Page 13 of Bewitched By the Mountain Man
"Sheriff Cain," she says suddenly.
The warmth drains from my skin. "What?"
"I looked you up." Her eyes meet mine. "Raven's Creek, Nevada."
Fuck.
"That was a long time ago," I say.
"Five years." She's still looking at me, and I can't read her expression. "You saved twenty-three women. It was national news."
"And then I resigned. You probably found that too."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you leave? You were a hero. You…"
"I'm not talking about this."
But she doesn't back down. "You go to that club to protect people, don't you? That's what you were doing. Watching the women. Making sure no one got hurt."
How does she see that? How does she see through me so easily?
"Stop." I push off the wall, closing the distance between us without meaning to. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Then tell me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because." I stop myself, because if I start talking about Raven's Creek, about the girls I found too late, about the ones who didn't make it, I'll break apart. And I can't break apart.
She's watching me, and I can see her mind working, putting pieces together. "Something happened. Something that made you…"
"Tessa. Don't."
"I can't stop thinking about you," she whispers. "I know we can't do this. I know it's wrong. But I keep replaying that night. The way you touched me. The way you made me feel. I've never… I've never felt anything like that."
I should shut this down and put walls up so high she can't possibly climb them.
But I'm staring at her mouth, and all I can think about is how it felt against mine.
"You need to stop," I say, but the words have no force behind them.
"Why?" She's close now, so close I can feel the heat of her through wet clothes. "Because you're my professor? Or because you feel it too and it scares you?"
All of the above.
"This can't happen." Even as I say it, my hand comes up, fingers brushing her jaw. Her skin is cold from the rain, and I want to warm her.
"I know," she breathes.
"I could lose my job."
"I know."
