Liam and I were out celebrating at The Rodeo. It was the second most popular place in town. They did a hell of a takeout business. I wondered if that was something Liam had thought about.
I’d brought Natalie, and so far, my plan was working. Liam didn’t hide his surprise or interest. At dinner, they had sat next to each other and talked for much of it. I didn’t have a job, but maybe matchmaker was my calling.
We were standing by the electric bull. “You got to try it. It’s a rite of passage around here,” Liam said.
“I can’t even ride a horse. I’m not getting on that.” The man currently riding it was thrown. I jerked back when he landed near my feet. “Yeah, so not doing that.”
“You’re missing out,” Liam said.
“Not going to work. If it’s so fabulous, you do it.”
He took the challenge. Strolling up to the bull. Natalie pressed in. “Oh my god.”
My words exactly because as much as I had no intention of riding the bull, there was something really sexy about him riding it. “I need to record this,” Natalie whispered.
Yeah, she did.
He finished, they were talking, heads together, so I told them I was heading to the bar. I wasn’t really drinking; the memory of my last evening out was still too fresh, so I ordered a diet coke. Many of the faces at the bar I’d seen in town. I didn’t know their names, but there was something comforting about being surrounded by the same people. In Manhattan, you were lost in the crowd; here, it was like a sort of family.
The thought had just left my head when a familiar face strolled up to the bar.
Killian.
People said hi as he passed. He nodded in greeting. Even in a crowd, he seemed like an outsider. I’d never met anyone like him. He commanded attention but preferred the shadows. I was guessing he was coming from his sheriff role. Tomorrow morning, he’d be at my place working magic. How he’d come to do either job and were they what he wanted to do or had he fallen into the positions?
He scanned the bar. I noticed he did that every time he entered a place, probably the cop in him. His blue gaze landed on me, and, to look at him, I could be a complete stranger, but he moved around the bar to my side. He dropped his elbows on the old wood, his head tilted slightly to me. “Cedar.”
“Killian. You just getting off work?”
He nodded.
“Busy day?”
“Not really.”
“Picking up dinner?”
Another head nod. Some might call him rude, but I was beginning to understand that he just chose to speak with an economy of words. If he were rude, he wouldn’t have walked over to me. He just didn’t feel the need to fill the silence.
“You here alone?” he asked.
“No.” I gestured behind me; his blue gaze followed. “Liam and I were celebrating.” I turned into him. “He told you right? About the tavern?”
“That you want to buy me out.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” I reached for my soda. “We’re celebrating. I brought Natalie.”
His gaze moved to behind me again. “About time.”
Getting the confirmation that I wasn’t setting Natalie up for heartache felt good.
“I guess you’re the third wheel,” he said.
“Yeah, but happy to be so.”
“Want a ride home?”
It was just a ride home, but my body tingled like he’d offered for me to ride him. My words were a little breathy. “Yes, please. Let me go tell them.”
He nodded then turned his attention to the woman bringing his dinner.
Liam and Natalie were against the wall. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but I didn’t want them wondering where I was when they left their happy little bubble. Natalie glanced over and smiled.
I took the opening. “Killian is going to give me a ride home.”
“Are you sure?” Liam said, looking behind me and lifting his hand.
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
“Okay, I’ll get Natalie home,” Liam offered.
“I’ll talk to you in the morning, Natalie.”
She mouthed thank you. I smiled.
Killian was waiting for me at the door. He held it for me before following after. I was looking for his truck, but he walked to a black sports car instead. He hit the locks, held the passenger door open. The seat hugged my ass; the black leather had gray stitching. The dash looked like an airplane cockpit. It was also a manual transmission.
He climbed in, put his take out bag on the floor in the back. The engine roared to life.
“What kind of car is this?”
“Maserati.”
Nice.
It was the fastest ride ever to my house. The sheriff exceeded the speed limit but that was more the car. If I’d been driving, I’d have sped too. When we reached my house, he got out. Walked me to the door and held his hand out for my keys. He unlocked my door, stepped inside, checked shit out, and even scratched Lucifer behind the ears before he strolled back to the door. I got that treatment as one of his residents. So, what was he like with his woman? Did he have one? How could he not? The envy for the unknown woman took me by surprise. I wanted to ask him to stay, but he had his dogs to get home to.
He stopped just in front of me. He was large, imposing, but unlike that asshole from the incident, his size didn’t scare me. It was comforting. He was so close I could touch him. Was surprised at how much I wanted to touch him, to run my hand down his chest, over his abs. If I’d had more to drink, I might have tried. I swallowed the lump of lust and said, “Thanks for bringing me home.”
Silence followed for a few beats before he ordered, “Lock your door.”
“Will do, Sheriff.”
He walked along the planks set up now that the porch
