Sheriff in Her Stocking (6 page)

Pushing his hips
forward he filled her to the hilt, searing her intimate passage with vital male
heat.

“Folks, if
you’ll take a seat we’ll get this meeting underway.”

At the sound of
Mayor Jonas Griffin’s voice, Delaney snapped out of her sex-filled reverie. She
swallowed. Delaney couldn’t believe she’d been fantasizing about having sex
with Rick in the middle of the council meeting.

I have to get
out of this town before my sex drive implodes.

She re-filled
her cup with hot chocolate and walked to the oval table in the center of the
room. Sliding into a chair, she set her cup on the table’s surface. The council
members gravitated toward the table and sat down. A sheaf of papers lay on the
table in front of each chair.

After a hot
meal, everyone had stood around and chatted for a few minutes. Delaney had been
delighted to find everyone so friendly. She’d received a much warmer reception
than the chilly encounter she’d experienced with Lenore. She sipped her drink
and wondered for the fiftieth time what Rick was up to with Lenore. Delaney
hoped up to meant they were having dinner and didn’t involve his penis in the
up position. Earlier, Rick had taken Delaney on a tour of the town. She
couldn’t believe it when Lenore insisted she ride along. Of course, Lenore sat
in the middle snuggled against Rick while Delaney hugged the passenger door.
She sighed. At least she’d gotten a good look at the town. It was nice as small
towns go with several fine old homes, a lovely square and quite a few quaint
local businesses. Seeing it had given her some ideas for improvement.

The mayor, a
mustached, attractive older man, dressed in a dark suit that highlighted his
salt and pepper hair, gave everyone a few moments to read through the papers,
then opened the floor for discussion. Everyone had an opinion and wanted theirs
heard all at the same time. In an attempt to gain order, His Honor pulled
himself up to his full, average height and Delaney smiled at the glint of light
reflected off the gold band on his left hand when he used the gavel. A glance
in her direction once he gained control of the meeting, reminded her of his nephew
who bore the same hazel eyes. “Ms. Monroe--”

She smiled.
“Call me Delaney, please.”

“All right,
Delaney, I want to officially welcome you to Avery and our council meeting.”

Despite the mayor’s
smile and welcoming words a kind of sadness lurked behind his eyes. She
wondered why. “Thank you, Mayor. I’m glad to be here.”

“Now that you’ve
had a chance to read over our plans to beautify the town and listened to
everyone’s suggestions, you have a good idea of what we’re looking for. Do you
think you can help us?”

“Yes, I think I
can. As I listened to everyone chat, ideas swirled through my head.”

The mayor
motioned for her to continue.

Delaney smiled
and continued. “I definitely think you should advertise in newspapers not only
in Montana but other states as well.”

The door opened
a second before Rick stuck his head in. “Sorry I’m late.”

Delaney jerked
her head around at the sound of Rick’s voice. She couldn’t believe her eyes and
ears.

The mayor and
several other council members greeted him as he stepped into the room.

“I didn’t know
you were attending,” the mayor said. “We would have ordered food for you.”

“That’s okay, I
grabbed something at home.”

His gaze pierced
Delaney when he said the words and a silent message passed between them. A
little bubble of satisfaction grew inside Delaney’s chest. So, he didn’t dine
with Lenore after all. I wonder why?

“Have a seat,”
the mayor said.

Rick whisked off
his hat and coat and hung them on a rack beside the door. He sat down in the
seat the mayor gestured toward and Delaney couldn’t help but inhale a slow,
deep breath. Rick smelled of soap and man.

“So what did I
miss?” he asked. He turned his chair a little to the side, leaned back and
looked at Delaney. His eyes were warm, expressive and seemed to drink her in.
His gaze shifted momentarily to her mouth then back to her eyes.

A curl of heat
tightened in her stomach. She wished with every pheromone enriched cell in her
body that they had kissed earlier in the garage. Delaney pushed her feelings
aside determined to gain control of her libido.  As soon as her car was
repaired, she would high-tail it to New York.

“Delaney had
just started giving us some of her ideas.”  The mayor motioned toward
Delaney.

She cleared her
throat and tried not to look at Rick. She felt his gaze on her. Her pulse
quickened under his stare as if he stripped her clothes off right down to
her--”

“Go ahead,
Delaney, continue.”

The mayor’s
words snapped her out of her sensual reverie. “Oh, right. A web site could
prove invaluable and increase exposure for the town.”  She paused for a
moment and sipped her hot chocolate, licked her lips and continued. Rick
watched her with his elbows propped on the arms of his chair and his fingers
steepled beneath his chin. A slight smile curved his lips and amusement
glimmered in his eyes. Her toes curled inside her cowboy boots.

She tore her
attention away from Rick’s intriguing gaze. “I think if you make a few cosmetic
changes especially to Main Street, like fresh paint for the store fronts and
awnings, perhaps new lamp posts. Some of the sidewalks should be repaired
because of the cracked concrete. Making these changes would give the town a
fresh, more updated look.”

A few council
members nodded and murmured in agreement. That was a good sign. She got excited
about the ideas as well. It would be something she could add to her resume if
the job in New York didn’t work out.

Unable to stop
herself she looked back at Rick and wished he would stop looking at her like
that. It made her hot all over. “I think one of the most important things you
can do is utilize local talent to help draw visitors. Are there any musicians,
artists or singers in town?”

A tiny woman
with sharp features and the voice of a habitual smoker spoke up. “I’m Sara
Farley and I do china painting.”

Delaney smiled.
“Oh, that’s great. I’d love to watch you work.”

The woman
smiled. “Of course, my dear, stop by my house anytime. I’m at the corner of
Maple and Third. The old Victorian. You can’t miss it.”

Delaney
remembered seeing the lovely, old home this afternoon when Rick showed her
around town.

“My grandson,”
she continued, “is in a band and some of the church deacons have a barber shop
quartet. They’ve even competed at the state level,” she said with pride.

“These ideas are
really good,” commented one of the members.

“Yes, I think
you’ve definitely come up with some great suggestions,” another said.

“Delaney,” the mayor
began, “would you consider staying on for a while to help us make these things
happen?  I know you were planning to leave once the storm abated.” 
He motioned toward the window where only flurries now fell. “The storm has
moved on but I hope you might consider it.”

Several of the
council members chimed in agreeing with the mayor.

No way did she
want to make her home in a small town like Avery. She was headed for the
excitement and bright lights of New York. But how could she say that without
insulting them. “Well I--“

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said one of the
council members shaking his ruddy, complexioned head in disagreement. “No
offense, Ms. Monroe but I believe if we implement your suggestions it might
attract the wrong sort of people to Avery. I’m Oliver Harden.”  His beak
of a nose and full lips made his attempt at sticking out the chest on his whip
thin body laughable, but he continued with a challenge in his voice. “I own
Hardens Mini Mart out by the highway. I get a lot of traffic with people
stopping for gas or snacks. Not everybody who stops is clean cut or polite and
educated. I’ve even been robbed once.”

There were a
series of moans from the other members but only Rick spoke up. “Oliver, you’re
right. Personally, I think Avery is just fine the way it is. There’s nothing
wrong with our town and I don’t think we need to make it look fancy to attract
tourists. We have the hot springs outside of town and the hotel being built. I
think that alone will help bring people here. That’s my two cents.”

“Okay,” the
mayor said, “would anyone care to add anything to the comments that have been
made?”

When no one
spoke up the mayor turned to Delaney. “Thank you very much for coming young
lady and giving us your ideas.”  He looked at the other members. “We’ll
take a ten minute break then vote.”

“Thank you,
Mayor.”

Delaney said
goodnight to the other members and started to slip on her coat when she felt
someone helping her. She turned and stared into Rick’s brown eyes. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

* * * * *

Rick walked
Delaney down the stairs. When they stepped through the mayor’s office door out
into the clear night, only a few clouds remained. Stars like a million tiny
lights filled the sky. Delaney’s breath hung for a moment in the cold air. “Wow,
the sky is gorgeous.”

That’s not all.
“Yeah, it’s always like this after a storm. Come on, I’ll give you a
ride.”  He lightly grasped her upper arm. They trudged through the snow to
the passenger door of his truck and he helped her inside. He walked around the
rear of the truck and stopped for a moment. The snow crunched under his boots
and the frigid air stung his lungs. He glanced through the windscreen at
Delaney waiting for him in the truck.  What would it feel like to have a
woman--not just any woman--Delaney, waiting for him every night when he headed
home?

He shook his
head. What the hell was he thinking?  She would be leaving town soon and
getting romantically involved with her was a bad idea. A woman like her could
have any man she wanted. Once she arrived in New York she’d have them beating
down her door.

He clenched his
teeth together. Why did the thought of her with another man bother him so
much?  Why couldn’t he stop the memory of those sexually charged minutes
they’d spent together in the garage from popping into his head every second
since he’d dropped her off at his office?  He’d struggled to erase the
image of Delaney’s face, her desire filled eyes and sexy lips from his mind,
but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. What would it be like to take her
in his arms, slide his tongue past her sexy lips and steep himself in her
flavor?  God help him he hungered to give in to the need and arousal
riding him like the ever present hard-on tormenting him.

Rick continued
around the truck and climbed in on the driver’s side. He turned the key and the
engine roared to life, but he didn’t engage the gear. Instead he slumped back
in his seat and looked at her. He just had to know. “Why don’t you ask me?”

Delaney looked
at him, her eyes clear and blue in the dim light of the truck. Her lips parted
on a sigh.

He hoped to hell
she wouldn’t pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about.

She turned away
and stared through the passenger window. “It’s really none of my
business.”  Her voice was matter-of-fact like she didn’t care. Her
attitude irked him to no end. Wasn’t that what he wanted?  He’d already
decided getting involved with her was a lousy idea.

Unable to stop
himself, Rick leaned toward her, lifted his hand and rested two fingers under
her chin. Gently he nudged her head around until she faced him once again. The
warm, silky feel of her skin sent skitters of desire down his arm and into his
chest. For a moment, longing filled her cobalt eyes, but then it was gone.
 “Are you sure?”

She straightened
in her seat dislodging his fingers from beneath her chin. Delaney cocked her
head to the side. “What do you mean?”  Her tone was light with a hint of
surprise.

Exasperation
filled him. He inhaled a deep breath to sooth his annoyance. “I mean we nearly
kissed in the garage this afternoon. You don’t have a problem with a guy almost
kissing you then going off to an intimate dinner with another woman?”

An indefinable
emotion flashed in her eyes. “We hardly know each other.”  She shrugged.
“I’ll admit there’s a little chemistry between us. . .”

“A little?”

Delaney smiled.
“Okay, a lot, but that doesn’t mean we need to act on it. Besides, I get the
impression you and Lenore have been seeing each other for a while.”

He shrugged and
looked away. “We’ve dated a few times that’s all.”  Lenore was a lot more
interested in him than he was in her. She was lonely and he didn’t want to hurt
her, but he never planned on having any kind of long term relationship with
her. Getting involved with Delaney would definitely hurt her. He should have
ended it before now. He exhaled a heavy breath. “You’re probably right. It
isn’t a good idea for us to give in to the chemistry. You’ll be leaving the
dust of this small town behind you as soon as your car is repaired and we’ll never
see each other again.”

The thought of
never seeing Delaney again made an empty space open up inside him.

“That’s true.”
 Her voice was soft, pensive. “Lenore really has nothing to worry about.”

He raked a hand through
his hair. “Lenore isn’t the one who is worried.”

Delaney turned
her head and looked at him. She arched a brow but remained silent.

He gazed at her
pretty face, the way her hair fell around her shoulders. His fingers itched to
touch her. “The truth is I’m attracted to you and I’d like to spend some time
with you while you’re here, but I can’t until I end things with Lenore. It
wouldn’t be fair to her or to you.”  Now for the kicker. His pulse raced
and apprehension filled him. What if she says no?  “Would you consider the
mayor’s suggestion of staying on in town to help with the project?”