Cyrus (Seven Deadly Sins #2)

Prologue

Sixteen Years Ago

Lavinia “Vinnie” Grant drained the remainder of her beer, doing her best to ignore the pounding headache brought on by a combination of stress and the loud music pumping out over the sound system in the bar. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but it had been one hell of a day.

The youngest deputy in the department at twenty, and a rookie to boot, nonetheless she’d been confident she was ready for anything the job would throw at her.

While she’d handled the four-car pileup just outside town, it would be a long time before the memories of the blood and broken bodies left her . .. if they ever did.

She tapped on the bar, and the bartender brought her another. This was her second and her last. It wouldn’t do for her to get picked up for driving while under the influence. Yeah, that would not go over well with her boss.

Around her, people laughed and danced and flirted.

She was among them yet set apart, both by her job and her natural disposition.

Vinnie was quiet, kept to herself, and took pride in her job.

There wasn’t time for much else. As a young woman in the sheriff’s department, she was aware there were people waiting for her to screw up and fail.

Wasn’t fair, but then again, no one ever said life was.

The door opened. Instinct and training had her glancing over. Interest made her take a second look. The newcomer was a stranger. She’d lived in Kingman Creek her entire life and would have remembered this man if she’d seen him before.

Six-five and about two-sixty, to her estimation, with shaggy brown hair and a thick beard, he paused inside the door and scanned the room.

He was dressed the same as most of the other men in boots, jeans, and a t-shirt, but the similarities ended there.

The seams of his black shirt were stretched tight over broad shoulders, huge biceps, and muscled abs.

The well-worn fabric of his jeans molded to thick thighs.

His gaze slid past her but jerked back, their gazes colliding.

The air around her seemed to sizzle. He ambled across the room and slid onto a stool two down from where she sat.

Up close, he seemed even larger, radiating a menace that had her turning slightly to keep him in full view.

It wasn’t anything he’d done, but instinct warned he could be trouble.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

“Bourbon.”

Vinnie’s breath caught in her throat. The deep sound of his voice vibrated through her entire body.

What is wrong with me? She’d dated over the years, had one serious relationship that had ended when she’d decided to make law enforcement her career, but never had she experienced such an immediate and visceral reaction to a man.

When the bourbon was placed in front of him, he dropped some money on the bar and wrapped his fingers around the glass. His wrists were thick, his forearms covered in a light dusting of dark hair and roped with veins and muscle. His hands were huge.

All the better to touch you with.

She forced herself to take a breath. It was time to go home. Her mood had flipped from dark and disheartened to sexual arousal in a heartbeat. Yet she lingered, sipping her beer.

Minutes passed and the stranger continued to stare at the amber liquid.

“You gonna drink that or just look at it?” She wanted to call back the question almost as soon as it left her lips.

“Forget it. None of my business.” She couldn’t blame the alcohol for making her chatty.

Something about him aroused her curiosity.

“Trying to decide.”

She swallowed a moan as his voice slid through her like the heat from a shot of whiskey. When he turned the full force of his gaze on her, she barely kept from looking away. Eyes as cold and black as midnight captured her.

The music continued to blare, people laughed and talked, almost shouting to be heard above the noise, but his presence somehow muted it, driving it into the background.

His nostrils flared and the intensity surrounding him ratcheted up a notch.

He ran his finger up and down the side of the glass, the gesture mesmerizing.

Lifting the bourbon, he downed it all in one swallow, set the glass on the bar, gave her a nod, rose, and left.

When the door closed behind him, she took her first full breath since he’d entered.

The noise came roaring back, as did her headache.

Done for the night, she shoved away her almost full beer, gave the bartender a wave, and headed out.

Sleep would be a long time coming tonight, if it came at all, but drinking alone in a bar wasn’t helping either.

The soles of her boots crunched against the gravel as she crossed the parking lot.

A large black truck was parked alongside her car.

It wasn’t the vehicle that caught her attention but the man leaning against it.

Her hand automatically went to her waist. She silently swore when she remembered her weapon was at home, along with her uniform. She was off duty until the day after tomorrow.

The stranger continued to watch, doing nothing threatening, but she couldn’t shake the sensation of being hunted. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you.”

She took a step back and glanced over her shoulder. There was no one else around. The music was so loud it was unlikely anyone would hear if she screamed.

He straightened and sighed. “You seemed interested in the bar. If I misread the signals, I apologize. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her spine snapped straight and her chin tilted up—her default when her courage was called into question. “I’m not afraid of you. You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Passing through. Spending the night at the motel down the road.” He pushed away from his truck and ambled toward her, stopping a short distance away. “I’d love company if you’re interested. No strings attached.”

“Pretty sure of yourself.” The man wasn’t lacking in confidence or audacity. “Does this approach usually work?”

“Don’t know. I don’t make a habit of asking a woman back to my room.”

She eyed him up and down. He was sexy in a rough and tumble way. Women would flock to him wherever he went. “You expect me to believe that?” She might not have a ton of experience, but neither was she stupid.

He shrugged. “People seem to find me intimidating.”

That she could believe. Still, there was something about him that drew her.

It was almost magnetic. He reached out and traced his index finger down the side of her face, the same one he’d run over the outside of the bourbon glass.

She shuddered, her heart pounding, desire sliding through her like hot molasses.

“Let me taste you.” Before she could process his request, his lips were on hers.

Not hard or demanding but light and coaxing.

The sound of longing she made was one she’d never heard before.

His tongue slid along her bottom lip, tempting and teasing.

When her lips parted, he slid inside. The smoky taste of the liquor mingled with male heat to create something entirely new and utterly addictive.

They were both panting heavily when he pulled away and ran his thumb over her lips.

“I want more, but that’s up to you.” He walked over to the passenger door of his truck and opened it.

“What about my car?” Wait! Was she actually considering this?

She’d walked the straight and narrow line her entire life, always doing what was expected.

Her one rebellion had been following her father’s footsteps into law enforcement.

Her mother hadn’t been happy, having lost her husband on the job, but she’d accepted it.

Which was more than Vinnie’s ex-boyfriend had done.

“You can leave it here, and I’ll bring you back in the morning.”

No way was she doing that. If things went sideways, or she changed her mind, she wanted her own transportation. “I’ll follow you.”

He carefully closed the door, gave her one final look, and went around to the driver’s side.

The powerful engine rumbled to life. Realizing she was standing there like a bump on a log, she hurried to her car.

“You’ve lost your damn mind,” she muttered as she unlocked it and climbed in.

It was time to be sensible. Emotionally on edge after the horrors of the day, she was in no headspace to make good decisions.

When his truck turned left onto the road, she intended to go right and head home. That’s what she’d planned, but somehow she found herself following behind him.

This recklessness wasn’t like her. She feared it stemmed from viewing so much unnecessary death earlier today. It was natural to want to reaffirm life. Even knowing that, she didn’t veer off course.

The trip was short and he pulled in at the far end of the motel. She parked her car on the far side of his. Because of the size and position of his vehicle, hers would be hidden from view unless someone walked all the way down here for a look.

She was risking her reputation and possibly jeopardizing her job—there were unwritten rules about such things in small towns—all for a one-night stand with a complete stranger.

Fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, she sat there arguing with herself until there was a tap on the window.

She jolted and then put down the window.

He hunkered down, a partial smile on his lips. “Lose your nerve?”

“Coming to my senses,” she muttered.

“You married?”

Indignant, she swiveled in her seat to face him. “Of course not.”

“Then what’s the problem? We’re both healthy adults with no commitments. We both know going in that I’m passing through and will be gone tomorrow.”

“It’s not that easy. I don’t do...” She waved her hands in the air. “This.” Whatever the heck this was.