Page 56 of Wrangled
“I don’t understand. You said your car broke down. How was that my fault?”
“You know damn fine there was nothing wrong with my car!” he roars, making Shepard stalk toward him.
“One more word and I swear to god I’ll cuff you and take you in.”
“She’s a fucking?—”
Shepard grabs him around the back of his neck and slams his face down as he brings his knee up into Andrews’s face. Andrews’s nose erupts in a far more dramatic fashion than mine.
Stunned, I look at Jen, who looks smug.
“Whoops, better watch your step there, Andrews. The ground is pretty uneven,” Shepard warns him before looking at Jen and me. “Ladies, if you want to get in the back of the cruiser, I’ll drive you home. I’m just gonna call someone to pick up Andrews. Wouldn’t want him to trip again and hurt himself further.”
“Fuck you. Fuck you all,” Andrews snarls before Shepard yanks him close and says something in his ear. Whatever he says has the color bleeding from Asshole’s face.
I climb in the back of the cruiser and close the door, looking to Jen as she does the same. “You know what?” she says, looking at me as she smooths down the material of her skirt. “I think this place is growing on me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ididn’t think about how it would look, pulling up to the ranch in the back of the sheriff’s cruiser, dried blood around my nose. Riggs appears to be two seconds away from losing his shit. He fists his hands and takes a deep, controlled breath as I quietly explain what happened. I slide one of my hands over one of his fisted ones. In a second, he opens his hand and laces his fingers through mine.
“I’m okay. I promise.”
He presses his forehead against mine, and I’m reminded of how he was last night when he was trapped in his dream.
“Next time, you take me with you,” he tells me, his voice gruff.
“Deal.”
I give him a moment until I hear a throat being cleared. I turn and find Shepard glaring at Riggs, while Jen stares at him with curiosity that lacks the previous animosity.
“Well, you seem to be fine now.”
“I was fine before, Sheriff, but thank you for the ride home. I appreciate it.”
He sighs, lifting the Stetson from his head and holding it to his chest. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I glance up at Riggs, who nods and lets me go. I urge Shepard to follow me inside. I walk into the kitchen, where David mutters to himself as he types something so fast into the laptop that it makes my brain hurt.
“Let’s take this to the den,” I suggest.
Shepard watches David for a moment before following me down the hallway. The house feels weird to me, like the tingly, fizzy feeling you get when your foot falls asleep. I can sense how wary it is, and for a moment, I worry it’s about the sheriff. Then I realize it’s my blood. The house knows I’m bleeding, but not what happened to me. In an attempt to soothe it, I trail my fingers lightly across the wall as I walk, pushing reassurance into the bones of the house. I’m careful not to expend too much energy this time so I don’t end up with another nosebleed.
Once we reach the den, I hold the door open for Shepard to pass through and then close it behind us. I barely have time to turn around before I’m pinned against the wood. I open my mouth to protest, but words die on my lips when Shepard slams his mouth down over mine. My brain glitches, all rational thoughts flying out the window. I stand there in shock as he slips his tongue between my lips and the taste of him—coffee, licorice, and pure man—consumes me.
Before I know it, I have my hands fisted in his shirt, and I’m pulling him closer. I kiss him back, mimicking his actions and losing myself in the moment. When he slips his jean-glad thigh between my legs, I whimper at the pressure against my clit, needing more. A voice in the back of my head screams at me that this is a terrible idea. But it isn’t until his hand slides under thefabric of my T-shirt to cup my breast that I rip my mouth from his.
“Fuck. You make me lose my mind,” he groans, pressing his forehead to mine, as Riggs did only moments ago.
Riggs. Dammit. Though I owe neither man anything, I’m plagued by guilt. I shove Shepard away and straighten my shirt before crossing my arms over my chest. “What is it you want, Sheriff?”
“I think it’s fucking obvious, Poppy. I want you.”
“Why? Have you fucked your way through Crowhurst’s population and need fresh blood to get it up?” I lash out, embarrassed that I succumbed to him so easily.
He clenches his teeth but doesn’t rise to the bait. “Why? Because you’re fucking beautiful. Because I haven’t been able to think of anything but your pretty little mouth and what it would look like wrapped around my cock since the day I met you. I don’t know what kind of hold you have over me, but I both love it and hate it.”
“You’re a cop,” I grit out like he needs reminding. “Black and white, remember?”
