A Kept Woman. Sheri WhiteFeather
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commanding personality, she thought. The way he made her knees weak and her nipples hard. “I wouldn’t compare a deputy marshal to a mobster.”
“I sure as hell hope not.” He trapped her against the counter again, watching her the way a spider watched a fly. “What drew you to him? What was it?”
The same things that drew her to Zack, she thought. The same overpowering ingredients that lured her into his web. “He gave me a place to stay whenever my mother kicked me out.”
“He was just trying to get into your pants. Pulling the friend routine until he earned your trust.”
And what was Zack doing? she wondered. What was the deputy marshal’s agenda? “I thought he loved me.”
“He sure had your number.”
Natalie wasn’t about to disagree. She’d been putty in David’s hands. Or Play-Doh, she supposed, considering how young she’d been. “Love stinks.”
“Amen to that.”
She set her coffee aside, and he drained his cup and put it in the sink. “I guess you’ve been there,” she said.
He shrugged, and she wondered if his heart had turned cold, if he hated the woman he’d married.
He reached into his jacket for a cigarette. After shaking one from the pack, he stuck it in the corner of his mouth. “Can I smoke in here? Or do I have to go outside?”
She almost gave him permission to light up, then thought better of it. David used to smoke in the condo he’d provided for her, but this was different. She had a voice now. She didn’t have to cater to a man’s needs. “Outside.”
“That’s what I figured.” He headed for the French doors that led to the barbecue deck.
Natalie followed, although she wasn’t sure why. Maybe she needed some air. Or maybe she just wanted to question him the way he’d questioned her.
They stood on the redwood planks, the sun at their backs. The lighter Zack had struggled with earlier ignited on the first try, and he lit the cigarette and inhaled.
“What’s your ex-wife’s name?” she asked.
He gave her a pissed-off look and she wondered if smoke was going to come out of his nose.
“Who the hell cares,” he said.
“I do.”
“You’re just trying to pay me back for interrogating you.”
His observational skills annoyed her, but she figured it was part of his training, part of his lawman’s psyche. “Why do you have to be such an ass?”
When he raised his eyebrows at her, she knew she’d gotten his goat. Score one for the mistress, she thought.
“Her name is Ida.”
“Ida?”
He nodded. “Ida-Humped-Another-Guy.”
Natalie couldn’t help but laugh. Trust Zack. “You did?”
He laughed, too. “No. Ida did.”
“Is that really her name?”
“Truthfully?” He flicked his ashes. “It’s Raquel.”
Suspicious, she tilted her head. “For sure?”
“Yep. That’s her. Mrs. Wreak-Hell.”
“Knock it off.” Without thinking, she took a playful jab at his shoulder.
He grinned and nudged her right back, knocking her off balance. She regained her footing and realized they were flirting. He seemed to realize it, too. All too quickly, they both sobered. And then neither of them could think of anything to say. Not a single word. Just awkward silence.
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