A Lawman's Justice (Sweetwater Ranch Book 8) by Delores Fossen Page A

the trial is over, I’ll move there and get back to what I love—working with the horses.”
    It was yet something else Shelby didn’t know about him. “What about the FBI?”
    “I’m assigned to the San Antonio office. That’s close enough for me to commute.”
    Again, it was the first she was hearing about his plans. “You’re staying in Sweetwater Springs?”
    “Yeah.” His gaze met hers. “What, this town isn’t big enough for both of us?”
    It would have been a cute joke if there hadn’t been some truth in it. Shelby got to her feet slowly. “But what if Jewell’s convicted?”
    “Then, I’ll still be close to Rayanne and Rosalie. They’re both making their lives here.”
    Their lives, yes, and families of their own. Rosalie already had a daughter and Rayanne was about to make Seth an uncle again.
    “But the Bradley place?” she remarked. “It’s huge.” Several thousand acres. And the house was more of a mansion than a ranch house. Since the previous owner was in jail for murder, Seth probably had bought it for a decent price, but it still would have been steep.
    “My father left me and my sisters huge trust funds,” Seth said as if reading her mind again, and he walked closer to her. “This town is Jewell’s home, and I think she’d want all three of us to be here.”
    “Is that why she had you come back, because this is her home?” Shelby asked.
    Seth stayed quiet a moment, his gaze combing over her. “She wanted us to get to know Roy so that he could be there for us if she got life in prison.”
    Great. There already had been a dark cloud hanging over them, and now she’d dug up these old bones. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.
    The muscle in his jaw flickered, and while she was certain the conversation wasn’t helping to soothe his raw nerves, Shelby also saw something else in his eyes.
    That damnable heat.
    She was about to issue a warning that they couldn’t give in to it, but the warning stalled in her throat. Pretty much everything else stalled, too—her heart, her breathing, even her feet. She didn’t do anything to back away when Seth came another step closer and slipped his arms around her to haul her to him.
    In fact, Shelby did some hauling of her own.
    Why did he have this effect on her?
    She got a quick reminder when his mouth came to hers, and he kissed the living daylights out of her. Even though she didn’t need it verified, he tasted just as good as he looked, and he’d obviously been on the giving end of plenty of great kisses because he knew what he was doing.
    And what he was doing was driving her crazy.
    Shelby knew all the reasons she should be stopping this, but instead she was the one who took the kiss to the next level by sliding her hands over his back and pulling him even closer. It didn’t take long, mere seconds, for this situation to spiral out of control. Mainly because Seth started his own round of touching.
    The kisses went lower.
    His mouth on hers was already dangerous enough, but the kissing moved to foreplay when he took that clever mouth to her neck. That did it. She was already hot, but now she was on fire, and every shred of common sense went right out of her head.
    This need for him wasn’t what she wanted. Far from it. She wanted to feel the hurt and anger that would have made her life so much easier. Because this need for him was rippling over her. Sliding through her and reminding her that no matter how much she wanted him out of her life, it wasn’t going to happen. This need would only grow. Would just keep on rippling until...
    Well, until he shattered her.
    Which might happen very soon now.
    Without letting go of her, Seth turned until she was sandwiched between the back of the sofa and him. Anchored in place. But neither stayed put. They adjusted, fighting to get closer. Struggling to get closer until Shelby finally got the contact that her body was screaming for. Seth’s sex against hers.
    Even though there were clothes