Sheriff’s Dirty Secret

Prologue

Luke March

I should be off my shift, but here I was instead.

Walking around the middle of town, in full uniform, my utility belt heavy on my hips as sweat started to form at the back of my neck. I smiled and nodded at the kind citizens of Moonlit Pines as they passed me while I made my rounds around the farmers market.

Just like I had every Tuesday since I started as Sheriff of Moonlit Pines two months ago.

Sure, it looks good in theory.

The new-to-town sheriff meets and greets his close-knit community. Getting to know the vendors and the regulars of the long-standing event. And maybe the first two weeks, that was my intention.

But after a particular little cookie vendor caught my eye, my intentions weren’t so pure.

Olive Trejo. Just her name made butterflies the size of pterodactyls come to life in my stomach.

The sight of her green EZ Up tent up ahead made my pulse kick up and my palms a little sweatier.

Me! The man who worked in big towns, been shot at more times than I can count was nervous over a little pixie of a woman with more attitude than you’d think would be possible.

I wanted to approach her, but every time I got close, I put my foot in my mouth and made a mess of shit. That’s why I’d stuck to staying on shift longer Tuesdays when I’d already worked a twenty-four-hour shift. Just for the opportunity to observe her in her element.

I knew the moment she saw me.

There was something about the way Olive held her body that changed. And I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not, but her gaze warmed up. She liked me. She might not act it or admit it, but she did.

“Miss Trejo,” I called out the moment I was close to her booth. Her dark eyes connected with mine, and my mouth watered. Fuck, she’s pretty. The sweet scent that clung to the air around her booth smelled decadent. Hell, decadent was an understatement.

“Sheriff. Come to harass unsuspecting vendors again?” I inwardly winced but couldn’t blame her hostile attitude.

I deserved it.

The first time I stopped by her booth, I got so fucking tongue tied, I stupidly asked for proof of her permit. It was obvious I’d made a shit first impression.

“Nothing like that. Just seeing what you have this week.” My eyes dropped to the few cookies she had left.

“Hmm.” She shrugged like she didn’t care.

Her attention floated from me to the new librarian, who had just started at the library around the same time I moved here but had been living here for longer,.

“What can I get you, Lola?” Just like that, she’d dismissed me.

But I wasn’t going anywhere. The woman took her glasses off and cleaned them with the edge of her book-themed shirt.

“Can I get one of your mixed half-dozen?” she asked and sighed, her shoulders heavy, “I don’t think I could make a decision to save my life today.”

“Bad day?” Olive asked, her voice softening the way I’d noticed it did with her friends at the resort or her siblings.

“I guess.” It was obvious the librarian didn’t want to talk about it. My eyes bounced to Olive, and I knew by the way she was watching her customer that she wasn’t going to push. “Everything works out, though, right?” Lola sighed as she tried to stay positive.

“Right,” Olive agreed. I watched as she slipped in not only the boxed six pack but a brownie as well. “Here you go.” She handed Lola the bag, and when the librarian went to reach for her wallet, Olive shook her head. “It’s on the house.”

“No, I can’t let you do that, Oli,” Lola started to argue, but Olive shot her a look, and I knew the librarian wasn’t going to fight. “Okay, but no more of that. You need to get your shop soon, and you won’t get there giving stuff away.”

“I will if it’s to make someone’s day better. It’s all about karma.” Olive winked, and fuck if her words didn’t do something inside of me. It wasn’t just something she said to make her friend a little more at ease.

She meant it. Believed it.

After working in Pheonix and then Seattle, I wasn’t so sure people got what they deserved.

“Plus, a couple cookies won’t change that. Enjoy and remember the day will get better.” She winked and Lola smiled, genuinely this time, her eyes slightly shiny. “You wanna talk, I’m here, okay?” Olive said quieter as I pretended not to be overhearing.

Lola nodded before she walked away, leaving just the two of us at the booth.

My woman—I had no idea when I started to think of her that way, but I did—begrudgingly focused her attention back on me.

“What about you, Sheriff. What will you be having?” The question was more than loaded, and I couldn’t help the way my eyes roamed up and down her body.

Olive was beautiful.

Curves and sweetness with a heavy splash of sass. Not to mention an incredible ass. But it was more than the physical that drew me to her. It was the light inside of her that shone so brightly, so real, I just wanted to stand in front of it. Shield it from the world ever trying to dim it.

“Your phone number?” She snorted.

“My number?” she repeated and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Here you go.” She handed me her business card. “Now you can place your order over the phone or on my website.”

“What if I don’t want to place an order but talk to you?” I was pushing my luck and knew it.

“Sheriff—“

“Luke,” I corrected, wanting more than anything to hear her say my name. It was always Sheriff .

I moved closer, hating the table that stood between us. I’d sat back there two weeks ago, when she’d let me for some reason. I had even helped her pack up, hoping she would take me up on my lunch invite.

Instead, she thanked me, handed me a box of the most sinfully delicious snickerdoodles she had waiting in her car as a thank you, and left me standing there wanting more.

But if I was being real, I had a feeling I could spend a hundred years with the woman in front of me and still be greedy for more.

“Sheriff.” She sighed. All I could think about was how I wanted to hear her say my name. Her not doing it was driving me crazy.

But fuck me, that was the problem! Something wasn’t right with my head when it came to Olive Trejo.

Not only did I want her, but it was like no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get enough of her.

It had started slowly, but this obsessive drive was taking control.

I went places I knew she’d be at. Drove past her street late at night countless times, all to make sure she was okay, to give me the peace of mind I needed.

Fuck, I’d even parked on the block behind her street and walked around the perimeter of the small cabin she rented.

Lurking around like some kind of thief in the night, sneaking peeks through windows to see the inside of her place.

Shit, I’d even stood outside her bedroom watching her sleep under the moonlight.

I’d been tempted to pick the lock and walk right in, slink through her small home and kneel before her bed as she slept. But I hadn’t crossed that line. Yet.

I knew it would only be a matter of time this thing inside of me, this obsession, would take over, full blown, and I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

“Look, Sheriff, I’m not sure—“ she started to go on, trying to shake me off and push me away. I’d heard the drill last week and this weekend when we accidentally bumped into one another at the local brewery.

Shit, I was sure I would hear it again when she saw me at the grocery store tomorrow. I knew her schedule down to the T. And even if I didn’t, I knew how to find her. I’d always find her.

“So, like I said, thank you again for all your help two weeks ago and everything, but I don’t think this is going to work out.”

“Work out?” I repeated. Oh! My little baker thinks she has a choice about ending up with me ? the thing inside me wondered with growl. I didn’t mind a challenge. A little game of cat and mouse was good; it never hurt anyone. Just the thought of chasing Olive made the blood in my body rush south.

“I’m not into dating.” The Big Bad Wolf inside of me started to grin.

“Who said I want to date you?” I asked, standing at my full height. She looked up at me those pretty, dark chocolate eyes locked onto mine. I want to claim you. Make you mine. Keep you forever. The words were lodged in the back of my throat. Luckily, they didn’t slip out.

“Well…” She blushed, and time stood still.

My beautiful, bold, sassy baker blushed for me. Fucking hell, it made the front of my pants tight. Or tighter, as the case would be. My girl wasn’t the shy kind. It was what had made her stand out. She didn’t hold her tongue, and even if I had been on the brunt end of it, I loved that about her.

“The department was asked to do career day at the high school, and I thought maybe it would be something you would be interested in. But I’m sorry for bringing it up.

” It wasn’t complete bullshit, but it got me out of keeping my size-twelve boot out of my mouth.

I wanted to high five myself for the quick scheming.

“Sheriff.” Her pretty mouth opened and closed, like she wasn’t sure what to say. I forced my body to relax. To drop my shoulders some as I shrugged and schooled my face not to show how I felt.

“It’s fine. I’ll take a dozen chocolate chip cookies.” I pointed at the treats on the table, quickly changing the subject to see how she would react.

“Oh, umm…” Her brows bunched, and she got to work, putting the treats into a pretty, olive-green box and sealing it with a sticker that showed her logo.

“Here you go.” I handed her two twenty-dollar bills and took the box of cookies. “Thanks for these, Miss Trejo.” I nodded. Before I could talk myself out of figuring out a way to stay a little longer, I walked away. But not without feeling the heat of her gaze on me.

My girl might have tried to avoid me, but somehow, karma was on my side today and the tables had turned.

The realization was a double-edged sword.

The sane part that still existed inside of me wanted to keep his distance, worried about the dark predator she had awakened. But the Big Bad Wolf wanted to howl up at the sky for the win even if he knew he had to wait a little longer to claim Olive as his own.