The Accidental Sheriff (11 page)

She changed her approach. “You promised.”

“Promised what?” he said sternly.

“The story on Neil—Sheriff Lovitt,” she amended, realizing her mistake. “Leonard’s reading it now.” Poor Neil. He’d be crushed. Disappointed. Angry. And he’d think she was responsible.

“I made no such promise.”

“Yes, you did. I’m doing the series on the illegal min—”

He didn’t let her finish. “I agreed to put you in charge of the illegal mining story, but I never agreed not to run the story on Sheriff Lovitt.”

Pleading with Ward was pointless. Leonard had already read the story. The damage was done.

“There’s nothing more to discuss.” Ward added insult to injury by turning his back to her.

Carolina reined in her emotions. Letting loose, blurting out what she really thought would get her fired. While she might feel vindicated, the fact was she could get to the bottom of
what was going on with Ward and be of more help to Neil if she stayed.

“Why?” she asked. “Can you at least tell me that?”

“It’s relevant news and, as you well know, we’re attempting to raise the level of our newscasts.”

“Bullshit,” she muttered under her breath.

His eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon?”

So much for reining in her emotions.

“Nothing.” She spun on her heels and returned to her cubicle. Ward had been unpredictable lately. Dealing with him was a wasted effort.

At her desk, she opened a drawer and grabbed a tissue from a box she kept there, allowing herself a few quiet tears. A popular country-and-western song played through the speaker on her phone. The lyrics barely registered with Carolina. All that mattered to her was that the horrible newscast had ended.

Would Ward repeat it during the afternoon segment? Please, God, no.

She considered phoning Neil. If he hadn’t heard the newscast, surely someone else had alerted him. What could she tell him other than that she wasn’t the one behind the story? No, better to wait and contact him when she had more information.

Lately, the station owners had been pressuring all the department heads to step up their efforts to expand their listening audience. Ward could be under the gun himself, which would explain why he’d changed his mind about doing the story on Neil.

What she really needed to do was start work on her report for tomorrow. The draft was due on Ward’s desk by one today. But try as she might, she couldn’t focus. Neil totally consumed her thoughts.

Wait a minute!

What if she made him and the good job his department
was doing with the illegal mining investigation the focus of her report?

Yes! It wasn’t much, but any positive media exposure would help offset the bad.

She returned to her computer, intending to exit out of her e-mail program. Instead, she opened the next message by mistake and automatically skimmed it.

The e-mail contained a single line and wasn’t signed. With each word she read, blood drained from her face.

Stop your reports on the illegal mining or you and your family will be sorry.

Her phone rang. The shrill buzzing caused her to jerk reflexively. Without thinking, she reached for the receiver. Heart hammering, her eyes still riveted to the computer screen, she placed the phone to her ear and muttered weakly, “Hello.”

A crackling pause ensued, then a sharp click as her caller disconnected.

Neil flew past the receptionist’s desk at KPKD without stopping. “Where’s Carolina Sweetwater?”

“Conference room. Second door on your right.”

He couldn’t remember thirty feet ever taking so long to cover. The doorknob stuck and he nearly yanked it off in his haste to open the door.

Carolina sat at the long table, a man Neil assumed to be her boss beside her. She looked small, shaken and pale. Relief washed over him only to collide head-on with anger. She didn’t rattle easily. Whoever had done this to her, put that stricken expression on her face, would pay. He’d see to it.

“You’re here.” She pushed away from the table.

He was on duty, responding to an emergency, and someone else was in the room with them. Neil didn’t care. He went to her and took her trembling body in his arms.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

He needed to know for certain and touched her cheek with one hand. Her skin was cool. Everything about her was cool. And vulnerable.

He vowed again to find the bastards responsible.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, leaning her face into his hand.

“I’m glad you called.” He released her. Reluctantly. “Are the police still here?”

“They left about ten minutes ago,” her boss answered.

Neil cursed the long drive. He’d been thirty miles outside of town at the deserted Remington place when Carolina had called, her voice breathless and sounding on the verge of tears. He’d instructed her to hang up immediately and dial 911. The homeless individuals reportedly holed up in the dilapidated barn could wait. Carolina had been threatened.

The past rushed up to meet the present. The situations weren’t the same but his emotions were, especially the ones that left him angry and feeling helpless. He’d failed to protect Carolina, just like he’d failed Lynne.

“Did the officer give you his name?”

“
She
left this card,” her boss said, and stood.

Neil accepted the card and read the officer’s name and badge number. He’d crossed paths with the woman before and knew her to be competent and thorough. That much was good.

“Thank you.” He handed the card back to Carolina’s boss.

“Do you need a copy?” he asked.

“No.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward. “I’ll get back to work.” Carolina’s boss patted her arm. “Take tomorrow off, why don’t you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Really. In fact, take the rest of the week off.”

Neil sensed her stiffen.

“You’re removing me from the illegal mining story?” Her voice hitched.

“Under the circumstances, I think it would be wise.”

“No, Ward. Please.”

“You were threatened, Carolina.”

“It was an e-mail. People in the media get hate e-mails all the time.”

“We’ll talk later, when you’re not upset.” He turned and left.

Neil couldn’t say he liked her boss, especially after this morning’s news bite on him. But the man was being smart. Carolina needed to be removed from the story for her own safety.

“I suppose you agree with him.” She was doing her best to appear tough.

Neil didn’t buy her act. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

“I can drive myself.”

“Not while I’m here.”

She stuck out her lower lip, reminding him of Zoey. He could see why they got along so well. Both were determined to test his patience on a daily basis.

“I’m driving you home. If you refuse, I’ll cuff you and take you against your will.”

“Why, Sheriff Lovitt,” she said with exaggerated silkiness, “I had no clue you were so kinky.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

That shut her up, and she went willingly with him.

While Carolina gathered her things from her cubicle, he waited in the reception area and called the Payson PD, leaving a message for the officer who’d been at the station. He ignored the receptionist, whose eyes bored into the back of his head. Let her, Carolina’s boss and anyone else at the station think what they did about him. Neil had nothing to be ashamed of.

The thought stopped him in his tracks.

He’d been living with guilt and shame for four years. When had he stopped agreeing with the negative things people said about him?

The click of Carolina’s heels on the tile floor alerted him
to her approach. It was obvious from the fake smile she wore that some of her bravado had left her. Taking her hand in his, he escorted her outside. He’d rather do a whole lot more. Hold her, shelter her, tuck her away in a safe corner and put her under constant guard. Anything to protect her from harm.

“I’m parked over here.” At the cruiser, he opened the passenger-side door. She made a face.

“You haven’t been in an official vehicle before?”

“Not in the front seat. Once or twice in the back.” One corner of her mouth tipped up, and she was suddenly her old self again, if only for a moment.

It required every bit of his professional training not to grab her and bring his mouth crashing down on hers.

The ride to Bear Creek Ranch took about twenty minutes. They didn’t say much during the drive. For his part, Neil was saving up until they reached her cabin, where she’d be trapped and have no avenue of escape except running. And he’d bet, in those shoes, he’d catch her in two seconds flat. When he did, he’d give her a big piece of his mind.

Pulling up in front of her gate, he helped her out of the cruiser.

“Would you like to come in for a minute,” she asked with the tiniest trace of insecurity.

Just like that, all Neil’s intentions went out the window.

“Yeah, sure.” Just a warning, he decided, no lecture.

One step inside the cabin, she turned to face him. Two steps, she was in his arms again, all soft curves, sweet-smelling skin and needing comfort. Three steps, their jackets were off and his mouth was where he’d wanted it to be since he walked into the conference room. On hers. Taking, giving, demanding, relenting.

Good God, the relenting was insane. Without even trying, she caused him to lose control over and over again.

“I was so scared for you,” he said between ragged breaths.
“I broke every traffic law getting to the station after you called.”

“I’m glad you did.” She arched into him, soft moans escaping her. “I wasn’t sure you cared.”

He abruptly stopped and pushed her away from him. “I more than care, Carolina. You matter to me. A lot.” The vehemence of his admission took him aback.

It did Carolina, too, gauging by the flash in her eyes. He thought he might have gone too far, said too much. Scared her off.

She looped one arm around his neck. With her other hand, she lightly stroked the bristles of his five-o’clock shadow. “Don’t talk like that, Sheriff Lovitt, unless you intend to back up your words with action.”

Okay, he hadn’t scared her off.

“You sure?” Talking wasn’t easy, not with his chest pounding and pulse racing. “I won’t stop once I get started.” He cupped her bottom, lifted her flush against him so she would know exactly what she was getting into with him.

She shifted so that his erection fit more snugly into the junction of her legs. Yeah, she knew.

“For the record,” she murmured, “you matter a lot to me, too.”

This was insane. He should stop. Once they crossed the line, there was no going back.

Her fingertips dug into his muscles of his shoulders. “Did you bring protection?”

A jolt of sexual energy ripped through him. The hell with going back. There was only ahead.

“I’m an officer of the law.” He lowered his mouth, pressed his lips to the shallow dip at the base of her neck and tasted her skin. “It’s my sworn duty to protect.”

“And you’re good at your job.” She smiled coyly.

“I haven’t carried a condom in my wallet since Lynne and
I dated.” He skimmed his hand up her back, kneading the pliant flesh his fingers encountered. “Until recently.” Did she understand the meaning of what he’d just said?

“When did you start?”

“The night I dropped you off here.” When they’d first kissed. “It was wrong and stupid and—”

“I went out and bought a box the next day. Just in case.”

“You did?”

She nibbled at his bottom lip, teased it with her tongue. “A girl can always hope.”

The meaning of her words wasn’t lost on him, either.

“I guess we’re good to go.” He grinned.

“All night long.”

“I have to pick up Zoey later.”

“Then all afternoon.”

He could do all afternoon, assuming no calls came in. “There’s something else I should tell you.” His hand slipped inside her blouse. Her skin was like silk, smooth, warm and inviting. “Along with protecting you, it’s also my sworn duty to serve.” His fingers dipped into the waistband of her skirt, fumbled for her zipper. “I consider it the most important part of my job.”

She shivered and cuddled closer. “Who am I to interfere with your sworn duty? Especially the most important part.”

A minute later, she was naked, and he was thanking God the last shred of his good sense had abandoned him.

C
AROLINA WOULD HAVE TAKEN
Neil to her bedroom, but the couch was closer. She sank into the plush cushions, pulling him down with her. There was something incredibly erotic about her being utterly naked and him being fully clothed—in his uniform, no less. Her bare calf rubbed against his khaki pant leg. The tips of her breasts skimmed the front of his shirt and the pockets with their mother-of-pearl snaps. The
cool metal of his belt buckle nestled in the warm curve of her belly.

Erotic, indeed.

Also frustrating. She wanted him naked, too.

“Take this off.” She removed his cowboy hat and flung it…somewhere. “And this.”

When she tried to strip him of his shirt, he eased out of her reach. “Not yet.” He moved down the length of her body, leaving a trail of goose bumps in his wake. “Not until I’m done.”

“With what?”

“You.” He plumped her breast with his hand, then took her beaded nipple in his mouth.

She stopped breathing. Stopped thinking. Stopped trying to put into words what she felt and just let myriad pleasurable sensations crash over her one by one.

His talent was unequaled, she thought distractedly as he kissed his way to her other breast. They should erect a shrine in his honor. No, no, she amended as his tongue circled and teased and flicked over profoundly sensitive regions that had lain dormant much too long. She wanted to keep his skills her own little secret.

He nudged her legs apart, causing her to gasp. She’d been so occupied with losing herself in the sensual delights of his touch that she’d failed to notice he’d once again changed positions, sliding lower on her body and stopping only when his mouth was level with her lower belly.

She watched him through half-closed eyes, her anticipation building as he stroked and caressed her most intimate spots. Nothing had ever aroused her more.

He made her wait, damn him, driving her crazy with feather-light touches. When his mouth finally descended on her, she was ready to fly apart. He made her wait for that, too, expertly keeping her poised on the precipice for…oh, my!

Her climax was sudden and earth-shattering and seemingly endless. Maybe she just didn’t want it to end. Who would? Time, perhaps, to reconsider that shrine.

“What did you say?” he murmured, wearing an infuriating and well-deserved grin.

“Nothing.” She moved languorously.

“Yes, you did. Something about a shrine.”

Her cheeks instantly heated. Make that overheated. She was already flushed from head to toe.

“I said that was fine.”

“It was more than fine.” He got up and started undressing.

“Okay. On a scale of one to ten, it was a—”

Carolina’s mind went blank, wiped clean by the sight of Neil shirtless. When his pants and briefs followed, her system poised on the verge of shutdown. It wasn’t merely a five-year abstinence that made Carolina appreciate Neil’s honed physique and impressive arousal. The man was Greek-statue worthy.

He dug the condom out of his wallet before tossing his pants aside.

“I’ll take that.” She held out her hand.

His grin went from sexy to dangerous in the span of a heartbeat. “You sure?”

“Very.”

He dropped the condom into her open palm. She promptly set it on the end table.

“I thought—”

“All in good time,” she promised before he could say more. Taking his hand, she guided him down beside her and welcomed him with a kiss that went from sweet to demanding in three seconds flat. She heightened their shared excitement by reaching between them to cup and stroke and fondle every inch of him.

When he moved over her, she pushed him back. “Not yet.”

He grunted in protest but relented and let her have her way with him. She left the very intense pleasure of his mouth to explore other parts of his body. Neck. Chest. Abdomen. Thighs.

“Carolina.” Her name was a hoarse whisper that seemed to tear from his lips.

She replied by taking him fully into her hands, then into her mouth.

He hung on for another thirty seconds before demanding, “Put the damn condom on.”

“Soon.” He’d made her wait, and turnabout was fair play.

Neil, however, wasn’t patient and, in her opinion, a spoil-sport. Without warning, he hoisted her up onto the couch and into his lap so that she straddled him, one leg on each side. He reached for the condom. She beat him to it, ripping it open with a flourish.

Then, thank heaven, he was inside her, fulfilling every single one of the fantasies she’d indulged in since the day of her sister’s wedding. And she had a very vivid imagination.

Neil didn’t talk, not that she expected he would. He let his body speak for him, but Carolina couldn’t resist murmuring into his ear about how good he was making her feel.

Neil cupped her bottom, thrusting harder and deeper. She adjusted to the new rhythm, adding a little of her own. He swore, which Carolina took as an indication he liked her innovativeness, then gave himself over to a violent shudder.

She cradled his head and held it to her breasts. Kissing the top of his hair, now damp with sweat, she rode the remainder of his release with him, rocking them both until he was spent at last.