Cowboy Command (13 page)

“Shit.”  Seth leaned to the side, trying not to dislodge her on top of him.  With his fingertips, he found his slacks and snagged the condom, ripping it open with his teeth.  She plucked it from his fingers and rolled it on his hard cock trapped between their bodies.  She lifted up and he grasped her hips, slowly lowering her onto him inch by inch.  When Presley was stuffed full of cock, she locked her gaze with his.

“
Fuck me, Sheriff.”  Her voice was husky and it amped up Seth’s arousal even higher.  Fucking Presley was sublime, her tight cunt hugging him.  She rode his dick hard, their bodies slapping together in the close confines of the truck cab. 

He could feel the pressure building in his balls, wanted to hold back, but Presley had other ideas.  She leaned forward and bit down on his earlobe as he slammed into her. 

“Yes,” she hissed, her cunt rippling with her own orgasm, her body quivering.  He couldn’t hold back any longer, his own climax coming over him like a tidal wave.  She tucked her head between his neck and shoulder as her shuddering subsided and his breathing grew more normal.  He pulled her head back by her hair and grinned.

“
Woman, I haven’t had sex in my truck since I was in high school.”

“
Then you were long past due.  I knew I could get you to smile.”  She grinned right back at him.  “This is a pretty comfy truck.  I wouldn’t mind doing it in here every now and then.”

Instantly, his mind conjured up a vision of Presley riding shotgun naked as the day she was born.  He groaned and shook his head to clear his brain.

“You’re trouble.  I am a man in trouble.”  But he liked it, if he were honest.

She lifted herself off of him
, wincing as she did so. 

“
Shit, did I hurt you, honey?”  He was so much bigger and stronger than she was.  Seth needed to be more careful.  Presley was such a little thing.

“
No.” she shook her head.  “Just a little sore, that’s all.” 

Now he really felt guilty. 

She pushed at his shoulder.  “From horseback riding, you pervert.  Not riding you.  Although the way we go at it, it wouldn’t be surprising.  You’re a horny devil.”  She waggled her eyebrows as she pulled up her panties and hunted for her bra in their pile of discarded clothes.

The decision to make love had always seemed mutual, but perhaps Presley felt pressure to fulfill what he knew was a
strong sexual appetite.  A sexual appetite that had only grown sharper since meeting this woman.  Before her, he’d gone several months in between women without much thought about it.

He shifted in the seat, tugging on his boxers and jeans. 
“I guess I am.”  He couldn’t meet her eyes.

She grabbed his shirt right out of his hands,
holding it like a game of “keep-away”.  “For the record, I wasn’t complaining.  I like that you want me all the time.  I want you the same way.”

He breathed a little easier and motioned for his shirt. 
“I was worried for a minute you might feel, you know, pressured.”

An eyebrow arched. 
“Do you honestly think you could pressure me into having sex with you, Seth Reilly? Really?”

It did sound absurd.  She had him chasing his tail on a pretty much daily basis.  There was no doubt Presley Lawson was a woman to be reckoned with.  Seth reckoned with her on a regular basis.

“No, honey, probably not.  I just needed to be sure.”

She buttoned
up her pants and found her bra wedged under the seat.  “Then be sure to feed me afterward.  I’m hungry, Sheriff.”

He finished dressing and put the truck into gear. 
“I won’t let you starve, honey.  Breakfast coming up.”

He headed into town feeling better than he ever had after a hunting trip and he didn
’t even have a turkey.

* * * *
*

Presley patted her stomach
, now pleasantly full of pancakes and sausage.  The pancakes she’d ordered from the smiling waitress in the diner.  The sausage was stolen from Seth’s plate.  She was enjoying her third cup of coffee when Seth’s phone started buzzing on the table.  He put down his forkful of hash browns and picked up the phone. 

“
Um, yeah, I can talk.  Just let me get to a quieter spot.” 

Seth gave her an apologetic look and headed out the back door of the diner into the alley.  The diner was busy and loud this Monday morning.  Despite the snow and the cold, Harper was bustling with activity.  Thanksgiving was this week and everyone was shopping and decorating.  Seth told her it was easier to shop and prepare for Christmas now
when the weather wasn’t too bad than in a week or two when the snow and cold were worse.  Presley had pointed to her laptop on the desk and replied she knew how to shop when the weather was poor.  As for decorations, she was looking forward to putting up a small tree in her apartment and helping Seth decorate his home.  She spent most of her time there anyway.

Trask came in the door of the diner and spotted her.  He waved as he ordered his coffee at the counter before coming over to greet her.  She
’d grown quite fond of him.  He had a sweet, old-fashioned way about him that always made her smile.  He was also an incurable romantic, constantly hinting to her about how happy Seth looked these days.  The whole town had turned into matchmakers, giving her and Seth indulgent smiles when they would walk down Main Street hand in hand or share a plate of fries at the barbecue joint.  She felt like they were the reality television for this town.

“
Hey, Presley.  Where’s Seth?” 

Presley nodded to the back door. 
“He had to take a call and it’s pretty loud in here.  What brings you to town today?”

“
I needed to restock the pantry.  I thought the crowds wouldn’t be too bad today but I was wrong.  The grocery store was already busy this morning.  I saw the Sheriff’s station was closed.  You and Seth taking the day off?”

Presley chuckled. 
“Apparently, this is normal on a holiday week.  There are deputies on duty but no one comes into the office.  Seth will be on duty tonight, but he told me not to worry about the paperwork and such until next week.”

Trask winked at her and accepted his to-go coffee from the waitress. 
“Enjoy your time off.  It sounds like you’ve earned it.  You’ve revolutionized the place the way I heard it.”

The office had desperately needed it. 
“I’ve tried.  Seth didn’t make it easy.”

Trask laughed a
nd headed for the door.  “I’m sure you’re right.  Have a good day, Presley, and Happy Thanksgiving.”

“
Happy Thanksgiving, Trask.”

Presley tried to relax and wait for Seth but her gaze kept falling on a man who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.  His hair was cut shorter than most of the men in Harper and his skin wasn
’t as tan. She signaled to the waitress for more coffee as Seth returned, an unhappy expression on his face. 

“
I thought I’d wiped that frown off your face earlier, Sheriff.  You’re all grumpy again.”  She nodded to the man in the corner booth.  “Do you know who he is?”

Seth twisted around and quickly looked at the stranger. 
“Why do you ask?  Has he broken the law?  We do get people passing through town on occasion.”

“
No,” Presley shook her head.  “He doesn’t look like the usual hunter or fisherman tourist, that’s all.”

Seth sighed. 
“He’s not a tourist.  He’s a Fed.  Every week or so, they send a Fed or two here to check on you.  I get an email with their pictures so I don’t freak out when someone is watching you.”

“
I’ve been here all this time and I didn’t know?  Why didn’t you tell me?”  Presley pressed her lips together.  She didn’t like Seth keeping secrets from her in the least.

“
What would you have done with the information?  Evan told you he would be checking on you.  Would it make you feel more safe or less?  Can you say you’re surprised?”

“
I thought they trusted you to keep me safe?”  Presley traced a pattern in the sugar spilled on the table.

“
They do, but they wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t see you with their own eyes every now and then.”

Seth had effectively taken the wind out of her sails.  He was right.  She should have known they wouldn
’t drop her in the middle of nowhere and never check on her.  She hadn’t really processed Evan’s statement that night.  She’d had other things on her mind. 

The waitress refilled their coffees and bustled away.  Seth looked around the diner and then leaned forward in his chair. 
“That was Evan on the phone.”

Her body stiffened in response.  She
’d almost forgotten why she was in this town.  It was easy to forget as she became more involved in her new life and less enmeshed in the old.  Tampa seemed very far away at the moment.

“
What did he want?”  She waited for the answer.  Just when she thought her life was her own again, something came along to disabuse that notion.

“
He said they’re ready to convene the Grand Jury.  They’re ready to indict Simon.  They need your testimony.”

This was why they were protecting her.  She
’d always known that fact.  She sipped her coffee and tried to appear nonchalant.  “When and where?”

Seth was gazing at her, his eyebrows raised.  It was clear he wasn
’t convinced she was as calm as she looked. 

“
Tampa Federal Courthouse.  December tenth.  He gave me the name of a hotel for us that will have their protection.  We can fly you in and out quickly.”

She nodded. 
“They get what they want and I get my life back.  It’s a fair trade.”

Seth fiddled with his spoon. 
“Evan didn’t say anything about you being released from protection.”

“
Did you ask?”

“
No,” Seth admitted.  “I was busy getting the logistics for getting you in and out of Tampa.”

“
Out?  Evan said back out then?”

“
He did.”  Seth nodded.  “I can call him back for you if you like.”

She shook her head, holding her coffee cup with both hands and letting the warmth of the ceramic seep into her cold fingers. 
“There’s no need.  It sounds like he made things clear.  It appears the plan is for me to come back here, at least for a little while.  I just want to get this over with.  I’m not sure I know anything that’s going to help them.”

Disappointment at having to come back to Harper warred with happiness at getting more time with Seth.  When the time came, she had to admit she would miss him.  She genuinely liked him and there weren
’t many men she could say that about. 

Seth sipped his coffee. 
“Did you see anything that made you wonder what was going on?  Anything at all?”

Presley felt a flash of annoyance.  If she said no, she was
an oblivious idiot and if she said yes, it made her look foolish and weak.  It was a stupid, no-win question and she didn’t like it at all.

“
How do you want me to answer that, Seth?  Would it be better if I was totally ignorant or if I suspected something but did nothing?  Which is better to you?”

Seth scraped his hand down his face. 
“I’m not accusing you of anything, honey.  It was just a question.”

“
It was a trick question.  Like if I asked you if my butt looked big in these jeans.  If you say yes, well, then I have an oversized load and you won’t get sex for the foreseeable future.  If you say no, well, do I have a big, fat ass and it just looks small in these particular jeans or do I not have a big butt?  Either way?  You’re not getting laid.”

That got a peek of a smile out of Seth. 
“I promise no matter which way you answer, I’ll have sex with you.”

She thought about kicking him in the shin but she wasn
’t the violent type.  “I don’t think I know anything.  I clearly remember the invoices and emails, but I never saw anything that looked out of place.  I’m going out on a limb here as I’m not a criminal, but I doubt they’d leave a paper trail of their illegal activities.”

Seth nodded. 
“I’ve found that criminals are rarely very bright but I’ve never dealt with something like selling arms to terrorists.  How does one even do that?”

Presley shrugged. 
“I have no idea.  Nothing I saw in email or paper even hinted at something like that.”

Seth stroked his chin. 
“I bet there were a lot of emails, though.  It would be hard, if not impossible, to remember details like that months later.”

Presley pushed away her empty coffee cup. 
“I have a good memory, Seth.  I didn’t see anything that raised any flags.  Besides, the longer I worked there, the more Randall had me working on personal things.  He was having his house renovated and he asked me to manage the project.  It was practically a full time job.  I wasn’t in the office much the last four months.”