Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  “It doesn’t look all that appetizing at the moment.”

  A few of the guys stayed behind to cover the pit up again so no one accidently fell in, while everyone else moved into the barn. Kyle guided Janey over to a long table set up with drinks. “What would you like? They’ve got everything from water and Kool-Aid for the kids to beer.”

  Janey glanced around, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I think I’ll just stick to water.”

  “Two waters,” Kyle told Elena, Ethan and Evan’s sister, who was manning the table.

  She opened a cooler to her left, dug two bottles of water from the ice, and placed them on the table. He handed her two dollars before picking up the drinks.

  “Thanks, Elena.”

  “Enjoy your evening.”

  Kyle handed Janey one of the waters and guided her over to a less crowded area of the barn. It would take ten minutes or so for the meat to be ready and the band was still getting set up. For the moment, there wasn’t much to do besides wait. Wait and try to get to know his date a little more.

  “How long have you been a detective?” he asked. Work seemed to be a safer subject with her than her past.

  She sat down on a nearby chair and he lowered himself into the seat next to her. “Almost six years. I worked patrol for a couple of years before that.”

  “Really? Why the change?”

  “I always wanted to be a detective. That was always the goal. So at the first opportunity, I took the test.” The look on her face told him all he needed to know. Janey loved her job. He knew the feeling. Being a deputy made him feel connected to the community. He didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  “I know what you mean. As soon as I got my discharge papers from the Army, I applied to the sheriff’s department.”

  “Did you ever think about working in a bigger city?”

  Kyle tried not to read more into her question than there really was. “Not really. Ava was still in school, and I wanted to be here for her last years of high school.” He took a drink of his water. “I think I can do more good here. People around here . . . they care about each other. Even Fred Mitchel, who acts like everyone and everything annoys him. I’ve seen him pitch in and help a neighbor whose crop was about to go bad because he couldn’t get it in fast enough.”

  Janey rolled her bottle of water between her fingers. “That’s hard to imagine.”

  “People can surprise you.”

  She met his gaze and whispered, “Yes, they can.”

  Kyle had an undeniable urge to kiss her in that moment. The only thing that stopped him was where they were. Not that he had any problem kissing Janey in public; more that he wanted a little privacy the first time it happened.

  He stood, needing to move. “Why don’t we see if the food’s ready? I’m starving.”

  There was already a line at the food table. Several people stopped to introduce themselves to Janey. Most already knew who she was.

  With their plates piled high, Kyle and Janey headed outside to one of the picnic tables. He should have known they wouldn’t be alone for long. Within minutes of sitting down, Avery Richards and Mac joined them, both with full plates of their own.

  “Mind if we join you?” Avery asked after she’d already begun sitting down.

  Kyle figured he should probably make introductions. “Janey, this is Avery Richards. She’s the town pharmacist.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Janey said.

  Mac picked up her fork and stabbed a chunk of pork. It was almost violent, which made Kyle think something was up. “Bad day?” he asked.

  “Just disappointing, that’s all.” He knew she had to be talking about their John Doe. Unfortunately, with Avery at the table, they couldn’t talk in detail.

  “It will work itself out. It always does,” Janey said. Her optimism surprised him. She’d been the frustrated one earlier when they had come away from Fred Mitchel’s without a name.

  He took a chance and placed his free hand on her leg. She tensed for a moment and then relaxed. Her reaction gave him confidence that he wasn’t misreading things. Janey felt the same pull he did.

  Avery began asking Janey about life in Indianapolis. He was only half paying attention, since most of what they were saying had to do with stores and restaurants. His focus was on the feel of Janey’s soft skin under his fingers. He gradually pushed the hem of her skirt out of his way, giving her time to stop him, but she didn’t.

  There was a break in the conversation when Mac and Avery turned to watch two of the Johnson boys try to see how many pieces of watermelon they could shove down their throats in sixty seconds. Janey took the opportunity to lean in and whisper in his ear. “You’re making it very hard to concentrate.”

  He inched his fingers up a little higher on her thigh. “Do you want me to stop?”

  She hesitated, and for a moment he thought she was going to say yes. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt her nails scratch along the inside seam of his jeans. If she kept it up, he wasn’t going to be able to leave the table for a while.

  Kyle placed his hand over hers, stopping her movement. “Would you like to dance?”

  A small crease formed in Janey’s forehead.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t like to dance,” he said, linking their fingers.

  “It’s not that. I just figured . . .”

  There was a hint of insecurity in her tone, which threw him for a minute. Janey didn’t strike him as the insecure type.

  He glanced over to see that Mac and Avery were still otherwise occupied before leaning in closer to Janey. “If we leave now, everyone is going to assume we’re going back to my place.”

  Her gaze searched his. “And that’s not what you want.”

  Kyle chuckled. “Oh, it’s definitely what I want.” He brought her fingers up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.

  “Then . . .”

  “This is a small town. Like it or not, people gossip.”

  She broke eye contact, looked over his shoulder, and then met his gaze again. “I get it.”

  Her tone of voice told him she didn’t. “There are going to be people who will speculate no matter what, but we don’t need to add fuel to the fire. I’d rather keep them guessing. They don’t need to know what’s going on in my personal life.”

  Janey took a deep breath and got up from the table. “Didn’t you mention something about a dance?”

  In less than a minute she’d gone from flirty to hurt, and he had no idea why. Didn’t she understand how small towns worked? He had every intention of taking her home with him tonight if she was willing, but the rest of Warren County didn’t need to know that.

  He picked up their empty plates and tossed them in a nearby trash can, then led her back into the barn where the makeshift dance floor was set up. Several couples were already dancing, so he pulled her against him and started to move with the music. She followed his lead, swaying her hips to the music, but he could tell something wasn’t quite right. He wanted the playfulness of five minutes ago back.

  “Are you going to tell me what I did wrong?”

  She blinked. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just being overly sensitive, that’s all.”

  “I’m just trying to protect you.”

  Janey smiled. “I know. Thank you for that.” She scratched her nails along the back of his neck right below his hairline, and the sensation went straight to his groin. “How long do we have to stay before it’s safe to leave?”

  It was his turn to blink. “You still want to?”

  She tilted her hips forward, brushing the part of him that was already sitting up to take notice. “Does that answer your question?”

  5

  Janey was irritated with herself. Here she was with a man she really liked, and she was being stupid. Logically, she knew he was telling the truth. She’d grown up in a town that wasn’t all that different than Liberty. If she and Kyle ran out of here pawing at each other, it would be all anyone wa
nted to talk about.

  Granted, she was most likely on her way back to Indianapolis soon, unless new information turned up, but that didn’t mean she’d never return. If there was a connection between the two cases, she might have to come back. There was no sense making the investigation harder because she couldn’t keep her hormones under control . . . or her insecurities.

  They ended up dancing for another hour. Some of the families with younger children began to filter out as the sun sank lower in the sky, leaving an older crowd inside the barn. The teenagers gathered outside near the fire pit and she was tempted to go out and talk to them—see if any of them would admit to being in the cornfield—but she let it go. Even if some or all of them had been there that night, they would likely close ranks.

  “You ready to go?” Kyle asked, pulling her from her thoughts. Another song had ended, and the band was taking a break.

  Butterflies filled her stomach again and she nodded.

  Kyle was careful to keep a respectable distance as they made their way out of the barn and down the driveway. A few people waved goodbye as they passed, wishing them a good night. Once they were both settled inside his truck, he reached for her hand. “Do you want me to drop you off at Ava’s or would you rather go back to my place?”

  She knew what he was asking, and she appreciated it. All too often guys assumed that a date meant she’d be putting out. More than once she’d had to set them straight. But tonight she wanted to be with Kyle. As crazy as it sounded, she wanted time alone with him when all the barriers of professionalism and propriety were gone. “I’d love to see your place.”

  That hung in the air for a moment before he put the vehicle in gear and headed toward town. The air in the cab was thick with tension as they drove past fields full of crops not quite ready to harvest. Kyle rubbed his thumb along the inside of her wrist as the sun continued to set. She closed her eyes, letting the sensations take over.

  Janey felt his gaze on her and turned to look at him. Concern marred his features. She smiled, letting him know she hadn’t changed her mind.

  A few minutes later, he pulled up to an old Victorian-style house. She couldn’t see much detail since it was now almost completely dark, but she thought it had brown or black shutters on the windows.

  “This is it,” he said, then got out and came around to get her door.

  “Thanks.”

  Once her feet were on the ground, Kyle crowded closer, pressing her back against the edge of the seat. There was heat in his eyes—heat Janey desperately wanted to tap. She slid her palms up his chest and cupped the back of his neck with her right hand.

  That was all he needed. He grabbed hold of her hips with so much force it took her breath away. Then his lips were covering hers, and the thought of breathing went out the window altogether.

  Kyle molded her body to his as much as their clothing would allow, and wasted no time darting his tongue between her parted lips. He ran his hands up the length of her back and then down over her ass. She wanted his hands everywhere.

  He was breathing hard when he finally broke the kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”

  Before she could respond, he kissed her again.

  “Janey?” he asked, not bothering to remove his mouth from hers this time.

  “Yes?” It was hard to talk or even think at the moment.

  “I want to take you inside.” He peppered kisses along her jaw and down her neck. “Tear off all your clothes.” She felt his hand slide up the back of her thigh. He paused right below her backside for a moment before tracing the edge of her panties. “And then, once I have you naked, I want to learn every inch of you.”

  She sucked in a breath, hoping her next words came out as confident as she hoped. “What are you waiting for?”

  Janey expected him to rush them into the house, but he didn’t. He covered her mouth with his again and lifted her back onto the seat, this time positioning himself between her legs. Even then he still wasn’t close enough for her liking.

  “We need to go inside. Too many clothes,” she said between kisses.

  Kyle’s chest vibrated, but he didn’t stop kissing her. He’d said he wanted to get her naked, and given they were both law enforcement, she doubted he’d risk getting down and dirty in his driveway. She wrapped her legs around his waist, needing more friction, hoping he’d get the message. If he didn’t get it soon, she was going to spell it out for him.

  Then she felt his thumb glide up and down the front of her panties. A moan erupted from her throat and she didn’t even try to stop it. Luckily, there was some distance between Kyle and his neighbors. Although she wasn’t sure at that moment if she would have cared even if someone did happen to overhear them.

  She dug her fingers into his shoulders and neck as he continued to touch her. Their mouths were fused together, tongues exploring and tasting. She felt as if she were going to catch on fire from the inside out if she didn’t come soon.

  “Kyle?”

  “Hmm.” He cupped the back of her head with his free hand and met her gaze. “Do you want me to keep touching you, Janey?”

  She lifted her hips. “If you stop now, I’ll never forgive you.”

  He laughed and gave her a hard kiss. The pleasure between her legs went up another notch as he increased the pressure of his thumb exactly where she needed it.

  Janey tilted her hips up to meet every downward motion of his hand, driving her toward her orgasm. She was close. So close.

  And then she was soaring. Her breath caught in her throat and her entire body shook. Kyle took her in his arms and held on tight.

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “That was unexpected.”

  “You’ve never had an orgasm before?” His tone was full of shocked disbelief.

  She gave him a gentle shove, which did nothing to move his solid form. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  Kyle angled her chin up and brushed his lips against hers. Unable to resist, she pulled his mouth closer and took what she wanted.

  Seconds later they were moving. He placed her feet on the ground, moved her away from the truck, and slammed the door. She giggled as he guided her to a door along the side of the house, and then proceeded to fumble with his keys trying to open the door.

  They’d barely made it over the threshold before he was on her again. He pushed her back against the wall and hiked her dress up around her waist. She couldn’t keep track of his hands. They were constantly moving, touching her everywhere.

  “We need to get you out of this dress,” he mumbled as he placed open-mouthed kisses on her collarbone.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she was this turned on. “You have on more clothing than I do.”

  To her surprise, he stepped back and removed his shirt. A light brown sprinkling of hair covered his torso. And beneath that were the muscles she’d only gotten hints of before.

  Unable to resist, Janey placed both hands on his chest, letting the fine hairs tickle her palms. She looked up, meeting his gaze. “Not bad, Deputy Reed.”

  He closed the distance between them again, tangling his fingers in her hair. “I promise, it only gets better from here.”

  “Rather confident, aren’t you?”

  “Uh-huh.” With that, he crushed his mouth over hers and went to work proving his point. Their clothing fell to the floor—first her dress, then his pants. He reached behind her to unhook her bra. Once she felt it give, Janey shrugged out of it, wanting to feel his bare chest against hers.

  But as soon as her bra was out of the way, Kyle cupped her ass and lifted her feet off the ground. The move happened so fast she let out a squeal of surprise and grasped at his shoulders to stabilize herself.

  “Sorry,” he whispered against her lips as he helped her wrap her legs around his waist.

  Janey ran her fingers through his hair as he headed toward the stairs, presumably taking her to his bedroom. “No complaints here. Just maybe give me a little warning next time.
”

  He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  * * *

  Kyle hadn’t planned on getting Janey off in his driveway, but when she’d responded to his kiss the way she had, he needed to touch her . . . and keep touching her. Hearing her moan and gasp at what he was doing had been addicting, and he hadn’t wanted to stop.

  He still didn’t want to stop. She clung to him as he climbed the stairs to his bedroom. It would have been easier to have her walk, but he hadn’t wanted to release her even for that short amount of time. She’d be leaving soon enough. Going back to her home, her life, in Indianapolis. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  All thoughts of anything but the gorgeous woman he held in his arms left his brain when she leaned down and scraped her teeth along his neck. His erection throbbed, and he almost tripped over his own feet. He landed a firm swat to her backside. “Behave.”

  She did it again, and then laughed. “Nope.”

  He picked up his pace, which only amused her more. As soon as Kyle reached the bedroom, he walked over to the bed and dumped her on top of the mattress. “I’m going to make you pay for that, woman.”

  Janey scooted back on the bed and propped herself up on her elbows, not seeming the least bit worried about his threat. She lifted her leg and rubbed the ball of her foot along the part of him that was now trying to burst through his boxer briefs. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to embarrass himself.

  Taking hold of her ankle, he placed her foot flat on the bed and climbed on top of her. “You like playing with fire, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, a look of feigned innocence on her face.

  In response, he took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked hard. Janey let out a shriek followed by a sound that told him it wasn’t going to take much to get her there a second time. She arched her back and held his head to her chest. He was more than happy to oblige her silent request. Sucking on Janey Davis’ breasts was something he could do for hours. He alternated sucking and licking, even taking a page out of her book and scraping his teeth along the now sensitive flesh. Once her left nipple was nice and hard, he turned his attention to the other one.