Arrested Page 3

  Anything to keep from having to stay around the hellcat chatterbox who stirred more in him in two hours then he'd ever wished to feel in a lifetime.

  With a clenched jaw, Reid put on his hard shell and turned back to her. All he needed to do was stay professional and everything would be fine. He'd gone six years without sex. Surely he could resist a weekend with the most annoyingly attractive woman he'd ever met. “Let's go."

  He placed a hand on her tensed shoulder and directed her outside towards his Blazer. She yanked and jerked from his touch, but he kept his hand placed where he could guide her. With his luck, she'd run the second he turned his back.

  Gripping her arm, he swung open the truck door and motioned for her to get in. As soon as he did, Snowball flew past them and leaped into the seat, finding his place on the floorboard. He curled into a huge white fluff ball and tucked his nose into his paws.

  Kirsten stood firm, her eyes narrowed. “You know, this must be illegal."

  The look on her face bothered him even more. He didn't like the way her eyes slanted into a feline glare when she didn't get her way. No, he much preferred them wide and open, big and endearing. Sweet.

  Not that he cared how she looked at him. It didn't matter. Not one bit. “Nope, ma'am. Don't believe it is."

  "You could at least undo these cuffs. You can't keep me in them all weekend. That's mean and inhuman and I know it's illegal. What's it called? Cruel and unusual punishment. Punishment, hah! I didn't even do anything wrong, you know. You..."

  "Enough!” He growled. His ears rang from her complaints. Never had he met a woman with such a mouth. “Okay. Get in and I'll take them off. And don't bother with any escape ideas. Trust me, where we're headed, you'd be a fool to even try."

  "And where is that?” she snapped.

  "My ranch,” he answered as she climbed in and he unclasped the cuffs. As soon as he did, she started to try and shove past him. He held her back with one hand as his body blocked the door. “Where there's nothing but endless fields filled with cattle. Then you can run all you want. You'll only get tired."

  He went to slam the door, but apparently the hellcat just never gave up. With a hard jerk she freed herself of his grasp, and darted towards escape. He flew to catch her flaying arms. Instead, in the confusion, his hand seized her breast. Its fullness filled his hand, his grip on it tight against its soft suppleness.

  Everything stopped. She ceased to fight and he lost all functioning abilities. His mind went to complete mush. All he could think or feel was the softness of her womanly curve in his hand, and how he wanted to taste it in his mouth. To suckle the hardened nipples rising and falling against the pull of the fabric as her breath fell in heavy rags.

  He couldn't breathe at all. His heart ceased to beat in his chest. But his cock worked just fine. Oh, how it did. It leapt right to attention, standing tall and ready.

  Just as suddenly the moment faded and reality jumped back in. She shrieked and hopped back. Reid remembered himself in one full rush and stumbled back, slamming the door.

  He always considered himself a gentleman, yet this little spitfire made him forget it every time he looked at her.

  Made everything vanish but her. Those damned lips. Eyes. Curves.

  They stole everything away from him in one heartbeat. One glance at her and his manners, his job, even Lisa and the pain she'd caused faded into oblivion. All he could think of was kissing her senseless. Shutting up her flip comments with the hard press of his mouth, and quieting her sharp tongue with the flick of his own. Tasting her passion and seeing how hot she could get.

  Losing his job and his pride to become another perverted cop being charged with sexual harassment.

  He gritted his teeth and jumped into the driver's seat, squealing wheels as he peeled off.

  "You don't need to drive like a nut you know,” she yelled. Reid blinked, then stared at the speedometer with shock. Sixty-five and he hadn't even made town limits.

  He never sped. He hated speeders. “I'm sorry."

  He lifted his foot off the pedal and let the vehicle slow. Shit, what had he been thinking? A reckless driver had killed both Mom and Pop. He knew the kind of pain such stupidity could cause. He wouldn't wish the loss of a family member on his worst enemy.

  Yet, the little distraction in the back seat had just wiped away every inch of his common sense, making him forget himself. How had she done that? He tossed aside his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Damn.

  "I didn't mean to scare you. Really, I'm sorry,” he said.

  "No. I'm sorry. About that—back there. Entirely my fault, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to place you in such ... such an awkward position.” Soft and sweet, like a melody, her apology almost rang true. For the first time, Reid recognized the southern undertones accenting her voice. They must only come out when she quieted from her usual fiery comments.

  "Awkward—is that what you city slickers call it?” Reid muttered under his breath, determined not to believe one of her cons. Car thieves didn't sound that sweet. The sugar in her voice was meant to soften him up, not that he'd fall for it. No way.

  "Well, what do you down home country folk call such mishaps, pray tell?” Mock honey laced her false tone.

  Ignoring her, he took the last turn out of town and headed down the little dirt road to home. His ranch waited a good twenty-five minutes down the dusty path his grandparents had worn in with a horse and buggy nearly a hundred years ago. He planned to spend every moment of the rest of that drive in absolute silence.

  Not that she'd let him.

  But to his surprise, quite a few seconds stretched by and turned into minutes with her quiet as could be. Yet, with each passing second, the satisfaction of the desired silence faded. The quiet mushroomed around him.

  He glanced in the rearview and his gaze collided with intense green eyes. He knew he'd caught her watching him, yet she did not turn away. Through the mirror, she looked directly into his eyes without an ounce of shame.

  If only he could focus his attention on the road. If only he could keep it off her.

  He shifted in his seat and readjusted his visor. Then he re-situated his mirrors, glancing in them twice before he grabbed his sunglasses and shoved them on his face. What he wouldn't have given for a cigarette, but he couldn't very well light one up with her in the car. Not a thing ruder than choking a lady with smoke. He'd been raised better than that.

  Finally the sweet hum of her voice cut through the silence and he could have sung in joy at the voice he'd cursed moments before.

  "You really don't like me, do you?"

  Perhaps he'd counted his chicks a little too soon. “Doesn't matter."

  "Wrong. And if I'm stuck spending a weekend with you, you could at least try to be civil. You're not the most pleasant person to deal with you know.” Her voice rose an octave with every word she spoke, but then she stopped all of a sudden. “Why don't you like me?"

  Her soft question sounded sincere, as if she cared. Hell, maybe she did.

  Nah. Just another ploy.

  "To start with, you're a car thief. Then there's the fact that you're a reckless driver. Hell, you almost killed the Hammons’ mutt..."

  "Oh no. That damned dog almost killed me..."

  "Right.” Reid muttered. “And the car's a gift."

  "It was. Listen, I'll go over it once again. My ex is rich. He took care of me, if you can call it that. He bought me that car, and several others, as a matter of fact. That particular car was a birthday gift. It never occurred to me that he kept them in his name, and I left in such a rush, I never thought of anything but going. Now..."

  Reid had heard the story so many times now, and every time it irritated him a little more. Geesh, she must think him a fool to fall for such a tale. Disgusted, he held tight to the wheel and whirled around. “Lady, that's enough. Know when you're beat."

  His words sounded like a mean growl of a killer dog, so harsh it would have frightened anyone else right out of the
ir skin. Which was exactly his intent.

  But not her. Not an inch of her five-foot petite frame appeared afraid.

  "No, because I am not beat. Not unless he catches me.” She slapped her hand on the headrest of his seat and leaned forward. “So if you'll..."

  "Sit back."

  "Fine.” Arms crossed, she flung back in the seat and snapped her mouth shut.

  Finally.

  * * * *

  Kirsten fumed the rest of the drive. The first chance she got she'd be gone. If he really thought endless miles of fields would stop her, he had another thing coming. She'd march right through them and on home to where she belonged. She wanted her life back, and dammit, she refused to sit back and obey him while Kurt raced after her to take it away.

  "Probably has a bullet, ready and waiting to put in my head,” she muttered under her breath. God, how right her Mama had been. She should have stayed home, married, had kids, enjoyed the simple life. Not followed ridiculous dreams of being a star. No amount of money could make you rich. The real wealth was in love. How she wished she'd known that back then.

  She patted her thigh and Snowball crawled up to rest his head in her lap. Silently fuming, Kristen stroked the fluffy soft fur of his head. She wouldn't waste her breath on the Sheriff again.

  No, she knew what she had to do. Play it cool until his back was turned, then run like hell. Maybe even steal the Blazer if she could get hold of the keys.

  Desperate situations called for desperate measures.

  Obviously, Kurt wanted to catch up with her—bad enough that he'd seen her arrested. If he went this far, no doubt he'd do anything to get her back in his hands. And quiet.

  As they topped the only hill for probably miles on end, his ranch came into clear view. Red barns and white fencing corralling cattle surrounded an expansive single story home. A huge porch wrapped around it, and chickens pecked in the front yard.

  "We're home.” Reid announced as he shut off the engine.

  Kirsten frowned. What about those words felt so good? So comfy? “No, you're home."

  She waited, quite impatiently, for him to open the door and let her out. Reid came around, and released her. The very second her feet hit the ground his hand flew to grasp her arm.

  The smell of country filled the air, sweet and fresh as a breeze, and tickled her nose. On the porch, a swing blew back and forth, causing a tap tap like the back rhythm against the music of a clucking and mewing orchestra.

  Snowball hopped out after her, brushing along her legs to settle at her sides. Kirsten smiled. No doubt he'd like it here.

  So would she, under any other circumstances, with anyone else.

  "Let's go.” Reid guided her up the front stairs and swung open the door. Snowball breezed past them and disappeared in a flash, more than likely off for a drink from the toilet. Yuck.

  A low chuckle emitted from Reid, deep and sexy. He released her arm and she yanked it away from him, looking up to glare at him. Amusement gleamed in his eyes, alluring with the shine in their deep, dark depths. She could have shaken him for it, but she was too afraid of what would happen if she touched him.

  Or he touched her. All over. Like he had when he'd searched her. His hands roaming up and down her legs, her waist, then her rear. Touching. Feeling. Driving her crazy.

  Something in her automatically tightened at the memory, contracting the muscles in her lower region with desire. She felt herself start to drip with longing as she stared at him, her body readying itself to have him.

  Reid slammed the door shut with a bang and knocked her out of her treacherous thoughts. Needing to distract herself, she wandered from the foyer into the living room.

  Its emptiness hit her. He had nothing, nada, save for a large screen television, a couch, and a lazy boy. Not a thing for decoration, no wall hangings, no knick-knacks, nothing but bare white walls.

  "It's clean, at least,” she murmured, more to herself than him.

  "Yeah.” He just shook his head, and stared at her.

  "The fireplace is beautiful.” She nodded toward the huge stone focal point of the room.

  "Yeah."

  "It would look great if there were some pictures or something, you know, on the mantle,” she hinted.

  "Yeah."

  Okay, apparently he wasn't much for decorating. Typical man. But still, you'd think he'd have something. It all seemed kind of weird to her. “Is the whole house like this?"

  "Yeah,” he answered again, his voice hollow. “Pretty much."

  "Oh."

  "Hey, listen. I'm gonna fix us something to eat. You want to take a shower, get cleaned up or something? I can lend you some clothes."

  Yeah, she thought as her eyes ran over his brawny body once more, like they'd fit me.

  Still, she'd welcome a bath. Especially since she felt grimy as hell, not having cleaned up after her jog.

  Who knew when she'd next get somewhere safe enough to have one? When she escaped, she'd now be running not only from Kurt, but also Reid, and the law.

  Besides, it'd look good. Reid would figure she'd accepted staying the weekend, and get comfortable. Then, when he didn't expect it, she'd disappear off into the night. It had to get real dark around here without city lights to brighten the night sky. He'd never find her.

  She just hoped she'd find her way. Mentally, she made a note to try to steal a flashlight if she couldn't finger the keys. The thought of being in the dark, out in the wild and all alone sent shudders down her spine.

  With a falsely planted smile, Kirsten shook her head. “Sure, if you don't mind. I know I must smell by now. I left in such a rush."

  "Right,” he grunted. “Follow me."

  He took her down a hall, and swung open a door. Kirsten took in the surroundings, a plain room with a king size bed, and nothing else. “What's the deal?"

  "This is my room. I figured I'll sleep on the couch, and you can have the bed. Private bathroom is through that door. I'll lay some clothes out for you."

  "What about the other rooms? Surely there must be other rooms in a house this big."

  "Yeah, I've got five bedrooms. They're all empty."

  "Did you just move in or something?"

  "No.” He moved to the closet and began to rummage through a shelf full of clothes. He pulled out a humongous Cowboys tee shirt and a pair of gray sweats. He tossed them on the bed and shrugged. “The pants have a drawstring so you can tighten them up."

  "What about underwear?"

  "Go without. Best I can do on short notice.” He snapped and looked away. “And the windows all have locks on them. You try to break the glass and I'll hear it. The kitchen is right down the hall so don't bother. You won't get anywhere, anyhow."

  "Don't worry, I won't.” Kirsten brushed past into the bathroom.

  "The...” He started after her.

  She slammed the door right in his face.

  Beyond tears, Kirsten leaned against it and fought the flood of emotions. Now was not the time to cry. She had to think. Keep her head straight. Keep Reid Walker out of it.

  A shower would help. Cool her down a bit. Reid seemed to have a talent for heating her up. She stripped off her clothes and started the shower. When steam rolled out from above the curtain she adjusted the cold nozzle and stepped in.

  After a day of driving and a three-hour traffic jam while stuck in sweaty workout clothes, the water rolling over her skin felt like heaven. She reached for the soap, but as she lifted the green bar she realized it was men's soap. The smell of cologne, of Reid, filled the air, and she dropped it like poison. Instead she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and used that like an all over body wash.

  Great, she realized. No conditioner. Now her hair would be in a million knots. She wondered if the empty house even sported a comb. What was with this guy anyway? Eccentric, she supposed, or alone. Very alone.

  It wasn't like he was an axe murderer or anything. No, Reid Walker was definitely one hundred percent Sheriff. Besides, all the phone calls he
'd made proved it.

  She slung back the curtain and reached for a towel. Instead she found an empty rack. Shit. With all her wet hair dribbling down her back she had to have one.

  A door by the sink looked like a linen closet. She'd just grab a towel, and wipe up the mess on the floor when she was done.

  Kirsten raced across the bathroom, creating puddles on the floor with every step. She flung open the closet, only to find it nearly empty. Except a comb, and a brand new bottle of conditioner.

  Figures. She snorted, and slammed the linen door shut.

  What else could she do? Maybe snitch some clothes from the closet in the bedroom and dry off with them. She certainly wouldn't be calling Reid for help. No way. She squeezed her hair out into the sink as best she could, and then tiptoed out into the bedroom, only to come face to face with the Sheriff, his hands full of crisp white towels.

  He stared down at her dripping wet naked body, obviously not the least bit shy about getting his eyes full. His jaw dropped; his gaze swept up and down, and his eyes filled with clear desire.

  His acute appraisal churned her. Heart racing and lips quivering, Kirsten did the only thing she could do. With a slap of her hand, she knocked his gaping mouth shut, grabbed a towel and made a mad dash for the bathroom. Once inside it, she whirled to slam the door. Instead, she slipped on the wet flooring and went down with a shriek.

  Chapter Four

  "Are you all right?” Reid dashed into the bathroom, terrified by Kirsten's blood curdling shriek. The sight of her sprawled on the floor, limbs spread, made his heart do flip-flops.

  He hurried to her and dropped on one knee beside her. She struggled to get up, her efforts useless as he forced her back down.

  "Hold on. Did you hit your head or anything?” Dang it, she'd really let loose a scream. She had to be hurt.

  "No. I'm fine. Please, get off me.” Her voice sounded soft and sweet, helpless.

  It agonized him with worry. An urge to gather Kirsten in his arms flooded him, and he battled against it. If she were hurt, it wouldn't do to move her.

  When he moved his hands toward her, she started to wiggle away. “Hold up. Let me check you out."