Page 24 of Naughty by Nature

“I better get back to bed,” she said softly.

“Okay. Sleep good, Cheyenne.”

* * *

Sheridan really tried notto watch her walk away, but it was a Herculean task. The t-shirt she wore barely reached the top of her thighs, and she’d kept tugging it down, tightening the fabric over her breasts. And now, as she slipped away from the ring of light, he glanced up for a last look.

Lean thighs led up to the swell of butt cheeks peeking from beneath the hem of the T. He could just see the edge of dark purple underwear before she slipped into darkness.

His mind tormented him with what he thought the rest of her looked like. Cheyenne was athletic, long-legged. He knew she’d had an active childhood helping out on the ranch, and he knew she still worked there occasionally. After Garrett had had his heart attack and broken his arm, he’d seen Cheyenne’s silver Jeep Grand Cherokee over at the Blue Star as much as anywhere else.

He’d also seen her at the little Pilates shop that had opened up at the edge of town. With three girls, he didn’t know how she found the time to do anything for herself, but he was glad she did. If Pilates made her happy and kept her in shape, he was all for it.

He wondered if she’d been dating anyone recently. Of course, if she had been, Marlene probably would have let him know the minute it had happened. For some reason Marlene thought he and Cheyenne needed to be together.

If he was honest with himself, though, he would admit that he thought so too. It was just … getting past their history and moving ahead. Tonight Cheyenne had been aware of him. That much had been obvious. He looked down at his dick, which had been at attention since she’d entered the kitchen. Hopefully she hadn’t even noticed how much she’d turned him on by licking that cookie. To make sure, he’d slipped around the edge of the island to shield himself from her gaze.

Swallowing the rest of the milk down, he set the glass in the dishwasher. He needed to get to bed, he had a lot of running around to do tomorrow.

Cupping himself in his hand, he wondered if he shouldn’t take care of this issue, but he decided against it. He would ignore it, and hope that when he and Cheyenne got together it would be worth it.

* * *

Cheyenne woke at five-thirty,just like she did every other morning, but she didn’t feel rested. As she looked at the bed she could see she hadn’t slept well. The mattress was fine, but she’d been haunted by sexy giants plying her with seductive looks. And cookies, surprisingly seductive cookies. She’d woken once and been cupping herself intimately. That wasn’t normal for her. For the past six… no, seven years she’d turned her libido completely off. That had been what had gotten her into trouble with Wade, and she wasn’t going to let it control her life any longer.

She’d stuck to that vow for a long time, but after a single night in Sheridan’s presence it was all going to hell. The man was sex personified and she had no idea how he’d been single for so long in Honeywell. Yes, people had obviously given him some time after his wife had died, but surely some of the women had approached him by now. There was no way a man could be celibate that long.

Her breasts tingled at the thought of him denying himself and she cursed. She had no business even thinking about him that way. He was helping her out in a difficult situation. That was all.

Cheyenne showered and dressed, and refused to acknowledge how sensitive her breasts felt today. She dressed in school appropriate clothing, even though they were a little laid back in summer school. There were only twenty-three kids attending the summer program this year, and she was responsible for seven of them. One more week and even they would be done, and she could do what she wanted with her summer.

The girls went with her and if they didn’t want to help her in the class they were allowed to go to the library. Savannah always chose the library, but Grace and Carolyn usually didn’t decide until they walked into the front door of the school. That was fine. As long as they were on the premises she was okay with them doing whatever they wanted.

Cheyenne headed out to the kitchen to find something to cook for breakfast. She had bacon sizzling on the stove and was beating eggs when Sheridan walked into the room, fully dressed in his tan uniform. The heavy black gun belt hung around his hips. The motion of her arm stuttered and a little egg splashed onto the counter.

Cheyenne turned away, forcing herself to take a deep breath. Two days ago she was completely fine with her single life. Why was she suddenly reacting this way?

“Smells really good,” Sheridan said, crossing to the coffee pot. Reaching a mug from the cupboard above him, he poured a cup of the black brew, then reached into the refrigerator and poured just as much creamer into the cup.

Cheyenne laughed lightly as she poured the eggs into the skillet. “You have a true sweet tooth, don’t you?”

She glanced up long enough to see him shrug sheepishly. “I guess so.”

Reaching a spatula from the utensil basket on the counter, she started scrambling the eggs. “I hope you don’t mind that I started breakfast.”

He snorted, leaning his hips back against the island. “Is part of that food for me?”

“Of course. If you’d like.”

“Then I don’t mind you cooking.”

She smiled slightly. “I just didn’t want you to feel like I was taking anything over. I think Olivia was a little upset when she came home last night and we were all eating dinner.”

Sheridan grimaced, taking a sip of his coffee. “Possibly. She’s so hard to read sometimes. That table was one of Nora’s favorite pieces of furniture. We brought it with us when we moved here. That may have been what upset her.”

Hm. Yes, that probably would make the girl mad. “Well, maybe we can be sure to invite her sooner.”

Sheridan gave her a single nod. “Yes, we can try.”

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