The Deputies: 3 Novella Box Set (33 page)

Logan pushed up the brim of his hat. “He shouldn’t bother you again, though. His normal procedure is to bug the woman until we tell him to back off. But if he does contact you again, call us.”

“I will.” Kasi nodded. “I really am grateful you were here.”

“Me too.” Tori gave Drake a smile that he returned. For a moment, they were the only two people in the room.

“Ahem.” Logan was clearing his throwing, a knowing grin spread across his face. “If you’ll excuse us we need to finish our meal and get back on duty. Ladies.” Logan tipped his hat and nudged Drake’s arm.

Drake leaned forward, his words meant only for Tori. “I get off at nine. Will you still be awake?”

“Yes.” Tori nodded and a warm feeling suffused her entire body at the look in his eye. Perhaps her enforced celibacy might come to an end this evening.

“I’ll stop by then.”

Drake headed back to his table with Logan and Tori allowed herself to fantasize about what Drake might have planned for later. When she finally looked across the table, Kasi was shaking her head and laughing.

“Any date after nine o’clock at night is nothing but a booty call.”

Tori couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up. “If you could hear yourself say ‘booty call’, you wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face.”

“Way to ignore the situation.” Kasi picked up her glass and sipped the iced tea. “So you’re going to have sex with him tonight.”

It was a statement, not a question.

“I might,” Tori hedged. “We’ve learned a lot about each other.”

“Has he learned how you don’t like delayed gratification? Shit, Tori, you went out on one date without doing the deed. That’s hardly waiting.”

“If you’d had sex with Drake James, you wouldn’t want to wait either,” Tori argued. “I like him. He likes me. We’re attracted to one another. It’s not a sin.”

“No, it’s not. Just make sure it’s really him you like this time. The grown up Drake. Not the teenage one.”

It was the man he’d become that was so attractive. Tori was falling for Drake James all over again.

It was almost nine-thirty when Drake pulled up in front of Tori’s apartment building and his ass was dragging. He and Logan had put in a fifteen hour day trying to catch a neighborhood Peeping Tom. The suspect in question had finally shown himself in a cul-de-sac south of town looking in the window of a woman who had to be about seventy fucking years old. The man, in his mid-thirties, appeared to get his thrills from breaking the law, not the bare flesh he was spying on. The guy needed a few days in jail and some serious therapy.

Logan had generously offered to fill out the arrest paperwork, grinning at Drake and telling him, “Get out of here, Romeo. Don’t make her wait.”

Drake hadn’t argued and here he was knocking on her door with sweaty palms, a racing heart, and a painful hard-on. This celibacy thing wasn’t as easy as he’d thought it would be, and he hadn’t thought it would be all that easy. With Tori around, all he could think about was the scent of her hair and the feel of her skin.

Fuck, now he was all fired up again. He needed to calm the hell down. He’d given her his word he would behave. The door swung open and Tori stood in the doorway looking way too good for his blood pressure.

She must have just got out of the bath because a few damp curls still clung to her neck and cheeks. Dressed in a dark blue T-shirt and black shorts that accentuated every line and curve, Drake felt his cock swell against the fly of his jeans. It was both heaven and hell to be near her.

“You’re here. Come on in.” Tori stepped back and Drake walked past her into the room trying to hold onto his control. The fatigue that had hung over him only moments ago was gone and he felt refreshed and energized.

“I hope I’m not too late. We got caught up in a stakeout.” Drake pulled off his hat and set it down on the coffee table while she bustled into the kitchen.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can make some coffee,” she called from the other room. She stuck her head around the corner. “I have some tiramisu in the fridge.”

Drake settled onto the couch with a sigh. “That sounds really good. But just water with it, okay?”

He heard the opening and closing of cabinets and drawers and then Tori sat next to him, holding out his dessert with a smile.

“I hope you like this. It’s my variation on the recipe.”

Drake scooped up a forkful and hummed with appreciation. “Damn, this is good. Are these chocolate shavings on top instead of cocoa?”

“It is,” she said, a smug smile on her face. “Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content.” Tori tucked her feet under her and relaxed against the cushions. “So what kind of stakeout were you on?”

It didn’t matter if he told her. It would be in the paper tomorrow when the guy was arraigned.

“We’ve had complaints of a Peeping Tom in some of the residential neighborhoods around town. Logan and I were staking out some of his more common haunts.”

Tori’s mouth fell open. He’d obviously shocked her.

“Do you think this only happens in big cities? We have our share of perverts,” Drake laughed and took another bite of his tiramisu. “Anyway, it took all damn day as he seemed to be one step ahead of us the entire time.”

“He doesn’t have a job during the day?”

“Not at the moment. He’s here visiting his aunt and uncle, the Moseby family who bought the ranch not far from the Perrys. Apparently when he gets bored this is what he does. He didn’t even sound that sorry. Said that the women get a thrill knowing that a strange man is watching them.”

Tori was frowning as if she was trying to understand. “Is that true?” she asked. “Were the women happy?”

“Not the ones that called us.” Drake vividly remembered Gloria Aldridge stomping into their office yesterday madder than the proverbial wet hen. There’d definitely been no thrill involved there. “I think that’s probably how he justifies his kink. He’s sitting in jail tonight and he can tell it to the judge tomorrow morning.”

Tori’s lip curled with distaste. “Ick. That is really creepy. I hope he hasn’t been anywhere around here.”

“You wouldn’t believe the crazy stalker types I’ve dealt with. There has to be something wrong with someone who does that.”

If anything, Tori turned a shade paler, licking her lips nervously. “Yes, something really wrong with them.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about some weird guy. I came here to tell you how smokin’ hot you looked today.”

Drake gave her his best cocky grin. He only wished he felt that confident with Tori. She seemed to have him turned on his ear at all times. He simply couldn’t think straight when she was in the same room.

“Really?” She giggled and his heart did a flip in his chest. “You have a thing for khaki shorts and orange T-shirts? Have you been like this all your life?”

“Honey, it isn’t clothes that make the woman. The woman makes the clothes. In fact, I’d be just as happy if you weren’t wearing anything at all.”

Now why had he said that? Out loud? Thinking it was one thing…

Instead of being disgusted that he was breaking his word, she leaned in closer, a teasing smile on her face. “You know what, Deputy? I feel the same way about you.”

Her brown eyes were sparkling and her hand trailed up his arm, sending waves of heat through his body. His woman was being a naughty girl tempting him like this.

“I’m trying to keep things non-sexual between us, Tori, and you’re not helping right now.”

His voice came out a little strangled and she smiled as her fingertips skated across his jaw and over his lips. He couldn’t resist the urge to lick at the flesh before nipping at the pad of her thumb. Tori closed her eyes and moaned softly as he pulled her into his arms.

“You’re a dangerous woman, Victoria Saunders. I came here with the best of intentions tonight.”

She laughed and the sound reverberated through his chest. “Maybe you should handcuff me, Deputy. If I’m such a troublemaker and all.”

He didn’t think it was possible but his cock swelled further in his jeans. He tilted her face up so she was looking directly into his eyes.

“I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to teach you about the long arm of the law, little lady.”

Drake reached back into his belt for his handcuffs and dangled them in front of her face. He’d only been teasing but one look at her lustful expression told him this was the woman for him.

She wanted it as much as he did. Thank the gods, he’d found his perfect match.

Chapter Eight

T
he jangling of the metal cuffs did nothing to cool off Tori’s overheated senses. Since the moment Drake James had walked into her apartment she’d been a quivering mass of hormones. Even his mention of a creepy Peeping Tom and stalkers hadn’t cooled her down. For a moment she’d wanted to unburden herself with a confession but her aroused state got the better of her. There would be time for truth telling later. Now was the time for some pleasures of the flesh.

And a pleasure it was.

His playful exploration of her fingers with his lips and tongue had almost sent her into a climax, fast and hard. She hadn’t realized a person could come simply from a look and some fairly innocent foreplay, but she’d been close. Her panties were soaked and she was sure he could smell her arousal in the air.

“Are you going to handcuff me, Deputy?” Tori licked her suddenly dry lips and tried to control her racing pulse.

“I certainly am. Turn around and place your hands behind your back.” Drake’s deep voice sent shivers down her spine and she twisted on the cushion to obey him, her heart thudding in her chest.

The heavy bracelet quickly enclosed one wrist but before he could do the other, he muttered a curse under his breath and paused.

“This shirt needs to come off first. Now, Tori.” She thought she might die from the sheer pleasure of hearing his commanding tone. It wasn’t the most modern of notions but damn if she didn’t love a dominant man in bed. Until Drake, she’d never been lucky enough to find one. At least not one she trusted enough to let handcuff her.

She reached for the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. She looked over her shoulder and his gaze was smolderingly hot. He was enjoying playing horny cop.

“Bra too.”

His tone spoke of a man who expected obedience and she didn’t disappoint him. She quickly stripped off the lacy garment and tossed it away, her hands covering herself reflexively.

“Don’t bother, troublemaker. I’ll be cuffing those hands behind you.”

His large hands were firm but gentle as he snapped the cuff on her other wrist, imprisoning her arms to her sides and her hands at the small of her back. There was no way to cover herself so she arched her back and lifted her generous breasts proudly for his inspection.

“Is that what you wanted, Deputy?”

“I want a hell of a lot more than that. You still have a lot to learn about teasing a lawman. You’ve got yourself into a mess of trouble with a cop, baby. I hope you learn your lesson from this.”

A gush of honey from her pussy soaked her already wet panties. His fingers reached out and began to pluck at her nipples until they stood up hard and proud. His callused palms brushed the sensitive underside of her breasts and she groaned in frustration. There were other parts of her anatomy that craved those hands quite desperately.

Drake chuckled at her predicament. “Is my little troublemaker realizing what she’s got herself into? I’m in charge now, baby. We do this my way. That’s what happens when you break the law.”

She could definitely play along with this game. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout and arched her back a little more. “But Deputy, I swear I’m innocent. I was just being…you know…friendly to a guest.”

He pinched one of her nipples and the arrow of arousal shot straight to her clit. “You are far from innocent. You’re a danger to lawmen like myself. And as for being friendly to a guest, I sure as hell hope you don’t do this with anyone else. Now stand up and march into the bedroom and perhaps I won’t have to punish you.”

He’d just suggested he might punish her and he expected her to be able to stand on her wobbling legs?

Her knees were like jelly as she pushed to her feet and steadied herself. She took a deep breath, dragging air into her starved lungs. When he’d said the word “punishment”, her brain had gone wild with images of Drake draping her over his knees and spanking her ass a bright red or maybe cuffing her to the bed. Or both.