Cop-Off (Love Burns #2)

CHAPTER THREE

This week sucked. Not only had Cat not managed to lasso herself a hot cowboy, but some fucker had reported her dating profile and got her account suspended. Who even did that? You could not make this stuff up. Apparently, the population of Woodvalley were not a fan of horse humor. Or her.

In an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, she’d made her way down to the Tipsy Cow. The town’s only bar. Here she could both drown her sorrows and pick up a man the old-fashioned way.

To ensure that something actually went right this week, she’d made extra effort. Tonight, she was wearing her tightest jeans and had paired them with a cropped vest. Not too cropped though; she wasn’t a teenager, after all. She’d also put on a little more makeup than usual and added waves to her hair. If she couldn’t pick up someone tonight, she was doing something seriously wrong.

All eyes turned on her as she entered the bar. Hopefully that was a good thing. Especially as she’d already spotted a few cowboy hotties. First things first though, she needed a drink.

Heading straight for the wooden-top bar, she felt herself smiling at all the random neon signs covering the walls. Was that a fish eating another fish?

To her surprise, she had company the moment her butt hit the stool. But it wasn’t the type she was looking for. It was the complete opposite.

“Are you following me, McBride?” She cocked her head accusingly.

Pulling up an unwelcome stool, he made himself comfortable. “I’m not sure they serve milk here, kitten.”

She’d come to the conclusion recently that Cody McBride was the ultimate mind-fuck. One minute he was ribbing her, the next he was oozing sex. Taking his flirting to an almost obnoxious level. Well, she was sick of it. Tonight might just be the night to find out once and for all what the hell his problem was.

Slowly twisting in her seat, she let one leg drop in between his while the other rested against his thigh, and leaned in. All the while, letting her eyes bore into melting caramel. Putting on her sultriest voice, she let her knuckles trail down his face and through his freshly trimmed beard. “Actually, officer, I prefer cream. The whipped kind.” Just because she could, she dragged her tongue across her lower lip. Feeling satisfied as his eyes followed the movement. “It’s a little messier ... and stickier. But all the best things are, right?”

Ah-hah! She saw that. A gulp. She’d made him gulp. So it wasn’t all in her head —he did want her. On some level.

“If you want cream, kitten, I’m sure I can find a way to get you some.” Now his voice was lower too. Scratchy. As if it were being scraped unwillingly from the depths of his throat.

Goosebumps began to break out across her skin as she took it one step further and pushed into his legs again. “And what would I have to do in return for this cream?”

“You know what I want.” He leaned into her. So close that she could get tipsy on his beer-soaked breath.

Suddenly, she felt out of her depth. Realisation hit that she’d taken this too far. At this point, she didn’t know who was playing with who.

“Do I?” she managed to reply in a far less confident tone.

“Yes, you do.” Just as his mouth moved closer, a squeaky, high-pitched voice pulled them apart.

“What can I get ya?”

Saved by the bartender.

Thank fuck.

After clearing her throat, she ordered a beer. She needed it. And possibly a shot. Or five.

Attempting to put some distance between them, she spun in her chair until she was back facing the bar.

“Make that two,” Cody ground out, a new edge carved into his voice.

He pulled his wallet from his jeans, chucked down a couple of bills and pushed them across the bar.

“I can buy my own drink,” she automatically protested.

“Maybe so, but you ain’t buying this one.” She could still feel his eyes on her. “You gonna tell me why you’re here, kitten? Alone.”

Unbelievable.

Her guard was back up. And it was steel enforced. “I’m sorry, Lucifer, here I was thinking I was actually in a free country. You know, one where a grown-arse woman can go to a bar by herself and not have to answer inane fucking questions about it.”

“Zero to a fucking hundred,” he mumbled to himself, prompting her to spin back around to glare at him. “You ever thought that I’m just looking out for you? Huh? Or is that concept too much for you to grasp?”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What exactly are you afraid of? Me having a good time? We all know how much you hate that.”

All of a sudden he was up and off his stool, legs pushing between her thighs, head bowed until their mouths were just a breath apart. “You may not care about your own safety, but others do. Me included. In case you’ve forgotten, this is my town. This is me protecting and serving. If you don’t like it, then you know what to do.”

Now she was the one gulping. The intensity radiating off him was enough to burn the whole place down.

Run! Get the hell out of here. Now.

Seeing as her legs weren’t cooperating, words were all she had.

“You wanna know what I’m doing here? Fine. I’m gonna find myself a nice cowboy, McBride. You know, to teach me how to ride. Happy?”

He was not happy. He’d never looked more unhappy. Jaw clenched, nostrils flaring and pure fire in his eyes. This was her cue to leave. She needed to get out of this exchange before one of them did something they’d regret.

The cowboy checking her out in the corner hadn’t gone unnoticed. It looked like she would be jumping to stage two of her plan, three beers sooner than she would have liked. But it was for the best.

Finally managing to unpick herself from Cody, she sacrificed her beer and made a beeline for the corner. But she didn’t get very far.

“Nope.” Cody grabbed her arm mid-swing and pulled her back.

“What do you mean nope ?” she asked incredulously as she whipped around.

“I mean, no way in hell are you going anywhere near that yahoo.”

How did he even know about said yahoo?

“Have you lost your mind? Let go of me.” She tried in vain to shake her arm loose from his grip.

“Don’t make me get out my cuffs, kitten,” he warned.

“Don’t make me shove them up your arse, Satan.”

Seconds later, she was unceremoniously lifted off the ground, legs ferociously kicking, as he carried her across the dancefloor. Cody used his back to push open an ominous black door and walked them through.

As soon as he’d placed her back on the ground, her arms were swinging. “What the hell, Cody? What is wrong with you?”

She managed to get a good few arm punches in before he reacted. And when he did, she was not prepared for her body’s reaction. His hard body backed her into the door. Using just one of his hands, hers were yanked above her head and pinned in place. She couldn’t move. But the most shocking thing of all, she didn’t want to.

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting you ride any motherfucking cowboy, do you hear me?” Even in the shadows, she saw the switch in his demeanour. He wasn’t playing around anymore.

“And why’s that?”

“You wanna ride? You come to me.”

If those words had been spoken to her any other time, she’d be laughing in his face. But right now, her body was literally begging her to take him up on that offer.

She didn’t know whether it was the breath tickling her lips, the feel of his big body pressed against her or how damn sexy it was when he’d pinned her hands to the door. But one thing was for sure, a part of her wanted him. Badly.

She realized then as their breathing became heavy, she hadn’t replied. Which seemed about right. She could barely think, let alone speak.

Their eyes never left each other as their mouths gravitated closer. All she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat pounding. And it was out of control.

“Tell me now if you don’t want this.” His testosterone drenched words hung heavy in the air.

Was she really doing this? Was she really going to cross over to the dark side?

His mouth hovered above hers, brushing her lips and pulling back. Over and over again. Tormenting her.

With one quick move, she had her answer and he had his.

Her teeth tugged his lower lip as she took what she wanted. What her body was begging for. They skipped the soft and gentle and went straight to urgent and intense as they both fought for control. He pried her open and was tasting every inch. And she was biting back. Every lick and nip killing off another brain cell.

Although she was restrained, Cody was certainly making use of his free hand as she felt it drag up the curve of her waist, all the way up to just below her chest. His thumb brushed back and forth until it hit bare skin and pushed under her cropped vest. He didn’t move further, though. Not under her bra or anywhere else she wanted to feel him.

Her body thrashed in response, Cody swallowing her whimper as she pushed into him. She wanted more. She wanted everything he promised. He seemed to understand and pushed his leg between her thighs. Hard. A roar ripping through him as she moaned into their kiss.

Cody McBride was driving her insane. Again. Only this time, she welcomed the crazy. She was basking in it. Enjoying every ounce of pleasure that he was giving her as flames danced in her belly.

His mouth drew back slightly, and she thought for a moment he was going to stop. Pull away. That was until the thigh he’d wedged between her legs pressed into her again, the pressure wrenching another moan out of her.

“You like that, kitten?” he drawled against her parted lips. “Is that what you want? Me between those sexy as hell legs?”

Yes. God, yes. Please.

But she didn’t get to say that. Or feel it. Because seconds later, the squeaky bartender was back. And she was shrieking.

“Uh, um, excuse me, sir? Um ... the stock room is for employees only. I’m gonna have to ask you and your friend to, uh, return to the bar.”

Cat’s brain finally made an appearance. It was still very clouded and extremely sexually frustrated, but it had awoken nonetheless, and it was currently releasing her hands from Cody’s grip and wasting no time in pushing him backward.

“Sorry, Stace.” Cody grinned, his honey hue eyes still firmly on Cat. “We got carried away, didn’t we, kitten?”

And back was the rage.

She was out of there. Door flung open, she power-walked her dumb arse out of the bar and didn’t look back.

What the hell were you thinking, Cat?

***

Cat couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Cody. But that wasn’t the worst of it. She felt him too. His lips, his hands, his thigh. Her whole body was on high alert. And her brain, well, her brain was freaking the hell out.

What had she been thinking? Cody McBride, of all people. Talk about a frigging cliché. From fighting to that other ‘F’ word that she definitely wasn’t going to think about. No way. She would not give him the satisfaction. Besides, her hormones didn’t control her. She could resist the demon. Would resist him.

Releasing her phone from its charger, she turned to her side and began the inevitable doom scrolling. It only took a few minutes and headlines had been checked and social media scanned. Now it was time for her dreaded inbox to be opened.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Scrambling in her cotton sheets, she clumsily pulled herself up and reread the email from Amy. Her friend. The friend who’d volunteered to find out who’d shut her dating profile down.

I don’t have a name yet, but I can see on their system they received a request to close the account. According to their policy, the only time they’d actually close an account down without any investigation is if they receive a request from the police or through a court order. Have you pissed off any cops or judges lately?

She replayed what Cody had said to her tonight. The pure anger coming off him in waves as he declared she wasn’t to go near any cowboys. The bastard was jealous.

He did it. He shut my account down. She knew it. She could feel it.

How dare he!

There was no way she was going to sleep now. Her heart was racing way too fast, and she was literally shaking with rage.

Hauling herself out of bed, she grabbed her fluffy grey dressing gown and wrapped it around her. Making her way to the next room, she switched on the orange lamp and grabbed her laptop. Once she’d settled into the sofa, she placed a cushion under her computer and started it up. If she couldn’t sleep then there was plenty of work for her to do.

There were two books she’d been working on. Editing the romance novel when she was this frustrated probably wasn’t a good idea, so she clicked open the other book. A thriller.

“That’s more like it,” she muttered to herself as she began reading.

If it was going to be a long night, then at least it would be action-packed.