Page 9

Obviously, there was, and I was interested. And attracted. Like, a lot.

“Yeah.” I laughed, but it sounded like I was choking. What the hell was I doing? But I kept going. “It’s just, well, I’ve never heard about a place like that for women. At least, not around here. Have you?”

My hands tightened around the steering wheel. Oh man, I was fucking this up big time, and she probably had no idea the direction my thoughts had gone in.

“Sure haven’t.”

Come on, Deputy Lee. Grab a thread here. Did she really have no idea why I’d just said what I’d said? I gave it one last good shot. “If there were a place, would you… go there?”

“Dunno,” she mused, but then she turned in her seat, facing me and looking right at me.

I kept my eyes on the road, but a funny, tightening feeling seemed to be taking over the space where my heart usually beat at a leisurely pace.

Finally, she was picking up what I’d just thrown down.

Or I thought she was.

She sounded almost surprised when she asked, “You would?”

And now, like an idiot, I shrugged. “Maybe, as long as I wasn’t in a relationship at the time.”

Her voice came out all husky and sexy. “I’m not in a relationship, Devo,” she said. “Are you?”

Oh, she’d totally gotten it.

“No, but I hooked up with Dede Vasquez a couple times. I already said that. Sorry.” Could she hear how my voice had started to shake? Nervousness rushed through me like wildfire. And why on earth was I bringing up the last woman I’d banged? Like, for real? What is wrong with you?

Finally, I looked at her. We were stopped at a light in the middle of downtown Wisper. There was zero traffic, so when the light turned green, we sat there, just staring at each other.

Her eyes flashed cobalt before she said, “Um, Devo, you probably don’t know this about me, but I’m not usually one to mince words. So, are you hittin’ on me? I mean, is that what this is? You wanna have sex?”

My face had to be the color of a dark red cherry, and a warmth flooded my lower half. It zipped and zinged all the way down to my toes in my dollar-store flip-flops. My skin felt like it had caught fire, and I held my breath again, hoping like hell she wanted it too.

This night couldn’t have taken a more surprising turn if I’d dreamed it up myself.

Could she tell I hadn’t worn a bra tonight? She probably could, especially ’cause the seatbelt across my chest was making my breasts more noticeable, pushing them out on either side of the wide strap. I still felt her eyes on me, and I swore I could feel them zero in on the tips of my nipples, which, of course, were trying to poke through my tank top.

“Maybe,” I whispered.

A soft huff of breath escaped her mouth. “I won’t handcuff you, unless you’re into that sorta thing.”

I smiled. I really tried not to, but I lost the fight with my lips, and they lifted up. “Promise?”

She smirked, and a slew of images of the two of us pressed together flooded my mind—fingers wet, seeking hidden-away places, tongues hot and demanding.

I looked away. My breath quickened, and my heart must’ve thought I was running a marathon. Oh God, if we do make out, I’ll be all sweaty!

I’d envisioned this, had thought about it many times when I’d seen her out around town or at the sheriff’s station.

Abey had a light about her, and I was drawn to it. It was finally a relief to admit it to myself.

I’d been working at Ace’s House long enough to know that people didn’t gossip about her. No one outwardly questioned her sexuality, which was a little odd since our small town seemed focused on the subject these days. The opening of the pro-LGBTQIA+ community center saw to that. But Abey’s name never came up, even though I knew for a fact that some of her friends knew she was gay. But maybe the rest of Wisper had no clue.

So, if she was attracted to me, too, would she act on it? Or would it be too dangerous for her if anyone found out? I hadn’t considered that before I’d begun this outrageous conversation, in the middle of town, in my truck with her lithe legs only two feet from mine on the bench seat.

What would she do if I reached over and slid my hand up her thigh?

When I dared to look at her again, I noticed her breathing had sped up a little too. So maybe this wasn’t at all one-sided.