Page 10 of Protected by the Sheriff (Magnolia Falls #2)

Olivia

H aving allowed myself to be vulnerable and cry on Mason’s lap, I try to rebuild my armor once more. I can’t let my guard down around him. We’ve skirted the boundaries too closely and in order to keep myself from crossing those boundaries, I avoid him for days.

That means I don’t go to busy places around town, and I don’t go outside and sit on my deck.

Mason’s house is close enough to mine that we can see one another when we go out in our yard or on the porch.

I constantly watch his driveway to see when either his patrol car or his truck is missing.

That’s when I know he’s not at home and it’s safe to emerge from my house.

I stay inside, go to work, come home, all the while strategically avoiding him. When my phone beeps with text messages, I leave him on read. It’s obvious he’s getting more frustrated by the day. Then, after a week, I get a message that says…

Mason: Sugar, you can’t keep avoiding me. I’m the sheriff. Don’t make me come in and arrest your cute little ass and handcuff you to my bed.

Me: You wouldn’t dare.

Mason: Try me.

His threats send a shiver of arousal through me. I can still feel the warmth of his solid chest against me as he held me on my office couch the other day. The man is relentless.

After a week of avoiding him, there’s a knock at my door. I look out the window and hide behind my curtain as I watch the throbbing vein in his neck. He’s pissed that I’m not answering the door.

“Sugar, I know you’re there. You are going to have to give in sooner or later.” Mason shoots me a cocky grin, letting me know he knows I’m watching from the window. I see the challenge in his eyes right before I hear him mutter, “Game on, Crayola.”

Eventually, I have no choice but to go to The Greasy Skillet. It’s the only real restaurant in town and I’m out of groceries. I walk in and it looks like everyone in town from the Gossip Squad is present.

The Gossip Squad as they are known around town is made up of an older busybody named Mrs. Harrison, Elenor the mayor’s wife, and the owner of the hardware store, Mr. Patrick. They all look up when I walk in to take a seat.

Quickly finding a booth, I pick up the menu I’ve memorized a million times and pretend to read it while actually using it to hide behind until everyone goes back to their conversations. The smell of greasy burgers and fries hangs in the air, making my mouth water and my stomach growl.

Behind the safety of my menu shield, I scope out the place for Mason, but I don’t see him anywhere and a heavy sigh escapes me. Relief pours over me knowing I don’t have to face him, even though I know it won’t be long before I will.

The new waitress with red hair whose name tag says Rachel walks over. “May I take your order, hon?”

“Yeah, can I get Bill’s famous burger and a coke please. Also add fries.”

“I’ll have it for you in a few moments,” she says as she walks away still writing in her tiny notebook.

As I look down at my kindle app and go to open my latest romance read, I feel the hair on my arms rise. Looking up from my book, I see his boots first. My eyes travel up the large body standing beside my table.

I flinch knowing my eyes are going to land on his dark intense ones staring back at me, likely pissed off.

“Olivia. Why are you avoiding me?” Mason asks.

Trying to look away, my eyes dart around the room and notice everyone in town is watching us. Elenor, Rachel, Dale and Darlene, the owners of the diner, Mrs. Harrison, Mr. Patrick—all are watching, forkfuls of food and drinks paused mid-air.

“That’s none of your business, Mason.”

The big sexy ogre leans forward, placing his hands on my table. “Everything about you is my business, Liv.” His eyes bore into mine.

“Please stop. Everyone is watching us,” I whisper.

“Good. Then they can see this,” he says as he leans forward and grabs both sides of my face, crashing his lips into mine.

The man kisses me, sticking his tongue right inside my mouth in front of the Gossip Squad and everyone else in town.

Our tongues dance a fierce and desperate battle for control.

It’s a battle I know I’m going to lose, and I feel the moment my body gives in to his onslaught.

His soft lips on mine send an electric shock down my spine.

When Mason pulls away, his thumb comes up and rubs across my bottom lip as I stare into his eyes, stunned.

“Bye, Crayola. I’ll be seeing you soon,” Mason states.

He didn’t just kiss me. He branded me and claimed me for all the town to see. My cheeks burn, and when we separate, I hide behind my rainbow streaks of hair. The asshole turns and walks out of The Greasy Skillet, leaving me trembling, and everyone’s eyes are glued on me, waiting for a reaction.

Grabbing my purse, I stand up, throw a twenty on the table for the food I won’t get to eat, and run out the door of the restaurant like my ass is on fire. Dammit, my stomach growls as I make my way to the door, the buzzing hive of judgment from the diner patrons loud behind me.

Great! Mason and I will be the talk of the entire town before the sun sets.

A man doesn’t make a claim on a woman in the middle of a town like Magnolia Falls without the rumors spreading.

I’ve heard the other women in town talk about how Mason’s known for not having any relationships but plenty of one-night stands.

I’ve even heard jokes about how he is hung like a horse, and even though the women knew they weren’t getting a call the next day, it was worth it because he was a god in bed.

Every time I walk by and hear the chatter, it pisses me off. Someone else knows what it feels like to be held by him, and fucked by him, and yet I can’t have him.