Page 24 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

“You never answered my questions on Wednesday.”

Wednesday. A day I would like to forget. I’d been in a shit mood for the past two days. I’d barked at everyone the way I’d barked at her at the scene. In my defense, that had been the second time I’d found a dead woman on my property.

“So you came to my house?”

“Would you have come down to the station if I’d asked?”

“No.”

“That’s what I figured.” She raised her chin, her feet planted firm. Winn wasn’t going to leave until I talked to her, and this time, I couldn’t exactly walk away.

I sighed and stood aside, jerking my chin for her to come inside.

She stepped past me and her sweet citrus scent wrapped around me like a vine.

My body reacted instantly, tightening in all the wrong places. I took another pull from my beer. The only rational explanation for this infuriating desire had to be lust. I’d gone too long without sex, and now I was acting like a randy teenager.

Lust. Definitely lust.

And those freckles on her nose. Goddamn it, they did it for me.

I was too busy to be studying her freckles.

“Did you know who I was?” I blurted.

“Pardon?”

“At Willie’s. Did you know who I was?”

“No. You said you came through town. I assumed you didn’t live here.”

“You said Bozeman. I thought you were a tourist.”

“You really didn’t know who I was?”

“I wouldn’t have fucked you in my truck had I known. As a general rule, I don’t do hookups with locals. Gets messy when women realize I’m not interested in a relationship. I’m too busy.”

“Ah. Then you’re in luck because I have no desire for a relationship. And as far as I’m concerned, it never happened.”

Like fuck it had never happened. That night was burned into my brain. But if she wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened, that was fine by me. No one in Quincy needed to know I’d given the chief of police three orgasms.

“Back to the reason for my visit. I’d like to know more about that road to Indigo Ridge.” She was all business tonight, her shoulders square and her expression stoic. Just like it had been Wednesday. Not a ghost of her mesmerizing smile graced her soft lips.

Probably safest that way. “Want a beer?”

“No, thanks.”

“On duty?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

I finished my bottle, making her stand there and watch, then I retreated to the kitchen for beer number two. Maybe two Bud Lights would dull my senses enough so I wouldn’t have a raging erection while she was in my house. At the moment, my dick was ready to say fuck it and carry her to my bedroom.

We hadn’t had a lot of room to maneuver in the backseat of my truck. On a king-sized mattress, Winn and I could have some fun.

Jesus. I scrubbed a hand over my face as I opened the refrigerator. What was wrong with me?

Winn was here to talk about a dead girl, and I was thinking of sex. The mental image of Lily Green’s smashed body was sobering, and I closed the fridge, forgoing the beer.