Chapter 2
Corbin
Fuck my entire life right now. The beautiful omega in the cruiser next to me smells like roses and lilacs, and it’s slicing through me like a hot bullet.
I’m gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles are as white as the cherry blossoms on the trees lining Main Street.
Miss Heart’s wearing a light blue, ruffled peasant top.
It's off the shoulder, displaying the entire column of her throat and shoulders.
My teeth ache with the urge to bite that beautiful, deep-brown skin, velvet-soft and begging to bruise under my mouth.
Her tightly coiled dark hair is pulled into two buns on top of her head.
“Sheriff?” Her voice cuts through my thoughts, and I realize she’s been speaking.
“I’m sorry, Miss Heart. My mind was on some paperwork I need to do later. What were you saying?” I adjust myself discreetly in my seat.
“I was asking if you were planning on going to the beach-opening party in a couple of weeks. Did Mayor Liu rope you into anything?”
“No, Erin's running security for the day to make sure no one gets too drunk or too rowdy. Plus, as my new deputy, it’ll give her a chance to meet everyone in town.”
Her face gets brighter. “How is Deputy Erin doing? Is she settling in okay?”
I try not to glance at her. I really do. But I couldn’t keep myself from looking at Miss Heart any more than I could keep myself from breathing. I can hold out for a little while, but not for long.
Her expression is open and truly interested.
I’ve never seen her upset with anyone in town, even unruly customers.
She calls if there’s a real problem—like with the woman who tried to shoplift last week.
We caught her red-handed on video, and Miss Heart just shook her head and said she hoped the woman found peace elsewhere.
“She’s adjusting well. Far better than my last deputy.”
My last deputy was a lot of trouble. He’d had an unhealthy obsession with an omega in town. One of Miss Heart’s friends. She nods knowingly.
Finally, we pull up to the police station.
I step out of the cruiser and discreetly gulp in the fresh spring air, clearing my lungs of the omega’s perfect scent.
We head inside. It’s slow, as it usually is in a small tourist town.
We mostly deal with drunk tourists and the occasional thief.
That’s why I chose this department—I needed something as far removed from my old life as I could get.
“Hey, Winnie!” Erin calls. She’s a small omega with red hair and green eyes.
She looks unthreatening, but her record tells a different story—expert marksman, record arrests as a rookie.
I once asked her why she chose Lakeside Point and she said she’d show me hers if I’d show her mine.
It was clear Erin had looked at my record. I never asked again.
“Hey, Erin! Slow day?” Miss Heart asks. Her lilac scent is steady, happy. It settles something deep in my alpha hindbrain.
“Slow enough. Just a little excitement with that furball in the back. But I’m guessing that’s why you’re here.” She winks. Miss Heart giggles and looks toward my office door. She glances back at me with a question in her eyes.
“Go ahead,” I huff.
Her smile is the goddamn sun. She skips, and I do mean skips, to the door and opens it slowly. The sound of claws skittering against linoleum rings through the office, then a loud Awww. There’s lots of low baby talk from Miss Heart.
“Any luck finding an owner?” I ask Erin.
She shakes her head. “Lilly came in earlier and gave the pup a thorough look. Not injured, but he’s got no chip, hasn’t been neutered, and doesn’t look like he’s had his shots yet. Probably escaped from a puppy mill or something. A little underfed, but not too bad.”
Lilly is the local vet. “So he doesn’t have an owner?”
I close my eyes to hide the way Miss Heart’s musical voice shocks my core.
When I open them, I’ve half pulled myself together. “Doesn’t look like it. Have to drop him off at the dog shelter,” I say, turning.
Miss Heart stands in the doorway, cradling the unruly mutt in her arms like it’s a hairy baby. Its head is cocked at me, tongue lolling out of its mouth.
When I mention the dog shelter, she squeezes the dog tighter and looks down into its wide eyes. Some silent communication passes between them, and I brace myself for what I know is coming next.
“What if he comes to live with me?” Her eyes meet mine—wide, beautiful, and hopeful—and I know I’m going to crumble like a cookie.
Still, I have to try. “Miss Heart, someone could still come to claim the dog. He might have a home somewhere.”
“I know he could,” she claims, but I can see exactly how much she doesn’t believe those words, “but if he were my lost dog, I wouldn’t want him staying in a shelter.”
Her eyes—gods, those eyes. And her scent is so warm, sweet, and hopeful. I’d burn the world before souring it.
I sigh, and she beams. She knows she’s won.
Then her face turns down in a frown. “The only problem is I’m leaving for a bachelorette trip for one of my sisters tonight. I’m going to be gone for four days.”
My alpha snaps up below the surface. Not seeing her for that long is not acceptable to him. Good thing I don’t let him run me.
“Four days for a bachelorette?” The words come out friendly—I hope—and not possessive.
She rolls her eyes. “My younger sister. She enjoys lots of fanfare with things. I’m going to get to visit my family too, though.”
I look down at the puppy in her arms and then up to Miss Heart’s lovely face before sighing. I rub the back of my neck as I say, “I could take him while you’re gone. Train him up a bit too.”
Her eyes go wide. “Really? Oh my gosh. I’d owe you. Are you sure?”
The puppy squirms, licking the bottom of her chin, and she giggles.
Fuck my life, that giggle.
“Yeah,” I say a little more gruffly than I mean to, “no problem.” I step up to her and try not to groan as our arms brush. I jerkily take the mutt from her arms. “Thing is, if I’m gonna try to train him, he needs a name.”
She places her manicured little finger on her chin and taps. I want to draw that finger into my mouth and suck.
“How about ‘Deputy’?” she asks. “Since the police found him, it seems fitting.”
Erin’s head pops up. “Hey now, that’s my job,” she teases.
“Well, he could be your assistant,” Winnie clarifies.
Erin sidles up to my side, taking the mutt’s big paw in her hand.
“He does seem like a pretty cute sidekick. I'll put up missing puppy posters, but no one's come in looking for him.” Another sign that he might be from one of the puppy mills. They don't want to draw attention to their operations.
“Deputy it is,” I gruff, and Miss Heart beams.
Like I said. Fuck. My. Life.