The Lawman's Agreement (Entangled Scandalous) by Nancy Fraser, Patti Shenberger

head back and luxuriated in the sheer release she received from drawing every last ounce of energy from Zack’s body.
    She collapsed forward, stretching herself out over Zack’s large frame. Closing her eyes, Suzanne lay there while the last of her climax moved slowly through her body. Against her ear, she could hear the sound of Zack breathing, the ragged catches mimicking those of her own.
    “I think you broke it,” Zack said finally, the teasing lilt of his voice heralding his recovery.
    “Actually, the male penis has no bones. It can’t break.”
    He laughed. “You know what I mean.”
    She raised her head and met his gaze. “Yes, Zack, I know what you mean.”
    “You should try and get another couple hours of sleep,” he suggested.
    “Or, we could take a bath together,” she countered.
    He shook his head. “I’ve got to be going. I wouldn’t want your neighbors waking up and realizing I’d spent the night. It wouldn’t be good for either of our reputations.”
    She knew he was right, and she hated him for it. The urge to say, “to hell with the neighbors” sat like a tart candy on her tongue. Yet, when he slipped from beneath the quilt, she did nothing to stop him.
    “I’m going to head over to the boarding house and change,” he told her. “If you’d like to have that bath alone and get dressed, I can come back for you in an hour.”
    “That’s okay. You go on ahead to the jail. I can get to the hospital on my own.”
    “Are you sure?” he asked.
    “Yes, Zack, I’m sure.”
    “How about I meet you there later to give you a ride home?”
    Suzanne shook her head. “That’s not necessary.” At his look of confusion, she sighed deeply, telling him, “It was wonderful, Zack, and exactly what I…we…needed. But it wasn’t part of our agreement and can’t happen again.”
    “It can’t? Why not?”
    “Because it would only complicate things.”
    “What things?” he asked.
    Suzanne realized she’d hurt his feelings, and his questions were his way of taking the bite out of an already awkward situation.
    “Our careers, the reason we came up with our agreement. So we would be left alone to follow our professional needs.”
    “What about physical needs, cher ? Aren’t they just as important?”
    “Not when they interfere with everything else.”
    “They don’t have to interfere, they just have to complement.”
    “Can we talk about this later, Zack? After we’ve had some time to think about what happened between us?”
    “I’m not much of a thinker on things like this, cher . I prefer to go with my feelings.”
    “You were right about the neighbors. You need to go now so we can get on with our day.” When he might have commented, she added, “Please.”
    Zack reached for the rest of his discarded clothes and boots and left the room, leaving Suzanne alone to think. Unfortunately, her mind wasn’t functioning with its usual efficiency. She couldn’t think, at least not without remembering.
    At the moment, all she could do was feel.

Chapter Eleven
    Zack reached for his gun and holster and strapped them into place. He’d spent the past hour and a half sequestered in his cramped room at the boarding house thinking about what had happened between him and Suzanne.
    Their lovemaking had far surpassed wonderful. If anything, it was probably the hottest, most explosive he’d ever experienced. What concerned him was Suzanne’s complete change of demeanor afterward, as if regret had set in even quicker than the original desire.
    He’d had other women, many of them in fact, but none had been as openly assertive as Suzanne. None had affected him, excited him, half as quickly. Were it not for their obligations, as Suzanne had put it, he’d have eagerly insisted on staying longer, of perhaps enjoying another round of uninhibited lovemaking.
    Zack stepped out onto the street and turned toward the jail. No doubt his deputies were already rehearsing their jokes at his expense.
    “Good