Chapter 3 #2
Ever the gentleman, he moved to the door and opened it for me.
This time, when I passed him, I breathed in deeply. He smelled like sawdust and something spicy. It was a smell I could get used to.
Not that I would.
“Just let me know when you wanna start,” Wolfe said as he followed me back down the stairs.
“I … uh … will.” I didn’t look back at him, instead keeping my attention on the door.
I thought I was home free when another looming presence filled the space.
Sheriff Trevino.
I fought the urge to look at Wolfe, to question whether this was a setup.
The sheriff’s deep blue gaze swerved to me, following as I traipsed down the stairs. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was checking out my legs.
I was okay with that.
Well, more okay than if he’d come here to corner me.
Deep breath.
I continued toward the door, half expecting the sheriff to lunge for me.
He didn’t.
In fact, he didn’t move, but he did remove his hat and offer a smile.
The relief that hit me was nearly enough to take me out at the knees.
Fortunately, I managed to keep the starch in my legs as I marched right for the door.
And out into the blistering Texas sunshine.
Wolfe
I watched as Amy slipped past Rhys. Her back ramrod straight, shoulders tensed, chin tilted in a slightly defiant manner.
She seemed to keep as much space between her and the sheriff as the doorway would allow.
All the while, Rhys kept his eyes on her.
I saw the man’s interest, knew what he was thinking.
It should’ve bothered me, but it didn’t.
I wasn’t quite sure why that was, because my own interest in Amy had come to a head when I'd been sitting just a few feet away from her in my office. The dress she wore was sexier than should’ve been allowed.
Cream-colored lace over a cream-colored fabric that hung a little loose on her thin body.
It showed off her tanned legs and arms and had me wondering whether or not she had any tan lines.
That, combined with a pair of boots, had damn near made my mouth water when I'd watched her pacing the parking lot earlier.
When she’d finally appeared inside the warehouse, I had seen the hesitation in her dark espresso eyes.
The woman seemed to always be taking in her surroundings, scanning every corner of the room more than once.
Even when we’d been in my office, her gaze never stayed put, straying to the door at least a dozen times.
And holy shit, had she smelled good. Something sweet had wafted by me when she stepped into the small office, and I had inhaled deeply—twice—trying to make out what it was. Honeysuckle had been my best guess, but what did I know?
Although mixing business with pleasure was never a good idea, I couldn’t deny the way my body reacted to her. Hell, more than once while we’d been in that small office, I'd thought about sitting her atop my desk and sliding my hand beneath that short dress while my mouth followed close behind.
I was a dog, no doubt about it.
Not that I'd let her know that. I figured sharing with her all the dirty things I wanted to do to her was a surefire way to have her running for the hills. I'd deal with that when the time came. If. I meant if, not when. Damn.
But right now I had a different issue to deal with.
“Twice in one day,” I grumbled. “Either you’ve developed a crush on me or whatever’s on your mind must really be important.”
I preferred the former.
Admittedly, I'd had a few fantasies that included the sexy sheriff and the sweet girl who’d just slipped out the door. They usually involved the three of us naked and my hands roaming all over both of them.
Rhys moved into the warehouse, his attention drifting out the door momentarily before he turned toward me. I raised my dark eyebrows in question and I knew what he was wondering. However, I'd never been the kind to give up information without a little interrogation.
So I waited.
And waited.
After several painfully tense seconds, I finally sighed and relented. “She’s gonna work for us.”
“Really?”
I nodded but didn’t elaborate.
“New office manager?”
“Yep.”
“She have experience with that?”
“Nope.” I frowned. “You the office police now? What’s with the twenty questions, Sheriff?”
Rhys moved closer, placing his hat back on his head, the move catching my attention. I let my gaze stray over the man’s lean form. Dark blue Wranglers encased his muscular thighs and a bright white button-down covered his well-built chest. The sleeves were rolled up to show off his tanned forearms.
I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt for the man.
He was solidly built and carried himself with an air of authority that should’ve irked the shit out of me, but it didn’t.
There was something about Rhys Trevino that made me want to strip him slowly and see how quickly I could get the man to unravel.
I got the feeling it wouldn’t be all that easy.
Good thing I was up for a challenge.
“You get any information on her?” Rhys questioned.
Lifting my gaze higher, I studied the sheriff’s face. He’d shaved that morning, obviously. His angular jaw was still smooth, his face expressionless.
“No,” I said bluntly.
I wanted to know what his angle was. His curiosity wasn’t completely out of character.
Rhys Trevino was the sheriff of our small county.
He’d been elected by an overwhelming majority and he was good at what he did.
Mainly because he paid attention, so it only made sense that he was taking an interest in Amy.
However, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it was for the good of the community.
It seemed more personal than that. Much more personal.
“She didn’t fill out an application?”
I shook my head, continuing to watch Rhys. “Why so concerned?”
That question seemed to shock him, but he merely shrugged as he glanced around the warehouse. It was obvious he was trying to pretend he didn’t care when it was obvious he did.
“I’m not concerned. More like worried.”
“And you’re worried about her, why?” I let my confusion ring in my tone.
“I think she’s runnin’ from somethin’.”
The full impact of Rhys’s midnight-blue stare hit me head on.
I had to admit, the man could be intimidating when he wanted to be.
Between the badge and gun and the intense look in his eyes, Rhys Trevino was a sight to take in.
I would even go so far as to say that a lesser man would probably back away from the sheriff if he came up against him.
Not that I was intimidated. I had at least two inches and a good thirty pounds of solid muscle on the guy.
Although I rarely entertained the idea of being with a man these days, I couldn’t deny I'd had some lascivious thoughts where the sheriff was concerned.
I had experimented in my youth. My sexual desires were intense, and I'd been curious, seeking whatever it took to sate my powerful urges. My penchant for the ladies wasn’t due to some underlying denial, though, so my interest in men confused me at times.
At one point, I'd dubbed myself an equal opportunity lover. It suited me.
“Because I can,” Rhys said and his tone resonated with truth. “She’s new in town, keeps to herself more than most, and if I’m not mistaken, she’s hidin’ out here. Yet she’s comfortable enough to work at the diner, where anyone and everyone can see her.”
“Maybe she just needs money.” Since she needed electricity and food, maybe it was the lesser of two evils.
“If she’s runnin’ from somethin’, I’d like to know how to help her.”
“Well, she ain’t tellin’ me nothin’.”
“Not yet.”
“Not ever,” I countered. “A woman like that ain’t gonna spill her guts unless she wants to.” Hell, I figured it would be easier to wrestle a two-thousand-pound bull with my bare hands than to get that woman to talk.
Rhys moved over to the table I had just finished. He ran his hand over the smooth, varnished top, and an image of him bent over that table while I fucked him from behind nearly stole my breath.
Son of a bitch.
I was going to have to get laid soon. These damn fantasies were getting ridiculous.
“Why’d you offer her a job?”
I sighed. “No ulterior motive here, Sheriff. And technically, Lynx’s the one who offered her a job. I just interviewed her.”
“I talked to Donna,” Rhys explained, referring to the diner’s owner. “She said Amy didn’t share a lot of information when she applied for the job there.”
I didn’t figure she had. “Maybe she’s a private person.”
“So private she insisted on being paid in cash?”
Okay, so maybe more like paranoid. I didn’t know. “I’m sure she has her reasons.”
“Or she’s hidin’,” Rhys reiterated.
Yeah. That, too. I put the lid on a can of stain. “Look, Trevino, I don’t know what you want from me. I hired her.”
“So you can keep an eye on her.”
My head snapped around and I glared at the sheriff.
“Don’t bother denyin’ it, Caine. I know you’ve got a protective streak.”
Maybe that was true, but I wasn’t going to let the sheriff rile me. “I’m not takin’ in strays, Sheriff.”
“No?”
I was tired of this conversation already. “I’ve got shit to do, Rhys. If you don’t mind…”
Our eyes remained locked for a few seconds more than I was comfortable with, then he turned and headed for the door.
I stared after him until I heard the man’s truck leave the parking lot. I'd just turned back to cleaning up my mess when Lynx stormed into the room.
“Son of a bitch!”
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Tammy stole my goddamn truck.”