The office door swung open and the mayor’s nephew hurried in wearing heavy boots, jeans and a thick gray parka. He looked like the abominable snowman covered in ice crystals from head to foot. He stomped his feet a couple of times on the mat in front of the door. Snow fell in clumps to the floor. Pulling off a green stocking cap, he shook his head. His curly brown hair sprang up over his skull. “Rick, there’s a--“ His hazel gaze landed on Delaney and a smile creased his mouth. “Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
Yanking off his gloves, he walked over and held out a hand to Delaney. “I’m Mark Griffin. I own the hardware store.”
Delaney shook his hand and smiled. “I’m Delaney. It’s nice to meet you.”
Mark nodded, sat on the edge of the desk and turned his head toward Delaney. “I haven’t seen you around. Did you just move here?”
She leaned back in her chair. “Actually I’m just passing through on my way to New York.”
She had mentioned her travel plans briefly last night on the drive into Avery. Rick hadn’t questioned her further because of the intense attraction he’d felt. It was always best for a police officer to remain objective. Only with every waking minute he spent with Delaney he wished down to his balls that he could toss objectivity out the proverbial window, start nibbling on Delaney’s toes and work his way up to the sweet temptation between her legs.
“The Big Apple huh?” Mark bumped a ceramic container of pens which fell over and hit Rick’s near empty cup of coffee spilling the remaining liquid on his desk. He stood up and gave Rick a wry smile. “Sorry.”
Quickly, Rick moved a stack of files away from the rapidly spreading coffee. Mark was accident prone around women. His fingers got slammed in doors and he tripped on stairs. Rick wasn’t sure if Mark’s clumsy tendencies were a natural part of his personality or an act. “Don’t worry about it.” He welcomed the distraction. Maybe it would help cool his overheated libido. He picked up the extra napkins left over from his breakfast and began mopping up the spilled coffee.
Being the mayor’s nephew, Mark had been one of the first people Rick met when he arrived in town. They went fishing together occasionally and Mark had been instrumental in helping him earn the respect of the town’s citizens. Rick had appreciated Mark’s help and resented it at the same time. After what happened in Chicago, he’d wanted to earn the trust of Avery’s citizens through his integrity and strength of character, not because Mark told everyone he was an okay guy.
Rick tossed the napkins into the trash can and looked at Mark. Mark had befriended him then when Rick had shown interest in the owner of the bed and breakfast, so had Mark. If Mark discovered his attraction for Delaney would he make a play for her as well? Would she welcome Mark’s attentions? Rick clenched a fist in annoyance at the thought. Did he trust Mark? Would he be willing to give Mark his loyalty if he asked him to? The twist of uncertainty in his gut told him no, but in his heart he wanted to believe in the value of loyalty again. But loyalty always came with a price. He had learned that particular lesson well from Jake.
“You were on your way last night in this storm?” Mark folded his arms over his chest. “I hope you got here before it hit.”
Delaney’s face brightened and her eyes glinted as if recalling a very pleasant memory. “No, Rick rescued me when my car skidded off the road.” Warmth colored her words along with a hint of hero-worship. His heart swelled in his chest and he suddenly had an insane urge to stand up, beat his chest and yell like Tarzan.
Rick glanced at Delaney and her gaze locked onto his. He remembered their tumble in the snow, the feel of her warm, womanly body beneath his and the light squeeze of her fingers on his package. His relentlessly stiff penis twitched inside his pants. Unwelcome heat spread up his neck. He shifted in his seat and looked away; mortified she might be able to read the direction of his thoughts.
“Glad you’re okay.”
Mark’s comment brought Rick out of his carnal thoughts back to the present.
“What’s in New York?” Mark asked.
She smiled. “A job as a window designer for Taylor’s Department Store.” Pride rang in her voice.
Mark whistled. “Good for you. Taylor’s is pretty hoity-toity. The best thing we have around here is the Glamour Box over on third.” Mark stood up from the desk. “I need to go open the store in case anyone needs something to get through the storm. Nice to meet you, Delaney.”
“Nice to meet you.”
He slipped on his gloves and headed toward the door. Suddenly, he stopped and spun on his heels. “I almost forgot why I came by.” He looked at Rick. “Some signs have blown down on Willis Road and a street light is out on seventh.”
Rick nodded. “The mayor already called about the traffic light. Thanks, I’ll take care of it.”
With a quick wave, Mark opened the door and was gone.
* * * * *
The phone rang and Rick picked up the receiver. “Sheriff’s Office.”
He listened for a moment then smiled. “Hi, gorgeous.” He switched the conversation to a rapid stream of Spanish.
Delaney’s heart sank as she busied herself cleaning up the remainder of Rick’s mess. He had a girlfriend. Of course he did. So what? Or maybe even a wife. She looked at his ring finger once more as she threw away the trash from their breakfast. No ring and no tan line either. But some men didn’t wear a wedding ring. Maybe Rick was one of them. If she ever got married she wanted her husband to wear a ring so every woman he met would know he was taken.
With a deep sigh, she left Rick alone while she freshened up. When she returned, she heard him say, “Te amo tambien.” She remembered enough from her high school Spanish class to know that he said I love you. Would a man ever say those tender words to her?
Rick replaced the receiver in the cradle and looked up as she walked into the room. His gaze gave her a quick once over and her skin tingled.
“That was my mother.”
A flood of relief washed through her. Why was she relieved? She would be on her way to New York in a couple of days and would never see Rick Cruz again.
Delaney nodded, walked over to a window to the left of the office door and looked out at the steadily falling snow. A man shuffled past holding tight to his little girl’s hand. She was dressed in a pink snow suit with matching boots and mittens. Red curls had escaped the hood of her jacket and waved sporadically in the wind. The child laughed at something her father said as they hurried along the snow swept sidewalk. Seeing them caused an ache to nudge a tender spot in her heart, but she pushed the feeling away. “Are you close to your family?”
Rick laughed, a warm sexy sound that seeped into her blood. “Yeah, whether I want to be or not. What about you?”
Delaney thought about her own family. Her parents were fine people and had provided a good life for her, but she’d never felt she could share the secrets of her soul with them or that they would be open to listening to her. “We have an okay relationship I guess, but we’re not all that close.”
“That’s too bad. Family is important.” His voice rang with sincerity.
She turned and looked at him. “Yes, I suppose it is.” She walked back to her chair in front of his desk and sat down. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He leaned back in his chair. “I have a younger sister who just got married. So naturally my mother thinks I should do the same. She calls at least once a week with advice concerning my love life. Do you have any siblings?”
Why isn’t he married? A guy like him should have been taken a long time ago. “No, I’m an only child.” She suddenly remembered her car. No doubt it was completely buried in snow by now. “About my car, is there someone I can call to have it towed?”
“I already took care of it for you.”
A warm, liquid sensation pulsed through her veins. The man took care of a lot of things. He gave her a place to stay, he bought her food and he had her car towed. Even in her dream, he’d taken sexual care of her, at least w
ith his lips and hands. Unfortunately he’d woken her up before her little dream/fantasy could continue with him shoving deep inside her. Arousal gathered between her legs and she shifted in her seat.
No man she’d ever been romantically involved with had ever done those things for her. But she wasn’t involved with Rick, romantically or otherwise. Still, it felt nice. “Thank you. Where was it towed?”
“Your car’s at Linc’s Service Station but he won’t be able to take a look at it until tomorrow.”
The liquid pull of desire eased inside her. Thank God, he’d thrown her a life line. With her libido sliding recklessly out of control she had to put some much needed distance between her and Rick. She popped up from her seat. “He won’t have to. My dad’s a great mechanic and he taught me everything he knows. I can fix anything from a flat to a busted radiator hose.” At least in that area she felt confident. She glanced toward the window at the snow still falling at a steady rate then turned back toward Rick.
He raised his brows in question. “Problem?”
There was most definitely a problem. If she tried walking to the garage in this storm she’d freeze to death. “Could you give me a ride?”
* * * * *
Rick leaned against the side of the red car and watched Delaney. She was clad in a heavy jacket but the hem lifted up from where she leaned over under the hood giving him a nice view of her luscious fanny covered in faded jeans. A few tools lay at her feet. He heard a soft curse.
“Got a phantom in your manifold?”
Delaney straightened from beneath the hood with a wrench in her right hand. The florescent light inside the garage highlighted her bright, blue eyes and shone down on her blonde hair she’d gathered into a messy pony tail. She smiled and he fought the urge to touch her. “Not exactly but the engine does have a couple of problems.”
Rick folded his arms over his chest. “Such as?”
She lifted her right hand and brushed a strand of blonde hair from her eyes. She raked her top teeth over her bottom lip then rubbed it with her tongue. A long, slow curl of lust arrowed from his gut to his groin. God, the woman made him hot. He wished to hell he could figure out why so he could stop it.
Delaney cocked her head to the side and raised her right brow. “Are you curious about engines?”
Not about engines, about her. He’d never known a woman who was interested in the inner workings of a car. As long as the vehicle started when they turned the key, they didn’t care. “Let me put it this way, I can change the oil, battery and spark plugs but beyond that I rely on the experts. But you seem to know a lot more. I was wondering why.”
She laid the crescent wrench on the roof of the car and looked at him. “I was the son my father never had.”
Her eyes clouded briefly with an emotion he couldn’t read then it was gone.
“He taught me about cars so I wouldn’t be taken advantage of by a mechanic who figured I was a dumb blonde who didn’t know anything about engines.”
“So what’s wrong with your car?”
She sighed. “The radiator has a leak and there could be a problem with the crankshaft.”
“What’s in the crankshaft?” He knew but he wanted her to tell him.
“It contains pistons that basically move up and down. . .in and out.” Her voice was matter-of-fact as if she was teaching an automotive class, but for him a sensual image formed in his mind. He clasped his palms around Delaney’s bare buttocks and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed her against the side of the car, moved his hips forward and plunged deep within her.
“Are you okay?”
Delaney’s question snapped Rick out of his sexual haze. Damn it, he was acting like a teenager caught up in the confusing excitement of male hormones. He was a police officer who needed to get his brains out of his pants. “Yeah, I’m fine. How do the pistons work? Show me.”
She touched the smooth, pale column of her throat as her eyes sent him a silent message of lust and longing. He suddenly had an irresistible urge to lick her neck plus a whole lot more. “The pistons are tubular in shape and they fit inside the cylinder.”
Heat bloomed in his belly and slid lower. She was killing him and didn’t even know it. Well, damn it, he didn’t want to be the only one to suffer. “Is it a tight fit?”
A gleam of sensual interest filled her gaze. She stepped closer to him.
Oh, yeah, come to daddy.
“It isn’t...tight exactly.” Her silky voice stroked his male desire with a seductive touch. Quiet filled the garage in a thick blanket of hopeful expectation. Rick stared at Delaney, the tawny glow of her hair under the light, her blue eyes gleaming with a curious, unresolved longing. Her full, pink lips beckoned him to slide his tongue inside her mouth and satisfy them both.
With the tip of his finger, Rick touched the indentation above her top lip then stroked his finger down over her lips. She parted her lips and closed them around the end of his finger. He felt the tip of her tongue flick over his skin. He kept his finger there hoping she would do it again and she didn’t disappoint him. What the hell was he doing? He knew it was wrong but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “Snug? Close?”
Her gaze lowered to his mouth. “Uh, huh.”
Oh yeah. It would definitely be snug. Her tongue nudged against his finger again. He felt the blood leave his brain and gush in a torrent to his groin. “What happens next?”
Her eyes locked onto his. “Next?”
Rick slid his finger from between her lips and trailed a damp path down her neck to the hollow of her throat. “Once the piston gets inside the cylinder, does it lie still?” No way. “Or does it move?”
Her breath shuddered out. “It moves back and forth.”
Damn right. He wanted to slip his hand inside her coat, beneath her sweater and bra if she was wearing one until he cupped the warm, soft flesh of her breasts. “What makes it move, Delaney?”
Hot, nervy tension formed a thread between them. She swallowed and tilted her head as if she were going to kiss him. “Force.” Her voice was husky and soft.
Yes, it would be a force of pure, sexual lust and energy, the kind generated between a man and a woman. His gaze skimmed her face. Dreamy eyes, nice nose and a mouth that promised untold pleasures. He wanted to stroke his hands over every inch of her body. Was she as soft and pampered between her thighs as the rest of her skin looked? Would her breath hitch and a moan glide from her throat when he slipped inside her? Would she react to him the way she did during her dream? “Does it move fast or slow?
“It starts sort of slow then it pumps more rapidly.”
Hmm. Hard, fast and deep. Oh, God. “All that pumping’s bound to cause some friction.”
Her eyes darkened slightly. “Friction?”
“You know, heat, Delaney.”
She nodded. “There’s a lot of heat.”
There would be fire, hot licks of it drenched with sweat. “With all that heat being generated, a piston probably needs some kind of lubrication.”
He could imagine the lubrication involved. “Tell me, Delaney, about the lubrication. Is it slick and hot, coating everything to insure smooth, deep penetration?”
Her lips parted on a sigh and her eyes glazed as if in passion. “Uh, huh.”
Rick dipped his head, until his mouth was a fraction away from hers and their breath mingled. One taste. All he needed was one taste and he could hand cuff his insane desire where Delaney was concerned.
When his lips barely touched Delaney’s, he heard footsteps.
“Need any help?”
Chapter Three
Delaney read the same page for the third time not comprehending a single word. This was a romance novel by her favorite author and yet the words barely registered in her brain. She closed the book with a snap and tossed it onto the end of the cot in the jail cell. On the way back to the sheriff’s office, Rick had been quiet and had avoided even looking at her much less talking to her. All she’d
seen of his face was his profile and the clenching and unclenching of his jaw. She couldn’t imagine what she’d done to make him so angry.
Back at the garage, he’d sent her the same super charged signals that he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him. When they’d arrived at the office, he’d practically pushed her out of the truck then driven away as though the hounds of hell were after him.
Despite his anger, all she could think about was Rick and the kiss they’d almost shared. Every time she thought about his tempting mouth her heart raced, her skin tingled with invisible warmth and she grew wet between her legs. If only Linc hadn’t interrupted them she would know the exact taste and texture of Rick’s lips and how his tongue felt rubbing over hers.
Upon her return to Rick’s office, she’d taken a shower and scrubbed as much grease from her hands and nails as possible. With a sigh, Delaney took off her jeans, lay down on the cot, and settled her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes and didn’t resist this time when the daytime fantasy she’d denied herself for the past hour filled her mind.
Even though her eyes were closed, she knew Rick stood in the doorway of the cell. She’d deliberately shifted the cot so the foot faced the open cell’s door. She wanted Rick to have a clear view of everything she was about to show him, every nuance of her femininity, every detail of her body, down to the exact shape and fullness of her clit. It was all for him, just for him and him only. She pulled up the hem of the nightshirt she wore exposing the lower half of her naked body to his view. With a slight smile on her lips, she moaned softly as she raised her knees and opened her thighs. Cool air wafted against her, but she knew very soon her own arousal would warm her from the inside out.
Easing her hand down between her legs she rubbed her middle finger over her clit, then she rubbed it again and again until she felt the fluid of her own body begin to trickle out and coat her skin. The force of her self induced fiery response began to build inside her like a warm wave. She opened her eyes to slits and saw him standing in the doorway, his gaze riveted to her hand moving in sensual motion as she pleasured herself. Having him watch made her feel hotter and sexier than she’d ever felt in her life. As she stroked her clit, he took off his belt, unzipped his pants and lowered them to his ankles.
Sheriff in Her Stocking Page 3
