Southern Spice (Southern Desires Series Book 1) (11 page)

He moaned and claimed her lips fiercely. She could feel the need within him, and it excited her. His mouth left her and trailed down her neck. Her T-shirt was now pulled up, revealing her bra. Her nipples ached for his attention.

The dark of the night began to lighten from a red flashing light. When Derrick lifted his mouth from hers, she realized they were no longer alone. Casey raised her hands trying to straighten her shirt. She felt so exposed with the lights on her, and she needed to cover up.

The bright light from a flashlight streamed in the truck and an unfamiliar voice asked, “You need some help?”

She almost burst out laughing.
No, he is managing fine all by himself, thank you.

“You’re going to need help if you don’t get that flashlight off us,” Derrick warned.

It didn’t move totally, but she could tell his hand was not near as steady as it had been a moment before. “Sir. This is a no parking zone. If you don’t move your veh- veh-vehicle immediately, I will . . . um . . . will have it towed, and you’ll be spending the night behind bars.”

Oh, back to square one where this all started. At least my things are still there.
This time, the door to the cell would be closed. “Derrick—”

“It’s okay.” He kissed her on the forehead then scooted away from her and turned his attention to the man who was quickly losing control of the situation. “Listen, kid. If you knew what was good for you, you would call my plates in and then move along. Understand?”

“Sir, you need to step out of the car,” he said.

“And you need to call Jack.”

“Ja—, I mean, Sheriff Bullard has gone home for the night.”

Derrick got out of the truck and said, “Then I’ll call him.” He reached for his cell phone, which was on the dashboard.

“Sir. You’re obstructing justice.”

Derrick ignored him and scrolled until he found Jack’s number. Putting the phone on speaker setting, he waited for him to pick up.

“Did she give you hell for being such an ass earlier?” Jack asked when he answered.

Derrick laughed. “She’s not the issue. You seem to have a new deputy here who is taking his job too seriously.”

“And what are you doing that has his attention?” Jack inquired.

Casey blushed and hoped Derrick wouldn’t be honest, but she was worried about the wrong one.

“Sheriff, they were neckin’ on the side of the road.”

Jack burst out laughing over the phone, and Derrick followed suit. “Necking? Deputy, get your butt back in the car and leave these two alone.”

The deputy looked extremely uncomfortable but said, “Yes, sir.” Without even saying anything to her or Derrick, he walked back to his vehicle that still had its emergency lights flashing and pulled away.

“Thanks, Jack,” Derrick said.

Jack added, “Thank me by obeying the law and finish what you started when you get home.”

Casey covered her face, completely embarrassed. She was a grown woman, a professional woman at that, yet she was behaving like a lovesick teenager.
I was never this bad when I was that age. What power does this man have over me that makes me lose my mind? And can he please laugh more. He’s a completely different man. Less . . . tense. Much more relaxed. I really like him like this. Is this the way he was before the accident? Can he become that man again?

Derrick disconnected the call and threw the phone back on the dash. He climbed back into the truck and started it again. She was thankful he didn’t make any comment about what had just transpired. The moment may have been lost, but not forgotten.
As least not for me
.

W
hat am I
doing? I was supposed to be on my way to the airport to get the hell away from this place and from her.
Derrick couldn’t even look at her right now. Her scent still lingered in his nostrils, and he could almost feel her skin, which was as smooth as silk. He knew he shouldn’t want her, but he couldn’t stop himself. From the moment he pulled her from that wreck, every nerve in his body had come to life again.

When he showed up at Jack’s office, he only intended to give her a piece of his mind for disregarding his request to butt out of his personal life. Instead, when he saw her lying on the bunk, he lost it. Her cheeks had been flushed, and her expression looked like she was having an erotic dream.
And I wanted to make it come true.

If he wasn’t so disgusted with his behavior he would laugh. He’d actually picked Casey up and carried her out of there against her will.
When did I become a Neanderthal?

Once they were driving to the ranch, he debated how to explain his actions. He thought about telling her he reconsidered the point of being more hands-on with the townsfolk but the way he blew off Sissie and Jack, that probably wasn’t going to help convince her of his change of heart. Besides this really didn’t have anything to do with him. All he had wanted was to know why she left abruptly. If she could have just answered him honestly, then nothing would have happened between them.

But she’d been evasive and coy. Did she know what it did to him each time her tongue darted out and licked her lips when she looked at him? And how her brown eyes blazed with desire? The harder he tried to resist, the more he wanted her.
Just one kiss was all I wanted, but once I tasted those sweet lips, I couldn’t stop.
If it hadn’t been for the deputy interrupting us, I would’ve pulled her onto my lap and showed her what she did to me.

Derrick gripped the steering wheel tightly, filled with frustration as they approached the house. If he couldn’t control himself on the side of the road, there was no way he could hold back once they entered the house. There was only one thing he could do.
Damn it.

As the F350 came to a stop, he didn’t turn it off. Instead, he put it in park and turned to face Casey. She was looking at the house, her fingers entwined nervously on her lap. He knew he could have her tonight. All he had to do was touch her, and she would melt in his arms. But how would that change tomorrow? He would still be an arrogant ass, and she would still be the FEMA agent selling a bag of lies.

“Go inside and get some rest.”

She turned to him. “Why did you bring me here, Derrick?” Her voice was soft like an angel, needing reassurance. It was something he couldn’t give, even if he wanted to.

Damn if I know. Tomorrow, I’ll take you back to town.
“It was a mistake.”

The hurt in her eyes showed clear as day. The saddest part was he meant to hurt her when he said it. She shouldn’t want him, and if she knew the real man he was—a man who left his wife and child alone just to make money, and now they were dead because of him—she wouldn’t want him anyway.

Her eyes glistened with tears. “I can’t stay under the same roof as you.”

He felt the same way, but for an entirely different reason. Derrick wanted to pull her into his arms, tell her he was sorry, that he didn’t mean what he said. But if he touched her now, even briefly, he wouldn’t have the strength to do what he needed to do.
Let her go.
“You’re not going to. I’ll be here in the morning to give you a ride.”

“A ride? To where?”

Derrick couldn’t bring himself to say it. If he did, then it was final. No, he would leave that option open for now. At least until he sorted out a few things. “We’ll talk in the morning. Now go before I change my mind and take you right here in the truck.”

Her eyes widened with shock, presumably at his boldness. Then quickly she hopped out of the truck, and half-ran up the steps and into the house.
Are you scared of yourself or me, Casey?

The answer didn’t matter, only the result. Jerking the truck into drive, he peeled away and headed to the bunkhouse.

“What are you doing back? I thought you took off for New York,” McLean asked.

So did I.
“Change of plans.” Derrick grabbed a pillow out of the closet and headed for the back of the cabin.

McLean followed him. “Something wrong with the main house?”

“Casey is there.” He could’ve chosen not to tell him, but he was going to notice at breakfast in the morning if Sissie didn’t call him tonight. No matter how hard he tried to keep everyone out of his life, they just keep creeping in. That’s what was nice about New York. The people there knew when to mind their business. Heck, he’d never spoken to them in all the years he’d lived there.
And that works for me.

“And you’re here in the cabin, why? I mean, she is drop-dead gorgeous, unless you haven’t noticed.”

I’ve noticed more than I should.
“She’s here on business, McLean.”

“You know that’s not an issue, Derrick. It’s been five years. It’s time to let go and start living again.”

Derrick clenched his fist as he turned back to face McLean. “Do not go there.” Why couldn’t anyone understand? He had no right to be alive. If he couldn’t protect his family from the flood waters, then the least he could have done was die with them.

McLean stood his ground. “Then I agree. You shouldn’t be at the house with Casey. At least not until you’re ready to appreciate what a special person she is.”

He already knew how special she was. It wasn’t her that was the problem. It was him. He had promised Penny and Kim he wouldn’t rest until he made someone pay for their death. It had been five years and still no one had been brought to justice. Until that day, there was no room in his life for . . . anyone.
Especially someone like Casey.

Casey was so confused with the whole situation. What type of game was Derrick playing with her? She had left the ranch, given him the privacy he’d demanded, and then he brought her back and made her feel worse than she had been. Granted, she wasn’t honestly looking forward to spending one night, never mind several, in a jail cell, but at least she knew where she stood there.

None of this was making any sense to her.
Maybe because it had nothing to do with my job and all to do with lusting after a man I just met.
She felt like such a fool. Once again, after kissing her he’d rejected her. What part of
he doesn’t want you
couldn’t she get? It was crystal clear. So why was she here in his home again? Why was she finding it so damn hard to move on?

If her parents were back in the country, she would have called her mother to talk this through. At times like this she truly hated them being so far away. It’s not like she was a child, yet she valued her mother’s opinion. She never held back and always said what was on her mind.
Kind of like Sissie.

Casey was tempted to dial her number, but sharing what happened between her and Derrick with someone from town, that was unprofessional.
Oh heck, throwing myself at him like a harlot was unprofessional.
It’s too late to worry about my reputation. God knows the deputy probably has already told the entire town we were getting it on right there on a public road.

Laughter rumbled through her.
I hope he didn’t have a dash cam recording us. Because the way my week has been going, that would just be my luck.

Casey knew this was a story she would share on a girls’ night out with her friends. They were so far and few between these days; her friends were all married and starting families. Although they get away one weekend a year, it didn’t seem the same. She had been invited to gatherings they’d had as couples, but she’d always gone stag. No matter how much they tried to convince her it didn’t matter, she’d always felt like the odd man out. There was nothing wrong with being single at her age. She was free to do as she pleased without consulting another person. But she couldn’t help but want what they had.
Maybe one day I’ll be able to relate to them again.

Her cell phone rang, and her heart skipped a beat, hoping it was Derrick changing his mind and coming to her. When she looked at the caller ID, she was still happy to get the call, but he was not someone she could talk to about this.

“Hi, Mark. What’s up?”

“Checking on my baby sister. What part of the country are you in now?”

“Texas.”

“Yeah, I saw they had some tornados there a week ago. I know you guys normally are on-site within a few days. Sounded like it was a small town with no loss of life. Does that mean this is a hit-and-run or are you going to be there a while?”

Even another five minutes is too long. I need to get away before I make a total fool of myself.
“Another few days. Then I am going to go home for a while.”

“Home? Okay. What’s wrong, Casey?”

Mark. My big caregiving brother. The Navy had made him into a strong, confident man. An excellent SEAL. But at times like these, Casey appreciated how gentle he could be with her and still be perceptive to the situation.

What isn’t wrong?
She couldn’t tell him. He would only lecture her. Mark couldn’t help it. He was a rule follower. Must have been his SEAL training that did it. Casey followed rules as well, but this time, she seemed to break them with every move she made. It would be easier for her to keep track of the rules she followed instead of those she’d broken this time around. “Nothing is wrong. It’s just been a while since I’ve been home.”

“Am I going to need to call Mom?” Mark threatened.

Really? He pulled the mom card? So not fair.
“No. Okay, fine. I met someone,” Casey admitted.

“Has he hurt you? Is that why you want to go home? Just say it, and I’ll be down there and straighten his ass out. You hear me?” Mark’s voice barked.

Mark wasn’t joking. He was all about honor, and that meant protecting women and children at all times. When she was younger and dating, it hadn’t been convenient when he’d enjoyed scaring her dates at the door even before going out.
I’m all grown up now, Mark. I don’t need a protector. I just need common sense.
“It’s not like that. We just can’t be together; that’s all.”

“Is he married?” Mark inquired.

Maybe talking to Mom would’ve been easier. This is as bad as talking to Dad.
“No, he is not married. Mark, there are many reasons why people can’t be together.”

“I only care about one. And that is the reason why you two can’t be together.”

I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
“Because I’m here on business, not pleasure, Mark.”

There was a pause, and she thought her answer was adequate. However, Mark wasn’t through with her. “What’s his name?”

She didn’t want to tell him. There was only one reason why he would ask, and that was so he could do a background check. She had already invaded Derrick’s privacy too much; she wasn’t going to allow her brother to do it too. “Mark, due to confidentially, I am not able to provide you with that.”
Now that’s fast thinking.

What she’d forgotten was his knack of reading when someone was hiding something, his most annoying skill when growing up. That explained his role in the Navy.

“Okay. I’ll be there tomorrow, and we can discuss this in person.”

“No,” she blurted out. “There are no accommodations here.”

“So where are you staying?”

“The sheriff made arrangements for me to stay on a local ranch that wasn’t damaged in the storm.” There shouldn’t be a problem with that, as it was the truth.

“Sounds good. You know how to find me if you need me,” Mark said before disconnecting the call.

Well, that was easy. Oh shit. Too easy. What are you planning on doing, Mark?

There wasn’t anything she could do at the moment. She wasn’t even sure where Mark was. When he was not out on an assignment, or whatever they called what he does, he seemed to be at loose ends with himself, never staying in one place very long. All she could do was hope that whatever he was doing now, he was too busy to butt into her business.

For now all she wanted to do was close her eyes and get some much-needed sleep. But where had Derrick gone? Any why? He’d slept under the same roof other nights I’d been here.
At least I think so. He was always gone before I was up.