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“Yeah, I’m tired.”
“Okay, I’ll get Natalie home,” Liam offered.
“I’ll talk to you in the morning, Natalie.”
She mouthed thank you. I smiled.
Killian was waiting for me at the door. He held it for me before following after. I was looking for his truck, but he walked to a black sports car instead. He hit the locks, held the passenger door open. The seat hugged my ass; the black leather had gray stitching. The dash looked like an airplane cockpit. It was also a manual transmission.
He climbed in, put his take out bag on the floor in the back. The engine roared to life.
“What kind of car is this?”
“Maserati.”
Nice.
It was the fastest ride ever to my house. The sheriff exceeded the speed limit but that was more the car. If I’d been driving, I’d have sped too. When we reached my house, he got out. Walked me to the door and held his hand out for my keys. He unlocked my door, stepped inside, checked shit out, and even scratched Lucifer behind the ears before he strolled back to the door. I got that treatment as one of his residents. So, what was he like with his woman? Did he have one? How could he not? The envy for the unknown woman took me by surprise. I wanted to ask him to stay, but he had his dogs to get home to.
He stopped just in front of me. He was large, imposing, but unlike that asshole from the incident, his size didn’t scare me. It was comforting. He was so close I could touch him. Was surprised at how much I wanted to touch him, to run my hand down his chest, over his abs. If I’d had more to drink, I might have tried. I swallowed the lump of lust and said, “Thanks for bringing me home.”
Silence followed for a few beats before he ordered, “Lock your door.”
“Will do, Sheriff.”
He walked along the planks set up now that the porch was under construction. I watched him, my gaze dropping to his ass. I wanted to touch that too. I bit my lip. He reached his car, pulled the door open, caught sight of me and went still. It wasn’t possible he knew what I was thinking, but the knot at his jaw would suggest otherwise.
“Lock your door, Cedar,” he bit out.
“Okay. Night.”
“Night.”
I closed the door, locked it, leaned back against it, and listened as he drove off. I got ready for bed, but wished I had asked him to stay. Was his hesitation at the door him waiting for me to ask him? Was it possible Killian was as curious about me as I was about him? The thought brought a chill that moved from my head down to my toes. That lovely chill changed when I heard the scratching outside. It was loud, enough that even Lucifer came into my room, safety in numbers. I hit the lights, throwing everything into darkness. It was likely raccoons or deer. That guy, the ranger man had warned me I’d hear things, but there was a part of me that wondered if it was the brute from the incident. Had he been biding his time? I wanted to call Killian, but I resisted. I double-checked the doors were locked, then locked the bedroom door and climbed under the covers. Lucifer stayed, curled up next to my head. I didn’t think I’d fall asleep, but did almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Chapter Sixteen
killian
The following day,Killian arrived at Cedar’s with Cooper and Max. As soon as he let them out of the truck, they went running…to her. They didn’t like people, but they’d taken to her from that first day. Like him, something about her pulled at them. Hell, the whole crew liked her, but then, she fed them: took their orders and went into town to pick it up. She was going to find herself in the poor house if she kept that up for the duration of the work, but she’d earned some loyal workers because of her thoughtfulness.
Last night seeing her at The Rodeo, he’d had shit day but seeing her took the edge off. He’d not experienced that before. Driving her home, there was a part of him that didn’t want to leave. He felt like a thirsty man finally allowed near water. Trouble was, he hadn’t known he was thirsty, and now he couldn’t seem to quench it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to try because Liam was right. She’d been through something. He wasn’t sure he was the right remedy.
She was in the garden, adding more flowers to the already overflowing space, but it was the jean shorts and bedazzled hot pink tee that held his attention. The outfit seemed a bit bright compared to what she usually wore, but, somehow, seemed more fitting to her. He could only see her profile, but he saw the big smile when she was ambushed. They knocked her on her ass, but instead of getting pissed, she was laughing.
As he approached, he realized she was talking to them. He talked to them too, but she seemed to be waiting for an answer.
“Who is who?” She said, running her hands over them. Killian clenched his jaw at the thought of her running her hands over him.
“I’m going to guess Max has the gold eyes and Cooper the blue.” She glanced back at Killian. “Am I right?”
“Yeah.”
She stood; there was dirt on her ass. He pushed his hands into his pockets, so he didn’t give in and brush the dirt off for her. He wasn’t sure he’d stop at her ass.
“Is it okay if we go for a walk?” she asked.
He was still thinking about her ass, so it took him a second. “Yeah. They know the area well, so follow their lead.”
