To Bedevil A Beauty (Southern Sanctuary - Book 5) (18 page)

After
the tickling bout Berry was still smiling as she brushed her hair back over her
shoulder, grabbing a few locks that had strayed even further and had settled on
Ramsey’s face.  “Sorry about that, curls gone wild.”

“Don’t
be, I love your curls.”  Ramsey reached up to grab a curly lock she’d
missed, twining it around his finger.

Gulp,
Berry swallowed hard, he loved them?  A flush of warmth stole through
her.  Robert had only ever dropped relentless carefully worded hints that
if she wanted to be taken seriously in the legal world she needed to look the
part.  Unspoken, she got the feeling that he wanted his wife to project a
more polished image that would fit in better with his label obsessed lifestyle.

Like
a needy teenager she wanted to question Ramsey’s statement, did he really mean
it?  Though why would the man lie?  It wasn’t like he was trying to
charm his way into her bed… he was already there.  What did he gain by
making such a declaration?  Goddess, was she really so jaded that she
couldn’t take a simple throw away compliment at face value?

“You
okay there?”  Ramsey queried softly.

Oh
Heavens, the man compliments her hair and she gives him the silent
treatment.  “Sure… fine…”

Ramsey’s
mobile rang.  Under his breath he cursed it, grabbing it off the bedside
table to answer it, all without dislodging Berry from her position splayed on
his chest. 

Damn,
she was still lying on top of the man, distance… distance, was what she
needed.  Biting back a frustrated sigh as his free arm swept around her,
locking her in place.  With no other option, she eavesdropped shamelessly.

“Cam…..
Which one is the Bright place?... Right, where Berry was housesitting.”

“What?” 
Berry whispered her question.  Something was wrong at Tally and Cain’s
place.  Her Great-Grandparents were going to kill her for dropping the
ball on her housesitting gig.

Ramsey
spoke directly to Berry, relaying the news.  “There’s been a report of
lights on up at the house.”  Ramsey frowned and spoke once more into the
phone. “You need to wait for back-up Cam, that’s an order. One of our suspects
is definitely armed and dangerous…. Cam!”  Ramsey’s tone clearly indicated
he didn’t like what ever Cam was telling him.

Berry
interrupted.  “Tell him it might be the cats.”

“Cats?” 
Ramsey frowned at Berry’s non sequitur statement.  His frown turning into
a scowl at Cam’s response.  “What?  You’ll wait for back-up now that
it might be cats? … No, fine… just call me after you’ve investigated.”  He
hit the off button.

“Should
we go out there?”  Berry enquired, tense and on edge now.

“Let’s
wait on Cam to report back.  It might be nothing… or it might just be
these invisible cats that you’re always blaming things on.”

“Trust
me, the cats are very real.
 
Just count
yourself lucky they’ve never decided to take an interest in your life.”

“You
know that statement sounds insane right?” 

“And
yet Cam, a man who carries a gun, would rather wait for back-up than face the
cats alone… if I’m crazy, I’m not the only one.”

“A
ringing endorsement of the justice and legal system of the Southern Sanctuary
if I’ve ever heard one.”

Berry
drummed her fingers absently on Ramsey’s chest.  “I hate waiting.”

“Well
I’m sure I could find a way to keep you occupied while we wait.”

Berry
flung the covers off, wriggling away from him.  “Hah, men and their one
track minds. I’m too keyed up for sex… I’m going to get some water, you want
anything?”  She grabbed the silky long robe that matched the nightgown off
the floor where it had fallen, tying the ends closed.

“Water
for me too.”  Ramsey requested.

By
the time Berry returned with two bottles of water in hand, Ramsey’s mobile was
once more ringing. 

“Hey
Cam….  Yeah? …… Okay, call me if anything else hinky happens.” 
Ramsey accepted the bottle from Berry, moving over slightly so she could sit on
the edge of the bed.  “No cats.  No humans.  Doesn’t look like
anyone broke in, just a couple of lights on in the kitchen.”

Berry
swallowed a mouthful of water.  “Maybe one of the relatives stopped by to
water the plants.”

“Maybe. 
The guys will conduct regular drive-bys.  They’ll let me know if anything
else happens.”

“Good.” 
Berry tightened the cap back on her water bottle.  Suddenly realising the
awkward situation they were in.  Should she get back under the
covers?  Shouldn’t Ramsey be getting out and returning to his own
bed?  They were done for the evening, weren’t they?  This casual sex
thing was turning out to be a lot more complicated than she’d planned.

“So…” 
Berry jumped as Ramsey’s fingers gripped the tail end of the bow tying her robe
together, his voice low and raspy. “How about we get back to our regularly
scheduled program?”

Um,
gulp.  “You want to have sex… again?  But the phone call…”

“Was
an annoying interruption sure…”  Ramsey ever so slowly began to tug on the
bow.  “But I’m very conscious of my last score on the board… the mediocre
one?”  He sat up as the bow came undone, the satin material of the robe
parting.  Ramsey leaned over planting a soft warm kiss on the dusky skin
at the base of Berry’s throat.  “Five out of ten stars?  I demand a
rematch.”

Berry
couldn’t stop the small groan that issued from her throat as Ramsey pushed the
robe from her shoulders and nibbled his way along her collarbone.  “Maybe…
maybe you need a fresh judge?”

“No.” 
His hand snaked around her waist bringing her in so she was moulded against his
body.  “I just need to….”  He nuzzled the skin behind her ear.
“…apply myself….”  He planted soft kisses along her jawline. 
“…diligently…”  kissing her softly on the lips.  “…just work
harder
in general.”

“Harder?” 
Dazed, her breath already coming in uneven pants Berry met his soft brief kiss.

“Yeah…
much, much harder this time.”

All
Merciful Lady protect her.
 
Berry wanted his
touch… his kisses… his hands on her… and she wanted his promised harder.

“On
your knees Berry.”  He whispered the direction in her ear.  “Let’s
see if I can’t improve upon my earlier score.”

Chapter
Sixteen

Friday
morning found Berry smiling… for absolutely no good reason, which in turn
caused her to frown.  Goddess, everyone in the courtroom must think she
was going mad.
 
It certainly felt that
way to her. 

She
needed to concentrate damn it, but that was kind of hard when the case she was
hearing was so… frivolous.  But it was what she was being paid to do.
 
She needed to stop thinking about Ramsey
Hughes.
 
Stop daydreaming about all the
wonderful, naughty things they’d done together since last Sunday.  And for
Heaven’s sake, stop dwelling on all the things she had yet to do to that
gorgeous body of his.  Oops, she was smiling again. 

It
was just sex.
 
Casual, no-strings
attached, convenient sex between two consenting adults.  No proprietary
claim, no expectations (other than a mind blowing good time) and absolutely no
messy emotions. 

Okay
so they laughed and talked together in bed, but that was just post-coital wind
down talk… or, generally in Ramsey’s case, wind-up talk for the next
round.  Goddess, the man was passionate. No, not passionate, that sounded
too romantic, he was randy, that’s what he was. 

If
he wasn’t hooking up with her, no doubt the man would have been hound dogging
around after one of her friends or relatives.  Hmmm, her stomach churned,
did she have indigestion?  To give the man credit though, she’d never seen
him watching any other woman with the… heat in his eyes that he reserved for
her.  Grrr, that thought shouldn’t make her feel so happy. 

Smile…
frown… smile… frown. 

Heavens,
it wasn’t as if the two of them had set up house together or anything. 
They hadn’t even shared a meal together since before they’d started sleeping
together, as Ramsey’s work load meant he rarely got home before midnight.
Breakfast didn’t count, did it?  By the end of the week they had
established kind of a morning routine.
 
She made the coffee.
 
He made the
toast.  She set the table.
 
He got
the papers in and divided them up. 

But
that was all purely for expedience sake, and sharing what they planned to do
for the day?
 
That wasn’t couple stuff…
that was just letting each other know the others whereabouts in case of an
emergency.  Hmmm, maybe she needed to pull a plug on the shared morning
meal… how had Ramsey sneaked that one by her? 

And
he was sneaky.

Though
to be fair, after she elbowed him a few times he always dutifully crawled out
of her bed just before dawn each morning so they weren’t technically,
sleeping,
together.
 
And it meant nothing that the
last three days in a row he’d appeared in her shower with a devilish smile on
his face, sponge in hand, offering to wash her back.  One thing of course
leading to another and well, his water bill for the month promised to be
enormous, served him right.

Smile…
frown… smile… frown. 

Damn,
she needed to get herself under control.  Difficult when she felt so
completely… happy, sated, relaxed.  Emotions that she couldn’t afford to
become dependent upon.
 
Temporary
arrangement, remember. 

Berry
shifted in her seat, wincing as several muscles in her gluteus-maximus and
thighs sent up a protest.  Whew, sex with Ramsey Hughes was better than
any workout.  And it wasn’t just her quivering muscles sending her
constant reminders of her time spent with Ramsey There was the beard burn on
her breasts, the hickey hidden under the high neck of her bright blue blouse,
the grazes on her knees and what she swore to the Goddess, appeared to be the
outline of Ramsey’s handprint on her left buttock.  Though she couldn’t
remember for the life of her when he’d slapped her. But she was pretty darn
sure she’d enjoyed it.
 

The
man fully delivered on the mindless wild fun sex part of the deal they had
going.

Not
that Ramsey was getting off lightly when it came to their little escapades.
Only this morning she’d noticed scratch marks down his back, finger shaped
bruises on his hips where she’d clung to him, urging him on, and to her
ultimate embarrassment, what looked like teeth marks on his shoulder.

It
was almost as if despite the temporary arrangement they had agreed to, they
were each determined to leave a permanent mark, a lasting memory, on the
other. 

She
frowned again, but this time because the bickering taking place in the
courtroom had interrupted her thoughts.  Honestly, ten minutes ago when
the twins, Morty and Malcolm had walked in they’d been laughing and joking. 
They’d carpooled together for Goddess sake.  But the moment they’d gone to
their separate tables and proceedings had commenced they’d begun sniping at
each other like small yapping dogs. 

Of
course they had each insisted upon representing themselves… her family, they
did enjoy their high drama.

Exasperated,
Berry banged her gavel down hard once.  The twins, both still dressed in
their hospital security guard uniforms snapped to attention immediately. 
They were ex-enforcers for the community after all, disciplined, trained and
dependable.  Except it seems, when it came to the property line dividing
their two houses.

“The
court rules that the north side of the fence is to be painted white, the south
side, green.”  Instead of making the brothers happy, this decision seemed
to only fuel their protests.  “What’s the issue now?”

“What
about the top of the fence?”  They asked in stereo.

Berry
frowned down at the fence schematics before her. They were seriously going to continue
this dispute over the quarter of an inch line of wood running along the top of
the fence?  “The court rules that the top is to be painted black.” 
Neither man appeared happy with her judgement, good, there would be no winner
or loser here today. 

She
banged her gavel again, to get their attention once more.  “Problem?”

“Well…” 
Morty shifted uncomfortably.

Malcolm
grimaced.  “Pasty and Barb.”  He referred to their two wives. 
“They want a gate in the fence.”

“And?” 
Berry asked.

“We’re
at loggerheads over the best placement for it.”  Morty supplied.

Berry
nodded her head.
 
Biting the inside of
her cheek to keep from screaming.  Honestly, why couldn’t these two get a
hobby?  Berry looked over at Marion. “Can we set a new court date for next
month to hear the proposed fence gate placement arguments?”

Marion
gave her a small smile and a discreet roll of her eyes.  “Yes, Your
Honour.”

Berry
nodded.  “Then we are adjourned.”

The
twins looking unhappy, hurriedly approached the bench with the obvious intention
of continuing to air their real and imaginary grievances.  Berry could ask
Glen, her court bailiff to escort them out, or even Gideon, her personal police
bodyguard for the day. But once the hearing was officially over, Morty and
Malcolm were family… she’d have to be polite. 

Damn,
she barely had enough time to head back to her office for a quick lunch and
review the information regarding this afternoon’s scheduled case.  Her
third cousin, once removed, Truman, who owned Southey’s Bar and Grill wanted monetary
restitution to cover property damages and loss of profits from her Cousin
Cedric… or rather his sheep. 

Since
the sheep were invisible and there was no security footage that could back up
his claims, Truman had a list of twenty-five witnesses he wished to call to
testify upon his behalf.  It promised to be a long winded afternoon,
especially if the sheep decided to gate crash the proceedings.

Berry
stood up, plastering a smile onto her face as the twins approached, trying to
elbow each other out of the way like children, rather than the seventy year
olds Berry knew them to be.
 
Though given
her family’s longevity and magic, the two could have passed for fifty year
olds. 

Despite
how passionate they were about their grievances, the twins still had the good
sense to freeze in place as Cicero suddenly landed on top of Berry’s desk,
issuing a soft, plaintive meow.  In fact, everyone in the courtroom froze,
even Glen and Gideon, and they were carrying guns. 

“Where
did Cicero come from?”  Marion asked softly, between clenched teeth.

Berry
badly wanted to leap onto her chair in case Puffball and ringleader Limbo were
also in the area but decided against making any sudden moves.  “I don’t
know.”  Berry slowly began to back away.
 
Cicero didn’t like that, meowing sharply in Berry’s direction. 
Berry immediately froze.  Honestly, hadn’t her Great-Great-Aunts ever
thought of keeping their cats in crates with big assed locks?  The
community at large was not safe with the feline trio on the loose.

“Stay
still Berry…”  Morty instructed.

“We’ll
take care of this.”  Malcolm agreed.
 
The twins were back in team mode.

Cicero
was having none of it, arching her back and hissing long and loud at
them. 

“I
think she wants you two to leave.”  Berry whispered softly.

“No
Berry…”

Cicero’s
next hiss was louder than the twins’ protests.  Reflexively the two
started to back away, Cicero now disinterested in them switched her full
attention back to Berry. 

“Why
do you hate me so much?  What have I ever done to you?”  Berry eyed
the ginger coloured feline with displeasure.

“Don’t
taunt her Berry.”  Gideon was sidling up next to her. “Just keep her
attention fixed on you, be nice for Goddess sake.”

“Nice?” 
Berry hissed between gritted teeth.  “Do you have any idea the havoc
they’ve caused?” 

The
embarrassment of being locked out her house naked, being found by Ramsey like
that.  The money she could ill afford to spend on clothes and shoes…
wasted.  Thank Heavens they hadn’t gotten their claws on Etta’s cast-offs,
otherwise she’d have nothing left to wear but her court robes. 

Ooh,
she’d just had the best idea ever.  Berry yanked her robe off quick smart,
flinging the garment over Cicero.  Laughing, as the cat, suddenly trapped
by the layer of fabric, hissed and made its displeasure known. 

“Everyone
out.  Now!”  Berry doubted her court room had ever cleared so
fast.  Out in the corridor Berry slammed closed the door, panting hard,
trying to catch her breath, accepting Marion’s thanks and Glen’s grudging
appreciative, abrupt nod. Practically effusive praise coming from her taciturn
court bailiff. 

Gideon
gave out a whoop of approval.  “Good thinking Berry, I so did not want to
have to request back-up and explain to the Chief I was calling in a hostage
situation perpetrated by a cat.”

Berry
chuffed a laugh. “That would definitely be playing the charming small town
eccentric card one too many times.  I have some work to catch up on over
lunch.”   She turned and headed towards her office at the far end of
the hall.  Behind her, even through the thick mahogany doors she could
hear the angry yowls of Cicero still.  Payback it seems, was a pissed off
judge with voluminous robes.

Gideon
followed her to plant himself across from her office door. “I’ll be out here if
you need me.  Marion bought an extra sandwich in for me, so I’m all set
for lunch and don’t worry, I’ll keep a sharp eye out for Gaia. Not that she’s
likely to get passed Thom.”

Berry
entered her office, closing the door behind her with a soft satisfied
sigh.  She’d escaped Morty, Malcolm and Cicero all in one fell swoop.
 
Her day was looking up, now she had plenty of
time to enjoy a peaceful lunch and review the police reports regarding the
notorious Southey Bar and Grill sheep invasion.  Taking a seat at her desk
she relaxed, letting the mid-afternoon breeze blowing in through the open
balcony doors clear away the cobwebs. 

She’d
always considered the balcony a bonus, until today, when the business end of a
gun was suddenly jabbed into her cheek. 

“If
you want to live, you’ll be very… very quiet.  Understand?”

Berry’s
gaze tracked over the gun, up the arm holding it, to the man standing next to
her.  Thin, rabid and jittery, were three descriptive words that instantly
leapt to mind. 

“I
understand.”  The words coming out of her mouth, barely a whisper. 
The intruder must have slipped into her chambers whilst she was in court,
hiding out on the balcony until he heard her return.  “Who are you? 
What do you want?”

“Quietly.” 
He reminded, jabbing the gun into her cheek hard enough to bruise, just because
he could, she thought, not because she’d forgotten to whisper.  “And you
can call me Gerry.”

“Gerry? 
What is it you want, Gerry?”

He
leaned in, he was a tall man and thin to the point of being unhealthy, with
dirt ground into his skin as if he’d been living rough. Certainly his breath
attested to a recent lack of dental hygiene and a smoking habit.  His dark
hair was thinning and slicked back from his face, dark eyes, prominent nose and
fleshy lips.