Page 25 of Loving My Enemy

“Yes, ma’am.” Even though she loved to give me crap, talking to Mom always made me feel better. She was right about one thing though: I needed to do better where Elka was concerned. I didn’t owe her nice, but as an officer of the law, I owed her civility. And a fair shot.

And I would, as soon as I found out everything there was to know about Elka Nyland.

Chapter 14

Elka

My cell vibrated on the kitchen table and I chose to ignore it since it was my parents calling. Again. A small part of me wondered if something was wrong, if one of my parents was physically ill, but a smaller, pettier part of me wondered what they’d expect me to give up to save them. Instead of wallowing in that bitter, macabre mindset, I turned back to the ingredients laid out on the counter for two different types of chili. Beef was my no-brainer option and lamb was my experiment, although I imagined lamb chili deep in the heart of Texas might not go over so well. Still, it was worth a shot.

I read a lot online about all the different ways to cook chili and ended up with far more information than was useful, given the time constraints. One of these recipes would have to pan out if I wanted time to tweak it and make it my own, not to mention make it under the pressure of the whole town. There were two large pots on the stove mocking me over their empty state as the phone began to ring. Again.

Ignoring it, I grabbed a big yellow onion and began to chop just as the doorbell sounded. For someone with no family andhardly any friends, I seemed to be popular today. I was also completely focused on this chili cook-off the mayor had roped me into so, just like the phone, I ignored the door, confident no one was coming to me for an emergency. But the knocking persisted, and I knew, before I even left the kitchen, who I would find on the other side of the front door.

Deputy Vargas was the last person I wanted to talk to and that was a list that included my parents as well, which made it easy to turn back towards the kitchen and get down to business. “This chili won’t cook itself.”

The onions were chopped, yellow on one side and red on the other. Now it was time for peppers—a key to any chili recipe, according to all the online chili experts. It was a slow process, chopping everything on two separate cutting boards, but I was determined to get it done because I’d promised. No, not really promised, but I’d accepted my fate, which meant I had to see it through.

A knock sounded on the back door, scaring the hell out of me as I whirled around and found Deputy Vargas on my back porch. Too bad for him, I always kept my screen doors locked. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing, deputy? Trespassing is illegal even for officers of the law.” The man had some nerve, constantly accusing me of wrongdoing or acting like I was some big criminal, and now he was violating my privacy.

He flashed a smile that was so sexy and smoldering that I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or kick him—probably a little bit of both. “I’m just checking to make sure you’re all right. Being neighborly.”

“That’s bull and we both know it. What are you doing skulking around my house?” He didn’t give off a crooked vibe, but then again, he was snooping around my place without cause.

“You signed up for the chili cook-off and I am your Hometown Hero volunteer, which means I’m yours tocommand.” To his credit, Deputy Vargas didn’t seem all that put out by the idea, but that was irrelevant.

“Great,” I told him, punctuated by my best fake smile. “I command you to leave and stay far, far away from me.” I didn’t wait for him to say anything else because there was nothing else to say, so I cranked up some music and went back to chopping my chili ingredients.

“You really should get something better than this little latch if you want to keep people out.”

His deep voice startled me and I screamed, tossing the knife and chopped garlic into the air. “What. The. Fuck?” This was getting out of hand and I was no longer scared, just pissed. “Why are you in my house? I made it pretty clear just now that I don’t want or need your help.”

His smile faded and those broad shoulders fell, but I ignored the dejected look he wore because it wasn’t real. “I just want to help.”

“And I don’t want your help, but I guess what I want doesn’t matter.” It was, literally, the story of my life. Myoldlife.

Deputy Vargas took another step into my kitchen, looking around as if he were an invited guest. “It matters. I’m hoping we can start over.”

Of course he did. He looked like the jerk, not me. “We can’t.”

He took another step forward and my heart began to race, in fear or desire, I wasn’t sure. Then he was right in my personal space. His hand went up to touch my face, stroking my cheek in a gentle caress that I worked hard not to lean into. Then he lowered his head and, by the time I realized what was happening, his lips were on mine and I was … melting.

Yep, it was an actual sensation of melting into the kiss, into the hands cupping my face, into his big strong body. A more experienced woman would have been able to resist the kiss, but I hadn’t been kissed a lot in my life, since it was an easy to wayspread germs I couldn’t afford to catch. Plus, I didn’t have the strength to stop something that felt so amazing.

So incredible.

So exhilarating.

But reality, as she tended to do, crept in and reminded me of one important fact: this guy attached to my lips hated me. It was just the icy reminder I needed to pull myself away from the deputy and take a step back. Without thinking, my hand went up to smack his face, just like in the movies. Only it didn’t feel good. It made me feel guilty.

“Sorry.”

He just smirked like none of it mattered to him, and that fueled a determination I didn’t know I had as I flew into his arms and attacked his mouth with my artless kisses. He didn’t seem to mind, gripping my behind to lift me in his arms, growling when my legs automatically circled his narrow waist. He wasn’t bothered at all by the layers of fabric falling all around us.

If heaven felt anything like this, I was pretty sure Austin was getting the better deal because the deputy waseverywhere.His hands were on my butt, squeezing and kneading and pulling me closer to the hard ridge at his center. It sparked a heat between my thighs that made me kiss him harder, grip his hair tighter. I’d never felt anything like it and I didn’t want it to stop. Not ever.

He pulled back and looked at me with a predatory gleam in his eyes and a sexy smile curling his full lips as he took a few steps and laid me across the table. Mykitchen table! The cool wood touched my back and it instantly arched the moment his lips went back to mine, devouring my mouth in a kiss so hot, my head began to spin. But then his hands, big and strong with thick fingers, slid up my thighs and pushed my panties aside. I couldn’t have stopped him if I wanted to and my body certainly did not want me to, not when one thick finger pressed into me. I sighed, arching into him even more.

Deputy Vargas growled deep in his throat as my body clenched around his finger, pulsing intensely as if it knew just what to do. He added a thumb, pressing rapid circles against my clit until I felt pleasure build from somewhere deep inside of me. And then it was bliss—pure unadulterated, unabashed bliss.

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