Page 23 of Silverstorm

“So, tell me, Deputy Wilder, what’s it like being in law enforcement in a small backcountry Montana town?” Aria was trying to change the course of the conversation, and he admired her for not wanting to dwell on her own problems.

Taking her cue, Jude started reciting an anecdote about old Bill Mitchell, who he’d picked up last week, wandering down the street buck naked. It made Aria laugh when he described in great detail the man’s pale, hairy buttocks wobbling along in front of his cruiser. “The poor old guy was freezing his pecker off,” he told her, and his heart lifted when she giggled, the mood in the room changing to a more lighthearted one.

They talked, and they ate, and before he knew it, the meal was finished, and Aria was collecting the plates and stacking them in the sink.

“At least let me wash the dishes tonight,” he pleaded with a grin. “It’s only equitable after all this wonderful cooking you did.”

“Fair enough,” she replied. “I’m all for equal rights. Despite what I stupidly said earlier tonight.”

He waved her away from the kitchen, and she took to the couch, curling her long legs up beneath her and watching him with her dark eyes.

Soon, he had his hands plunged into soapy water, but it didn’t take long to finish, and the mess wasn’t as bad as he first predicted. They talked about his mother’s garden while he washed and stacked. She said it was a shame the garden had been let go, and he agreed. She went on to say that if he didn’t mind, she’d love to have a go at fixing it up. She wasn’t promising miracles, but he replied that anything she did would be much appreciated. It was one of the reasons he’d been hesitating about bringing his mother home for a visit. If she saw the garden, she’d be devastated. But he was just too busy at work, and he’d never really had a green thumb or been overly worried about the state of a few weeds. So he welcomed Aria’s help. Who knew, perhaps between the two of them they could get the garden back to shipshape condition, and he could bring his mother home to share Christmas dinner. That reminded him he hadn’t been to see his mother today. Would she even remember when she last saw him? But that wasn’t the point, he reminded himself. He’d make sure to pop in and see her tomorrow, perhaps on his lunch break.

Folding the dishcloth, he sat on the opposite end of the couch, his hands still red from the hot water, and they talked about other things, like the people she was getting to know at Stargazer. She asked about Levi, and his brother, Wyatt, both of whom she was yet to meet, but had heard so much about. Their talk drifted to the Indian Reservation, where Levi and Wyatt were born, and the state of the social and communal side of living on the res, as the locals called it. How the community was at odds right now with a growing crime rate, but no real solution on how to fix it. Most reservations had their own form of law keepers, and the police or sheriffs were rarely called in, unless there was a murder, and even then it was often impossible to get witnesses to come forward.

She wanted to know about Penny and Clayton and their recent trouble with the local crime boss and how their love had grown stronger because of it. She’d seen how friendly he’d been toward Penny that first day and knew they were good friends, and had already decided that she liked Penny, telling Jude how helpful, open and friendly Penny in particular had been over her first few days on the job.

Cat, on the other hand, well, the jury was still out on Cat, Aria told him. Jude assured her that Cat had a heart of gold beneath that layer of bikie-chick belligerence, she just needed to take her time and get to know her.

Aria was sharp-witted and clever, and Jude was drawn to her mind, as much as he was drawn to her body. He watched her face become animated when she talked about her time in Portland. Watched her hands glide through the air as she punctuated meaning to her words. About how much she loved going to university, feeling like she was part of something bigger than just herself. About the student lifestyle, how everyone was passionate about something on campus. How she was excited about learning every new technique to further her graphic design skills. How branding had become such a big thing nowadays, you couldn’t run a marketing campaign without proper branding anymore. He could barely tear his eyes away from the flash of her white teeth or stop himself from drowning in her chocolate gaze. The way she wrinkled her nose when she smiled was just the cutest thing ever, and it made something inside his chest inflate whenever she did it.

He’d known plenty of attractive women, both before and after his last serious relationship. In the past two years, he’d had a couple of one-night stands and one lady who’d lasted a few weeks. But none of those women made his guts cramp up tight the moment he laid eyes on them. None of them made his inner protector growl like an angry bear when he thought she was in danger.

It was hard when the community watched his every move. Being a deputy, his life was always out on display, it was part of the job, but not one he necessarily liked. And that included his love life. The members of the over-eighty knitting brigade liked to stop him in the street and tell him about their pretty niece, or their widowed daughter, who were looking for a man just like him. Stable and dependable and nice. It felt as if he was their property, to matchmake to whomever they pleased. He always politely declined. Because he knew there was more to him than just being a stable and dependable man. That was merely a front he projected to the world; something that was expected from the man in his position. But beneath the façade, he wanted more. He wanted spice and heat and perhaps even a little risk. And he also knew when the right woman came along, nothing would be able to stop him.

Aria’s hair kept falling across her shoulder, covering her face, and her arm kept brushing across his as she talked, so his entire body thrummed with awareness of her.

“Jude?” Aria was staring at him and he was suddenly aware that she’d been talking for quite a while now, but he hadn’t heard a word she’d said. And right now, he didn’t care, just continued to stare at her, drinking in her curves, the soft line of her jaw, her pink lips, so plump and luscious.

She stopped talking and gazed at him, as if her words had dried up and blown away in the heat of his stare. He didn’t know what to say, so he did what his body had been urging him to do all night, and he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

Her lips were soft and pliant, welcoming him in. Then she gave a small groan in the back of her throat and the sound unleashed a surge of lust for this gorgeous woman.

This wasn’t like the first kiss they’d shared. That’d been rushed and clandestine, with a faint sense of being wrong. There’d been an edge to it, as if he’d been taking advantage of her. She’d been wrapped in a towel, after all, and not too many hot-blooded men would’ve been able to resist. This kiss, however, felt different. More fully developed, not just based on pure lust. It felt right, as if destiny, karma, whatever you wanted to call it, had been leading him here, to Aria.

He pulled her closer, their thighs touching, and he reached around behind her, finding the bumps of her spine and running his fingers over the dips and valleys of her back. Her skin bared by the crop top jumped and twitched beneath his touch, and her teeth grazed his bottom lip. His hand dropped lower and before he knew it, he’d scooped her up and pulled her closer until she was almost sitting sideways in his lap.

Her tongue slid along the seam of his mouth, and he swept his hands higher up underneath her top and he followed the line of her bra, tracing the underside of the lace covering her breasts with his palms. She sucked in a breath and made a low humming noise deep in her chest. He liked her reaction and cupped her breast with each hand. They were plump and heavy and he suddenly wanted to strip her clothes off, so he could see her revealed in all her glory.

Her thigh pressed against the thickness of his erection and the agonizing sweetness was almost too much to bear. If they didn’t stop now… He might not be responsible for his actions. His fingers worked their way down and into the waistband of her jeans, and she turned to straddle him, settling herself over his crotch, causing his breath to catch as blood surged like a mini-volcano in his groin.

Aria suddenly drew in a deep breath and shifted back a little so she could look into his eyes. There was a question hovering in the depths of her dark-brown irises. Did he know the answer?

“Should we be doing this?” she asked, voice husky.

He blinked and thought about it.

“I’m attracted to you,” he admitted. “More than just attracted to you.” He desperately wanted to say this was the best thing he’d ever felt. Wanted to urge her to keep going. But his conscience, that annoying little bloody voice in his head, was telling him to get a grip. She was a suspect in a homicide. She was also under his protection.

As if on cue, his phone, which was on the kitchen countertop, started to ring. A sharp, insistent sound that shattered the mood around them. He grabbed Aria by the hips, desperate to stop her getting off his lap, but it was too late, her eyes had become shuttered, her mouth a tight line of apology.

She gave him a lopsided grin, full of regret. “Saved by the bell, I guess.”

“I don’t need to answer it,” he said, desperately grasping at straws.

She hovered halfway off his lap as the phone stopped ringing. They locked gazes, and for a second, he thought she might relent. Then the phone started its tenacious, shrill noise again.

“Shit,” he mumbled, levering himself off the couch. This better be bloody important. As he crossed the short distance to the countertop, he eased his jeans away from his groin. Lucky this wasn’t a video call, he thought with grim amusement.

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