Apprehension (2 page)

"Great." Dennison headed toward the woman. "A booth, please, Rachel."

"You got it, shuga'bear." Grabbing two menus from beside her stand, Rachel, the greeter, sashayed into the dining area.

"This way."

"During lunch we'll talk about the position I have open and you can tell me how you got your nickname. Or should I just believe I'm eating with a legend?"

It was Thor's turn to laugh. Business and food, the southern way.

* * * *

Liza was tired. She'd spent her Saturday at an all day study session in the library at Florida State. Her group's final research project was due and they had needed this last meeting to tie up loose ends before the semester ended. She would be starting her six weeks of internship, and then wait for fall graduation. Then she didn't know what she was going to do. She'd have her Master's in early childhood counseling, but she didn't know whether or not she wanted to stay in Claremont County or if it was time for her to pick up roots and leave. She'd been here all of her life. This had been where her father was raised, as well as Moody being his first assignment. He'd met and married her mom here. The military had relocated him to various places, but her mother was a homebody and refused to uproot her son and daughter every three years. Amazingly, her parents had made it through the long stretches of absence.

Dressed in a frayed, thigh length skirt and short-sleeved layered t-shirt, she cruised along the interstate. The cool early evening breeze blew through the window and cooled her heated flesh. Thick rolling gray clouds moved across the dark sky, making her aware that a spring storm was on its way. She loved storms. They were unpredictable.

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APPREHENSION

Sighing, Liza wished she could have said the same for her life. Claremont County was a beautiful place to raise a family, but she didn't know if it was the place for a twenty-seven-year-old single woman. She craved change like she craved sex. It had been years since she'd dated and almost as long since she'd slept with anyone.

In Claremont County, everyone knew everything about everybody so she'd spent the last two years concentrating on school to keep the gossip about her life at bay.

She loved being a part of the town, but for a while now she questioned herself. There was no doubt if she desired a counseling position anywhere in the town, she'd have one without even an interview. If a position wasn't open, one would be created for her. She was Liza Wright, grandchild of a founder.

Could she make it somewhere else? Did she want to make it somewhere else? Was there anything in Claremont County for her? Those questions constantly plagued her.

Pulling off Interstate 75 onto Gridston, she gave a sigh of relief. The only thing she wanted to do was get home and put her feet up. The highway was deserted as she careened down the stretch of road.

"You've got to be kidding me," Liza groaned when minutes later she saw flashing lights in her rearview mirror. She steered her car to the shoulder and put the car in park. She didn't have any concerns about getting a speeding ticket, instead, she was more annoyed at being stopped. Whichever deputy was stopping her must not have recognized her car. They'd give her a friendly hello and a warning and send her own her way. All the neighborly conversation was just delaying the time until she was bumming mindlessly in front of a movie, until sleep claimed her.

Tired, she wanted to get home soon.

She watched the car slide up behind hers, then she got out of her convertible. With the search light beaming in her eyes, it was hard to determine which deputy was walking toward her.

"Dale, is that you, or is it Martin?" Liza called out.

"Ma'am, do you know you're not supposed to get out of your car unless instructed to do so?"

The voice was gritty and male. As he spoke, there was a bite to each word as if he didn't tolerate noncompliance. He 13

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commanded authority. Liza noticed the tingling along her arms as the hairs on both of them rose.

Definitely not Dale or Martin
. Warm sensations raced along her skin where moments before the wind had cooled it. Chalking it up to the humidity of the night, she leaned against her car and waited. Finally, he stepped in front of her and blocked the bright light and she could see his face.

"You." She tilted her head and stared up toward his face, seeing the gate guard from the base in Valdosta, the main city of Lowndes County that bordered Claremont. "So, you're the new officer everyone has been talkin' about. Thor, isn't that what they call you?"

His intense blue eyes captured her. "Good evening, ma'am.

Once again—"

This man's nickname had always intrigued her. Cutting him off, she asked, "Don't tell me. You're supposed to be able to clap and make it thunder or something, right?"

One of his eyebrows lifted. "Anything's possible. But, no matter. When people talk, the made up story is always better than the original one."

She chuckled as she tapped a finger against her lips. "Now, I recall Jack told me somethin' about you being deployed to Iraq twice. He said when you all were there no matter what situation you were in, you always managed to get out without a scratch.

Jack seems to believe that you have some sort of shield around you. He said you wielded your gun to protect as if it was a gift from the gods." She stepped toward him and spoke in a sultry voice, "So, does lightening flash in the sky when you use your
mighty
hammer?"

Liza didn't miss the flare of his nostril as she stood close to him. She wondered if it was a response to her honeysuckle body spritz or if it was a sign of annoyance. The desire to push the envelope tickled the back of her neck.

"Ms. Wright, do you know you're not supposed to get out of your vehicle unless instructed to do so?" He repeated the question.

"Hmm." At least six feet tall, he towered over her five foot six inch height. Broad shoulders and narrow waist were enhanced by the cut of his uniform. She had to admit the man 14

APPREHENSION

had a nice build. A part of her wished she could view him from the back and see if his ass was just as pleasant. Ignoring her own wondering thoughts, she leaned against her car. "I guess the base doesn't offer enough work for you. Now you're moonlighting with the sheriff's department."

"No." Amazingly, he arched his eyebrow higher.

She figured he was probably annoyed because she hadn't answered his question. Crossing her arms over her chest, she continued, "No. Ah, maybe you got kicked out of the military.

Couldn't hack it. All those loud music violators making you mad?"

Tilting his head to the side, he eyed her from under the brim of his hat. "Are you trying to piss me off and get a ticket or are you always this insolent?"

Insolent
?
The nerve of him
. Slapping her hands to her hips, she leaned toward him. "I like to call it my own sassy wit."

"Hm," he grunted.

The little nonverbal, guttural sound he made infuriated her.

Balling her fists against her waist, she asked, "Don't you have bad guys to catch? I'm sure someone is robbing a bank somewhere." Liza didn't know why she felt the urge to antagonize him. Something about him caused an unnamed sensation to dance along her spine.

Watching the muscle jump along his jaw line, she enjoyed a small thrill in knowing that she could aggravate him.

He stared at her, unaffected by her comments, and calmly ordered, "License and registration, please."

He's got to be made of stone
. Rolling her eyes, Liza turned toward her driver's side door, wrenched it open and bent inside to retrieve her information. While she was in the car, she became more irritated that she couldn't affect him. The fact that this was her town, where she'd lived all her life and Mr. Patrol Officer By the Books couldn't get past his own ego to give her a little courtesy for speeding, which she knew she'd been doing, angered her. Sitting in her seat while rifling through her purse, an idea occurred to her. If she couldn't affect him with her sharp mind, then she'd get to him the old fashioned way. Backing out of the car, she handed him only her license.

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YVETTE HINES

Taking her identification, he eyed her. "Do you have a car registration?"

"I'm sorry. I've never been stopped in my own town before so I'm a little fuzzy about the protocol."

"Registration." He rested the palm of one hand against the butt of his gun, which she figured he used more as a place to rest his hand than a threat of force.

"Yes, sir." Turning with a flounce, Liza got back into her car. This time she balanced her body on the knee she placed in the center of the seat. Stretching long and arching her back, she reached over the center console to the glove compartment, where she riffled inside, pretending to search for her registration.

Liza was no fool. She knew that the position she assumed allowed Officer Zeller a clear view of the expansion of her thighs. She had been told many times that she had nice legs and for sheer spite, she was willing to use them against the emotional rock outside.

Turning her head, she glanced out of the back window, but was unable to see more than his waist and the top of his pants.

Forgetting herself, she couldn't help but admire the cut of his clothing and how well his uniform slacks cupped his sex.

Impressive
. The thought danced in her mind before she had a chance to refocus herself. Heat filled her lower belly and she was shocked at how easily she had become aroused by a man she didn't even know, let alone like.

"Here it is." She announced as she backed out of the car.

Giving him a triumphant smile, she slapped the paper into his open hand. "There."

For a brief moment, his wide hand closed around her smaller one, holding it. Feeling the slight grip, he held on.

Liza allowed her eyes to travel from their joined hands, moving her gaze past his hair-sprinkled forearm and shoulder, until she reached his face. Taking note of his chiseled jaw, firm lips and distinct nose, she continued up to meet his eyes. She was captured by the heat in his azure stare.

Sparks went off where their hands touched, causing her fingers to tingle.

"I'm completely within my right to give you a ticket.

Speeding is illegal and dangerous," he told her.

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APPREHENSION

Snatching her hand from his, she tried to regain control of the situation and her emotions. "Well, if you fear for your life and the safety of the drivers of Claremont County…" She stepped toward him, tilting her head back so she could continue to maintain eye contact with him, "why don't you just arrest me, officer?"

Like lightening, Officer Zeller had her swung around and pinned against the side of her car. The heat of his body pressed along her back.

"You know, princess, I have no qualms about putting you in handcuffs." He spoke in low tones with his mouth flush to her ears.Her lungs seized, stealing her breath and refusing to relinquish it. She became light-headed. She was assailed with the desire to arch her back and press her hips into him. It had been so long since any man had dared to impose his strength on her.

His forcefulness turned her on. Desire ignited between her legs and caused her sex to swell. One of his hands gripped her hip while the other held her hands on the top of her car. The material of the ragtop under her palms and the vibration of the running car kindled sensations in her breast.

Being restrained by Zeller was giving her thoughts of what it would be like to be with him in a more intimate setting. Naked and vulnerable for him. At that moment, she wanted him.

Shocked at her thoughts and the wetness dampening her panties, she gave herself a mental shake. Using all of her willpower, she shifted to the present. Liza finally took a deep breath to fill her lungs with the cool night air, but instead she smelled him. He didn't wear cologne or a fancy aftershave; just the scent of clean male with his own natural musk. Her pussy throbbed and she squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to squelch it, unintentionally making it worse.

Zeller's hand traveled around her waist, adding pressure to her abdomen, pushing her back until his thick cock lightly brushed the crease of her ass. "Nothing to say, princess?"

The way he called her princess sounded like both an endearment and an insult. "I do believe this could be considered police brutality. I wonder how Sheriff Pyle would feel if I told 17

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him about one of his deputies taking liberties with me on a routine traffic stop."

His chuckle rumbled against her back before she heard it.

"This stopped being routine the moment you put those creamy thighs of yours in my line of sight. It's a good thing I work directly for Russell and I'm not a deputy."

Damn
. She knew she wasn't being subtle, but she didn't expect that her actions would backfire on her in this way. "Arrest me, give me a damn ticket, or let me go,
Officer
Zeller."

For a moment, he didn't move and Liza thought he was going to continue to hold her. But he stepped away, releasing her as quickly as he had grabbed her, saying, "I'm going to give you a warning this time, but you need to be careful on these roads at night."

Facing him, she leaned back against her car, staring at Thor.

"Thanks for your concern, Officer Zeller. I'll take it under consideration." Pushing away from her vehicle, she turned to get in. She ran into Zeller's arm as it shot out in front of her, halting her movement.

"I mean it, princess. The RACE team has been cruising these roads because of the teens drag racing down here and causing accidents, some serious."

"Duly noted." She shoved his arm out of her way and got in her car.

"You may need these for the next time you're stopped."

He held her driver's license and registration out to her.

Reaching out the window, Liza removed the items from his hand. "Thanks. By the way, my name is Liza. And I'm nobody's princess."

Not waiting for his compliance, Liza shifted her car into drive and pulled away.