Page 4 of Cuffed By My Mate

I lead her over to my car, and she looks around as we cross the parking lot.

We could take her in the backseat of the car,my bear suggests, and I ignore him.

We’re ten minutes from home. Let’s make this good for her,I tell him.

“I can give you a tour tomorrow if you want,” I offer, and she nods.

“I’d like that.”

I open the passenger door for her, and she slips past me into my car. I breathe deeply, inhaling her sweet, orange blossom scent. Once she’s inside, I close the door and then round the hood to climb behind the wheel.

“I live a few miles up the road,” I tell her as I start the car.

“I’ve never been in a police car before,” she says, looking around the backseat.

“I’ll take that as a good sign,” I say with a laugh. “I’m guessing no arrest record then?”

“No. I’m pretty boring, and I’m a total homebody. I’ve never done anything exciting or worth being arrested for.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I tell her, and she nods.

“What about you? Any criminal history?” She asks me, and I shake my head.

“No, I’m an upstanding citizen.”

I turn the car onto my street, and we cruise past some fields and one other house before I turn into the driveway.

“This is home,” I tell Vera as I park.

“It’s nice. Really nice.”

“Where are you from?” I ask her as we climb out.

“Oh, this tiny town up north. You’ve probably never heard of it,” she says vaguely. “How long have you lived here?”

“A few years. I moved here with my best friend, Tucker. He’s the sheriff of this town.”

“And you’re his Deputy?”

“Yep. Less responsibility,” I joke, and she laughs.

“You don’t want to be in charge?” She asks me curiously.

“Nah, I don’t mind. He doesn’t treat me as less than him, and this pack and town are so small that we don’t really have to do much anyway.”

I unlock the front door and usher her in ahead of me. She looks around, and I close the door and take her hand again.

“Come on. I’ll show you around.”

I take off my belt and set it and the walkie-talkie down on the front table by the door. Then we head further into the living room.

“So, the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and an office are all down here,” I tell her as I lead her around.

“It’s nice. Did you just move in?”

“No, I just don’t have much furniture. We can fix that now that you’re here. You can get whatever you want to decorate or fill the space. I know that it’s pretty bare.”

“A little bit, but I like the style and the wall color.”

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