Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) (27 page)

“Actually, Cash and a few other wardens are doing a pot bust tomorrow and I want to be there, but he doesn’t. Maybe if you’re there with me he wouldn’t be as worried.” I smiled at the vision of Cash’s reaction to James and me getting all chummy together. It made the ordeal almost worth it.

“That might work. I would need to speak with my brother first, though.” He sounded a little disappointed that we weren’t going to have our own little tête-à-tête, but I was grateful that he went along with the plan anyway.

“Sure!” I chirped. “Hold on a second.” I leapt up and opened the door, skipping a little down the hall to Cash’s door. Before I could knock, he opened the door and snatched the phone out of my hand. He glared at me and raised it to his ear.

“What, James.” I flinched.
He couldn’t know…
“Yeah. I guess you’re better than nothing. Be here at five.” He hung up on his brother before returning the handset to me. The expression on his face was so angry and wounded that my heart whimpered.

“Cash, let me explain—”

He cut me off with a swipe of one hand and scrubbed his other hand down his face before turning back toward his room and shutting the door in my face.
Payback is a bitch...

Something heavy smacked me in the head, interrupting the very intriguing dream I was having involving two very handsome brothers. I sat up, rubbing the back of my skull and looking blearily at Cash standing in my door.

“Get dressed and put that on,” he motioned to the black bulletproof vest on my bed. “The wardens are here, so if you want coffee before we do this you’d better get it in gear.” He never looked me in the eye as he spoke, and his voice was monotone and detached. I wasn’t used to not being the angry one in a fight and I wasn’t sure what to do

He spun and walked out of my room before I could reply, but that didn’t stop me from appreciating his lovely backside as he left.
Well, we’ve got that going for us,
my monologue piped up sarcastically. My heart sank to my stomach.
I guess that whole ‘girlfriend’ thing was over.

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath and got dressed quickly, but refused to put on the heavy vest until absolutely necessary. I wore a glamorous ensemble of Wranglers and a plaid men’s flannel completed with a pair of old dirty boots. I figured since we would be tromping through weeds and brush I shouldn’t really dress to impress.
It’s not like you have a boyfriend or anything.

I heard voices in my kitchen and realized all the men who were going with Cash to find the drug grower today were sitting around my table discussing the game plan. I didn’t want to miss anything so I scampered into my bathroom to quickly braid my hair and brush my teeth. When I hurried into the kitchen six pairs of eyes followed me across the room to the coffee maker.

I poured myself a mug and met each and every one of their gazes. Cash’s eyes were swimming with too many emotions to separate. His beautiful blues watched every move I made with an intensity that verged on uncomfortable. I fidgeted under his stare and turned my eyes toward James.

He leaned back on my Ikea chairs, balancing on two legs with his arms folded behind his head. Unlike Cash, who was dressed out in fatigues, James wore a pair of dark denim jeans that looked like they were painted on and a skin tight black T-shirt that hugged every inch and ripple of his long, lean and muscular frame. His charcoal grey eyes danced with laughter, but I didn’t know what amused him so much.

I glanced over at Cash, but his eyes had shifted from me to his mug of coffee on the table. If he had caught me checking out his brother, he hadn’t let on. I shrugged to myself and looked over the other four wardens sitting around the table. The men ranged in age anywhere from Cash’s late twenties to early fifties and, except for Cash, all had a similar military buzz cut. They all looked athletic and capable of handling themselves.

All five of us looked at Cash expectantly, thinking he would do the courteous thing and introduce us, but he sat absorbed by his coffee mug. I figured he either was caught in his own thoughts or not in the mood to do introductions, so I did.

“Hi, officers,” I smiled and held my hand out and shook hands. “My name is Shelby Flint, and I’m the lucky lady that found the dead guy a couple weeks back. You boys know where you’re going to start looking?”

One of the wardens, Bob Smith, looked over at Cash who was still brooding silently into his coffee. I sniggered in my head at one of the world’s most forgettable names,
he should be a spy
. When Bob Smith looked back at me, he quirked a questioning eyebrow.

“The best place, as we’ve heard you’ve already tried, is somewhere near a water source. Cash tells us you checked out all of the water troughs and came up dry, so to speak,” I rolled my eyes at his bad pun and he grinned. “Our best bet is to go along the creek that runs through your property.”

“Well, that’s great, but I only have two horses and a quad, so who’s going to get nice and cozy?” The wardens shared unreadable looks between themselves, except for Cash.

Bob continued. “I think we’ll take our truck as far as it will go and then we’ll hike the rest. No need to ‘get cozy’.” He finger quoted.

I nodded, ignoring the dig. Soothed by the man’s confidence, I finished my coffee and waited for the men to finish theirs. The whole time we sat and stood around my kitchen table one Newcomb brother never took his gunmetal grey eyes off of me while the other never took his baby blues off his coffee cup.
Awkward.

I stood. “Well, are we going to get this show on the road or what?” I went back to my room and to my gun safe, taking my .45 and slipping it into my thigh holster and putting my 9mm in the holster in the small of my back.

A throat cleared behind me and I jumped. “I don’t think there is anything sexier than a fine woman holding a gun.” His voice was smooth and warm, but my hackles still stood up on the back of my neck.

I turned, keeping my face impassive I regarded James. “I appreciate you coming here today, James.” I said levelly. “But I’m dating your brother,”
Maybe not anymore.
“So I would appreciate if everything that comes out of your mouth isn’t suggestive and doesn’t drip with innuendo and double entendres.”

His lips quirked into a condescending smile and he inclined his head in acquiescence. “As far as I’ve heard, it’s just a date, not dating, so you’re still fair game.” He gave me one of his patented steamy looks. “I still don’t know why he hasn’t finished it with you, but until he does...”

Grey eyes raked me over hot coals. He held out a hand and the bulletproof vest that Cash had thrown at me dangled from it. I cleared my throat and ignored his...
threats?

“Ah, I forgot about that. Shouldn’t Cash be wearing it, since he’ll actually be in the line of fire?”
Again with the condescension,
my inner voice griped as James shook his head like he spoke to a toddler.

“He’s wearing his backup vest. You should hurry.” He jiggled the vest, still in his hand. “The wardens were pretty eager to get going, and with Cash’s current dark mood he’s likely to leave you here.”

I let him slide on the vest over my shoulders, not missing the fact that his fingers lingered a little longer on the nape of my neck than necessary. It felt like those lead vests they made you wear at the dentist when they took X-rays. It felt like it weighed a ton.

I strode past James. All of the men had gone outside, all except Cash who waited by the door. He lounged against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and stared at the floor. When I approached he finally looked at me. His eyes were the color of the sky at twilight, a deep blue that made my heart skip a couple beats.

I couldn’t tell if he was still angry with me, but I took a gamble and stepped close to him, pressing my whole body against his. I knew I was okay when I saw the emerald glint in the back of his eyes, prompting me to up the ante. I feathered a light kiss against his lips. In an instant it was me up against the wall. Cash’s upper body pressed into me as he ran his hands through my hair, his lips questing over mine until I allowed him entrance into my mouth. When I did, a growl rippled from deep in his chest and lit a fire in my groin.

“I don’t like you going to my brother behind my back.” He bit my bottom lip a little harder than I expected to get his point across. I shuddered with pleasure. “You should be coming to me.”

“I just wanted answers. I tried asking you, but you avoided my questions like the plague. What did you expect me to do?” I saw his love bite and raised him a hip wiggle.

He groaned into my mouth as his hands started voyaging south of the equator. His fingers slipped under the waistband of my jeans sliding in between the fabric of my panties and my skin. My breath started coming out in short pants as he got closer to where I’d wanted him to go for a month.

“Shall we join the officers outside?” James’ wry tone worked like a bucket of ice water down my shirt, effectively killing the moment. It was a good thing that looks couldn’t kill, because if they did, Cash’s glare would have had James convulsing on the floor. Even so, his hands were vices on my arms and beginning to become painful.

“Baby, you’re starting to hurt me—” I whispered to him and he immediately loosened his grip. His eyes softened as he looked down at me.

“Mmm…I like it when you call me that, but this discussion isn’t over.”

Cash leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before wrapping a possessive arm around my waist and escorting me outside. He threw James another scathing glare. James followed a few steps behind us and I swam in warring testosterone. The other wardens were all geared up and waiting in the truck, so we hopped into the back.

Bob Smith,
if that was even his real name
, was behind the wheel. He slid open the small opening in the back window and asked for directions. After setting him on the right course, I leaned back against the truck and looked at the brothers Newcomb. They had adopted a similar pose as they sat on opposite sides of the truck bed; arms crossed, shoulders tense and shooting daggers at one another.

“Okay boys, can’t we all just get along?” Neither man batted an eyelash at my teasing tone, so I stepped it up a notch. “Seriously? You two are brothers! You’ve survived this long without tearing each other to shreds, why start now?” I looked back and forth between them. James casually answered, not removing his glare an inch.

“We’ve never had anything
worth
tearing each other apart before.” The loud snort I made wasn’t very ladylike, but it served its purpose as each man broke off their staring death match to look at me, eyebrows raised. I laughed at their identical expressions of incredulity. It was easy to see at that moment that these men, as different as they seemed to be, were related.

“James, I’m grateful that you came today and are playing my chaperone, and hopefully will still answer my questions, but I have to say…you’ve got no shot with me.” He looked at me with disbelief rampant on his face.
Such a cocky bastard, that outta take him down a peg…

“I’d like to think if I were given the same amount of time Cash has had with you, you might change your mind—”

“James, you’re kind of a douche.”

Cash threw his head back and guffawed. The look on James face almost made me laugh too. Anger, irritation and embarrassment flitted in his eyes, and his jaw clenched so tightly I could hear his teeth squeak.

I turned to Cash. “And if you,” I smacked him in the arm because he was still laughing and starting to wheeze, “would just answer my questions we wouldn’t be in this situation!”

He stopped laughing long enough to catch his breath and pull me into his lap. He took my chin in his hands and looked deep in my eyes, his wide smile splitting his face. “Have I told you that I’m completely in love with you, Shelby Flint?”

 My heart felt like it would explode. My breath caught in my throat, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t summon any words in reply. No man had ever told me that. He flicked my nose with a finger. “Plus, I’ve never seen any good looking woman put him in his place so well before.”

James glowered. Cash punched his brother in the shoulder and finally a rueful grin appeared magically across James’ face. He gave his older brother a sock in the arm in return and they started laughing again. Bob and the other wardens were looking bemusedly back at us through the rear window.

Cash reclaimed my attention by pinching my butt, and when I squawked in protest he kissed me thoroughly. When he finally let me come up for air I was dizzy and breathing hard. He looked at me with a seriousness that belied the fact we had just been making out like crazy in front of his colleagues.

“I promise as soon as this is over I’ll sit down and you can ask me any questions you want.” I smiled broadly at him and settled into his lap, kissing the crook of his neck.