Moving_Violations (6 page)

“Officer Rebecca Taylor. Your transfer from Detroit.”

28

Moving Violations

He straightened; she noted the muscle that pulsed in his jaw. His frown deepened as he stepped from around the desk and took her hand. Warm and calloused, it brought back that flood of erotic memories. She pulled away quicker than she should have.

“Welcome home.”

Her eyes widened and met his darkening gaze.
Damn, when she fucked up she fucked
up good,
she thought. “So, you’re the sheriff.”

He stared, or glared at her, she couldn’t decide. “I didn’t know you were arriving till the mayor called this morning.” His voice was deep and clipped. He was pissed. It showed in every hard line and muscle in his body.

“Oh.” She shrugged, for the first time in her life at a loss for words. “Well, I…”

“He had tried to reach me last night,” he interrupted her, pausing to let his gaze slide over her body like a lurid caress. “I was…unavailable.”

She narrowed her eyes. Damn him, there was no need to bait her. If he wanted to make this difficult, by God, she could comply. “Well, I’m here now, Sheriff, so if we could just start this ball rolling.” She motioned impatiently with her hand. “I’ll fill out the necessary paperwork and you can have someone show me the ropes…”

“Follow me, Officer.” Giving her no chance to defy him, he turned and walked briskly down a dimly lit hallway.

Was that a smirk? That jackass smirked at her! Oh, it was on now. She followed on his heels into his office and closed the door behind her. The room was small and plain. A few certificates hung on the white walls. A table with a Mr. Coffee sat beside a disheveled bookshelf. Two ugly gray-green file cabinets stood behind a wide wooden desk. A computer monitor sat among the many files, scraps of paper and post-it notes that littered the desktop, along with a fat coffee mug that said:
Sheriffs do it with
handcuffs.
Rebecca resisted the urge to sneer.

“Jackson, this is obviously not a comfortable situation. If we’d known beforehand, last night would have…gone quite differently. But it can’t be undone so let’s just be adults about this and put it behind us, move forward, pretend it never happened.”

Easily said, she thought. Her body was heating up just being in the same room with him.

Jackson had walked around his desk and sat in his chair. He gestured to the chair across from him and she sat down. Leaning back, he propped his booted feet on his desk and folded his hands over his stomach. He pursed his lips as if to consider her suggestion then slowly shook his head. “Nah, ain’t gonna happen. See, Becca, I saw the flash of heat in those sexy eyes of yours the moment you walked through the door. You can pretend all you want, darlin’, but fact is…” He sighed. “You’re hot for me. You always have been, you can’t help yourself.”

“Re-becca, not Becca,” she hissed through her teeth. “I’ll do my best to control myself.” Now it was her turn to smirk.

“Yeah, but you won’t succeed. We both know that, don’t we?”

“Look, will you cut the snide remarks!” His smile looked more like a sneer and he nodded, at least it looked like a nod.

“Sheriff.” She paused for emphasis and met his gaze. “I assure you, I have an excellent record and I play it by the book. You don’t have to worry about me doing my job.”

29

Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick

“I don’t need you. I have all the officers I need. We don’t have a whole lot of trouble here in Jericho.” His gaze lowered to her breasts. She felt them stiffen involuntarily and had to struggle not to cross her arms. “No, I’m sure you’re very, very good…at your job, Officer Ree-Becca.”

His double meaning didn’t go unnoticed. She wanted to slap that smug look from his gorgeous face. Damn him. She gritted her teeth. “Then call the mayor and get me reassigned…again.”

“Can’t.” Disgust weighed heavily in his voice.

“Why not?” Rebecca fought to control the near desperation sliding through her system. This was bad. Real bad.

“Already tried. Mayor wants you here real bad for some reason.” His eyes narrowed as he watched her. Suspicion flared in those murky depths.

“That doesn’t make sense, why would he care?” She scowled at him.

He shrugged. “Says, it’ll be good for the community to have a girl cop runnin’

around.”

She felt the heat of anger crawl up her neck. “I am not a ‘girl cop’. I am a police officer and I take that very seriously, Sheriff Montgomery.”

He studied her as he chewed on his pen. “Things are different here in the South, Officer Sugar, especially in the country. Maybe you forgot that, living in the big city for so long. You see, sometimes we have to go more on instinct than by the book. There’s a time to be serious, Becca, and there’s a time to…relax.” He sat up, dropped the pen on the desk and leaned forward, meeting her gaze. “The people of Jericho haven’t changed much. They’re essentially good, hard working, people. Farming community, mostly. We have very little call for police enforcement and I already have enough men. I don’t need some hardnosed gal comin’ around here hollerin’, ‘I am woman, hear me roar.’”

Clenching her teeth, Rebecca fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Sheriff, I have no agenda and believe it or not, I’m not a women’s libber. I’m a cop. I don’t want to be classified by my sex. Just try to ignore the fact that I’m a woman, it has nothing to do with my ability to do my job…”

“But see, Officer Becca Sugar, your sex isn’t easily ignored.”

She closed her eyes on an exasperated sigh. “Look, let’s put everything aside and just call me Officer Taylor.”

“Can’t.”

“Why? Just because you’ve known me all my life…”

“Because I’ve tasted your sweet hot pussy, that’s why.” His expression was sardonic but his voice held a note of anger. “And make no mistake, sweetness, it left me with a terrible craving for more.”

She stared at him, momentarily struck dumb with shock. He did not just say that.

Oh, but yes he did. He watched her with lowered lids. Her body tensed. He was remembering, and now so was she. She felt the heat curl through her and the corner of his mouth tilted.

“Sheriff Montgomery, what happened last night will never happen again.” She gave him a level look.

30

Moving Violations

His laugh was an ominous rumble from deep in his chest. “If you figure no two
good
fucks are ever the same—and we are good at it, Becca—it’s only gonna get better.” He spoke low and seductive which had her juices flowing.

She clenched her teeth, fighting to control her lust and her temper. She could control this situation and she could handle this hick cowboy, no problem. “How adolescent,”

she grumbled.

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Arching a brow, he murmured, “Did you expect this country sheriff would be simple? Did you think I’d just hump you and be grateful that you let me have a fancy ride?”

“What?” She felt as if he’d punched her. Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him in disbelief.

“You didn’t expect to have the fuck of your life, did ya? You didn’t think I could rock your world like those hoity-toity city boys you’re used to screwin’. What did you think would happen, Becca, when you decided to fuck the boss?”

Rebecca blinked. She fought for breath. Fought to keep from trying to wipe that superior smug smile off his handsome face.

“For God’s sake. I had no idea you were the sheriff last night. I asked to transfer to Jericho because I missed home, I wanted to slow down, get away from the city…” she tried to explain, fighting to draw precious air into her lungs.

“Oh baby, you call that slow? Fast would have killed me! I bet you couldn’t wait to show old Jackson the new and improved Pixie Pest.”

Okay this was turning ugly; she could feel it, see it in his glittering silver eyes piercing her. “Look, I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just wanted to meet some people, see if anyone I knew was still here, maybe dance, and possibly have a good time and go home…alone. I came to Jericho because I needed a fresh start, in a new place, I wanted to see if this could be home again.”

He lifted a brow. “Did you screw up or something in Detroit? What didja do, fuck the chief of police? Or maybe the mayor, ugh…that’s not a good mental image, maybe that’s why he’s all hot and bothered for you to stay.”

She glared at him. She was stunned and for some reason, the things he said hurt worse than she thought they should. Fury and humiliation rose like bile in her throat and she stood slowly, keeping her gaze on him. She saw the flash of regret but it did nothing to dissolve the lump in her throat. “Fine, I’ll get in touch with the mayor myself and see what I can do. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

“Damn, okay wait, Becca, just wait.” He rubbed his hand over his face and motioned for her to sit again but she stood, her hand resting on the doorknob. “I apologize. I guess that was uncalled for.”

She swallowed the knot that was lodged in her throat, lifted a brow and continued to glare at him. “You guess?”

“Talking to the mayor won’t do you any good. I fought with him all morning over this. Even before I knew you were female…or that you were…you.” He waved a hand at her.

“I don’t want anything from you, Jackson. I don’t want a relationship, sexual or otherwise. Last night wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t come here to seduce you.”

31

Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick

She raised her hand when he started to speak and fought to keep from shaking. “And with all due respect, Sheriff. I don’t give a good goddamn what you think of me. Just know what happened last night won’t happen again, and no matter what you believe, I’m not a nympho on the prowl. So you don’t have to worry about the other officers.”

He nodded and looked away for the first time, putting his hands on his hips. “It’s not about you being a woman, Becca.”

“Rebecca,” she snapped.

His raised his gaze to hers without raising his head. “It’s not about your…sex.” She started to retort when something in his narrowing eyes made her hesitate. “Like I said, I don’t need you. I didn’t expect you. Now that I have you I don’t know what to do with you.” He combed his fingers though his hair and sighed. Something about the simple frustrated movement brought visions of his naked body rising over her, his sweaty muscles bunching and rippling as he strained toward release.

She swallowed hard. “Like
I
said, I’ll talk to the mayor.” She turned and fumbled with the doorknob, desperate to get away from him. He walked up behind her and reached around to open the door. She could feel the heat of his body at her back. His scent teased her, making it hard for her to breathe. When did she become so weak, she wondered? Maybe she was a nympho.

“Becca.”

She took several steps away from him before she turned around. “Rebecca…

What?”

She looked up at him; his eyes had softened, darkened. “It won’t do any good…”

For a moment, she thought he guessed her reaction and she frowned. “…arguing with the mayor.”

“I’ll try anyway.”

He shrugged. “Matthews!” he shouted down the hall.

“Yeah.” The young officer sitting at the desk poked his head around the corner.

“Show Officer B…Taylor around. Make sure she gets a uniform, order one if need be.”

Matthews’ bright blue eyes assessed Rebecca. “Sure thing, Sheriff.” He grinned.

Jackson turned back to Rebecca, his face expressionless. “Officer Bryan Matthews will take care of whatever you need.” Then he turned on his heel and sauntered back into his office, slamming the door behind him.

32

Moving Violations

Chapter Seven

The echo of the door slamming grated on Jackson’s ears. Anger surged through his body, pounded in his bloodstream, but not for the reason Becca thought. It had nothing to do with sex…at least, not the male/female type. It had everything to do with the fact that his swollen cock pulsed and throbbed in aching demand to bury itself between her thighs. Now. Hard. Feeling the slap of flesh against flesh, hearing her throaty little moans, her cries of completion.

He groaned, kicking his desk, wincing as the toe of his boot met solid oak. Dammit, he didn’t need this. Not right now. He sure as hell didn’t need Mayor Whittaker thinking he could pull the wool over his eyes this easy. Hell, he had been working for six months now to figure out what the slimy bastard was up to, and he threw one roadblock after another at Jackson.

Somehow, Jackson knew, Whittaker had arranged the former sheriff, Jackson’s uncle’s, accident, just as Jackson knew that old John Porter had been on to something that the mayor was up to. That was the reason Jackson had fought for the position after John’s death. Even going so far as to secure the approval of the Town Council, who in turn pressured Whittaker.

He threw himself into his chair, slouching in it, his lips twisting in a grimace as his eyes narrowed on the door. Damn, he hadn’t wanted to leave Becca earlier. His erection had throbbed in protest, his muscles reluctant to lift him from the bed. He should have stayed. At least he could have found the sweet haven of her body once more before it all backfired in his face. Now he was going to have to figure out what the hell was going on here. Whittaker must be running real damned scared if he was letting a woman on the force in the hopes of distracting Jackson. Which to a point, Jackson admitted, was working.

Dammit all to hell. This was a complication he just didn’t need. And to make it worse, he had hurt her. He had seen the flash of hurt and disillusionment in her eyes when he had accused her of fucking the mayor. He grimaced, irritated with the surging jealousy that had washed over him while he was on the phone with Whittaker. Damned bastard carrying on about how pretty little Rebecca Taylor had grown up and was all woman now. His snide, insinuating voice as slimy as eel’s skin as he touted Rebecca’s obvious charms. Furious jealousy had spread through Jackson like a sickness he couldn’t combat.

And it wasn’t like he hadn’t known better. Jackson was well aware of where Rebecca had spent last night. She was in his arms, milking his cock like a fist every time he pushed it in her. Yet Whittaker, for reasons Jackson couldn’t explain, had insinuated that she had been otherwise entertained. And not ten minutes after getting off the phone with the bastard, fury still roaring like a live beast through his body, Rebecca had walked in.