Sheriff in Her Stocking

by Cheryl Gorman

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Good.” He grasped her thighs, lifted her legs. “Put your legs around my waist.” He unzipped his pants, pulled down his underwear to free himself. With one hard thrust, he pushed inside her filling her to the hilt. Her wet passage closed tightly around him. His balls slapped against the lower cheeks of her buttocks. In a steady rhythm he pumped in and out. “God, I love your pussy. It squeezes me, milks me exquisitely.”

  Gasping her bare buttocks, he held her firmly against him while he pounded into her. He closed his eyes and let the exquisite cradle of her body sweep his mind clean of everything except her. Rabid heat started low in his abdomen then swirled rushing faster and faster until the warmth entered his penis engorging it. He felt his cock stiffen even harder and swell, the head rubbing against her cervix wanting more, needing more. When the orgasm hit him, the pleasure was blinding. He felt his sperm squirt inside her. Even after the heat of their passion was spent, he continued lifting his hips slowly pumping against her. He lowered his head to a spot between her neck and shoulders and kissed her. “That was incredible. I can’t seem to get enough of you.”

  After a few minutes he pulled out of her and lowered her legs and feet to the ground. She stood before him with mussed hair, swollen lips and sexy eyes. “You definitely look like a woman who has just had sex. Did you like me ripping off your panties?”

  She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Oh yeah. That made me so hot.”

  “Good.”

  “Next time it will be my turn to rip yours.”

  Rick grinned. “You’ve got a date.”

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Rick stepped outside his house and took a deep lungful of cold air. The storm was clearing out. A patch of blue sky peaked through the cloud cover. He smiled as he climbed into the cruiser. His body was still partially aroused after the vigorous sex he and Delaney had together in the shower. He’d taken her from the back, her pussy, wet with cum and water.

  He cranked the car, pushed the heater up to high and headed down his driveway. When he reached the end instead of turning left and heading to town he decided to drive past Oliver Harden’s house. He’d heard some people talking in the diner about Oliver having a lot of company lately. They’d seen strange cars parked in front of his barn. Since it was only a couple of miles out of his way, he called the dispatcher and told her he would be in the office shortly after he made just one quick detour.

  Rick turned off the highway onto the recently plowed road leading up to Oliver’s house. When he saw a couple of strange cars parked in front of the barn, he pulled over at a safe, discreet distance so no one could see him. Oliver didn’t keep farm animals just a couple of horses because Roberta liked to ride. He took his field glasses out of the case and trained them on the barn. Who would be out there this early except Oliver to feed the horses? Maybe he was selling one of them. At least he could give him the benefit of the doubt.

  Training the binoculars on the car’s license plates, he noticed both cars were from Cook County, Chicago. A strange, unwelcome feeling settled in his gut when he realized one of the vehicles looked exactly like Jake’s car.

  Suddenly, the barn door opened a crack. He saw Harden stick his head out and look toward his house before opening the door wider. Three men stepped outside.

  One of them was Jake DeSalvo.

  He handed Oliver an envelope. Stunned, Rick watched as Oliver opened the envelope, removed a wad of cash and fanned through it. Jake and the strange man headed for their cars. Quickly, Rick backed the squad car further off the road and into a thicket of trees. Hidden from view, he waited until the cars passed and Harden went back inside his house.

  Betrayal rocketed through him. He clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. His body still hummed from being with Delaney. Her unique scent clung to his skin. He leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes. Hell, she was in his blood.

  He straightened in the seat and cranked the engine. Why didn’t he see this coming? Because he hadn’t been able to see past his dick, that’s why!

  The entire situation was obvious. She and Jake had set him up. The night of the storm, had she really been stuck? He watched her car swerve and hit the snow bank. But had her car accident been planned from the beginning? Had she been on her way to Avery to soften him up?

  How long has Oliver been involved in drugs? Had Jake been in town before and he just didn’t know it?

  Rick shoved the gear into drive, executed a wide turn and headed toward the highway. What about the phone call from New York? Was the call concerning a job or was Jake phoning to find out how things were progressing?

  He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. Damn it, she had played him for a fool. He thought she had enjoyed the sex they’d shared. She hadn’t wanted him to dominate her, she was just going along with his requests, submitting to him had been an act. She should get an academy fucking award for her performance. She really had him snowed. The whole thing was meant to distract him so a drug deal could go down.

  The worst cut of all was her phony speech about loyalty.

  Turning into the highway, he slammed his foot on the gas. No, the worst wasn’t her phony speech about loyalty the severest blow was to his heart because damn it, he was in love with her.

  He’d never been in love before and it scared him to death, making him feel weak-kneed, shaky and vulnerable. He’d never been emotionally vulnerable to a woman in his life. He raked his fingers through his hair. Why Delaney? Why couldn’t his life go back to the way it was before he ever met her? Even as he asked himself the question, his mother’s words rang in his brain. “When you meet the right woman, everything about her will hit you like a brick. You’ll wonder where she’s been all your life. Just like when I met your father.”

  * * * * *

  When Rick returned to the office he phoned the police department in Great Falls and asked for help from the head of the narcotics unit. He gave him a description of the men, the cars and the license plate numbers. He told them about Jake and gave them Oliver’s name.

  In a few minutes they called back and told him good old Oliver had a record with a conviction for drugs in his former state of Arizona. Rick thanked him then called the phone company and had them fax over a copy of Oliver’s phone records. The records showed frequent calls from Jake. They had been speaking for weeks.

  By the time he hung up, Rick felt sick to his stomach. A movement outside the window caught his eye. Delaney climbed from her car, looking gorgeous. She’d curled her hair and wore the new jacket he’d bought her the day they went ice fishing. He pasted on his friendly cop face as she started toward the office door. He’d be damned if he’d give her the benefit of knowing how much she’d hurt him. He’d act like everything was fine as if nothing had happened, nothing at all but a shit load of betrayal.

  She smiled at him through the window and for the life of him he couldn’t see one trace of her lies in her gaze. If he hadn’t seen Jake and Oliver this morning exchanging money and drugs with his own eyes, she’d still be playing him for a dupe.

  * * * * *

  The door swung open and Delaney walked in. “Hi.” She stomped the snow from her boots, took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack.

  “Hi, yourself.” He gave her a sexy knowing smile, the same one he gave her right after they’d made love in the shower that morning. He sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head and looked at her. “Want to go get some lunch?”

  “Sure, I’m starved.”

  He walked around the desk, took her in his arms and kissed her softly then brushed a hand over her hair and looked at her.

  There was a hint of goodbye in his eyes and Delaney’s heart squeezed with uneasiness inside her chest. Was he planning to dump her after all? “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  “No, nothing at all. I’ve just really enjoyed the time we’ve s
pent together. It’s meant a lot to me.”

  “It’s meant a lot to me too.”

  Just as they were about to walk out the door, Delaney’s cell phone rang. She recognized the area code as New York. A tingle of excitement started in her belly and raced up her spine. Maybe it was Taylor’s. Maybe they changed their mind. “Hello.”

  “Ms Monroe, this is Alison Wright at Lilly’s On Fifth in New York. How are you?”

  Delaney’s heart fluttered and anticipation zipped through her veins. Lilly’s On Fifth was one of the best stores in New York, even more prestigious than Taylor’s. “Fine and you?”

  “I’ll get right to the point Ms. Monroe. I saw you on the news yesterday and the improvements currently being made to the town of Avery Montana. I also saw the gorgeous display you designed for the mayor’s office window. Needless to say, I was quite impressed. I’d like to offer you a job as head window designer for our store. You would not only cover our flagship store in New York but our second location in San Francisco.”

  The woman quoted a salary that had Delaney’s eyes widening and her pulse leaping through her veins. She never believed she would ever make that much money in her life.

  “If possible I’d like an answer before the first of the year.”

  “Of course. I’ll think it over and get back to you.”

  * * * * *

  A few minutes later, Rick and Delaney sat in the diner and had ordered lunch. Delaney positively beamed. She practically had rays of sunlight streaming out of her ears and the ends of her hair.

  “Well, are you going to tell me about the phone call?” She was really the best actress he had ever seen. The woman had missed her calling.

  Bubbling over with excitement, Delaney told him about the call, the job offer and the salary. She and Jake really set this whole thing up well. Now she would kiss him goodbye and drive away as if she really did have a job waiting for her. Fine. The sooner she left the better off he’d be and the sooner he could get on with his life...or at least try to. She had used him body and soul. He was nothing more than a toy for sex. Did she fake her orgasms too? No, no way. He had given her as good as she gave him.

  She reached over and took his hand. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time. If I take the job it will mean leaving Avery and you. Keeping a relationship going while I fly back and forth across the country will be nearly impossible. But I’ve waited so long for this kind of opportunity. I don’t know what to do.”

  Rick lifted her hand, kissed her knuckles and stared into her gorgeous, deceitful eyes. “Take the job. I would never try to hold you back.”

  * * * * *

  Delaney called the lady back at Lilly’s on Fifth and accepted the job. She snapped her cell phone shut. She should be ecstatic; it’s what she’d always wanted. But instead misery permeated every cell in her body. What a jerk! How could Rick have done this to her? Her heart felt shattered into a thousand, jagged pieces.

  A lump threatened to rise into her throat, tears stung the back of her eyes. She wiped them away. No damn it, she wouldn’t cry, she wouldn’t. Delaney gathered her cosmetics from the jail’s bathroom and stuffed them into her bag.

  She walked back into her cell and looked around the small room. Her heart throbbed with a dull ache. She couldn’t let herself think about Rick and the time they’d spent together, instead she focused on gathering her clothes. She was glad she’d gone to the Laundromat the day before and done some wash. At least she could leave town with the dignity of clean clothes. Delaney crammed her jeans into her bag then zipped it closed. Lifting the bag from the cot where she and Rick had made amazing love that cold, snowy night, she knew no matter how long she lived she would never forget it. She’d been apprehensive at first about staying in a cell but she would miss every inch with all her heart. There would be no repeat of that night she’d shared not just her body but her heart with Rick as well.

  She’d gotten through breakups before. She’d get through this one. But how she wondered as she made her way to the front?

  Jake DeSalvo was the last person she expected to see walk in the office door as she was walking out. She blinked back her tears and gave him a watery smile. “Hi, I was just on my way out.”

  He frowned and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you all right?”

  She nodded rapidly. “I’m fine. Take care.”

  Scooting around him, she smothered a sob and walked out the door.

  * * * * *

  Rick felt like ten miles of bad road. His heart throbbed in his chest like an old wound, a wound from which he was afraid he might never recover. He drove through the center of town glancing at the Christmas decorations that seemed to mock him.

  It had been one hell of an afternoon. Oliver Harden had been arrested and taken into custody. Poor Roberta. He’d never forget the look on her face. She’d looked at Oliver, stared at the diamond on her hand, then burst into tears. The news would spread through Avery like a prairie fire via Roberta’s sister who happened to be there at the time. She was the biggest gossip in town.

  Rick pulled up in front of his office alongside one of the cop cars from Great Falls. When he stepped inside he was shocked to find Jake and one of the officers laughing. They glanced his way before shaking hands.

  “If you ever get tired of being a big city cop, Jake, Great Falls could use a good man like you,” the officer said. He put on his hat and coat before walking over to Rick who stood beside the door dumbfounded. He gave him a light cuff on the arm. “Good job, Sheriff. If you every come up to Great Falls drop in. I’ll by you dinner.” He threw Jake a quick wave and walked out.

  Rick stared at Jake. “You’re still a cop? How? I told them about seeing you at Harden’s place, I watched you put cash in his hand. What the hell is going on?”

  Jake managed a smile and motioned to a chair. “Sit down.”

  Rick settled into the chair behind his desk and laid his hands on the surface.

  Jake sat on the edge of his desk. “I’ve been working undercover for the past few years. The last six months we’ve been tracking Oliver Harden. The chemicals to make meth were brought into Montana and Oliver had a little lab in his barn. He made the chemical then shipped it across the country.” He folded his arms over his chest and gave Rick a rueful smile. “Montana State Police informed me about Harden only recently. I never dealt drugs, Rick. I’m sorry for all the hurt that lie caused you, hell caused both of us. But I was sworn not to tell anyone. Even Gail didn’t know.” Regret covered his face and sadness clouded his eyes. “Mr. C’s death was a terrible accident.”

  The truth of Jake’s words resonated through Rick’s body. Suddenly, his anger and feelings of betrayal drained out of him.

  Mr. C’s death wasn’t Jake’s fault.

  Good God, his loyalty had never been misplaced. Which meant Delaney and Jake had never been working together as he had stupidly thought. Suddenly, a profound emptiness permeated the office. He smelled Delaney’s scent on the air but he hadn’t seen her car out front. “Where’s Delaney? Have you seen her?”

  “You just missed her. What happened between you two anyway? She looked pretty upset when she left.”

  Fearing he’d lost her, he rose from his chair. “Where is she?”

  “Gone, Rick. I thought you knew.”

  He grabbed Jake by the upper part of his arm. “What time did she leave?”

  “About ten minutes ago.”

  He snatched his coat from the rack as he raced out the door. She hadn’t betrayed him after all. She really liked submitting to him. All of her tender words, the hot sex, the intense pleasure of having her in his arms was true, not false. Did she love him? Oh, God if she told him she loved him it would be the ultimate gift. She’d given him her body, every sweet inch, but would she give him her heart?

  Despite wanting to speed through town, Avery was small and the citizens didn’t need him to go racing through it with sirens blaring. As soon as he hit the highway, he headed northeas
t and floored it. She couldn’t have gotten very far. He would bring her back and convince her what they had was meant to be.

  If none of that worked he’d used his handcuffs. Just the thought of handcuffing Delaney made him hot. Hurling down the road he saw her mini Cooper in the distance. He flipped on his siren and flashing lights then pulled up right on her bumper.

  When he saw her glance in her rearview mirror, he signaled for her to pull over. She did almost immediately. No sooner had she stopped than the driver’s door flew open. Delaney quickly climbed from the car not bothering to close the door. She planted her feet and stood with her hands fisted on her hips and fury blanketing her face.

  Rick got out of the squad car. He wanted to grin from ear to ear, run over, pick her up and twirl her in a circle but he didn’t. He fought to keep a serious expression on his face as he walked to her side.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she yelled. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

  He held up a hand interrupting her. “I’m afraid you’re wanted back in Avery.”

  She raised her brows and looked at him as if he’d just said he planned to fly to the moon. “Excuse me? For what? By who?”

  “By me.”

  A little of the anger slid from her face and uncertainty flickered in her eyes. “For what? You don’t want me. You made that real clear when you urged me to take the new job. Well, I did and now I’m leaving. I don’t have to listen to anything you say. In fact, I’m tired of listening to you. I’m leaving and getting on with my life. I suggest you do the same.”

  She jerked her body around and climbed back into her car.

  Rick stepped up between the door and the car. “Exit your vehicle, please.”