Page 22 of Claimed by the Lawman

A pain shot up his chest. “Outside of being my deputy, not much.”

She gave a small shrug that sent the spaghetti straps of the dress down her shoulders. He tried not to take in her delicate chest, or how her nipples pressed against the fabric. “He seems like a nice guy.” She placed her half-eaten burger on the plate and pushed it to the side of the table. “Wow. I’m stuffed already.”

Ah hell, he felt a little sick. A new throbbing ache bombarded his body and he didn’t like the feeling. He could say a lot about his deputy, but Kace didn’t plan on coming off as the jealous bastard. “Payne is a good guy.” He suddenly lost his appetite.

“Is that all?” She pushed for more.

“What are you fishing for?” He clasped his hands behind his head and stretched his legs.

“Oh, I’m not fishing, but I just thought you might be able to clue me in on if he’s dating material. There aren’t many available men around these parts.” She looked at him through the veil of her long, thick lashes.

“How did you two meet?”

“I stopped in at the hardware store and he was looking for twine. We got to talking and well, you know…”

He relaxed, lowering his hands to his thighs. “Okay, you want my honest opinion, I’ll give it to you. He’s a ladies’ man, if you get my drift.”

“You mean like a player?” She shredded the paper napkin.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I know he’s dated a few women, but as far as I know he isn’t looking to settle down.”

“It’s not like I’m looking to settle down either.”

The lump in his throat grew. “You’re not also looking for just a—” He stopped and looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. “You know…”

“Sex? I’ve been known to do that a time or two.” She sucked in a breath and covered her mouth, faking her shock. Dropping her hand, she smiled. “Then again, you already knew that, didn’t you, cowboy?”

He gritted his teeth. He didn’t find her funny. “I’m probably not the best one to talk about this with. Ask Isla. She’s your best friend.”

“Why not? You know him better than Isla does.” Her smile could almost make him forget the subject of their conversation.

“I know nothing about his sexual history and don’t want to,” he growled the words.

“Sex is an important thing for adults. We’re made for sex. Literally.” Her grin was sinful.

“We’re not doing this, Tyler,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

Imagining another man touching her could be comparable to being skinned alive.

She shrugged as if she had no clue how worked up he was over her mention of sex with another man.

“Fine, we can talk about something else, but is sex off-topic with us?” She laughed. “I sort of thought it was on both of our minds from the dance we shared,” she teased. “However, I wouldn’t want to break up anything between you and Sadie Mae.”

With a frustrated sigh, he slid out of the booth, pulled some cash out of his pocket and dropped it onto the table. “Unless the topic is sex between the two of us, then yes, it’s something we won’t discuss. Enjoy your evening. I’m going home and getting some shut eye. In the meantime, stay out of trouble.”

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