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"Get your hands off her, Cartwright. "
Except for Grace.
"Hold them up where I can see them. Do it slow. "
He complied, lifting his arms until his palms were level with his shoulders. His gaze left mine an
d shifted past my shoulder. "Shall I reach for the sky, Sheriff?"
"Move, Claire. "
I sidestepped, then turned. Grace stood at the edge of the forest, weapon drawn and pointed at Cartwright.
Her eyes remained steady on him yet her mouth pinched with annoyance. "Out of his reach. Now. "
The sharp snap of her voice made me take several quick steps in her direction.
"I thought you had more sense," she said.
I had, too. For future reference, when a naked guy climbs out of the lake, I should run, not let him kiss me. Especially when anything beyond a kiss made me dissolve into a quivering, sniveling mess. However, Cartwright couldn't have known that.
"It's not his fault," I blurted.
"What isn't?" Grace asked, keeping her gun right where it was.
"He kissed me and I - "
My eyes met his. He lifted a brow.
"I let him. "
"Oh no. Horrors. Then you said, 'Stop,' and he didn't. " She lowered her gun. His erection shriveled. "That's unacceptable. "
"No. "
Her gaze flicked to me, then away. "It's acceptable?"
"No. "
"Claire. . . " Grace's voice took on a distinct tenor of irritation.
"I mean, I didn't say no. Not exactly. I was - "
Entranced. Seduced. Then terrified.
The latter was common enough, the former something new. I wanted to explore those feelings, but after this fiasco, I doubted I'd get the chance, and that was probably for the best.
As Cartwright had so strangely put it: The mayor and the Gypsy horse trainer - what could ever come of that?
"May I lower my hands?" Cartwright asked.
Grace glanced at me; I nodded. She shrugged and holstered her weapon. "How did you come to lose your clothes, Cartwright?"
"I'd think you'd be callin' me Malachi now that we're so well acquainted. " He headed down the incline toward the lake, where he snatched a towel from behind a rock and secured it around his hips with a sharp tug.
Grace didn't comment, waiting for him to answer the original question.
"I came to be without clothes because I was bathing. I didn't expect visitors. "
