Читать книгу The Braddock Boys: Colton - Kimberly Raye, Kimberly Raye - Страница 9

IT WAS TOO QUIET.

Shelly came to that conclusion the minute she sat down at her desk and realized that Bobby was nowhere in sight. Not hunched over his computer or playing video games on his phone or standing in front of the coffeemaker. Her gaze shifted to the men’s room.

No doubt the double cheeseburger he’d had at noon had finally caught up to him.

That’s what she told herself, but she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that something wasn’t right. Something besides the local diner’s lunch special or the fact that Monty Darlington had left a message on her voicemail asking her if she wanted to get busy back at his place tonight.

Take that, Minerva.

“Bobby?” She tapped on the door. “You okay?”

The only sound that prickled her ears was the steady hum of the air conditioner. She knocked harder. Once. Twice. Her hand tightened on the knob. A loud creak and she found herself inside the one-stall bathroom.

Empty.

Panic sizzled through her for a split-second before she tamped it back down. He was probably out back, talking the hat off the Texas Ranger on duty with Holbrook. Probably shooting the shit and drinking coffee.

She turned toward the containment area, ready to prove her theory when Bobby’s voice crackled over the dispatch speakers.

“Mama Bear, this is Baby Bear. You copy?”

A few swift strides, and she punched the button on the microphone. “Would you stop with the nicknames?”

“It’s not a nickname. It’s code. You never know who might be listening.”

“I know exactly who’s listening. Martin down at the feed store is the only one with a police band radio and he only tunes in on bridge night to make sure his ex-wife doesn’t drink too many mimosas and start streaking again. Where are you?”

“Picking up Honey Gentry. We got a call that she was soliciting outside the Sac-n-Pac,” he continued. “They needed a squad car out here asap, so here I am.”

“But I told you to stay put.”

“And I told him otherwise.” The grizzled voice came from behind her and she turned to see her resident Texas Ranger standing in the doorway that led to the cell area.

Rumor had it Beauford Truitt was the oldest Texas Ranger still on active duty and, some said, the toughest. He had snow-white hair, a weathered face and a pickled expression that said he wasn’t too happy to be stuck in a one-horse town with Texas’s Most Wanted prisoner in tow.

He held a cup of steaming black coffee in one hand and a half-eaten bear claw in the other. “Ain’t no sense in him neglecting his duties. Just go on about your business and leave Holbrook to the professionals.”

“We are professionals.”

Yeah right. His expression read loud and clear and Shelly had the fleeting thought that she was in over her head. It was a feeling she’d had many times before when the job had gotten a little too dangerous or her coworkers a little too condescending.

It was a feeling she’d grown all too familiar with growing up with a mother who didn’t love her half as much as she loved her social life. All those nights alone had forced Shelly to step up and take care of her little sister when she’d been just a child herself. And while she’d done her best, she’d never managed to shake the uncertainty.

Not that this guy knew that.

She gathered her courage and met his glare head on. “I give the orders here.”

“Sure you do, darlin’.” He winked. “The prisoner’s my responsibility.”

“And you’re both my responsibility, at least while you’re in this Sheriff’s office.” She narrowed her gaze, making it clear she wasn’t backing down no matter how many times he called her darlin’ or sugar or sweetcheeks or whatever else his good ole boy mentality managed to cook up.

Seconds ticked by before he shrugged and she gave herself a mental high five.

“Get some fresh pastries in here before I choke to death,” he grumbled, waving the half-eaten goody at her. “This one’s as tough as shoe leather.” He walked over to the white bakery box sitting next to the coffeemaker and rummaged inside.

Shelly shifted her attention back to the radio. “Finish up and get back here,” she told Bobby.

“Yes, ma’am. Baby bear out.” The connection ended and Shelly turned toward her desk, her heart still beating double time.

She blew out a deep, easy breath, careful not to let Truitt know that he’d gotten under her skin. She’d come up against his type too many times to count and she knew the worst thing to do was get visibly rattled. It was all about staying calm. In control. Fearless—

The thought faded into the whooooooosh of the front door and the heavy thud of boots.

“I’m looking for Shelly Lancaster,” came a deep, masculine voice.

Here we go again.

With Truitt eyeballing her from the coffeemaker, the last thing she needed was a potential suitor carrying another bottle of edible body paint. She had to set the record straight right here and now and put an end to all the nonsense.

“It was a misprint” died a quick death on her tongue when she turned to face off with the man standing in the doorway.

Her heart hitched and all she could do was stare for a long, breathless moment.

He had cowboy written all over him with his straw Stetson and button-down denim shirt. The cuffs had been rolled up to reveal muscular forearms, the tails tucked in at his trim waist. Soft, faded jeans clung to his long legs. A rip in the material gave her a glimpse of one strong, hair-dusted thigh and her throat went dry.

She eyed the scuffed toes of his brown boots before dragging her gaze back up, over his long legs, the hard, lean lines of his torso, the tanned column of his throat, to his face.

Brown hair streaked with the faintest hint of gold brushed his broad shoulders and drew attention to his rugged features. A day’s growth of stubble darkened his jaw and outlined his sensuous lips. Blue eyes so pale and translucent they were almost gray collided with hers.

No, it wasn’t the way he looked so much as the way he looked at her that sucked the air from her lungs.

“Yes, um, that would be me. At your service,” she finally managed to say, her voice breathless and excited and downright giddy.

She stiffened at the realization. No way, no how, would tough-as-nails Deputy Shelly Lancaster let a man—even one as good looking as this man—turn her into a pile of quivering Jell-O. She frowned and summoned her most no-nonsense voice. “Is there something I can do for you?”

She had to give him credit. He wasn’t the least bit put-off by her tone. Rather, a slow, purposeful grin spread across his face and her stomach hollowed out. “I can certainly think of a few things.”

The deep, seductive words echoed in her ears, slipping and sliding along her nerve endings and Shelly knew in an instant that this was it. This was what she’d been reading about. Dreaming of. Searching for.

This was chemistry. Pure and simple.

Potent.

Real.

She enjoyed the heat zinging between them all of five seconds before she gave herself a mental shake that kick-started her common sense. He couldn’t know that she’d really been the one who placed the ad. No one could. Which meant she’d better start explaining. And fast.

That’s what she told herself, but for a long, heart-pounding moment, she couldn’t actually get the words out. There was just something about the way he looked at her, as if he saw every little secret, as if he liked what he saw, that stalled the explanation on her tongue.

Instead, she breathed in, drinking in the delicious scent of raw leather and virile male. Electricity hummed through her body and sent tiny shock waves straight to her nipples. Her throat went dry.

“I hate to break up this party,” Truitt said, shattering the spell and yanking her back to the here and now and the all-important fact that he’d just witnessed her momentary lapse into desperate female. “But some of us have work to do.” A smirk tugged at his mouth as he turned on his heel, coffee cup in hand, and disappeared into the backroom.

She glared after the old man before turning the same look on Mr. Tall, Dark and Yummy. “I don’t know you,” she finally said, despite the strange inkling that she’d seen him somewhere before. She needed to get back on track. Focused. “And I know everybody in this town.”

“The name’s Colton Braddock.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Any relation to Cody Braddock?” Cody was an ex-bull rider who’d moved to town not long ago. He and his blushing bride were now living happily ever after on the outskirts of town.

“He’s my brother.”

“You’re late. The wedding was two weeks ago.”

Something dangerously close to regret flickered in his gaze before fading into those pale, unnerving eyes. “I didn’t get the invite in time.” He stared at her, into her, and she felt the heat rising up from her feet, whispering through her body and igniting everything in its path. “I’ve got a cattle spread out in New Mexico. It’s a little off the beaten path and the mail isn’t what it should be.” He shrugged. “But it suits me just fine. I like my privacy.”

The words echoed through her head and stirred a completely inappropriate vision of him, the moonlight bathing his naked body as he stood in the middle of a ripe green pasture. He wore the same grin that he was wearing right now and her heart skipped a few beats.

“Privacy is good,” she heard herself murmur and his grin widened.

“Oh, it’s better than good, sugar.” The words stirred another decadent vision and her body trembled. Trembled, of all things. It was a reaction straight out of a romance novel. The stuff of fantasies.

But it was real, she reminded herself again.

He was real. And he was here right now.

Thanks to a disastrous misprint.

“I didn’t advertise for sex,” she blurted, the denial tumbling out before her hormones could block the way.

Surprise gleamed a split second before fading into the pale blue depths of his eyes. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “That’s good to know.”

“The ad was for a girlfriend of mine,” she rushed on. “I placed it for her and the paper accidentally listed my e-mail instead of hers. But if you knew me, you’d know there was no way I would ever do something like that. I’m not the type.”

“And just what type are you?” he asked, and she had the distinct feeling that he really wanted to know. That he wanted to know her. The fact seemed to startle him if the frown that tugged at his mouth was any indication.

For the first time, she noticed that he wasn’t carrying edible undies or massage oils or anything else out of a Naughty Nights catalog. Rather, he carried a duffel bag and a clipboard. Realization struck, along with a rush of disappointment.

“You’re not here about the personal ad, are you?”

He shook his head. “I’m the private security consultant hired by the county to analyze your current system. I’m sure Sheriff Keller must have mentioned me.”

“He did. He also said to expect you tomorrow.”

“I finished up my previous job a little early so I thought I’d get a head start.” He gave her a disarming smile. “We’re not talking any major changes. Just a few added precautions to keep you guys on the transfer schedule with the major prisons. You do take transfers, don’t you?”

She nodded. “We had one delivered a few days ago. There was some confusion with his paperwork. He’s sitting here while they sort out the transfer details and then we’ll be handing him off to El Paso.”

“Perfect. I’ll take a look inside, make sure he’s safe and secure.” His gaze slid past her and for a brief moment, without his full attention fixated on her, she felt a niggle of doubt.

There was something slightly off with Colton Braddock. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“It’s really late,” she heard herself say, “and I’ve got a lot of loose ends to finish up before my shift ends. Why don’t you come back tomorrow? I can show you around then.”

“And give you time to check out my credentials?” He arched an eyebrow.

“I have to follow procedure.” She shrugged. “I’m sure you understand.”

He swept a gaze around the room, seemingly memorizing every detail before his attention shifted back to her, his gaze a brighter shade of blue this time, and she forgot what she was about to say.

Instead, she found herself wondering what he would taste like. Sweet and intoxicating and addictive? Dark and dangerous and forbidden? All of the above?

And then some.

The sound of his voice floated through her head, but his lips didn’t move. Instead, they tilted in a sensuous grin that did wicked things to her self control. Her hands trembled and her mouth watered.

She wanted to kiss him so badly.

And he wanted to kiss her.

She could see it in the way his eyes darkened and the muscle in his jaw twitched. He wanted to close the distance between them. Just a few feet and bam, they’d be toe-to-toe.

Touching.

Kissing.

“Tomorrow it is,” he murmured. And then, just like that, he vanished. No creak of the door. No click of the knob. Nothing. It was as if he’d disintegrated into thin air.

As if.

She’d been on the job for twelve hours straight, pulling a double shift yet again to prove to Matt that she was more than capable and dedicated. She was starting to get punchy. That was the reason she hadn’t seen him turn and walk away. Even more, it explained the crazy disappointment whispering through her.

A kiss?

Seriously?

She hardly knew him and he hardly knew her. Even more, she wasn’t going to get to know him because he was only here to tweak their security system. It was business and everyone knew that the town’s first female deputy didn’t mix business with pleasure.

No matter how hot he was or how sexually frustrated she was.

Rather, she was going to go home just as soon as Bobby got back, drown her troubles in a hot bath and get some much-needed sleep before she came face-to-face with Colton Braddock first thing in the morning.

Until then …

She walked over to the box of pastries, unearthed a chocolate-covered donut and took a big bite. The sugar melted in her mouth, sending a rush of satisfaction through her, albeit a temporary one. They weren’t that stale. At least not to a desperate, deprived woman.

It wasn’t sex, but it was definitely the next best thing.