Chapter One
Ben Parker sat up in his bed and looked around the bedroom, wondering what woke him up. He had been lying in bed and had fallen asleep thinking about Hannah Hawthorne as he usually did every night. He swung his legs over the bed and put them on the floor, pulling only his jeans on, just in case.
There it was again, a crunching noise coming from outside, like footsteps. He was wide awake now and he grabbed his pistol from his nightstand and slowly went down the hallway toward the front door to investigate. He lived on the outskirts of town so it could be just an animal roaming around, but he figured he’d better check anyway. The house was dark and although it was after midnight, the air still felt stuffy. A typical summer night in Bear Creek, Texas. July in Texas was humid and hot and not much else.
* * * *
He opened the front door of his house slowly and aimed his gun out into the night, listening quietly for any more noises, but all he heard were crickets chirping in the night. He slowly stepped out on his porch.
“Who’s there?” he asked in a hard, menacing cold voice. “I’m not in the mood to play games.”
“Going to shoot me, sheriff?” came an amused reply in a soft Texas drawl that had featured in many of his fantasies, especially in the last few weeks.
“Jesus, Hannah,” he muttered. “I could have shot you. It’s late.” He put his gun away and looked at the blonde temptress standing in front of him so innocently as if she just stopped by for an afternoon visit. Her long blonde hair was flowing loose and straight down her back. Her beautiful face was hidden in the shadows of the dark but he had already memorized every part of her perfect face. He had known Hannah Hawthorne since childhood and had watched her grow into the beautiful woman she was today. Not only was she beautiful but she had a fiery nature that might intimidate most men, but not him. There was no one else like his Hannah and she was his. She just hadn’t realized it yet, but tonight she would.
“And here I thought you’d be glad to see me, my mistake.” She pouted and turned to leave. He observed her plump ass encased in her tight blue jeans walking back to her truck and her trim waist shown off by her snug T-shirt.
“Don’t you move a muscle unless you want a spanking, honey,” he threatened seriously. He had been waiting for her to acknowledge that she wanted him as much as he wanted her for over a year now and he wasn’t missing this opportunity. She owed him for many sleepless nights.
Hannah giggled softly but stopped walking and stood still. She put her hands on her hips and turned back toward him. “That’s not a scary threat, Ben. I might just like it.”
She smiled impishly and walked back toward him, going up his porch steps until she was standing chest to chest with him. She looked down at his obvious erection showing through his tight jeans and smiled with a knowing smirk. “So, are you going to invite me in or not?”
Ben grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her to his body until there was no space left between them and he was sure she could feel his hardness. His cock w
as already threatening to burst out of his jeans and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
His lips touched hers, slowly at first. When she didn’t protest, but opened her mouth to his, he ran his tongue around her soft pouty lips and inside her mouth, listening to her moan. That small soft sound of enjoyment sent sparks of electricity running through his body. He increased the pressure while his hands roamed her body slowly from her breasts down to her ass. He poured all his pent up feelings and desires into that one kiss. By the time he let her go they were both breathing wildly and leaning on each other for support.
“Does that answer your question, honey?” he whispered, petting her soft, silky hair that felt like a curtain of satin. He held her for a few seconds, listening to her frantically beating heart until it slowed back down to an even pace.
He led her inside the house by the hand and closed and locked the door back up. He stood in the living room with her and looked down into her beautiful blue eyes surrounded by dark, long lashes and lush pink lips. Her skin was a golden tan color from being outside in the Texas sun so much. “You’re a little late for our talk, honey, but I am glad to see you.”
She put her arms around his waist and hugged him hard in a silent apology and he felt his body react instantly. Only Hannah could affect him this way.
“You know me, Ben. I overthink everything,” she whispered softly in her Texas drawl that he loved to hear, even when she was being sassy or yelling at him about something he did.
“Yeah, but two weeks?” He put his chin on top of her head and enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms and smelling the fresh scent of flowers from her shampoo. He led her to the couch and sat close to her. She felt small and fragile in his arms but he knew she had a spine of steel and he admired that quality about her.
Two weeks ago, Hannah’s older brother Jackson and his girlfriend Grace had some trouble with Grace’s ex-boyfriend, James. He came to Bear Creek where Grace had been trying to recover from his vicious attack of her and he kidnapped her. Hannah had helped to save Grace’s life but scared the shit out of him when she had come close to being shot. He had realized in an instant that what he felt for Hannah ran deep inside of him and always would.
He had been longing after Hannah most of his adult life, but the timing had never been right for them. She had gone off to college right after high school in Houston to become a veterinarian and he knew she needed to go out and spread her wings. And he had been too young and wild to want to settle down. He knew Hannah wasn’t the type to play around with so he had never approached her as anything but his friend Jackson’s sister until last year.
Once she had come home from college, she had started avoiding him. She heard a few rumors and was convinced he was some kind of wild playboy. He tried flirting with her and asking her out, but nothing worked. That night he had gotten tired of dancing around their shared attraction and he invited her to his house so they could talk and hopefully begin a relationship, but she had never shown up. He had been disappointed but he knew she was running scared, so he waited patiently and now here she was, in his arms. He had no intention of letting her walk away from him now. The little vixen was well and truly caught.
“I’m here now,” she said, leaning over and kissing his lips so lightly it felt like a tickle. “Are we going to waste the night talking about my timing issues, sheriff, or can we move on to something more fun?”
“Oh yeah, like what?” Ben teased. He wanted to march her to his room and strip her naked and spend the night making love with her but with Hannah it was better not to assume that’s what she came for.
Hannah sighed and pouted. “You’re punishing me for standing you up.”
Ben hugged her and leaned back on the couch with her in his arms. “No baby, I’m not. I know that I want to make love with you, Hannah. That’s what I’ve wanted for a long time but what do you want? I don’t want you to accuse me of rushing you.”