver trail with her tongue. The coil inside of her tightened in response at the sight of him hard and ready. She pulled up onto her knees and pressed their wet bodies together, his impressive cock sandwiched between them.

  “My turn,” she whispered as she kissed a path down the hard planes of his chest and stomach. Engulfing the head of his cock in her mouth, she sucked him in as far as she could take him.

  His fingers twisted in her hair and a groan was torn from his throat as she tightened her lips and moved up and down the shaft while her tongue traced the veins and bumps. His cock seemed to pulse and swell in response and a heady feeling of power swept through her. Giving Griffin the kind of pleasure he gave her was a satisfying feeling. The more she gave, the more she received in return.

  His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he tugged her away, his breathing ragged and harsh.

  “I need you bad, Hollywood. Are you ready for me?”

  She’d been ready from his first touch. Now she was desperate for what he could give her. He guided her so she was bent over the edge of the tub, her torso cushioned by a thick towel. She heard the crinkle of a wrapper and then his strong fingers on her hips as he guided his thick cock inside.

  Griffin started slowly at first, and then when she wriggled her hips in impatience, he pulled back and thrust in hard and fast. It took her breath away and started the immediate build toward another climax.

  Gripping the edge of the tub, she braced herself as his thrusts sped up giving her exactly what she needed. The spring inside of her coiled tighter and tighter as each stroke rubbed a sensitive place inside of her. Realizing he’d found her sweet spot, he went after it relentlessly until her whole world turned upside down and sideways. Waves of heat and pleasure curled her toes and made her shake and shudder.

  Griffin tumbled over the edge right along with her, a string of expletives falling from his lips. She could feel his cock as it jerked inside of her, his hot seed filling the condom and sending another shock wave right to her core.

  They stayed locked together for a long time, their breathing returning to normal. When Griffin finally pulled away, he trailed his lips down her spine making her shiver and quake. He quickly ran the washcloth over both of them before helping her to her feet. Wrapping a towel around her, he leaned down with a smile and kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Go lie down, honey. I’ll clean up in here.”

  Her knees like jelly, she managed to somehow make it from the bathroom to the bed. Tossing the towel aside, she slid between the cool sheets and closed her eyes. She loved times like this when it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Pulling the
covers up to her chin, she luxuriated in the cocoon they’d created around themselves. No reporters. No suspects. No town council members.

  Just her and Griffin.

  Jazz sighed with contentment as she watched Griffin stride out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a smile. She had big plans for them tonight and they’d only accomplished a small portion of her list so far. She reached for him as he joined her on the bed, snuggling into his arms.

  Letting the silence surround them, she could hear his even breathing and feel the slow rise and fall of his chest. He’d been working so hard. It was good he was getting some rest. Her plans could wait for another time.

  Sleep, however, didn’t come easy to Jazz. She lay awake replaying every conversation with Tony she’d ever had. Could he really be a killer? Then she thought about Casey Charlock, who still waited for her justice. Would Jazz be here when that happened? Would it ever happen?

  Eventually she gave up and headed out to the deck with Griffin’s cell phone. It was time to bite the bullet and talk to Caitlin. Her friend deserved to know what was going on. She just wasn’t going to be very happy about it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Griffin sat in his office and looked out over the station, quiet and subdued after all that had gone on a few days before. He needed the peace, his nerves and patience stretched thin from working a case that had suspects but no real evidence.

  It had been two days since he’d questioned Tony and Gordon. Two very long days. No amount of pleading phone calls to the state crime lab from Otis could hurry them along. Griffin was starting to think something was wrong with the evidence that had been collected. Even the reporters were bored and spent most of their time hanging around the diner drinking coffee and eating homemade pie. A few had even left town, chasing a flashier, more exciting case.

  In the meantime, another slick, expensive attorney had arrived from California for Tony. Calling into the station on his arrival in town, the man had handed Griffin his card with a smug smile and said that his client was no longer answering questions. If Griffin needed to know something, he could submit questions in writing and possibly Tony would take the time to answer them.

  But probably not. It didn’t matter anyway. There wasn’t anything to be asked until Griffin heard from the lab.

  “Do you have a minute?” Jazz stood in front of him looking so damn beautiful he wanted to throw her down on his desk and have his way with her. She was the only good thing in his life right now. Having her support these past few days had meant everything to him. He hadn’t even minded how she’d taken over his bathroom.

  The first day she’d kept her makeup and things all neat in a little purse, but by the second day they’d began to migrate onto the vanity and onto any flat surface in the shower. When they’d left the house this morning, there had been no less than a dozen items on the counter by the sink and at least four separate bottles or jars in the shower. One had been shampoo and the other conditioner. He had no idea what the others were but if she needed them then there wasn’t much he could do about it. Besides, she was always so pretty how could he complain?

  “Sure, come on in. I was just looking at the map of the area around the site where Sandy’s body was found, trying to think of where the murder might have taken place.”

  “Any ideas?” Jazz leaned over his desk and he could smell the clean fragrance of her skin. His cock stirred and he had to shift in his chair to relieve the pressure. He probably ought to get used to being semi-aroused whenever she was around. They made love every night and every morning, each time better than the last.

  It wasn’t the sex that drew him in but her easy to be with manner. She seemed to understand instinctively when he needed quiet, not nattering on and on about nothing. She was happy to cuddle when he was in the mood but just as content to sleep in her own space. There were no demands he cater to her preferences. They simply compromised when they didn’t agree. No pouting or emotional blackmail.

  But that didn’t mean he was in love. He’d know if he was. Not yet. It was too soon and he wasn’t ready. Being in love meant things would change, and damned if he was ready for that. Couldn’t things go on the way they were?

  “I’ve got a few ideas. Here.” He pointed to an old hunting shack to the north of town. “And here.” He moved his hand to the west, pointing to the Rinehart ranch. “The one to the north is an old cabin that a lot of hunters use. It’s isolated so no one would hear anything and definitely off the beaten path. The one road leading to it can barely even be called that. It’s basically two tire tracks in the dirt and brush.”

  “And the other?” She peered more closely at the map, her brow knitted in concentration.

  “That ranch used to belong to the Rineharts.”

  “Used to? Who does it belong to now?”

  “The bank. It was foreclosed on about a year ago. Remy Rinehart held on as long as he could but in the end he sold off all the horses, livestock, and any heavy equipment and moved out. They haven’t had a buyer for it yet. The only thing is the house isn’t far from the road. The hunting cabin would be more private.”

  Griffin tapped the map with his finger, frustration tight in his gut. He was missing something, something important. Police work wasn’t much like in the movies. It was usually boring stake outs, mindless sifting of paper clues, and the hope that forensics would find something. Mostly it was old-fashioned grunt work.

  That was where he was sitting. His suspect had motive and opportunity, but there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. That meant Griffin had to work twice as hard to find that link.

  “But the killer would have to know about the cabin, right? How would Tony know about it? He’s been here less than two weeks.”

  “True. That’s why I’ve requested a warrant for the Rinehart place.” Hopefully he would have it this afternoon.

  “What about the cabin? You didn’t get a warrant for it?”

  “I don’t need a warrant for the cabin. It’s open for anyone to use. I’ll stop there on the way to my meeting and look around. If someone’s been up there recently, I’ll be able to tell.”

  In fact, he’d asked Reed to meet him there. His friend had a keen eye for detail around crime scenes and might see something Griffin missed. He had to admit he didn’t hold out much hope though. In the last two days he’d searched every line shack, tent, and abandoned structure in a twenty mile radius from where Sandy’s body had been found. Today he’d decided that he had to expand his criteria for possible kill sites, which was when he’d taken a look at these two properties.

  “You’re heading out to a meeting?” Jazz had a cute little pout going on but he knew better than to think she was really upset. She’d actually shocked him with how independent she was, spending her free time while he was working with Levi. He would be heading to the academy in a few weeks and was working with Adam until then. Wayne was also hanging around town trying to dig up dirt on anyone and basically making a nuisance of himself. Peggy and Danny had left when they had been cleared from suspicion.

  “My sheriffs’ meeting. What will you do today?”

  Jazz still helped out part time in the office but he really needed to get someone full time. While she was good at the job, he didn’t think it excited her much. She was probably itching to get back to her life in Los Angeles. A thought he didn’t like to ponder too often.

  Jazz reached across his desk and placed a sticky note near his elbow. “I was thinking about going to talk to Tonya and see what she knows about this maybe imaginary boyfriend Casey had. You know I haven’t forgotten her.”

  Griffin picked up the square piece of paper with an address scratched across it. Jazz had been looking in Casey’s file again. “I know you haven’t, honey. I don’t want you to think I have. I think about her every day. It’s just a cop has to work a case when it’s hot.”

  “I know. That’s why I was thinking I could go talk to Tonya since you can’t spare anyone right now.”

&n
bsp; Her expression was hopeful and Griffin was loath to dash her hopes. He held up the address. “Can you even find your way there by yourself? This is in Springwood.”

  “If I can find my way around the Los Angeles freeway system, I think I can manage to find a small town off a main road. So I can go?”

  He could see how important this was to her, and despite his conflicted feelings he finally nodded. “But,” he warned, “you cannot go as someone from my office. I can’t lend you one of the SUVs since you’re no longer a deputy in training. You’ll have to take my truck. Also, you cannot present yourself to Tonya as anyone official. You can tell her how you came to see Casey’s file and ask if you can talk to her. If she says no, then that’s that. You turn around and come back, got it?”

  “Got it.” Jazz nodded, a gleeful smile across her face. “How about you draw me a map?”

  Griffin comforted himself with the knowledge that technically there was no way he could stop one civilian from talking to another civilian. Besides, keeping Jazz busy while he worked this case seemed like a damn good idea. If she wasn’t bored, she wouldn’t be thinking of reasons to leave Hope Lake.

  “Can I interrupt for a moment?”

  Gordon’s voice pulled Griffin’s attention from the woman across from him to the doorway where the man stood uncertainly. Shifting from foot to foot, the assistant producer looked as if he’d like to be anywhere but where he was standing.

  “Sure, Gordon. How can I help you?”

  It was too much to hope for that the man was here to rat out his boss. Maybe he too had a big-wheel lawyer coming to town. Griffin had to give the man credit though. Even in the face of all this shit, Gordon hadn’t crumbled. All Griffin had to do was sit in the same diner as Tony and the producer practically dissolved into tears.