Page 29 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

I walk into the sheriff’s office, a wicker basket on my arm.

Mary’s face lights up when she sees me. That’s a change. Charlie and Brick wave

to me from their desks.

“Casey!” Mary exclaims.

“Hey, Mary! What’s up girl?”

“Nothing, as usual. It’s so boring around here.”

“That’s good for me then. Come, I brought sustenance.” I

motion to the basket and head over to where the men are. “Working hard, boys,

or hardly working?”

Charlie walks up to me and plants a kiss on my cheek.

“Since the boss is within earshot, I’m gonna say that we’ve

been working extremely hard.”

“Lunch?”

“I’m never one to turn down a gesture like that,” Brick says

with a grin as he approaches.

“Good, ’cause there’s plenty.” I offer him my cheek, and he

kisses it also. Reaching into the basket, I pull out a stack of containers I

set aside for the sheriff. “Dig in. I’m gonna see the boss.”

His door is ajar, so I step in without knocking. He leaves

his chair and walks toward me.

“Took you long enough to say hello.”

“You’re right,” I answer. “I should have come to you first, just

bypassed everyone outside.”

“Come here, minx.”

He pulls me into his arms and lowers his head to mine. The

moment our lips touch, his deputies let out loud cheers. I pull away with a

giggle and turn to find three pairs of eyes watching us. The sheriff closes the

door and returns to me.

“I brought you lunch,” I tell him.

“Oh?”

He walks back to his chair, and I begin opening the

containers.

“Fried chicken, mac and cheese, and biscuits. Oh, I left the

sweet tea in the basket.” I sit across his lap, and he buries his nose in my

neck, inhaling deeply. “I saved the breast for you. You seem like a breast man

to me.”

He looks down at my cleavage—which I intentionally made sure

there was a lot of—and smiles.

“I sure am. 38Cs, to be precise.”

I giggle, sliding my arms around his neck. “Well, what do

you know? I happen to have a pair right here.”

“Jesus, woman. What are you trying to do to me?”

“You keep me waiting. Anything left for too long ends up

serving two masters.”

“So you’re telling me to get my act together?”

“I’m just saying… You wait too long then you’ll miss out on

all of this.” His eyes follow my fingers hungrily as I trail them down my

breasts. My lips curl up into a smile as I feel him getting hard. “You can

think about that during lunch.”

He clears his throat and brings his gaze back to my face.

“This all looks great, but I don’t know if it will compare

to the meal I had last night.”

“Are you saying you’re a better cook than me?” I ask.

“Honey, I wasn’t talking about the steak.”

“Now who has a dirty mind?”

“You elicit all kinds of dirty thoughts.”

“Well, if you’re a good boy and finish all your food, I’ll

see what I can do about dessert.”

As I slide off his lap, he smacks my ass playfully. Hopping up

on his desk, I cross my legs at the knees. We look very Nanny Fine and Mr.

Sheffield right now. I grab my phone from my purse and aim the camera at him.

“Smile.”

He looks up, gives me that megawatt smile of his, and I snap

the picture. My heart skips a beat when I look at the result. He is truly

beautiful.

“You know, you’re pretty hot, Sheriff.”

“Why, thank you, Miss Bryan. You’re pretty hot yourself.”

With a huge grin, I forward the picture to Sandy. She

replies instantly.

Sandy: Oh, my God! Case, he’s gorgeous!!!!!!!!!

There are so many surprised-face smileys; I don’t even

bother counting them.

“Sandy agrees with me.”

“Of course she does.”

I roll my eyes, dropping my phone back into my purse. “I really

love how humble you are.”

“It’s only one of my many admirable traits.”

He looks up from his meal and regards me carefully. He’s staring

at my neck, no doubt looking for the hickey he left there last night.

“It’s called makeup. Does wonders,” I tell him.

“Why are you hiding it?”

“Because I don’t want people in my business.”

“In that case, I need to put a few right here.” With a

smile, he trails his fingers across my breasts. A tingle shoots down my spine.

He then moves to my thighs, causing tingles elsewhere. “And a couple more right

here.”

“You have a problem with my outfit, Sheriff?”

“You can dress like this anytime. Just make sure I’m the

only one seeing you.”

What’s going on here? I’ve never had a guy act so

possessively before, at least not this early in the relationship. But it’s cute

the way he does it. I’ll allow it… for now. I give him a mock salute.

“Yes, sir!”

“Did you do what I told you to?”

“And what was that?”

“Roman.”

“I didn’t have to.” He raises his brow. “Truth is I haven’t

used it in months. It’s probably still in one of the unpacked boxes in my

closet.”

He clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes. I’ve seen this

look before. It’s the do-as-I-say look.

“I want it gone.”

What the…? “Excuse me, Sheriff McKenzie, but I do

believe that’s my business.”

“Your pleasure is my business.”

“And who made you lord and master of my body?”

“You did. You said I should change my name to God,

remember?”

“You were good—”

“Good?”

I roll my eyes. Again. “Okay, fantastic… but it was

just one encounter.”

“Two, actually. You doubt that it can be repeated?”

“It remains to be seen.”

“Trust me, what I have planned for you will make last night

look like child’s play.”

“God, I hope you’re as good as you say you are. It’s been

too long for me to end up disappointed.”

“How long’s too long?” he asks.

“Who knows? I stopped counting after the first year.”

“First… year?” His eyes widen in shock.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’ve had… responsibilities.”

The surprise fades, and he regards me with a solemn stare.

“No. You were waiting for me.”

Meeting his gaze, I experience a new and odd twitch in my

chest.

Could he be right?