Dixie Lynn Dwyer (6 page)

She widened her eyes at him and ignored his blatant disapproval of her sexy attire.

“I said good evening. What’s going on?” she asked him.

He cleared his throat and stared down at her. He had a good foot or so over her and was definitely rough around the edges. His shoulder-length brown hair was sexy, and his deep brown eyes held her gaze.

“You know what the problem is, Paula,” he stated, but she had to move closer to him to hear.

She touched his arm and leaned closer then lifted on her tiptoes so her ear could reach where he was speaking from.

“I said, you know why I’m here. This place has too many people inside. You need to get them out of here or I’m closing you down.”

Paula instantly got annoyed, but she noticed that the crowds were moving out, and soon they wouldn’t be violating any occupancy laws. She kept him engaged in conversation.

“Closing me down? Are you out of your mind? We’ve worked our asses off to get to this point and now you want to start messing with us? What are you really after?”

He scowled at her.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, causing her cleavage to push forward. His eyes looked it over then back up at her.

“Yeah, Inspector, my eyes are up here,” she stated along with hand gestures.

He shook his head.

“Damn it, Paula, I’ve got a job to do.”

“Not here you don’t. We’re not violating any laws.”

“Sure you are. This isn’t safe with crowds this big. What if there was a fire?”

“Everything is fine. I really don’t know why you’re here. Look around you. Does it look like we have more than five hundred people in here?” He turned to look around, and she could see the shock on his face. She felt a bit guilty for tricking him, but the business and her friends came first.

He scowled at her as he grabbed her arm and ushered her to the nearby wall.

“I don’t know how you did that, Paula, but I’m watching you.”

She pulled her arm from his grasp despite her body’s need to be close to him. She was so damn attracted to the man she wished he would inspect her. He was older and probably not interested in a younger woman like herself.

“You can keep your eyes on me, but you’re not allowed to touch.” She turned to leave, and she walked right into a solid chest of muscle.

“Is there a problem here?” Matt, Tyler’s brother, asked as he steadied her but didn’t release his hold.

“No problem. Your brother was just leaving.”

But then Tyler moved against her back, and she was now sandwiched between the two hottest men she had ever met in her life. Her heart raced as Matt looked over her shoulder at Tyler. They were the same exact height, but Matt was a few years younger than Tyler.

“There were too many people in here. I was going to give her a citation.”

“Yeah, I saw you come in and I saw her ushering people out while she kept you occupied.” Matt looked over her breasts. She swallowed hard.

“She can be a distraction, especially with a body like hers.” Matt held her by her waist.

“You saw her do that?” Tyler sounded insulted. The crowd around them grew bigger again, and Matt was bumped just like Tyler was. She was caught between them as she lost her balance and both men held her.

“I think you two can have this conversation together. I need to get back to work.” But neither man let her go.

“I think the three of us should have a conversation.” Matt leaned down to whisper into Paula’s ear, “You look edible, honey.”

She lifted her chin trying to get a better scent of his cologne. He smelled enticing, but then she felt Tyler release her hips and step aside.

“I need to go. Don’t have time for games.”

“Who’s playing games?” she asked him as Matt released her hips and she stared at Tyler.

“We’re grown men, little girl. We know what we want and you can’t handle it.” He tipped his hat at her then walked away, saying good-bye to Big Dog and G-Force on his way out.

Paula felt angry and frustrated. Then she felt Matt grab her hand then hold her hips.

She looked up at him as she stood sideways.

“He likes you, but you keep messing with him. He’s just looking out for you and your friends just like Sheriff Parker.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Do you really?” he asked, still holding her by her hips and staring into her eyes.

“I’ve got to go. Later, Matt.”

“You betcha, doll. Just remember, you keep running and eventually we’ll catch you.”

Paula walked away and wondered what the hell just happened back there. Matt was all suave and Tyler seemed interested and then he made her feel like a child. She didn’t need that type of man. Maybe he was too old for her.

“They’re in Nebraska.”

“What? Who is? What the hell are you talking about, Brook?” Casper asked as he sat up in bed and gripped the phone tighter. He glanced over at the blonde female lying next to him.

“I tracked two of Susanna’s cousins.”

Casper sat up and walked out of the bedroom and into his office.

“Are you fucking sure?” he asked, feeling his heart rate increase. He felt excited about the news. “Where? Where are they, and have you spotted my Susanna?” he asked.

“No. I think she ditched the two cousins of hers. I’ve been tracking them for four days now.”

“Four days and you’re just calling me, Brook?”

“Hey, I was waiting it out and seeing if your number-one girl was with them. I don’t know if you’re interested in her cousins or not.”

“They could be used as bait to get Susanna back. Plus, their dad and uncles may be looking to have a few words with them.” Casper knew what they would do to them. Those sick bastards would beat them like they usually did. They were scum. He’d saved Susanna from that. Her life was better with him even though he smacked her around a bit, too. A woman needed to know her place.

“I can grab them whenever you want. Just say the word.”

“You know what? Give it another few days or a week. I want to see if they meet up with Susanna. Those women are tight, and they would never give up their cousin’s location, but maybe they could lead you to my woman.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll keep you posted.”

Casper disconnected the call and sat in the home office. He didn’t want to go back to bed and back to the bimbo who he’d tried to replace Susanna with. Susanna was not replaceable. She was perfection, and he would have done anything to make her stay and learn to abide by his rules. She needed discipline, she needed training, and if he had more time with her, she would have been his perfect woman right now.

He became aroused just thinking about her body and her beautiful face. Her long golden locks, her exquisite emerald-green eyes, and the way she catered to his desires and command. What had gone wrong? Where had he lost her trust and her eagerness to please him?

He reached into his desk drawer and opened his secret compartment. He pulled out her picture and stared at it.

“My sweet Susanna, come back to me. Your punishments await.”

“I don’t need help.” Susanna reached back to try to unzip her skirt. The truth was that she got it on no problem this afternoon when she left for work and knew she would have a problem tonight taking it off. But she figured one of the girls would be coming home. They all lived together in a huge house with plenty of privacy and space.

She really just wanted Monte to leave her, but he was not budging. The man was relentless, and the way he looked around the house as they walked inside made her feel like he was snooping. He had that investigative sense about him. She felt guilty because she knew damn well she wasn’t innocent of a lot of things in her life.

Their fingers touched, and she jerked her hand away. He in return pressed against her.

He whispered against her shoulder and neck. “Let me help you. I promise I won’t bite.”

“Quit saying stuff like that to me.” She felt the zipper go down, and his hands caressed her hips.

“Nice panties.” His hands began to move up the back of her blouse. She jumped away from him and nearly stumbled out of his reach. He crunched his eyebrows up at her, but she had to move before he saw the scars on her back. Although they were faded, they were still very noticeable.

She clutched her skirt and her blouse against her body.

“Please leave.”

He stared at her as if he were trying to read her mind. It gave her such an uneasy feeling. She wasn’t a trusting person. She feared that her past would always haunt her and her cousins. She just wanted to work and be left alone. Why was she even allowing him or BJ to get so far with her? Why did she let them kiss her? They were an indulgence she couldn’t afford.

“I’ll wait right outside your door, so if you need me, I’ll be there.”

“You should wait downstairs in the living room.”

“Why, when your room is huge, like your own apartment?”

He was right. Each of their rooms was like a small apartment, and years ago they were cottages. They decided to merge the multiple cottages and make it one huge house, but they still had a wing to themselves. When Alexa and Sally came, they would have their own places behind Susanna’s.

He seemed to get her drift, but he still wasn’t budging. Then she heard his cell phone go off as he closed the door.

As quickly as she could, she undressed and threw on a pair of shorts, a tank top, then a T-shirt so she wasn’t showing off too much skin.

She looked in the mirror and was amazed at how red her cheeks were and how great her coloring looked. Monte did that to her. His soft caresses and his whispered words against her skin made her wanton and needy.

She didn’t want to go downstairs. She didn’t want to face the temptation.

Why can’t he just leave me alone?

* * * *

BJ texted Monte to find out how Susanna was doing and to see where she was. He pulled down the side street to the old Landbergh estate her and her friends had purchased a year ago. He parked the sheriff’s truck by the front gate and headed up the stairs. Monte opened the front door and looked upset.

“What’s going on? Is she feeling okay?” BJ asked.

“She’s not letting on to the pain she’s in.” Monte turned away to walk into the living room. He appeared distracted.

“What’s up?” BJ asked, tilting his chin up toward his brother.

“I was trying to help her get undressed,” Monte began to say, and BJ raised his eyebrows at him as he rested his hand on the handle of his revolver and the other rested on his belt.

“She is in pain and couldn’t unzip her skirt, so I helped her.”

BJ listened and knew there was more to this story.

“I touched her hips, and she froze in place. Then as I began to move up her shirt to feel her skin, she pulled away in fear. She practically fell over.”

“What? Like she was really scared that you would hurt her or go too far?”

Monte shook his head and looked up toward the staircase. He heard the bedroom door open.

“I’m not sure. There was a definite fear in her eyes, and she covered herself tight. I got a bad feeling in my gut and her actions don’t sit right with me at all.”

“Maybe she’s just not as experienced. I kissed her yesterday and then today you kissed her. We’re making our desires known to her as we discussed. It’s a different kind of relationship, one she’s not used to, and we need to be patient.”

Monte nodded his head, but BJ had the feeling that his brother wasn’t satisfied with that. He was worried.

BJ turned toward the staircase when he saw Susanna. The moment they locked gazes she stopped walking.

He smiled then took off his hat.

“How ya doing, honey?” he asked her, and she lowered her eyes then continued to walk toward him and his brother.

Monte crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at her as if he were examining her.

BJ gave Monte a shove as he turned toward Susanna.

He reached for her hand and she stared up at him.

“I’m fine, Sheriff. There’s no need to have wasted the time to stop by.”

He raised his eyebrows at her.

“Wasted my time? Honey, you’re important to me, and I stopped in to see that you’re healing well because I care. I was there last night. I saw how they attacked you.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

“Now tell me how you’re feeling? Ribs still really sore?”

She lowered her head and took a deep breath. She seemed distant and hesitant.

“I suppose they will be for at least another week.”

“Perhaps longer,” Monte chimed in.

He joined them now and she took a step to the left.

“Listen, I appreciate you taking the time to check on me. Just as I appreciate Monte for driving me home. The others will be home soon, too. I’m tired and want to rest. It’s late.”