Seth’s lips twitched. “In the club, huh? Is there a secret handshake too?”
She nodded solemnly. “There is, but I can’t show it to you. It’s a secret.”
“What about Bigfoot? Did they tell you about Bigfoot?”
She liked this silly side to Seth. She bet he showed it rarely, always in sheriff mode. “They did. He’s real. He’s also in Witness Protection. He stopped shaving to disguise himself.”
Seth slapped his thigh with a smile of triumph. “I knew it. I knew Bigfoot was real. Wait until I tell Dad.”
She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, wanting to be closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer still. She lay there for a few minutes absorbing his strength and command. Seth Reilly was in control at all times.
“I have a sister,” she said, tracing invisible patterns with her finger on the fabric of her sweats.
His hand pressed over hers. “She thinks you’re dead.” He didn’t phrase it like a question. She nodded.
“Yes. They said I couldn’t tell her. That she might tell my boss. She got me the job with him.”
“The guy who wants you dead?” Seth’s voice was soft and close to her ear.
“Yes, although it doesn’t sound like him. He’s kind of a nerd, if the truth be known. He doesn’t seem like a guy who orders people dead. He’s no Tony in Scarface. He’s more like Sheldon in Big Bang Theory.”
“Can I ask what they think he’s done?”
“They think he’s selling arms to terrorists.”
Saying it out loud sounded pretty awful. Seth must have thought so too, as she was promptly hauled up on his lap.
“Arms to terrorists? What does Sheldon do?” She didn’t correct Seth about Randall’s name.
“He’s a weapons manufacturer. I was his administrative assistant for the last six months.”
Seth whistled. “And your sister got you the job?”
She nodded, her chin rubbing against the cotton of his shirt. “I’d been out of work for awhile. The economy isn’t great in Florida and although I inherited a house from my stepfather, my sister’s father, I still needed to be able to pay bills.” She played with a button on his shirt. “I kind of quit college and haven’t gone back. Yes, I know I should.” She nibbled on her lips as she tried to explain something even she often thought was inexplicable. “I quit between my junior and senior year. I’d been dating my professor. I found out he was married with a couple of kids. I was pretty broken up so I decided to take a semester off. The semester sort of dragged on.”
There was no pity in Seth’s expression, only understanding. “He broke your heart?”
“He was the first man I ever loved.” She shrugged, trying not to remember the days, weeks, and months of pain she’d felt over Oliver’s betrayal. “But I understand now.”
Seth frowned. “Understand what?”
“That men are driven by their hormones. They’re driven to cheat. Once I understood that, I knew I had to keep things casual in my relationships. I can’t handle someone I love cheating on me.”
* * * * *
Seth reeled at Presley’s matter of fact tone. She was speaking as if she was talking about a scientific discovery instead of some asshole’s weak, cowardly arguments for sticking his dick where it didn’t belong. A man who was unfaithful or who lied wasn’t a man at all. Integrity was the measure of a man. His father had taught him that by the time Seth was five.
“Presley,” he began, “that’s just an excuse men use. We can control ourselves. We are not slaves to our hormones. There’s no good reason for a man to rape or cheat. It’s not written in our DNA, honey.”
She looked doubtful. “I’ve seen a lot of men cheat. My stepfather cheated on my mother. I really loved him, too, but we weren’t enough for him. He needed to sleep with another woman on the side. He had another woman and baby.”
It sounded like Presley hadn’t known many good men. “Men can be faithful. I’m sorry your stepfather and professor were assholes but not all men are like that.”
“A lot are.”
He didn’t argue. He’d seen his share of jerks in his line of work. “That’s true. I won’t make excuses for other men. I’ll just tell you that while we’re together, I won’t be seeing anyone else. I’m a man of my word.”
She nodded. “I believe you. I don’t know why I believe you but I do.” She flattened her hand against his chest as if to feel his heartbeat. It was important to Seth that she see he was trustworthy but he knew this was something he would have to prove to her over time. Words weren’t going to do it.
He looked deeply into her eyes. “I have another question. It’s a very important one and the future of our relationship relies on your answer.”
She smiled. “Shoot, Sheriff.”
He tucked a silky strand of hair behind her ear. “How do you feel about football? Specifically the Broncos?”
She leaned down and kissed his lips softly. No tongue, just a sweet, soft pressure he had to fight himself not to deepen. “I like football just fine. I’m not a fan of any particular team so if you want me to root for the Broncos, I’m good with that. Do you want me to turn on the pre-game shows?”
He chugged some of the soda and grinned. “Sounds good. I’m hungry, too. I can go pick us up something to eat.”
She pressed the Power button on the remote. “I went to the grocery store yesterday. I don’t like to cook for only me, but I don’t mind cooking for two. Do you like spaghetti?”
“I love spaghetti. Are you a good cook?”
“I— I—” the color had drained from her face and she looked stricken. She was staring at the television as if she’d never seen it before. She pointed and seemed to be trying to speak, but the words weren’t flowing. He turned to see what she was watching but couldn’t understand what she was so upset about. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, tipping her chin up so he could look into her stricken eyes.
“Presley, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
She swallowed. “I have. That’s Randall, my boss, on the news.” She pointed again to the network cable channel she must have been watching when she’d last turned off the television. “It’s his annual fundraiser for the city’s homeless. He supports a shelter in town.”
Seth watched as a non-descript middle aged man in a tuxedo was interviewed by the reporter. He grabbed the remote and zoomed the volume up in time to hear the reporter say that Randall Simon, a billionaire businessman, had raised over two million dollars for the local charity. They made him sound like a really good-hearted philanthropist, always thinking of others before himself. A quick look back at Presley’s expression told him she wasn’t in love with this bozo, but she still looked distressed.
“It appears they haven’t arrested him yet. Did they tell you when they’re going to do that?” Seth asked.
Presley rubbed her forehead. “I never actually asked. They said they needed to keep me safe while they finished building their case against him. Honestly, I kept thinking this was all going to go away. That they were wrong about Randall and that I would get to go home, and never have to testify. Shit, I am such an idiot. My car and house are destroyed. Of course, this isn’t all just a mistake. I’m so fucking stupid.”
Seth shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. “You mentioned this before. What exactly happened?”
Presley tilted her head. “Evan didn’t tell you? Randall hid a bomb in my car. He set it to go off when I was in it but I forgot my phone so I was heading back into the restaurant when the bomb went off. It’s pure dumb luck I’m alive.” She scrubbed at the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. “They set my house on fire. Burned it to the ground. I wasn’t all that fond of the house since my liar of a stepfather left it to me, but it was paid off and it was mine. It’s gone now. Randall took everything.”
Holy fuck, this guy really wanted her dead. Seth pulled her close, her head lolling on his shoul
der. “Evan didn’t give me any details. He only said he had a woman who was in danger and needed to be hidden.” He wiped her tears away, her skin soft underneath his fingertips. “And you’re not stupid. Shit, you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had.”
“Administrative assistant.” Presley’s voice was muffled against his damp shirt.
“Huh?”
“You don’t call anyone a secretary any more. They’re administrative assistants.”
He stroked her back, trying to get her to relax. She was like a coiled spring in his arms. “Honey, I’ll call you whatever you want as long as you don’t leave me to manage the office by myself. Hell, you can even be the boss if you want.” He felt her muscles start to soften under his hands. “You say you have to testify. Did you suspect what he was doing?”
Presley straightened and moved off his lap. He immediately felt the loss of her warmth and wanted to reach out and pull her back but it appeared she needed the distance to be able to talk about this. “No, which makes me look stupid, I guess. Looking back, we did socialize with many people from foreign countries with varying feelings about the United States. I didn’t think he was doing business with them. I thought it was more of a networking thing.”
Seth didn’t like the sound of the word ‘socialize’. “You spent a lot of time with this guy? You went to parties and things like that?”
Her face dropped down and into her bent knees. “I was dating Randall. He was nice and undemanding. I knew there was no danger of any love growing between us.”
Seth didn’t like the pang of jealousy he felt hearing about it. He wasn’t a jealous man by nature but there was something about this tiny, ferocious woman who brought out instincts he never knew he had. He wanted to protect her and keep her all to himself, which wasn’t like him at all. In fact, when he was with Presley, he felt like a different man. He could joke and relax and just be himself. He rarely felt that way with other people. He tipped her chin up so she was forced to look him in the eye. “It’s no big deal. I bet he was charming and probably spent a lot of money on you.”
She started laughing and he scowled. He hadn’t said anything funny. He was trying to be understanding, dammit.
“Randall was far from charming. I told you he was a big geek. He was easy to be with, though, because he didn’t have any expectations about how people should act and talk. As for spending money on me, I drew the line there. I wasn’t with him for his money and I think he liked that. We went to movies and ate at dives. He liked to slum with me. I only got dressed up fancy every now and then. Mostly for business.”
Now Seth was truly confused. “If you go for a geek like that, what do you see in me? I assume you’re attracted to me since you let me kiss you.”
She was smiling at him now. “Kind of. You’re different. Randall had no expectations and you have tons. But you have two very important things Randall lacked. Empathy and passion. He didn’t have a speck of either. You have both in spades. You can feel for other people and the passion you have for your job, your family, your town, well, it really shows through.” She shrugged. “You look good in your uniform too.”
That set him on his heels. “He sounds strange.”
“He is strange,” Presley said. “A strange billionaire genius. Like Tony Stark without the cleverness, sexiness, and social skills.”
Seth tapped out a rhythm on his thigh. “I’m not wearing my uniform today.”
Her hand cupped his jaw and her eyes were shining with mischief. “True. You don’t look too bad in those jeans either.”
He leaned forward and let his lips leisurely explore hers, his tongue dipping inside her warm mouth. He didn’t hurry the kiss, but pulled her into his arms so he could not only taste her, but feel the softness of her skin and smell the scent of her silky hair. Her hands were exploring his body, her palms gliding over his arms and chest. His cock, ignored for too long, instantly jumped to attention, hardening against his fly. He had to shift to relieve the pressure or it would have left dents in his flesh.
When he finally lifted his head, his heart thudded in time with hers. He pressed his hand to her chest so he could feel it underneath his fingers. “I want to make love to you, Presley. I want to lay you on the bed and strip all your clothes from you. I want to kiss and lick every inch of your soft skin before burying myself so fucking deep inside you we’ll both scream from the pleasure. Do you want that? Me?”
He waited as her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. She was as aroused as he but it didn’t mean she was ready to say yes. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, disturbed by how important her answer was to him. He not only wanted her, fuck it, he needed her. Every cell in his body cried out for this one woman. No one else would do at this moment.
Her fingers traced his lips, sending tingles straight to his cock. She smiled. It was a woman’s smile. The kind that said she had a secret and she was about to share it with him. He held his breath in anticipation and fear.
“You’re poetic for a cowboy. I like it. Yes, I want to make love with you. I only have one request.”
He would have promised her the world right then. “Anything. What do you want?”
“Can I strip your clothes from your body, too? It sounds like fun.”
Chapter Seven
Seth had a wicked grin on his face. It made him even sexier and she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down to her. She yelped in surprise when he scooped her up in his arms to carry her the seven feet to the bed, located behind a flimsy room divider. The apartment was small but it had everything she needed. She certainly wasn’t going to complain about how quickly they made it to the bed. In seconds, he had her lying on her back, his hard muscled body above hers. She gave in to the temptation to explore those muscles more thoroughly, plucking at the buttons on his shirt. Seth was so strong, easily carrying her in his arms. She was dying to see what his shirt covered and trace patterns on his skin with her tongue.
She had opened the last button and was pushing his shirt off his shoulders when his pocket started to vibrate. He slumped back on the bed and sighed, glancing at the screen in resignation.
“I need to take this. I’m sorry, honey.” His lips were pressed together as he swiped the screen. “Seth,” he barked. His facial expression changed rapidly from slightly pissed off to angry and frustrated. She didn’t know who he was talking to but his answers were brief, almost monosyllabic. It wasn’t a happy conversation.
“Don’t worry, Trask. They’ve done this before. I’ll go out and put a stop to it.”
Seth stuck his phone back in his pocket and started to re-button his shirt. She stilled his movements with her hands but knew from the hard line of his jaw it was only temporary. He was a man on a mission and at the moment it wasn’t to make her scream.
He sighed. “Honey, that was Trask. There are some kids out on the road near his place raising hell and trying to get themselves killed. I need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Who’s on duty? Can’t they go?” It was a waste of time to argue with him in this mood but she couldn’t stop herself. Her body was humming and she wanted him to stay with her.
Seth shook his head. “This is something I have to do.”
He didn’t elaborate as to why and she was afraid to ask. His face had turned to carved granite, almost forbidding in its coldness. She marveled at how easily he moved between passion and duty. He finished tucking in his shirt and started to turn toward the front door, but she captured his arm before he could get away.
“Why don’t I come with you?” She didn’t want to lose this connection between them. She could feel him pulling away mentally as well as physically. “Afterward, you can take me to eat. Like a real date, Sheriff.”
A dozen or more emotions flitted across his face, and she was sure he was going to shoot her down so she was surprised when he nodded. “That’s a good idea. This won’t take long. I’m not going to arrest these kids, just scare them a little.”
/>
She didn’t have a chance to ask where they were headed as he bundled her into the car. He drove like a bat out of hell until they were flying down a dirt road in the middle of nothing. There was no one around, and in the distance she could see two pickup trucks coming toward them, side by side on the two-lane road.
Seth suddenly turned the wheel of his SUV, veering the truck so it was perpendicular to the road and crossing both lanes. He opened the door and strode over to her side and stood in the middle of the road, arms akimbo. It was as if he was daring them to come any closer. It was only as the two pickup trucks drew closer that she saw why they were there.
A person, who looked like a boy, was straddling the rolled down windows of each truck, Footloose-style. The drivers must have been practiced at this as the vehicles stayed side by side, one never moving ahead of the other. The person had one foot on the door of each truck and was waving his arms in the air triumphantly. Presley marveled at the balance and grace he or she displayed, but it didn’t stop the acceleration of her heart. She imagined the worst, fear forming a pit in her stomach. One misstep on the rider’s or driver’s part and they would be caught between the two cars, crushed under the wheels. It was a grisly thought.
The trucks started to slow down, the dust trailing behind as their vehicles died down and the rider dove into one of the open truck windows. Both vehicles came to a stop and Seth simply stood there, waiting for the people to get out of the trucks. Seeing them, Presley was struck by their youth. She blew out a breath in relief, her heart resuming a more normal rhythm.
They were just kids. Probably about sixteen or seventeen, the boys had acne and that gangly look they’d eventually grow out of. The girls were giggly and wore too much makeup and not enough clothes, not even jackets for the cold October weather. One was wearing a short jean skirt with cowboy boots, while another clearly had forgotten her bra that morning. They made Presley feel about a hundred years old. She’d forgotten what it was like to be that young until this brought it back. She’d felt invincible then. Apparently, these kids felt the same. She’d like to pull them aside and tell them how life could turn out, but it wasn’t the time.
Cowboy Command Page 8
