Sheriff in Her Stocking (10 page)

The primal need
to mate consumed him as her body convulsed against his mouth. Delaney started
to reach for him, but he gently lowered her hands to her sides. “Let me lead
you, dominate you.”  He wanted her to do this for him, no needed her to
submit to him. “I won’t do anything you don’t like and we can stop at anytime.
Don’t be afraid to experience something new.” There was something incredibly
sexy about a woman giving herself over to a man.  It wasn’t demeaning, it
was liberating for her and for him. “Let me take you in a way you’ve never
experienced before.”

She was excited
and a bit afraid by his invitation but she wanted to steep herself in sex with
Rick as long as her naked curves didn’t turn him off. Delaney nodded looking
into Rick’s eyes, his deep chocolate gaze filled with desire. He urged her to
trust him. She did trust him. She didn’t think he would ever harm her
physically but he could emotionally. Since she had never been lucky at love why
not give herself to him physically and experience the carnal delights he
promised?

“Lift one of
your breasts as if you’re offering me a piece of fruit.” 

She felt unsure
and a little strange but she did as he asked. He leaned over her, took her
nipple into his mouth and sucked. Hard. His tongued massaged her nipple making
it bead and swell. After fully loving and arousing her breast, he licked his
way around the globe, nibbling at the sides and underneath. Then he kissed his
way over to her other breast and gave it the same avid attention. When he was
done, her breasts were sensitive and needy and an extreme heaviness had settled
between her legs, saturating her core.

Rick grasped her
thighs and lifted her legs so they lay on his shoulders. With a slight tug he
nudged her buttocks to the edge of the rock. She felt his fingers part her wet
curls and then his hot mouth descended once more. He drove her up and dangled
her just over the peak but not enough for her to come. She was delirious with
need. “Please Rick.”  She heard the hoarse tone of her own voice and found
it foreign. No man had ever made her want this much.

He lifted his
head and laid his palm over her. “I know you want it. But you’ve given me
control remember. I promise when you come it will be worth the wait.”  He
pulled her down into the water. Bubbles caressed her tender breasts, her
buttocks and her mound. She’d never needed to come this badly in her life. Rick
took her mouth in a soul stirring kiss while one hand covered her mound. He
kneaded the heel of his hand over her while his tongue toyed with hers.

Breathless, Rick
tore his mouth from hers, turned her gently toward the side of the rock wall of
the springs so her back faced him. “Lay your hands on the sides, take your feet
off the bottom, bend your knees and open your legs. Rest your knees against the
wall.”

She had no idea
what he had planned until she felt him move up behind her, his hard cock
prodding gently at first between her legs until the head found her opening. Her
breath caught when she felt the tip of his large penis push inside her, then
with one hard thrust he filled her to the brim. Before she could take her next
breath he withdrew slightly then pushed hard again filling her. He was so big.
Her sensitive inner passage stretched to take him. She would never have
believed she could hold this much man inside her.

“God, you’re
tight, you’re so incredibly tight.”  With an easy cadence he slid back and
forth inside her.

His rhythm
increased, faster, harder. The water in the rocky grotto spilled over the sides
with each thrust of his hips. His penis felt hard like steel yet pliable as if
wrapped in velvet. His breathing grew rougher; his hands held her breasts one
minute then her hips the next. Suddenly, he stopped, pulled out of her and
turned her body to the side. He bent her knee lifting her leg high exposing her
tender entrance. Then he shoved inside her again.

From this angle
his penis drove even deeper, his balls slapped softly against her buttocks.
Without mercy, he stroked her swollen, aroused clit. The craving and want
increased, her mind and body grasping toward orgasm. “I don’t think I can take
much more. Let me come.” 

Again he brought
her to the sweet peak but denied her fulfillment. He pumped inside her, his
eager mouth working on her neck and shell of her ear as he made love to her
thoroughly. Once again he pulled, turning her so she faced him, lifted her legs
and spread her knees. Open and vulnerable and shaking with lust, she was
helpless in his hands. He was larger, stronger and could overpower her. Would
she let him?  Her mind screamed yes.

Holding his arms
under her knees, he opened her thighs and drove into her so far she thought she
could almost feel the tip of him in the back of her throat. She let her head
fall back and looked at the stars overhead. This time he didn’t stop, he
continued to lunge until her body squeezed around him again and again, longer,
more intense than she ever had in her life. She felt herself spinning like a
fiery comet up into the stars even as her heart gloried in the euphoria of
making love with Rick.  

Inside her his
penis turned rigid and his thrusts blended into one. Delaney clasped her hands
on his buttocks and felt the muscles contract as he came inside her. He groaned
lifting his chin with his eyes closed. When the last of his spasms finally
died, he took his arm from beneath her legs and let them fall into the water.
Curving his arms around her waist, he rested his head between her breasts, his
hard length still buried within her.

* * * * *

The next
morning, Delaney sat at the island in Rick’s kitchen and watched him cook
omelets. She wore his police uniform shirt and nothing else. She glanced at
Rick cooking their meal. He wore boxers, socks and no shirt. The man made her
mouth water plus one other significant body part. Her feminine core was nicely
tender from their frenzied lovemaking the night before and that morning as
well. Still a bit sleepy, she took a sip of her tea and thought about the
blissful night she’d spent wrapped in Rick’s arms.

Her phone
rang.  She reached inside her purse sitting on the chair beside her and
flipped the phone open. “Hello.”

“Ms. Monroe,
this is Ron Blake at Taylor’s Department Store in New York.”

He was the man
who had offered her the job. She hoped he hadn’t changed his mind. “Yes, hi,
Mr. Blake.”

They exchanged
pleasantries before he got to the point.

“I had
originally told you your first day on the job would be January third but we
need you to report much sooner.”

Uh, oh, this
doesn’t sound good. “How much sooner?”

“We need you in
New York tomorrow.”

Her eyes
widened. Any remnants of sleep were swept away. “Tomorrow!”

“Yes. You see
the woman you’re replacing had to leave before the end of her notice due to a
family emergency. Even though the store windows are done for the season and on
display, there are always unexpected problems that come up and we need someone
to cover for her. Most of our staff has taken time off for the holidays and we
need you here a.s.a.p. The company will of course put you in a hotel until your
living arrangements are settled. There’s a ticket waiting for you at the
Seattle airport.”

Disappointment
and regret flowed with equal measure through Delaney.  Her new, exciting
life in New York was within her reach.  All she had to do was say
yes.  But what about her promise to the town?  She looked at
Rick.  What about her relationship with Rick.  If she left now it
would be over before it had barely begun. “I’m no longer in Seattle. I left
early to drive to New York, but on the way I got stranded by a snowstorm in
Avery, Montana.”

“No problem.
I’ll order you a ticket for the first flight out of Billings. You’ll probably
have to change planes in Chicago because I doubt I’ll be able to get a direct
flight this close to Christmas.”

“What I’m trying
to say, Mr. Blake, is that even though the storm has left Avery it’s moving
east, O’Hare already has flight delays and the brunt of the storm hasn’t even
arrived yet.”

He huffed out a
breath. “Ms. Monroe, I hired you because you impressed me as a woman who was
capable, took the bull by the horns, someone Taylor’s could depend on to get
the job done. It’s crunch time and our presence here is desperately needed. If
you can’t be here tomorrow I’ll have to give the job to my second
choice.”  He paused for a moment as if letting his words sink in. Now
which will it be?”

Delaney’s back stiffened
and she pressed her lips firmly together. She hated ultimatums. Besides there
was definitely something between her and Rick besides amazing sex and she
wanted to continue to explore not just his delectable body joined with hers but
Rick as a man. She needed money no doubt about it. She had just enough to put a
deposit on an apartment, pay a couple of months rent. The mayor would be paying
for her help with the town. After she finished the project she should have no
trouble finding another one, especially if one of the top stores in the country
had already offered her a job. “Is there any way this could wait for at least
two or three more days?”

“No, it can’t
wait.  Now what’s your answer?”

“I’m in the
middle of a project here in Avery.”  A delicious male project standing
just a few feet away and another she had given her word to complete. 
“Thank you for your time and your offer but I can’t be in New York by
tomorrow.”

Rick turned from
where he stood at the stove with a frown creasing his forehead.

“I’m sorry to
hear that, Ms. Monroe. Good luck.”  He rang off. Delaney hung up the phone
and stared at it for a moment. So much for the bright lights of the Big Apple.

“What’s going
on, Delaney?  Who was that on the phone?”

Delaney looked
at Rick and told him about the call.

A range of
indefinable emotions flickered over Rick’s face. “Does this mean you’re
staying?”

“At least until
I can find another job and the project is completed.”

Rick put down
the spatula and walked over to Delaney with a look of profound admiration on
his face. He held her face between his hands and lightly kissed her on the
lips. Just a brush of lips. Then he looked at her and smiled. “That was a very
honorable thing you just did. I really respect you for that.”

His words
touched a deep place inside her heart but when she tried to speak she couldn’t
talk. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.
She listened to the thump of his heart until she was able to speak. “Thank you
but my actions weren’t totally honorable. If the mayor wasn’t paying me I would
have no choice but to leave.”

Rick brushed a
hand over her hair. “The important thing is that you’re staying.”

* * * * *

After a
particularly long, cold day, Rick sat at the kitchen table with Delaney as they
ate a late supper he’d picked up from the diner on his way home. She told him
about her day. She met with the committee members at the awning company in
Billings to approve a sample before the rest were made.

The kitchen grew
quiet.  He listened to the wind whistle around the eaves of the house.
 He wanted this he realized more than he’d ever wanted anything in his
life. Time spent after a long day with a woman he cared about, someone he could
talk to about his day.  He wanted to know more about Delaney, about her
family, where she came from.  He closed his fingers over her hand. “You
grew up in Seattle didn’t you?”

She smiled
briefly. “Yeah, my parents are good people but we were never that close. No
sibs. I went to design school and after graduation I was planning to stay there
but when I was offered the job in New York I jumped at the chance. I intended
to stay in Seattle through the holidays but when everything went south with my
boyfriend I decided to leave early and drive.”  She glanced away and looked
toward the window over the kitchen sink and toyed with her food without really
eating any of it.

He placed two
fingers beneath her chin and turned her face toward his. “What happened with
your boyfriend?  I can’t believe any guy would willingly walk away from
you.”

She chuckled
without humor. “Believe it. He found a skinny model type who probably lives on
nothing but breath mints and cigarettes.”

Rick brought her
hand up and held it between his. “He was a fool to walk away from a gorgeous
woman like you.”

Delaney
shrugged. “Thanks.”

He leaned
forward and lightly kissed her. “I mean it.”

She took a sip
of wine. “I caught him in bed with someone else who weighed a lot less than I
do.” She paused for a moment then looked at him. “So what about you?  How did
you find your way here to Avery from Chicago?  Why leave the big city for
a small town?”

He slumped back
in his chair but kept his hand resting lightly on Delaney’s. He rubbed the tip
of his index finger absently over the top of her hand. “My mother is Peruvian
and my dad is from Cuba. I have one sister. We’re a loud bunch but a loving
family. It’s too bad you weren’t closer to your parents or had siblings. Dad
drove a cab. He’s retired now, stays home and drives mom nuts.”  He smiled
and Delaney smiled back.

“I was a cop for
12 years in Chicago. Growing up my best friend Jake and I were a bit wild.”

Delaney threw
him a teasing smile. “I can’t imagine you being wild.”

Her tone was
sarcastic, the glint in her eyes sexy. “Better not tease me or I’ll never finish
telling you my life story. Mom did the best she could. Dad was in the cab all
the time trying to make ends meet and keep a roof over our heads. He worked
double shifts. My sister was a bit spoiled, just a typical girl always wanting
new clothes, new shoes, new everything. Anyway, and I used to hang out a few
blocks from our apartment house on the corner in front of a drug store. Old
man, Cavanaugh was the owner. When we first started hanging out there he would
walk out with his pork pie hat, his hands stuck into the pockets of his slacks,
sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had a twinkle in his eyes. Mr. C, we used
to call him. He’d had a hard life, came over an orphan from Ireland. But he was
always happy, always smiling.  He loved to talk to people especially kids.
He would always show up when he saw bad kids hanging with us and run them off.
He talked to us constantly about staying away from drugs and urged us not to
drink.”