Something has the hair on my neck standing as I hear the bell ding, signaling the departure of another happy customer. Turning slowly, I glance over my shoulder. There he is in all his glory, sunlight streaming and glinting off his golden hair. Kenton is watching me too. Isn't that something. The memory of his handsome face, watching me with longing, will stay with me forever.
His blue eyes widen as he sees me looking his way, recognizing that I’m aware of his lingeri
ng gaze. His lips part in surprise as he holds my gaze a moment longer, pinning me in place. After a long moment, he turns and steps off the pavement, ducking into his police cruiser.
Well, isn't that interesting. Perfect Sheriff Kenton Traverse is lusting after a young woman twenty years his junior. God, do I love a good sexy age-gap romance. Now that I have his attention, the only question remains: Who should make the first move?
Chapter Two
Kenton
What the hell am I thinking? Lucy Knight is essentially untouchable. Hell, she went to school with my daughter. She was in high school just a couple of months ago. That's weird, right? Scratching my jaw as I drive down the main street. She sure has grown into a fine woman, though. I haven't seen her in a little while. Not since the weather got cold. I have done my best to avoid her after I realized I was developing feelings for her.
I didn't want to be a creep. She is friends with Charlie, so of course, she came over and had sleepover parties and pool parties at the house. I remember one night last summer in particular. Lucy had walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water in the middle of the night. I was awake cleaning my gun at the table. She wore only a thin cotton track tee shirt and tiny running shorts.
She was seventeen, long and lean, and her legs had a nice glow from summer training. She must have noticed me noticing her because she looked at me with those big soft brown eyes when she turned from the sink. It was a knowing look, a womanly look. I quickly turned away and focused on my gun, not bothering to talk to her. She had no shame, though, she never did. She walked straight up to the table, sat next to me, and allowed one of her lean legs to rest against my thigh.
I stiffened in automatic response. Lucy was barely more than a child, despite the womanly shape of her.
"What are you doing, Chief?" she asked, her voice low and surprisingly sexy.
"Cleaning," I said shortly. I didn't want to be blatantly rude, but I'd be damned if I was going to encourage things with her.
"You have nice hands," she said, her eyes watching the way I competently disassembled and cleaned my weapon. "They're long. Confident. I like that," she said simply, then rose from the table and looked back at me from behind the long curtain of brown hair.
From that night on, I did my best to avoid her. I couldn't risk these feelings while she was a minor, and now that she's eighteen, I don't feel I can act on them now either.
If I'm honest with myself, I didn't even realize that it was Lucy. I didn't know she works at the convenience store, and if I did, I would surely have waited until she’s off.
When I saw her bent over sorting through boxes, I thought it was some new girl in town, just working for the summer. I had taken the time to admire the long legs and the shape of the firm ass. I had even, just for a moment, imagined yanking those hips against me, and driving myself into the woman. If I had known it was Lucy, I would never have taken the time to admire her firm backside. Would I?
Who am I kidding? I have to think about her. She’s inside my head. She really is incredible to look at. Her long brown hair is always glossy and thick, and I find myself wondering what it would be like to take it firmly and clutch a handful of it as I yank her against me in a sizzling kiss that would leave her weak, breathless, and pliable against me. Under me. I can feel myself growing hard at the thought.
It's those large soft brown eyes, though, that get to me. They leave me with feelings of desire that I haven't felt in quite some time. Honestly, I haven't felt anything for anyone since my divorce. I haven't really taken the time to look around town; instead, I choose to focus on my career and my wonderful daughter Charlie. Thinking of Charlie always makes me smile; the image of her face has me relaxing. Although she’s a woman now, she will forever be my little girl. There it is again, little girl.
How can I think of a girl two years younger than my own daughter as sexy and alluring? Oh God. What would Charlie think if she found out? What would the people in town say? This is all the more reason I should put my thoughts of Lucy Knight out of my mind. No good can come of it. For chrissake, just a couple of months ago, she was jailbait. The concept of jailbait has me laughing and shaking my head as I park my police cruiser.
Oh, boy, am I in trouble, I think as I walk up the concrete steps to the sheriff's department.
I will need to find a way to get her out of my mind. Maybe Chelsea is right; perhaps it’s time for me to start dating. If I can find someone my own age, then I will think less about the alluring young woman in tight denim.
"Good morning, Chief," calls a familiar voice from behind a desk.
"Good morning, Sergeant," I say with a nod.
Sergeant Fleming is my right-hand man and my most trusted person on the force. Fleming and I go way back to our days at the Academy.
Honestly, I don't know what I would do without him. Though that is something, I will never share. I am a private man and prefer solitude to social events, reading to dates, hiking to parties. If I'm not patrolling the city that I love, you can find me fishing in the river.
You know what, forget finding a woman my own age, I'm just gonna go fishing.
Walking back to my office, I notice the worn leather chair. The chair has been in the department for decades and has been used by myself, my father before me, and my great-uncle before that. Being a police officer is in my blood, and my family lives and breathes the blue-collar lifestyle. Traverse men pride themselves on loyalty, dedication, and justice. After all, those are the words on the family crest—loyalty, dedication, justice.
Would I be violating those heavy words if I allow my thoughts to wander to a younger, more vulnerable woman?
Sighing heavily to myself, I begin to pace my little office. Who am I kidding? Fishing won’t get Lucy out of my head. Nothing will, except having her in my bed. God, I want her in my bed. Just the words "Lucy" and "bed" had me feeling weak and then hard with desire.
There have been so many times that I have imagined her in my bed. It shames me to admit it, even to myself, but the night she sat next to me at the table, I wasn't able to push those thoughts aside. I went straight to my room and stood under a cold shower, hoping it would dull the ache that she stirred within me. It did nothing, though, I remember now, closing my eyes to relive the memory.