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She twisted her jaw slightly "I didn’t tell you that anything ht"

"It was a very bad nightmare"

He walked over to her and she was startled when he set his hands on her shoulders, and his eyes, very dark in the shadows of night, were hard focused on her own She was again aware of so evocative in the mere nearness of the man He carried a richly masculine and seductive scent, and the siers see time since she had been this close to a , and so, it was natural that her senses should be juument They didn’t ju on But so real And I don’t want you hurt"

His words were honestly, sincerely spoken The edge of hostility was gone between them, fallen off like a cloak

She needed it back She was standing in a bedroo male in his prime, clad in no more than boxers and a robe If she moved just a little bit closer…half an inch, she’d know firsthand if she had an equal effect upon hiet hurt," she assured him Her voice was thick

It seemed as if eons passed in which he didn’t reply In which they just stood there Her o He was going to take that step closer She should, of course, step away, but she wouldn’t She’d feel the force of his ar her against his length The palers would caress her chin Then they’d be fused together, tangled in a web of touch and taste and sensation, and--

He stepped back

"I’ht next door You didn’t disturb my sleep Feel free to screarimace, then took another step back She wasn’t sure his stride was as confident as usual

Or maybe she just wanted him to be a bit shaky, too

"Seriously, at the least disturbance, please, screaht here" He shtly brushed her cheek; for a ht

Then he was gone

Admittedly, Matt was tired

Still didn’t help the way that thecompletely sucked

It started out with a desperate call from one of the area’s three middle schools The sheriff’s department rushed in, prepared to deal with a possibly deadly, serious situation It turned out that Brad Middleton, tall, lanky, fighting a case of acne, but usually a decent kid, had coun Not a soul in the world was going to have a sense of humor about such a situation these days, which Brad couldn’t understand, since he had co a water pistol After a discussion with the psychiatric counselor, the police counselor, the principal, and then his parents, he was shaking like a leaf by the tito have to go to court, and Matt didn’t lie about the fact that he was facing consequences Since Brad seemed truly repentant, he was certain that the boy would receive leniency, and he could make him feel somewhat better But in the middle of his conversation with Brad, there was a holdup at one of the gas stations on the highway, and when they chased down the perp, he wasn’t packing a water pistol Still, surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, thethe perp, was shot

That was all before noon in a tohere days could go by, totally uneventful

He wondered why he had ever wanted to be elected sheriff in the first place But he knehy He was like one of the ancient oaks that filled the forested area, born and bred to Stoneyville He felt the responsibility of his family’s claim to the place, alh he orn and weary, he kne to be sheriff He kne to handle juveniles, gun-wielding thieves, and even the older populace who co rock music or rap too loud

What he didn’t kno to handle hat he couldn’t see, touch, hear, or stand up against, face-to-face The other night had disturbed him deeply

Just as Darcy Tremayne disturbed hinified queen, and yet last night, when he had first seen her after she’d fled the Lee Room, she had been terrified She had conquered her bout of fear quickly, and with a steely resolve that truly brooked no arguht he had known that he wanted her out, far ahere no har about her determination as well; hell, he was afraid every time he faced a lethal weapon--he’d seen what they could do Didn’t alter the fact that he meant to be just what he was, and be first in line to face any situation that arose