Page 43 of Claimed by the Lawman

Chapter 13

STARING AT JAKE across the striped tablecloth at the pizza joint, Tyler clasped her hands and realized she should never have agreed to meeting him here for dinner. She felt slightly uncomfortable as she looked toward the door every few minutes expecting…who?

Kace.

Although she didn’t agree to this dinner to spite him, he was always in the recesses of her mind. She even wondered what he would think if he saw her here. After their argument at the ranch two days ago, she hadn’t spoken with him and she figured he had nothing good to say to her. She’d lost her temper and said some things she shouldn’t have, but she was tired of men like Bane. Randy was taken to the hospital where he received stitches on the wound to his head. However, he couldn’t identify one of Bane’s men which meant yet again he’d gotten away with something.

And the man who’d threatened her at the theater hadn’t been found either.

With each passing day, she was losing hope that she would find closure to her sister’s death.

Her shoulders naturally slumped. She wanted to excuse herself and run away, but she couldn’t do that to Jake. He was a nice guy, just not the guy for her.

Jake leaned back into the booth and smiled. He had a nice smile with deep dimples, but it just didn’t do anything for her. “You have barely touched your slice of pizza.”

“I guess I wasn’t hungry after all.” She picked up her glass and sipped water through the straw.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked with genuine interest.

Why couldn’t she feel something for him? He was handsome with clean cut features, obviously athletic and had manners. So then, why?

She knew why. This would end like many of the other dates and relationships she’d had over the years. None of the men ever stacked up to Kace. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

Although she was indeed tired, it wasn’t quite what weighed on her mind. It didn’t seem right that she was here.

“Thank you again for coming to meet me tonight. A man can’t ask for anything more than pizza, a beer, and a pretty lady on his day off.” He leaned in and rested his forearms on the edge of the table, his smile widening and his eyes glassy. “I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately.”

“Me? Why?”

“Truthfully, I like you. A lot.” He caught her off guard when he slid his hand across the table and touched her fingers that were flat on the table.

She pulled away and saw him flinch. She needed to explain to him that she wasn’t interested. That she was in love with another man. Had been for as long as she could remember. The town of Bohannan wasn’t big enough for her to love Kace and be involved with another man. What had she been thinking by coming here, pretending as if she was available?

Opening her mouth, only to slam it shut again, she sighed. How could she voice her thoughts? Tell him about Kace? Maybe she could just blurt it out because Jake deserved an explanation.

Hearing the bell ding above the door, she lifted her gaze and her breath hissed from her lungs. She blinked twice thinking she might be imagining what she was seeing, but he was there. Kace was standing in the doorway. Her gaze clashed with his and she saw the wild, crazed expression he wore, and her heart hitched.

Their gazes locked and held as Kace headed toward the booth where she sat with Jake. There was something oddly familiar in his expression. Possessive. Anger. Burrowing deep into her bone marrow. She realized he wasn’t happy that she was here with his deputy. Although guilt spread through her, she didn’t owe him an explanation. He’d made it clear that he didn’t like being around her…or rather babysitting her.

Then she felt a soft caress on her hand. Jake’s thumb was drawing a figure eight on her skin and, at that moment, she saw how Kace’s hardened gaze had narrowed. His jaw tightened as he jerked off his hat.

Her throat constricted. Her heart lurched. Her body became woozy. Shit was about to go down all because she had agreed to dinner with Jake.

~~**~~

Damn tired and hungry—a hunger that food couldn’t be satisfied—Kace steered his truck onto Main Street and stopped at the red light. He swiped a hand down his whiskered jaw and sighed. Days had passed since he last saw Tyler and he was going stark mad. They’d argued and he was pissed at her, but even pissed at her meant he still wanted to see her—more than ever. Hell, there were a lot of things he wanted to do to her and he’d been nothing but a walking hard on since she’d waltzed back into Bohannan.

This all must be a cruel joke, testing his control, because he wanted to throw caution to the wind and go to her. Beg and plead if he had to that she should just put him out of his misery

He wasn’t the begging and pleading type. If he was, he would have tried that tactic to get her to stay fifteen years ago.

Yet, how much longer could he withstand the aching punishment in his body?

“Come on,” he quietly said to himself. The light was taking forever.

He just happened to turn his cheek and look through the large window at the Pizza Paradise and he saw her. The subject of his sleepless nights. And she wasn’t alone. Sitting across from her was none other than his deputy, Payne.

As if the silent beast Kace carried around with him broke a few chains, he gritted his teeth. Without thinking, he slammed on the gas pedal and sped across the street, getting a blaring of horns in the process, but he didn’t care that he’d just broken a few laws. That’s what she did to him. She made him do things he’d never do otherwise.

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