Sweet Hill Homecoming (Sweet Hill 1)

Cam slid the drinks to Mia and said, “These are on the house.”

Tate wanted to roll his eyes. Of course they were.

She returned the smile, then her glare was back on Tate.

“Understand one thing, Deputy,” she reached behind him to pick up the drinks Cam put down for her, brushing her breasts against his torso and Tate would bet—hoped—it was on purpose, “I don’t get rejected.”

With the sexiest, scariest smile he’d ever seen a woman give, she took a sip of her drink and walked away.

Damn if Tate didn’t believe her.

~

Mia was fuming. Partly because Tatum West was everything controlled and unbreakable, and partly because her “attraction to him was based solely on uniform” theory went right out the window. Even in jeans and a white tee-shirt the man looked edible.

Though she liked the Stetson, he went without tonight, showcasing thick black hair and matching five o’clock shadow.

When she was pushed into him, a jolt of heat slithered up her body and the urge to close that last couple millimeters and kiss him was overwhelming. For a second she could have sworn he wanted her too. But then a terrible look soured his face and he brushed her aside like she was toxic.

“Whoa, what just bit your ass?” Annie said, as Mia made her way back to her, Jen and Luke.

“The Deputy bit my ass, actually.” She took a long swallow of her drink.

“Sounds hot,” Jen said.

Luke laughed. “That’d be a first for Tate. But good for him. I told him he needed a woman.”

Annie elbowed Luke in the stomach which only made him chuckle harder.

“Oh, he needs something,” Mia grumbled. “Like a personality transplant.”

“Well, speaking of men, Cam over there has been glancing at you since you walked in.” Jen waved a little.

Mia followed Jen’s glance at him. He was attractive enough. She remembered him always being cute back in high school. Judging by the ladies swarming around him, his bartender brother, and Tate, Mia wasn’t alone in her observation. But she had her eye on just one man.

Tate radiated so much male testosterone and swagger it was almost hypnotic. Almost. Too bad she both knew better and how stubborn he could be.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she wanted all the conflicting feelings for the Deputy to disappear. Only when she opened her eyes, she saw him loop one thumb along the top of his belt clasp, flashing a look of that worn black leather that lined his hips and giving him the stance of a care-free sex on a stick that was all man, all ego, and all wrong for her.

Try as she might, Tate West and his swagger, wasn’t going anywhere near her.

As if on cue, Cam walked over with a second round for all of them. “This is compliments of Jen being awesome and returning my wallet and not ripping me off,” he said.

“Rip you off? You had like eleven bucks…not that I went through your wallet or anything,” Jen joked.

Cam smiled, his country boy charm flashing and while she could see how it would work on the ladies, it didn’t do a thing for her. If she could focus, maybe she could try to relax. But there was a pair of dark eyes glaring at her from across the room. Tate had her all wired with annoyance, anger and this stupid buzz of lust. She was ready to go

punch him in the face for making her feel so off.

And so painfully needy.

She took a deep breath and clamped her thighs together, attempting to ward off the heat that was growing since she walked in there tonight and laid eyes on Tatum.

“You like being home?” Cam asked.

“Yeah. Still settling in. Parts of me miss the city,” she replied honestly, flashing a look at Tate.

Cam nodded. “Well, you’re back now.”