Page 8 of Bred By The Deputy
“Yeah, maybe I did. I might have come here because I knew my best friends had found some of the good guys. Ones we never believed existed. I thought if there were enough of you I could be safe here. Now that I know you exist, I couldn’t stand it if I damaged you—or this place.”
“Della, baby,” he tries another name, smirking when I flush and shake my head, smiling at him. “There’s a dozen more men better than me out there. Right here in Driftwood or over in True Ridge. Nothing bad will happen to you here, I won’t allow it. If you believe that then you have to know all those other men, all the good ones, will be damned if they let anything happen to you either.”
“How could there be men better than you? That can’t be possible.”
“Plenty out there better than me, darlin’,” he rasps, yanking me against him roughly. “Because other men might let you go if you asked. I won’t. I told you: one kiss was all I needed, Della. You got it right when you said forever and ever after. With breeding and babies.”
“Babies? I was kidding, Dole.”
“Well, I ain’t, darlin’. I want them both,with you, and soon. Now give me a name so I know how to protect what’s mine. You, Della,are mine.”
Forever and ever after,breeding and babies…he can’t be serious, can he?
Chapter Five
Dole
Never been more serious about anything in my life.
Watching Della pout as we talk about everything but whatwe shouldbe talking about makes my chest ache. This is what it will be like. The two of us, making dinner together, talking about our day, working around one another. Not just in the kitchen, but our life here that we’re going to share.
Della cuts up some mushrooms from my garden out back, musing about how weird it is that I like cooking. Launching into tales of eating at five-star restaurants as a child to living off fruits and wild vegetables during protests in the jungles of South America, her attempts to distract me won’t work. Moving close behind her, I stop her chopping hands gently.
“A name, darlin’,” I whisper against her ear, kissing the soft curve. “I am not feedingorfucking you before you give me a name,” I warn her.
“Dinner wasyouridea,” she sasses, even as her ass rubs against my dick as it hardens in my sweats. The flannel I put on her earlier just covers her ass, so I feel the round, soft globes as she twists against me teasingly.
“You saying fucking was your idea?” I shoot back, dropping a hand to swat at her backside playfully.
This is easier than I ever knew it could be. All those dates with women I have known most of my life never came close to this one day with a stranger. We were never strangers at all if you ask me. This was bigger than both of us. Her friends coming here, setting up shop, and putting down roots meant I was bound to meet her. Meeting her when she needs me most makes things simple.
“If I recallyoustarted it all, deputy. I just...didn’t want it to stop.”
“Oh, we’re not done, we both know that. Before we get what we both want,” I husk against her throat, yanking her hips back to let her feel how bad I want her. “You need to tell me how to protect you. You need to trust me.”
“I do. Never would have had mashed potatoes with you otherwise.”
Chuckling, I tighten my grip on her hips, turning her to face me. Lowering my head, I touch my brow to hers, taking a calming breath. Della sighs and nods, closing her eyes tight before she lets out her trembling breath.
“Mateo Acosta. He was different from anyone I had ever met. I wanted to break the rules. No, I wanted to tear them apart. Mateo was dark, handsome, mysterious, all those things foolish girls chase after. He didn’t care about who I was or wasn’t.”
“How long?”
Just thinking of another man touching her, feeling the silkiness of her creamy skin, smelling her sweet scent fills me with rage. A deep red, blinding rage that I never thought I could feel. Hate, anger, and violence have never been a part of my makeup. Becoming a cop was not about wanting to wield power or hurt bad guys. I just wanted to do some good.
Now, holding this woman in my arms, a woman who I didn’t know existed just this morning, I think about that. It seems my makeup has some jealousy mixed with a touch of obsession. That is how Della has me feeling. I would revert to violence to protect her. To hurt whoever dared give her something to fear.
Whoever sent her running best not come looking for her.
“Mateo Acosta,” I mutter the name like a threat.
“Ever heard of him down here, deputy?”
“Matter of fact,” I cock a brow at her, picking her up and setting her on the counter beside the stove. “We had trouble with some smarmy fucks from Silver Shores a while back. I do believe your friend is a rival. Monetti’s the ringleader of that bullshit circus. Our lumberjacks dealt with the trouble.”
“Lumberjacks,” she murmurs with a cute grin. “That’s a real thing? I thought Quinn was teasing. Mateo had a lot of enemies. I have no idea why I got mixed up with that piece of shit. If I could go back...”
“You would not have ended up here, where I could find you and have a chance to protect you,” I cut her off gently, tilting her head back with the hand gripping her head, our eyes locking.
