by Liliana Hart
It looked like things hadn’t changed much. His dick was hard enough to hammer nails and the feel of her against him, the challenge in her eyes daring him to do something about it, made him want to bend her over the bike, strip off those skin-tight jeans, and slide right between the creamy folds of her pussy.
“You’re under arrest,” he said instead, taking a step back so she couldn’t feel his arousal. He didn’t recognize the sound of his voice, the low rasp of desire.
“Oh, come on now, Deputy.” Her lips quirked as if they were sharing a private joke. “That fight wasn’t my fault, and I am hardly to blame for all the damage that was done. If you remember, I believe I was otherwise—” she took a step closer to him so her breasts rubbed against his arm, and she whispered the words so he felt them blow across his lips, “—occupied when the fight started.”
She’d definitely been occupied. They’d been in one of the back rooms at Duffey’s Bar. They’d started out doing body shots of tequila, getting more daring with each one. A lick of salt across the top of her breast before the shot was thrown back, burning the whole way down. Another lick low on his belly, so her cheek pressed against his hardness as she swiped with her tongue.
It hadn’t taken long until she’d borrowed his handcuffs and latched him to the gold bar that rimmed the pool table. And then she’d knelt in front of him and taken every inch of his cock like it was her last meal.
He remembered the bite of her nails on his thighs and the way she stared up at him with those dark bedroom eyes—dreamed about it for the past year until his body was so hot and his cock so hard that he’d had no choice but to stroke himself to completion just so he could get some damn sleep.
“I remember,” he said. “And then your brother started breaking bottles and anything else that got in his way the moment he heard you were in town looking for him.”
She nodded, the teasing glint gone from her eyes. “Colt would have killed you if he’d found us like we were. I had no choice but to head him off and get him out of town. Believe me, Surrender wasn’t ready for Colt Blade.”
“Sweetheart, I can take care of myself, even with one hand cuffed behind my back and my cock at full attention. I’m a cop. You seem to forget that on a pretty regular basis.”
“You’ve certainly made sure I can’t forget it now. The cuffs are a little tight, by the way. I’d prefer not to have bruises tomorrow.”
“I’ll take them off as soon as I can get you in a cell.”
“You can’t be serious,” she said, freezing him with a glare.
“Dead serious. I wasn’t even going to bring up the fact that you left me half naked and cuffed to a pool table, but you seem to have selective memory. And well, to be honest, I still find I’m a little pissed about the whole thing.”
She smirked at that, her normal good humor restored and her eyes dancing with mischief. He wanted nothing more than to bite right into that lush bottom lip.
“A night behind bars might be worth it then. I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble.”
“I had an extra set of keys in the pocket of my pants. Which you kicked to the other side of the pool table before you ran out the door.” He pushed her forward gently so she had no choice but to start walking. “You remember where the station is, don’t you?”
“Come on, Lane. We both know you’re not really going to arrest me. I’ve followed a skip into town.”
“If he’s smart, he’s finding a place to hunker down for the night. Storms will be here soon. And yes, I am going to arrest you. The last time I checked, there was a warrant out for your arrest. Destruction of private property—”
“Bullshit. I was trying to get my brother out of there before he hurt anyone. The only reason that window broke was because I ducked when one of your upstanding citizens threw a chair.”
“Uh-huh. Watch your step here,” he said, leading her up the identical wooden steps on the other side of the street and down the long clapboard sidewalk. “Don’t forget the broken bottles.”
“Jesus, I’ll pay the twenty dollars to replace the bottle of Jameson’s I smashed over that idiot’s head who threw the chair. He could’ve killed me. Maybe I should press charges.”
“That’s certainly your right to do so. Of course, we’d have to hold you in the cell a little longer while we got it all straightened out.”
Lane nearly grinned as he heard her growl low in her throat. Naya Blade in a temper was a fine thing to see.
“Give me a break. This is about your ego, plain and simple. You got caught with your pants down—literally—” she snickered, “—and now you want good old-fashioned revenge. I had no choice in what I did that night and you know it. I had to get Colt out of there before he hurt anyone. He might be my brother, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what kind of person he is. It was better all-around for us both to get out of town.”
“And now you’re back,” he said, pulling her to a stop just in front of the Sheriff’s Office.
He gripped her elbow and turned her so their faces were only inches apart. He felt the tension, thick with what had been left unsaid between them. “Tell me, Naya. What was I to you? A lark while you were searching for your brother? Or a distraction who fell right into the palm of your hand?” He took a step closer so her breasts rubbed against the front of his shirt, and she could feel the hardness of his cock against her jeans. “Did what we have ever matter?”
She lifted her eyes so the dark orbs were intent and focused solely on him. “You were the best thing that ever happened to me,” she admitted. “But sometimes the best things come with a price. Sometimes a person’s path is set before they ever take the first step. It was better that things didn’t go further than they did.”
The door to the Sheriff’s Office opened and the spell was broken between them. Cooper MacKenzie leaned against the jamb with his arms crossed over his chest and his piercing blue gaze narrowed.
A year hadn’t changed Cooper’s appearance much. He still looked like an outlaw instead of a sheriff—his face scruffy with black stubble and tattoos covering his shoulder and most of one arm. He was a big son of a bitch—like all of the MacKenzies she’d met during her short visit—but there was something a little wicked, a little wilder, about Cooper that the other boys didn’t quite have. He wore his badge and gun like they were an extension of his body, and the only difference she could see was the shiny gold band he wore on his ring finger.
“I’ve had forty-two phone calls since the two of you started walking this way,” he said. “I’d suggest you get in here before the whole town is standing in the middle of the street to watch the show.”
Lane inhaled slowly and then exhaled, counting as he did so. He and Naya were forever plagued by interruptions. But Cooper was right. Even now shop doors in town were opening and heads were popping out to see what was going on.
Naya turned to face Cooper and gave him a cheeky grin. “Sheriff MacKenzie. I bet you thought you’d never see me again. Miss me?”
Chapter Three
“Naya Blade,” he said with a smirk. “I should’ve known the weathermen weren’t talking about rain when they said a storm was coming.” He stepped back out of the way so Lane could usher her inside. “As far as being happy to see you, I’m still up in the air on that. There aren’t a lot of women I know who can beat me at pool and wreck a bar all in the same week. Looks like you’re still making trouble.”
“What can I say?” she winked. “I’m a woman of many talents.”
“Well, I’m sure Lane would know that better than anyone,” he smirked. “If I recall, you beat him at pool too.”
“Don’t make me kill you, Coop,” Lane said, gritting his teeth so hard he thought they might turn to dust.
Cooper was one of his best friends and he’d made the mistake of telling him why it had taken him so long to get downstairs and get the fight under control. Cooper had laughed until tears had run down his cheeks, and he wasn’t likely to let him ever forget i
t.
The station was a small square of a room with scarred wood floors and wood paneling on two sides. The third wall was dingy white and had maps of the area and persons of interest tacked to it. Two wooden desks faced each other. One belonged to the dispatcher and the other was shared between Lane and Joe Michaels, the other deputy. Since they were never in the office at the same time, crowding wasn’t an issue.
The fourth side of the square room was made of iron bars that led to the cells. There were two of them, each no bigger than a walk-in closet, and neither of them saw much action except for the occasional drunk and disorderly. Surrender was, all in all, a mostly peaceful town.
Each cell held a cot, a toilet, and a small sink—and nothing else. A short hallway just behind Lane’s desk led to Cooper’s office, and farther down the hall was an exit door that led to the back of the building and the stairs to the apartment above the station.
Cooper had lived there before he’d gotten married a few months before, and now it was where Lane lived. It was a convenient location, but it didn’t lend itself to a lot of privacy. He was always on call. But he didn’t mind working. Work kept him busy. Kept him from thinking about things best left alone.
“You know what? You’re okay, MacKenzie.” Naya smirked and walked freely around the room, as if the cuffs restraining her wrists were no big deal. “Much more pleasant than Deputy Holds a Grudge here.”
“If you think I’m getting in the middle of that particular fight then you are sadly mistaken,” Cooper said. “And there’s not much I can do about your current situation. You do have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, and you did leave town with a known fugitive in a suspicious manner.”
Naya rolled her eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You know that’s all bullshit. I got my brother out of town and back where he belonged so he could stand trial.”
“And how is your brother?”
“Serving twenty in Rikers.”
Lane squeezed her arm gently and turned her so she could see his sincerity. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He knew what it must have felt like for her to watch her only relative put away. She’d told him once she’d been close to Colt before he’d taken a wrong path in the road, and knowing Naya as he did, she probably wondered daily if there was something more she could’ve done to help him.
She shrugged and broke eye contact, and her voice held nothing but resignation. “It’s what he deserved and probably what’s best. Even though we’re on different sides of the coin, you and I both stand for law and order. And we know it doesn’t discriminate against blood. Colt made his choices. I’m only sorry he involved you guys in his mess.”
“We’ve dealt with it before, and we’ll deal with it again,” Cooper said. “It’s what we do. But just to be safe, I’d stay out of Duffey’s way while you’re here. He still bitches about the damage done to his bar.”
“Good grief. I’ll pay the damages just to not have to hear about it anymore. And if you don’t let me go, you could possibly have a much bigger problem on your hands.”
“She followed a skip into town,” Lane explained when he saw Cooper’s questioning look.
Cooper narrowed his eyes. “Damn, and I had sweet plans to spend the evening being stranded by the storm with my lovely wife.”
“Go on home,” Lane told him. “I’m on call anyway, and there’s not much to be done about a skip tonight. Those storms are going to be bad. Hopefully, we won’t lose power.”
“I’m more concerned about having to rescue Tyler Claremont’s cows from drowning like last time. I’d just as soon never have to go through that again.” Cooper grabbed his keys and headed to the door. “In fact, I think I’ll stop by there on my way home to make sure they’re pinned up. I’ll have Joe driving the roads tonight to check for areas of flooding. But make sure you tag me if things get bad. I can come in and hold down the fort, and I can deputize my brothers and cousins if need be for extra hands.”
“It’ll be fine. I was making my way around all the shops, reminding people to stay inside and hunker down for the evening, when I ran into our favorite bounty hunter here.”
Cooper’s laugh burst out and he shook his head. “Son, the fact that you’ve lived here two years now and still expect people to do as you ask them to constantly blows my mind. Surrender has a thousand of the most contrary people on the planet, and if you ask them to do something, you can be damned sure they’ll do just the opposite.”
“I might have let it slip that anyone caught purposely doing anything foolish would have to pay a two thousand dollar fine and do jail time for endangering the lives of rescue workers.”
“I guess that’s as good of a threat as any,” he said. “I’m off for the night. You two stay out of trouble.”
The door closed behind Cooper and the tension that had started to cool flared and simmered between them in hot waves.
“So tell me, Deputy.” She watched him out of amused eyes and her chin was tilted in challenge. “Are you going to let me go so I can get a trail on my skip before the tracks are washed away? Or are we going to hunker down for the night and ride out the storm?”
A crack of thunder loud enough to shake the floor beneath them shattered the silence. Lane moved closer and watched her nipples tighten to small pebbles beneath the thin fabric of her tank top. Her hands were still cuffed behind her back and there was no way for her to hide the reaction of her body. Her lips opened on a soft sigh when he stepped in close enough to feel the heat between them, but he didn’t touch. Not yet.
“It depends.” His words feathered across her lips and her eyelids fluttered, heavy with arousal.
“On what?” She tilted her head slightly and leaned in, so he felt her words whisper against the corner of his mouth.
His cock was so hard he was surprised his jeans hadn’t ripped at the seams. The pounding beat of lust drummed through his body so fast he had to grip the bars of the cell at her back to keep from tearing at her clothes and plunging balls deep inside of her.
“On the game we never finished. I think it’s your turn to wear the cuffs and have your pants around your ankles while my face is buried between your thighs.”
She brought her hands from behind her back, where the cuffs dangled from one wrist and a paperclip stuck out of the lock.
“You mean these cuffs?” she asked with a wicked glint in her eye.
Chapter Four
Instinct had him grabbing her wrists and jerking them above her head, and he quickly snapped the cuffs around the bars, holding her captive. He tossed the paperclip to the floor and it pinged loudly over the harsh sound of their breathing.
She rattled the cuffs against the bars and arched a brow at him. “I’d forgotten how fast you are when you want to be. I bet you were a hell of an Army Ranger. And now you’re a big bad cop with too many skills and no place to use them. What are you going to do with me now?”
“I’ve always said your mouth was going to get you into more trouble than you could handle.” He nipped at her bottom lip and watched her eyes go black with desire.
“Big bad bounty hunter,” he whispered, mimicking her words. “I’m going to do exactly what I’ve thought about doing for the last year. No games this time. No interruptions. I’m going to fuck you until this need for you is out of my system. And then I’m going to do it again just for good measure.”
She shivered and strained toward him, and he pushed her harder into the bars so she could feel the ferocity of his arousal. He felt the heat between her thighs and knew she was already wet for him.
Little mewls of pleasure escaped from her throat as the denim of his jeans pressed against her clit. It wouldn’t take much to send her over the edge. But instead of giving into her demands, he took a step back and got himself under control, and then he smiled at the frustration that crossed over her face before she hid it. Turnabout was fair play. He’d been frustrated as hell for the past year.
The sight of her stretched out before him didn’t do anything
to cool the lust raging through his system. Naya didn’t look like a woman held captive by her lover—like a woman about to submit. She looked defiant, the challenge in her eyes calling to every male instinct he had to dominate and take what was his.
Her arms were stretched over her head, cuffed to the bars, and her hair tumbled around her shoulders in a way that made him want to run his fingers through it while she took his cock into her mouth again. Her nipples pressed tight against her shirt and her breasts heaved with labored breaths.
Thunder rumbled again and it sounded closer this time, and then a few seconds later the pings of rain hit the awning over the sidewalk. It came down fast and furious, and flashes of lightning glanced off the windowpanes, filling the air with an electrical charge that only intensified the building need.
Lane went to the door and turned the lock for good measure and closed the blinds. And then he began the meticulous task of removing his clothes, enjoying the way Naya’s eyes followed his every movement and the appreciation in her gaze.
“I always loved your body,” she said, her voice husky. “But my, oh my, it’s even better than I remember.”
“I found the easiest way to get rid of the sexual frustration was to work out. You can only beat off so many times, and it’s a poor substitution at that. Believe me, I’ve been working out a lot.”
“Are the women in this town blind?”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Like I said, anything else would have been a poor substitution. I’m too old to fuck just to scratch an itch.”
He unbuttoned the khaki shirt with the Sheriff’s Office emblem over the breast pocket and tossed it over his desk.
* * * *
