The Sheriff and the Mayor by Starla Kaye

Dalton said grimly.
    “But—”
    He
took her arm again and tugged her with him. End of discussion and the men were
wise enough to know it. They didn’t say another word.
    ***
    Dalton
had ground his teeth nearly to a pulp as he’d heard Cassie’s defiant “My
decision ” over and over in his head ever since he’d driven away from the
warehouse. Darn woman was going to put what she needed to get done off because
she was determined to help out with those damn floats.
    He
blew out a breath as he parked behind her ridiculous small car in her driveway.
She was exhausted, running on zip energy. Just like him. She was probably sore,
too. Although he knew she was in pretty good shape, he also knew how she must
have pushed her physical limits today to work with those young girls. He
worried about her, even if she didn’t.
    He
watched her climb out of her car and glance anxiously back at him. She looked
resigned when she realized he wasn’t simply following her home, understood that
he meant to come in with her. And, no doubt, she was worried about him, too.
More specifically about what he intended to do to her. She didn’t need to worry
that he would really hurt her. He’d never do that. But he certainly planned to
burn her sweet ass.
    She
didn’t wait for him, instead marched right into her house and turned on the
lights. What she didn’t do was close her front door. She might be dreading what
was about to happen, but she wasn’t refusing him entrance into her home. Relief
swept through him at that.
    She
stood at the entrance to the great room with her chin tipped up, attitude
galore sparking out of her green eyes. “We’re both tired. Both feeling testy,”
she stated, boldly facing him.
    “Then
let’s get to it.” He nodded toward the great room.
    Just
to push his buttons, she sassed him. “I take it that you don’t mean having
quick and dirty sex.”
    For
a second he blinked at her. His cock immediately hardened and that was exactly
what it wanted. He wasn’t going to be swayed by his lower brain. “Maybe later.”
    “I
don’t think so, cowboy.” While she could have insisted he leave—and probably
should have, she pranced into the other room. “I really don’t know why I’m
doing this,” she muttered grumpily.
    “Because
you know what a brat you’ve been acting today. Answering my calls, but hanging
up before we could talk.” That still ticked him off.
    She
flipped on a table lamp and then stomped over to the window and closed the
curtains. “It was payback.”
    “I
had a hell of a lot more serious matters on my mind to think about when you
called me.” He did feel a guilty, though.
    “You
could have given me some kind of explanation. Something more than ‘ I can’t
talk now.’ ” She faced him and he saw the hurt in her eyes.
    He
sighed. “I’m real sorry about that, sweetheart.”
    Some
of her bluster faded, some of the hurt as well. “But you’re still upset with
me. Still want to…”
    He
gave a curt nod. They were both tired, like she’d said, so he looked directly
at her. “Pull those jeans down.”
    Her
eyes widened and he saw her sharp intake of breath. He waited to see if she
would do it. This would be a telling point for them. If she didn’t obey, she
would be telling him they were essentially finished. If she did… Well, they
still might be finished.
    She
seemed to barely breathe as she stepped in front of him. Her lower lip
trembled, but she undid the tight-fitting jeans and pushed them to her knees.
His mouth watered as he stared at the scrappy bit of black lace bikinis. His
heart thudded. He wanted to…
    Then
she shoved the panties down as well.
    He
was dumbstruck, brain dead. He could only think about sliding into her warm
body, driving deep.
    Surprising
him, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Are we doing this or not?
Because if we aren’t, then I’m going to bed. Alone.”
    He
shoved the lust aside, focused on his irritation once more. “Stretch