Page 5 of Caught With the Sheriff

She nods her head, her eyes wary and confused. She stumbles back into the bathroom and looks back at me and my whole body goes rigid, desperately wanting to go with her.

Instead, I push her back lightly, gritting my teeth against the heat that’s roaring like a wildfire through my body starting where my palm touches her back through the thin fabric of her long-sleeved tee. I close the door and growl, “lock it.” Waiting until I hear the lock engage.

Only then do I take a slow, deep, ragged breath and step away. The window is still open and when I look out I can see a rose trellis that’s bare of flowers and hanging on the side of the house. An absolute safety hazard on the whole but easily something that a full-grown man could use to get the hell out of here with nobody the wiser.

My breath hisses out in a sharp growl. She’s right. Somebody was in here. I’d bet money on it, dammit!

I pace room to room. The whole top floor has two more bathrooms and three more bedrooms. The whole farmhouse is huge but most of the other rooms are either empty or full of boxes that haven’t been unpacked. It looks like she just moved in but this house was sold six months ago and she moved in almost immediately after that.

But I never saw her in town and I sure as hell would have noticed the little mouse creeping along and trying to stay invisible.

Not that she can hide from me anymore now that I’ve seen her. I’m going to know where she is every damn second of the day from now on.

I creep down the stairs and turn on the lights, checking in every damn nook of this place, even downstairs in the small basement. Then I head back upstairs, my whole body vibrating with the need to get to her.

“What the hell is going on, asshole?” I grumble to myself, heading back to the first bedroom and my little mouse. I’ve never been so fucked up before. I can’t think straight.

All I see is her soft, scared, wide eyes that I can’t tell in the dim light what the hell color they are. Her curvy little body shivering, her arms wrapped tight around herself.

Not one inch of skin was bare except her hands, face and feet and yet she looks sexier than every other woman I’ve ever met.

I jog a little faster. I need to get to her. Need to make sure she’s alright.

I knock at the door. A little crack appears. Her tousled, fiery curls appear and then her wide eyes and she stares up at me.

“A-are they gone?” Her soft voice shakes and my arms want to reach out and pull her into me. I want to keep her safe and tell her that nobody’s ever going to touch her.

She’s mine.

Shaking my head, I slide my gun back into the holster to keep my shaking hands busy and smile at her. Her strange eyes widen and she gasps softly.

I hold up my hands, palms out. Like I’m trying to coax a wild animal to me. “I checked every room. They’re gone. The window was open, did you leave it open?”

She shakes her head and her shoulder-length hair slips into her face, my hands shaking to keep from tucking it behind her ears and finding out if her skin is as soft as it looks.

“N-n0. I would never.”

“There’s a trellis out there that he could find and get out of the house on.”

Her eyes widen. She gasps and goes so white that I reach out for her myself.

“Hey, hey! All you need to do is remove the trellis and that avenue’s gone. Get some new locks on the house and maybe a security system if you can afford it and you’re safe as a baby in its mama’s arms.”

I barely touch her and she shifts away, her arms wrapping tight around herself again.

My eyes narrow. There’s more going on here than a simple break-in. I don’t like it.

But she nods her head and closes her eyes.

“Hey. I need to fill out some paperwork so I’m going to ask you some questions. Think you can hang on long enough to get this over with?”

Her slim shoulders straighten and yet she looks so fragile I just want to hug her.

I need to see a therapist. I’ve obviously lost my damn mind.

“Why don’t you sit down on the bed and we’ll get this all taken care of and you can go back to bed?”

And I’ll be spending the rest of the night right outside until she gets that damn lock fixed.