His brows snapped together. “Are you saying I was a beer-goggle-one-night-stand?”
Oh, how she wanted to make him think she wasn’t in her right mind when they slept together, but she couldn’t get her lips wrapped around a lie. “No, I was sober,” she said as she rolled her eyes, “but I can’t believe my father would sink this low…that you would sink so low as to sleep with me under false pretenses.”
“Slow down.” Several expressions flickered over his features. “I didn’t know who you were when I met you at Lori’s. I assure you I’d never sink as low as to sleep with a woman under no man’s pressure. I had no idea he planned to ask me to help until today, right before you walked in actually. Trust me, my jaw hit the floor when I realized who you were.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What we shared was not planned and one-night stand or not, it can’t be changed. Just don’t accuse me of setting you up to look like you screwed up by sleeping with me. I could have told your father, but I didn’t, and he has no clue.”
“Maybe you should have told him. He wouldn’t have asked you to do this if you had. You can’t possibly want to do this anyway. Isn’t this below your credentials, lawman?”
“No, there are at least a hundred other things I’d rather be doing.” He looked away for a good three seconds, then hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. The hard line of his jaw tightened more. “Would you like me to march back in there and tell him the truth? If that’d make this situation bearable then that’s what I’ll do.”
She crossed her arms and tilted her chin. She’d call his bluff. “Yes. Go back and tell him that we slept together.”
He shifted from one dusty boot to the other. His jaw twitched and wrinkles appeared in his forehead. “I don’t mind helping out at the ranch.” He shrugged.
“What happened to the other “hundred” things on your list?” she teased.
“A man can change his priorities. Anyway, I like getting my hands dirty.” His eyes sparkled.
Melly refused to pay any attention to the tingling in her limbs. “Are you afraid of my father?”
“Hell, no. Okay, maybe a bit. He’s a hard man to say no to. I know someone else just like that.” He journeyed his gaze slowly down her body and her bra suddenly felt two sizes too small.
She had a feeling Nix liked to play head games. Well, she could handle it as long as she could manage to resist his charm. “You’re full of yourself, aren’t you? I bet you’re one of those guys that stands in front of the mirror and poses because you just can’t get enough.”
He blinked. “Does this look like a mug that’s seen a mirror in the past forty-eight hours?” He lifted a thick brow. “Or a razor? I haven’t even been to bed in more hours than I can count.”
“You do have a point.” And yet he was still the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes upon. “Is he setting me up to fail?”
“No. I think he’s being truthful. He cares and he wants you to succeed. Sometimes a person can think they’re ready to fly from the nest, but they crash and burn.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Oh, did you want me to tell you what you wanted to hear? I’m afraid my boost-wounded-ego tank is a bit low today.”
“Smartass,” she whispered. “None of this makes sense. What did he tell you?” She challenged him.
“Exactly what he said to you. I know you’re angry but take a step back and look at this logically. He’s asking for one month. Thirty measly days. Do it, prove yourself, and you’ll have what you want. Hell, I’d live on mill worms and sleep on an iceberg for that long if it meant I’d get what means most to me.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” Would he be that dedicated when it came to his child? Maybe she needed to rethink this entire situation. Each time she was close to him she wanted to jump his bones, probably most women did, but she could at least get to know him better, figure out what kind of a father he’d be. However, she needed to keep her heart out of it. She swiveled on her heels and started walking across the parking lot, but he caught up to her in two strides. Her entire body was in man withdrawal. When she’d walked into her father’s office and saw Nix she’d almost fallen over in shock. Just as the first time she saw him, she was awestruck by his looks and his charm. He was tall, she’d guess at least six-three. With a head full of short, silver black hair and a layer of beard that screamed bad-ass. His body was broad, powerful, strong, muscular...she could think of a dozen more descriptions. None of these characteristics meant he’d be a decent father though.
“Sure, it’s easy for me to say, but I’ll help,” he said those words with such conviction that it reached in and tickled all the feminine parts of her. Would he make the same promise to her if he knew about the baby?
Oh Lord, the baby.
This fact truly changed everything. If she told him, would he run and tell her father? This would ruin her chances of ever owning the ranch. She couldn’t trust Nix because he was in her father’s corner.
“You can’t possibly think I really need your help?” Her pride formed a wall.
“If that’s the case than it’ll go much smoother and before you know it I’ll be out of your hair.”
She clenched her teeth. If only he knew…
Stopping at her vehicle, she faced him. His eyes twinkled. She imagined what their son or daughter would look like. Pale blue eyes. His olive toned skin. And that smile with pearly white teeth. She believed a person’s teeth could tell a lot about a person, and if that was the case, he would make beautiful babies.
Bigger problem. How would she hide her pregnancy for an entire month? She was starting to show some and what about the morning sickness? Some days it kicked her butt. “Maybe you and I can come up with an agreement. A simple solution.” She had to try everything.
“An agreement?” He smirked as if he already knew what she’d say.
“You don’t really want to waste your time at my ranch, doing nothing. We can tell dad what he wants to hear. He’ll never know.”
There was arrogance behind his smile. “You’re willing to risk him finding out?” He lifted a brow.
Why did a part of her think he was right? Her father seemed to know everything.
“Come on, Melly.” He took a step closer, but she refused to give him ground and divulge how he affected her. He might be powerful, sexy and smelled as good as freshly baked chocolate cookies, but she had to stay in control. He had to understand that she wouldn’t be dominated. “It won’t be that bad.” His eyes sparkled.
“Wait just a minute.” She tilted her chin, looking way, way up into his gaze. That was a long haul for her five-foot three height. “If you’re thinking that this arrangement involves you helping me in the bedroom, you are sadly mistaken.”
“You did call me.”
She swallowed loudly. “Yes, I did.” She knew it was only a matter of time before he mentioned the voice message she’d left. Melly had never been good at lying and why she’d always been caught by her father. Scrambling now for any excuse, she came up with zilch except for the very reason why he thought she called him. “But if we’re living together, we certainly won’t be having sex.” Realizing what she’d said, she sighed. “I meant…if we’re working together it would be messy to allow sex to get in the way.” Maybe this would convince him to not come with her if he thought there was a chance they’d revisit their physical connection.
He thought about it, long and hard. She could practically see the wheels turning in his eyes. But then the smile returned. “It doesn’t matter because the second I realized you’re Carson’s daughter you became off limits,” he said so casually.
Processing his words, she questioned why disappointment slithered over her. “And the second I realized you’re in my father’s pocket you became a turn off,” she snapped, more from anger than truth.
“Is that so?” He reached out, placed a finger under her chin and lifted until their gazes met and held.
There was something very w
rong with her. The feeling of his mere touch conjured up physical emotions that made it hard to breathe. Her nipples enlarged. Her inner thighs throbbed. Although he said they were off limits, and Lord knew she meant that he was a turn off, her body proved to her that she still found him irresistible.
He smiled wider, flashing even white teeth against tanned skin, and in that action she knew she had to put up a guard against him. Holding his gaze, she mustered bravery she didn’t know she had. “Yes, that’s so. Anyway, you’re a cop and I don’t date or sleep with lawmen.” Once the words were out she wished she could fish them back. If he thought about it, he’d know then that she’d called him for another reason and not for a booty call.
Expecting him to take a step back, instead he surprised her by running his thumb along her jawline, eliciting a shiver down her spine. “Is that why you ran off like a scared mouse before the sun rose?” His brow lifted.
Focus, girl. “I-I accidently saw your badge. If I’d known, well, I wouldn’t have—” She could barely think, let alone form words on her trembling tongue.
He leaned in so close their faces were only inches apart. The scent of his cologne and the sparkle in his gaze all made her woozy like she’d downed a fifth of whiskey. “You wouldn’t have made love with me if you’d known what I do for a living? So that means right now you feel nothing but revulsion from my touch?”
“I have my reasons. I’m stronger than my carnal needs,” she whispered, not believing one word she spoke.
He laughed and stepped back, shoving his hands into his front pockets looking much like a marauder. “Then we’re on the same page. No worries. I won’t confuse the reason why I’ll be at your ranch and I hope you don’t either.” He winked, turned and started across the lot.
“Where are you going?” she squeaked. Her mind screamed, “How dare you leave me like this. Come back here and kiss the hell out of me.”
He didn’t even look at her. “I’m going to get my things and then I’ll be at Shy Brooke. Be ready for hard work. I know I’ll be working myself to the bone.”
Chapter 4
“WHAT THE FUCK did you just say?”
Nix looked across the distance of the porch at his brother Kace who looked floored. “Like I said, bro. Carson asked me for a personal favor and I agreed.” Although Nix believed he said the words level enough, he felt a headache starting at his temples. He knew for the next month he’d be working himself day and night to prevent from happening what he had no control over at the bar that night—getting wrapped up in Melly’s web. Problem was, he liked his women strong, independent, feisty, and never a pushover…and she fit the bill nicely.
“Really? Are you insane?” Kace shook his head.
“Nope.”
“Why the hell would you agree to something this absurd?”
Nix shrugged. “I just want to help.”
“Hell with that. There’s more to the story. Confess,” Kace urged.
Shifting his boots and resituating his hat, Nix wanted to tell his brother to mind his own damn business, but when it came down to it, he needed to spill his guts and maybe then he wouldn’t feel like he’d been run through the wash and rinse cycle. “Fine, but you can’t tell no one. You hear? Four months ago, while we were at Lori’s having a couple, remember that redhead, the one I danced with, then—”
His brother’s eyes widened. “You had sex with the boss’s daughter?”
“In my defense, I didn’t know who she was when I met her. Neither did you. I’m thinking we must have seen each other when we were kids, but damn, those years are a blur.”
“That’s because you were eyeballing every cheerleader.” Kace broke out into laughter, slapping his palm against his thigh before he finally managed to control himself. “Shit, bro. You’re in deep shit. No wonder you agreed to this. You’d be dead meat right now if she’d told her old man that you two had gotten your freak on.”
“Real mature, ass. That’s not the reason I’m doing this, or at least not the biggest reason.” He scratched his jaw.
“Sure. You’re doing this because you think you have another chance with her. You can’t fool me.”
“No. She’s off limits. I’m doing this because Carson has cancer. Although I don’t agree exactly with how he’s going about things, he seems to have his daughter’s best interests at heart.”
Kace sobered. “Carson has cancer? Does Dad know?”
Nix shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“That sucks, man.” Kace got up from the chair and went to the rail where he leaned on his elbows, staring out at the edge of the woods. “But keep in mind, you screw this up and there’s no coming back. Cancer or not, the man will wring your neck.”
“I know, but all I have to do is keep my hands to myself for thirty days. Hell, I’ve gone fifteen months without sex while deployed across the pond. I’ve told myself, each time I feel something below the belt I’ll remember that she’s Carson’s daughter. I can’t think of anything that can shrivel my balls quicker than that thought.”
“I hope you’re right, bro. You’re gambling your future.”
“It’s not the assignment I wanted, but there will be plenty of cases in the future. This will be a piece of cake. I’ll get in Carson’s good graces and everything will be smooth thereafter.”
Kace looked at him, doubt marring his prominent features. “You know I’m on your side, buddy, but if you find yourself in her bed again you might as well put a ring on it because that’ll be your only savior.”
Nix paced the porch, his stomach knotted. “Marriage? I don’t even know her.” Although, he knew enough that he still found himself attracted to her.
“Just as Ma says, you’re not getting any younger. Carson’s your hero and wouldn’t he make one helluva father-in-law?”
“Let’s not talk about this. I’m not ready for marriage, and I assure you Melly wants nothing to do with me. She just wants to save her ranch. I get that, I do.”
“What are you going to do if she isn’t ready to head up the place? Are you going to tell Carson?”
His brother made a good point. Nix could be placed in a tight spot. Although he’d bet the petite redhead could do just about anything she set her mind to, even running a ranch. He knew how difficult running a place could be though. This situation could turn into a headache. “I’ll think about that if and when I come to that bridge. For now, I’m going to grit my teeth because she wants me on her ranch even less than I want to be there.”
“Hell, bro. We’ve had to do far worse things to complete a mission. At least you’ll have a place to sleep and a great view.”
Nix turned and leaned a hip against the rail. “But this entire situation is—”
“Fucked up? Crazy? Ludicrous? Probably what most parents would do to protect their kids?”
“I know.” Nix squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I do believe he’s really looking out for her best interest. From what I know she isn’t known for making the best choices, especially when it comes to relationships. And because he sees a glass ceiling on how much longer he has to protect her, he must feel this is his last opportunity to make sure she steps up to the plate.”
“Didn’t you say he threatened to sell the place?”
Shrugging, he said, “I think he’s pulling her chain.”
“Isn’t that what he’s doing to you? He knew you wouldn’t—couldn’t—say no. But when this whole scheme explodes, and it will, you better run for cover.”
“Stay positive. This could go as smooth as still waters.” If only Nix didn’t feel a stab in his chest at the mere thought.
Kace laughed and buddy-slapped Nix on the shoulder. “Better you than me. I’d tell him to take his job, and his assignment, and shove it—”
“Can’t and won’t. I have respect for the guy.”
“You’re too damn good of a lawman to be stuck babysitting some chic who is going to turn you inside out. Just sayin’. You’ve fought in some of the most dangerous places i
n the world and you should be hunting criminals. That’s why you joined the Hawks. You want to catch criminals and save lives. Me? I like being Sheriff of a laid-back town. On occasion we do get the crazies.”
“Yeah? What happened?”
“Do you remember the Posey girl who was found hanging from the bannister at her rich boyfriend’s house? Ruled a suicide.”
Nix thought about the case a moment. “Back when Deatty was Sheriff? Around three years ago?”
Kace nodded. “Well, her sister, Tyler, is back in town and she wants answers.”
“Answers? On a case that’s closed?”
“She thinks because Deatty is out of office and I’m here, I’ll reopen it and rule it a homicide.”
Nix could see the twitch in his brother’s jaw. “Wait, didn’t you date Tyler Posey back when we were kids?”
“For all of five minutes, yes.”
“Good luck, my man. Maybe you should be preaching to yourself. I remember how you were so in love with her.”
“Then your memory sucks. Mark my word though, you’re in for a ride. I can see it now. Phoenix won’t be the only one getting hitched.”
“So, you get your invitation to Phoenix’s wedding then?” Nix asked.
“Yeah. Can you believe it? One of us are getting married, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that he meets someone on Monday and is marrying her on Tuesday.” Kace shook his head.
“A little dramatic there, buddy. I know it’s quick, but Phoenix has his head on straight and I haven’t seen him this happy in…well, never.”
“Hey, I’m not knocking the fact that he’s getting married. Maybe it’ll get Ma and Pa off the rest of our backs for a while.”
“Don’t count on it. Zander’s next. Since he’s the youngest he’s going to put the heat on you, Cull and me. He’s making us look bad.” He paced the length of the porch, noticing the group of deer munching on grass close to the edge of the woods. He enjoyed living here, away from neighbors, and hated that he’d be leaving already. “At least you’ll be hanging out here while I’m gone to feed the horses. Don’t forget I have the contractor coming to finish the barn and fencing. The gravel will be delivered tomorrow. And most importantly, no parties, and I’m talking the party of two variety.”
Seized by the Lawman (Lawmen of Wyoming Book 3) Page 5
