Page 14 of Claimed by the Lawman

Chapter 4

PULLING UP IN front of the small two story with black shudders, Kace turned off the engine to his truck and moseyed up the front walkway and knocked. When he didn’t get an answer, he opened the screen a few inches and poked his head inside. “Tyler?”

“Help! I’m up here,” she called out from upstairs.

His heart skipped a beat and he instantly went into lawman mode as he took the stairs two at a time. Coming to a skidding halt outside of the bathroom he took in the scene and bit back laughter. Tyler was on all fours, dripping wet from water spraying out from under the sink. The steady stream was squirting her in the face and puddling on the floor around her. Her hair was matted to her head and her eyes pleaded for his assistance. “I’m not strong enough to turn the knob on the pipe. Can you help?”

He hesitated in the doorway. He didn’t like the idea of getting all wet, but he wasn’t a sugar cube. Taking off his belt and hat and placing them on the floor in the hall to stay dry, he stepped into the bathroom, holding up his hands in front of his face against the attack of water, but everything else was soaked within a matter of seconds. Dropping to his knees, he reached under the sink and twisted the rusty knob.

Kace looked at Tyler through wet eyelashes. “What the hell?”

“I-I don’t know what happened. I turned on the faucet and the next thing I knew water started splashing everywhere and I couldn’t twist the knob.” She let out a throaty sigh that sent heat skittering down his chest and stomach to settle into his balls.

Although the cold water seeped through his jeans, the temperature didn’t deter his body from reacting to how beautiful she looked. Her cheeks were pale pink and her naturally swollen bottom lip trembled. Her thin shirt clung to her breasts—bra-less breasts to be exact. Somewhere he’d lost the ability to breathe and his head had grown as well as other parts of his anatomy. He wanted to be ashamed, but it was very difficult to think of morality with his zipper stretched.

Her blue eyes were on him, unblinking.

Naughty thoughts of licking, touching, caressing her body burst through his woozy head. The blood in his veins scorched and his lungs tightened, making breathing almost impossible.

Her tongue came out to smooth across her lip and the hair on his body erected. How the hell did she do that? Touch him without even touching him. There was just something magical about her.

She stood and laughed as she looked down her soaked body. “Looks like we’re both wet.”

His mind careened down a narrow path of naughty. Yeah, he hoped she was wet. Clearing his throat, he stood which was difficult when his body stretched the denim to capacity. It didn’t help that the damp jeans gave little room for flexibility. “Just a tad bit.” Shit! His voice cracked like a prepubescent boy. He cleared his throat again, refusing to allow this beauty to take control of him like a puppet master. Although, his gaze naturally dipped to where her erect nipples were pressed against the fabric of the too-thin T-shirt and he didn’t mind staring a little too long.

“Get those clothes off,” she demanded.

His mind blinked rapidly. Did he hear right? “My clothes? Off?” He was back to being that inexperienced teenager again who couldn’t get his mind out of the gutter long enough to see straight.

She laughed and her eyes dazzled. Wet strands of hair were clinging to her flawless, rosy cheeks. “I can’t send you anywhere dripping wet, can I?” One groomed brow came up over humored eyes. “I’ll stick them in the dryer and they’ll be done in no time at all.”

“Yes. I mean…no, I guess I need them dried.” Should he tell her that he had a change of clothes in the back of his truck? Suddenly, the thought of staying awhile and catching up sounded like a damn good time. “What about all this?” He enveloped his hands through the air.

“I’ll tackle that by throwing down some dry towels. You can use my bedroom to strip down, and take this,” she opened a cabinet and tossed a towel into his chest. When he just stood there, she said, “Of course, if you’re comfortable you can undress here. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked.” Her eyes were dazzling blue gems that beckoned him.

What the hell had come over him? He was in a daze. Popping out of the cloud that encompassed him, he smiled. “Let’s just say the boy you remember is no longer here.” He winked, turned and headed out of the bathroom. His boots squeaked as he walked down the hallway, but at least they were waterproof.

“Last door on the right,” she yelled after him.

Just how he suspected, her room smelled like a flower garden and the queen-sized bed with the thick white comforter invited him, but he refused. He didn’t want to snuggle alone. He dragged off his hat and glanced around the space. Boxes were stacked in one corner, probably needing unpacked, a yoga mat was rolled and leaning underneath the wide window, which gave him a boatload of X-rated thoughts as he imagined her body stretched in different poses. He wondered, did she do yoga nude? Or maybe she wore those tight little pants that fit a woman’s bottom like butter.

Damn. He’d been in a woman’s bedroom before so why was he acting like the ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ boy? That was because he was wet behind the ears. No part of him remained dry.

With the door closed, he toed off his boots and socks, then peeled off his uniform shirt and jeans, and even his boxers had to go.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he knotted it, checking to make sure it was secure since he didn’t want to flash Tyler and meandered over to the vanity to look at the picture wedged between the mirror and frame. It was of her and Susy as teenagers. They were smiling and happy. Something foreign reached in and clasped his heart, twisting. He couldn’t imagine losing one of his siblings, and if one did die tragically, there wasn’t anything that could stop him from finding out what the hell happened. He’d hunt down the perpetrator and nothing could save them from his wrath. So he understood why Tyler couldn’t just accept that her sister’s death was a suicide. In fact, he respected that she made it her top priority to help her sister even after she was gone.

This surged him into looking at the case differently. Maybe he did need to investigate further. He didn’t have a lot of time, but he’d find some. He’d even give up a few nights of sleep if needed.

Lowering his curious gaze, he looked at the row of bottles lining the top of the vanity. He didn’t know what half the bottles and brushes were for, but he did know that Tyler didn’t need anything because she was naturally beautiful.

Picking up a bottle of lotion, he brought it to his nose and sniffed. Mm. Sweet vanilla cupcakes. Putting it down and picking up a red tube, he popped off the top and looked at the pink substance. Melon. He liked watermelon. Watermelon on Tyler’s mouth was even more enticing.

He smiled and replaced the lid and dropped the lip tint back into the caddy.

Then he saw it. The bubble gum machine ring he gave her when he was eighteen. Thinking back to that day, he remembered they’d been riding horses on his parent’s ranch and stopped to watch the sunset when he’d pulled out the ring. It was a bit hokey as he looked back now, but she’d placed the ring on her finger and worn it every day until one of the fake diamonds popped out, then she said she’d keep it safely at home. Well, here it was, just as she’d promised.

Lifting the ring and dropping it into his palm, he felt a flow of emotion. Recalling how much he’d loved her almost knocked him off his feet. He’d wanted to spend forever and a day with her and dreamed of having kids that looked like her.

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