“Certainly. I know you’ll be respectful of our property and our people. And I’d love to introduce you around.” He glanced at her with a gleam in his eye and a curve to his lip, his gaze roving over her body.
Good heavens, he certainly acted differently when Loch wasn’t around, she thought. Should she go? Maybe it was a way to encourage friendlier relations with the Panther nation.
Then again, he was acting downright flirtatious. Exactly how friendly did the panther leader want to get with her?
Ginger never had a chance to find out, because at that very moment, the sheriff pulled into the parking lot, and he did not look happy.
He glanced over at Montgomery, and nodded at him.
“You’re needed back at the office,” he told Ginger. “It’s urgent.”
She smiled apologetically at Montgomery. “Perhaps some other time,” she said.
“Any time at all. You know where to find me.”
She climbed into the sheriff’s car, baffled by the odd change in Montgomery’s demeanor.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, the sheriff snapped “What the hell was that? He was flirting with you!”
Ginger nodded, bewildered. “He was, wasn’t he? That was a really strange encounter.”
“Why were you even talking to him?”
She related what had just happened that morning, and the sheriff shook his head angrily. “That was a terrible idea, Ginger. By the way, Tommy Deerkiller is the one that we suspect of being the professor’s inside man.”
“What?” Ginger gasped. “I had no idea!”
“I can’t tell you everything that’s happening with the investigation. You shouldn’t have gone out there without consulting with me first.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I was worried that Brenda would go onto the panther’s territory and they’d kill her or kidnap her, like they did the professor.”
“I don’t think they would. The professor was deliberately antagonizing them, and he clearly went on their property to steal artifacts. That wouldn’t be the case with Brenda.” The sheriff sighed. “Not that it would be a good idea to have her go on their property when tensions are running so high.”
Ginger suddenly realized that they were driving down an unfamiliar road, headed for the driveway of a blue clapboard bungalow-style house.
“Where are we?” she asked.
The sheriff blinked in surprise. “Oh. I took you to my house. I wasn’t even thinking.”
He parked the car in front of his house and turned to her, exasperation on his face. He grabbed her hand, and at the touch of his skin she felt the familiar sizzle of attraction burning through her. “I just can’t think straight when I’m around you,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I barely slept last night.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I really am. I’m just trying to protect my family, and keep the peace with my Alpha.”
“I’ll talk to him again,” Loch said, his hand closing around hers. “I can’t let you go. You’re what I’ve been looking for all of my life. You’re like the puzzle piece that I didn’t realize was missing.” His thumb moved across the back of her hand. Ginger’s breathing quickened, and heat flared between her thighs.
She glanced at the house.
“So,” she said. “Here we are. At your house. Just you and me.”
“I’d be rude if I didn’t offer you a guided tour,” he said.
“Yes, that would be very rude.”
“Just a quick tour,” he promised. She followed him into the house, cursing her complete lack of willpower. Loch was harder to resist than chocolate, and that was saying a lot.
The sheriff’s house was decorated with a spare, masculine style, with handmade wooden furniture and a deer’s skull with antlers over the flagstone fireplace. A floor to ceiling window looked out on a riot of tropical greenery, with red flowering hibiscus splashed in a blaze of color amidst orange trees and palmettos.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“It could use a woman’s touch,” he said, bending to kiss her neck, and then nipping it gently. “Know any women who might be interested in helping me redecorate?”
She laughed. “I imagine there’s no shortage of volunteers.”
“I have very particular tastes. She’d have to be a sexy redhead with a smart mouth and a good heart and a very voluptuous body. And a fondness for spankings.”
Loch pulled Ginger up against him and hugged her, hard. “You were a very bad girl, going to the souvenir shop without asking me first,” he murmured in her ear.
“Yes, I was.” Ginger’s voice was husky with desire. “Are you going to punish me?”
“Walk over to the couch.” He released her and stepped away.
Legs trembling with anticipation, she walked over.
“Now bend over the arm.”
She did as he commanded, lying with her head turned to the side, face pressed against the sofa cushion, and her buttocks raised up in the air. She could feel the deep ache of need pulsing between her legs, and she let out a low, helpless moan. Waiting for him was sweet torture.
The sheriff grabbed the hem of her skirt and yanked it down, and then did the same with her underwear.