Funny, she hadn’t thought him the type. He was steady, a little irritable sometimes since his wife’s death two years before, but that was to be expected. Right?
He seemed like a family man. Upstanding. Honorable. Those were the qualities she’d always seen in him. It hurt like hell to realize she was wrong.
It hurt like hell to realize that she had been pinning her hopes on being right about him.
He fascinated her. He drew her like a moth to a flame, and she couldn’t help but want to touch all that incredible, masculine heat.
The letdown was incredibly disappointing. The memory of his kiss would haunt her. The hunger for him would take a long time to abate, she knew that for a fact. She had just gotten over that need from those two cold little dates last summer. Now this. How long would it take her to get over the kiss, the memory of his hands on her ass, his cock pressing tight and hot against her clit?
A little groan escaped her lips as she let her hand trail down her stomach to touch the sensitive mound between her thighs. Her fingertips pressed against the swollen knot of her clit as a heated surge of longing tore through her again.
It was going to be another long, lonely night, she thought. She hoped she had enough batteries to see her through. Because one thing was damned sure. She wasn’t going to sleep again until she managed to relieve the pressure h
e had built inside her.
Yep, this was just her luck, she thought, jerking her hand back and attacking the dishes. She was the one left cold and lonely. He was probably out finding someone else to fill his night.
The person filling his night wouldn’t be her. Not tonight. Not ever under those conditions. Just her luck. What was that saying? Unlucky in love . . .
Maybe she should take up gambling . . .
CHAPTER 3
TWO DAYS LATER Rick turned down Hannah’s street, his gaze brooding, his mind in turmoil, as he still fought to make sense of what had happened the other night.
Had it been so long since he’d had a woman that he didn’t know how to talk to one any longer? He’d spent the better part of the evening tongue-tied. He hadn’t been able to think, to speak, to make sense of anything but the need that had crawled through his system.
Now he was back again, doing something just as stupid as he’d done the other night. Perhaps more stupid.
He was dying for a woman, but he’d found in the past two nights that not just any woman was going to do for him.
He’d gone out both nights, his sole aim to find a woman for the night. And he could have had one. Hell, he could have had twenty if he’d wanted them. There had been no shortage of offers at the bars he’d gone to.
He’d had every intention, both nights, of leaving with a willing female and filling his night with hot, nasty sex.
Instead he’d left alone, gone home, and jacked off to the thought of one woman. It was scaring the hell out of him. All his self-preservation instincts were rioting even as he pulled into the drive behind her little sedan.
He didn’t have to force himself from the truck. Before the truck was even in gear he was throwing the door open.
Striding to the front door, he knocked firmly and waited. She was home. He could hear the television droning inside and her car was here.
Knocking again he frowned at the thought that maybe she just wasn’t opening the door for him. Not that he could blame her, he’d been an ass the other night. He would probably be an ass tonight.
He didn’t want a love affair with her. He didn’t want a relationship. He wanted this hunger for her out of his system, plain and simple. Something inside him warned him, though, that Hannah wasn’t nearly that easy.
The door opened as his hand lifted, his fingers curling to a fist to knock again.
Hannah stared back at him in irritation and he swore in that second his cock went spike hard, drawing up tight as his blood began to heat in his veins.
A woman shouldn’t be able to affect a man like this. To make his head fill with the memory of her kiss, the feel of her ass in his hands.
“What do you want, Sheriff?” She leaned against the door frame negligently, as though his being there didn’t affect her in the least.
He admired her for the attempt, though he saw right through it. Hard little nipples poked against the material of her tan T-shirt and the bra beneath it.
Her face had that intriguing little flush again and her gaze was darkening as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts and crossed her ankles. Clenched her thighs.
She was wet. She had to be wet. Hot and sweet, ready for him.