An Officer and a Maverick

“Okay, I have to go now. Looks like you’re fine.”

“I still feel nauseous. What if I have to throw up?”

“Do what you have to do.” And he would do the same, which meant getting out of here, away from her. “And right now I have to go make rounds and investigate that assault-and-battery incident. I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone.”

“Solitary will be an improvement.” She folded her arms over her chest, trying to look bored.

“Be sure to put that on the customer satisfaction survey.”

But Russ was sure some vulnerability was trickling out. And with that thought he knew it was past time to get the hell away from her. He moved the short distance to the barred door at the same time feeling his jeans pocket for the key. The familiar outline of the metal wasn’t in the usual place so he dug deeper. It wasn’t there. He checked his left pocket then the back ones.

Nothing.

“That’s the damnedest thing.”

“Is there a problem?” She didn’t sound the least bit anxious.

“I don’t have the key.” He met her gaze, waiting for her to mock this turn of events.

Lani held her breath, waiting for Russ to figure out that she’d taken his keys and shoved them under the “yoga mat.” She was feeling very bold for some reason and figured she had nothing to lose. The plan was conceived in desperation, and she didn’t expect to get away with it, but couldn’t think of any other way to stop him from arresting her brother.

“I guess you forgot to put the keys in your pocket. And that’s understandable considering how crazy it is out there. It feels like a horror movie—night of the living party-animal apocalypse.”

One corner of his mouth tilted up, and for a moment she thought he was going to give her one of his adorable smiles. But he seemed to catch himself then pulled his cell phone from a back pocket.

“I’ll just give Gage a call.” He pushed some keys and frowned. “Apparently, water and sensitive electronic devices are incompatible.”

“I’m so sorry.” And she really was. Ruining his phone hadn’t crossed her mind when all she could think about was helping her brother. And the longer Russ was distracted with her, the better it would be for Anderson. So she was kind of glad he couldn’t call the sheriff. “I’ll pay for a new phone,” she offered.

He glared at her. “I don’t suppose you have one that works.”

“I do. Because it’s at home.”

“A likely story.”

“Seriously?” She glanced down at her dress and realized the still-damp cotton made her body half a step from being naked. She should be embarrassed, but that tendency toward boldness was still firing on all cylinders. “I rode to the park with my parents and left my purse at home. And really, if I had one on me, it would be as wet as yours. It would also have to be somewhere a gentleman wouldn’t go looking for it.”

“No one would accuse me of being a gentleman, but you’re right about one thing. There’s no point in searching even if you’re lying.”

“Well, that hurts my feelings.”

“Which part?” he asked.

That she was a liar? Or her body was not interesting enough? “Both.”

But what was that saying about poking an angry bear? Lani had lost count of all the times Russ Campbell had been at the Ace in the Hole with Gage Christensen and never talked to her. She’d asked Gage about him and knew Russ was a detective on the Kalispell Police Department and had moved back to Montana from Denver. No one knew why.

Now she was finally having a conversation with him, but it was about her being deceptive and lacking even a speck of sex appeal. That was disappointing and humiliating in equal parts. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, now there was every reason to believe he really didn’t like her. Well, he was pretty cute, but that didn’t stop her from being a little annoyed with him right now, too.

He sighed. “I just meant that if you had a phone, yours wouldn’t work, either.”

“It’s really not important,” she finally said.

That all-seeing hazel gaze of his narrowed on her. “You’re one cool customer, Lani Dalton.”

“Oh?” Cool as in attractive, intriguing and alluring? Or cool as in nervy and annoying?

“Yeah. I’ve seen women fall apart over being stopped for a speeding ticket, and you don’t seem the least bit upset about the fact that you’ve been arrested and locked up in jail.”

“So are you,” she reminded him.

“But I’m not in legal trouble.”

Okay, he won that round. She wasn’t too worried about the fountain dance, although after tonight probably a notice would be posted on it with a warning to keep out. But destroying his phone and helping herself to the jail cell keys could be a problem. Intellectually, she knew that, but her lovely buzz made it impossible to care.

“I’m not really worried. Ben Dalton is my father. You may have heard he has an excellent legal reputation.”

“Ah.” He nodded, but the tone and his expression hinted at a deep well of sarcasm.

“What does that mean?”

“That you’re the little princess. Rules don’t apply to you because daddy can find a loophole and make it all go away.” He moved back until bumping up against the bars stopped him.

Lani was pretty sure he was staying as far away from her as he could get, and it bummed her more than a little.

“You don’t know my father. Or me.” She didn’t much care about the angry defensiveness in her tone. Russ had gone out of his way not to know her. “He took an oath to uphold the law and wouldn’t compromise his principles. Ever. Not even for one of his children.”

That was the truth and probably why Anderson hadn’t said anything to anyone else in the family about his legal trouble and made her swear not to, either. She’d caught her brother at a weak moment, and he apparently had been feeling the stress of carrying this burden alone. That’s the only reason she knew.

Russ didn’t say anything, but clearly he wasn’t a happy camper. And who could blame him? Her cotton dress was drying faster than his jeans and T-shirt, and those boots were probably dead to him. She should offer to pay for those, too.

“Look, Russ—”

“I should be out there. Gage hired me to help him keep the peace with so much going on today, and now he’s alone.” He started pacing. “There’s no telling when he’ll check in. It might not be until morning what with half the town three sheets to the wind.”

Guilt weighed on Lani. If only she knew that Anderson and Travis had walked away and not escalated the situation, she would confess her sins and take her punishment. But she didn’t know and had to keep up her distraction as long as possible.

“Okay,” she said, “we’re stuck. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We should talk.”

The look he sent in her direction was ironic. “I suppose it was too much to hope we wouldn’t have to.”

“Are you always this mean or do I just bring out the worst in you?” She met his gaze and refused to look away. “We should get to know each other.”

“That’s really not a good idea—”

“It could be. You have an opinion of me. I have an opinion of you and maybe we’re both wrong. Attitude is everything. Think of it as an opportunity to make a better impression.” She refused to be put off by the stubborn, skeptical expression on his face. “Okay, I’ll start.”

Chapter Two

Russ stared long and hard at his prisoner. She was sitting on the bunk in a jail cell looking all wide-eyed and perky and pretty damned appealing. If she was the least bit intimidated by him or the situation, he couldn’t see it. Although as she’d so helpfully pointed out, he was locked in, too, which kind of took the starch out of his intimidation factor.

How the hell could he have forgotten to put the keys in his pocket before walking her in here? That wasn’t like him. The movement was automatic, muscle memory.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was probably right. It had been a crazy night, and there’d been a lot of calls to the sheriff’s office. He’d been busy, distracted.

Now he was uncomfortably and undeniably distracted by his “roomie,” who wanted to share personal information. Last time he’d checked, it wasn’t a cop’s job to spill his guts to a detainee.

“You want to join hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ because it’s not bad enough that we’re locked up together?” he asked.

“No.” She shifted on the bunk and spread out the damp skirt of her sundress. “Look, the fact is that we’re stuck in here, unless one of us can bend steel in their bare hands, and that sure isn’t me.”

“Superman. That’s just great.” He nodded grimly.

Doing the right thing had cost Russ his law enforcement career in Denver, but somehow that never seemed to happen to the legendary comic book superhero. And Lois Lane never dumped him when everyone else thought he was gum on the bottom of their shoe.

“Seriously, Russ, we don’t know how long it might be before someone comes looking.”

“I don’t think it will be that long before Gage checks in.” He hoped he was right about that, but the situation in the park hadn’t been quieting down when he’d brought Lani in.

“That’s just wishful thinking because obviously you don’t like me very much.”

“Arresting you wasn’t personal.” Russ figured it was best not to put a finer point on that statement by saying he didn’t want to like her. There was a difference. “It’s my job.”

“Whatever.” She met his gaze. “We could sit here in awkward silence. Or we can make conversation to help the time pass a little faster.”

He hated to admit it, but she had a point. “Okay. But if you say anything about braiding each other’s hair, I’m pretty sure my head will explode.”

“If only.” She gathered the stringy, drying strands of her long hair and lifted them off her neck. “I’d give anything to be able to brush this mess.”

“You should have thought of that before dancing in the fountain—”

She held up a finger to stop his words. “I thought we had a truce.”

“My bad.”

“Okay, then. Have a seat.” She patted the mattress next to her. “There’s nowhere else to sit in here. I’ll have to have a word with your decorator about what a conversation area should look like.”

He didn’t want to sit next to her but couldn’t say so or he’d have to explain why. And he didn’t quite understand that himself, other than the fact that he’d just arrested her. Since she occupied the center of the bunk and showed no inclination to move, he took the end, as far away from her as he could get.

Lani looked at him expectantly and when he didn’t say anything, she cleared her throat. “I was born here in Rust Creek Falls twenty-six years ago, number five of six children.”

“Braiding hair is starting to sound like a high-speed freeway pursuit.” When she laughed, the merry sound burrowed inside him, landing like a gentle rain that softened rock-hard soil.

“Compared to what you do my life is boring, but I like it. And I love this town.” She shrugged. “I live with my parents here in Rust Creek Falls and work on the family ranch, which is north of town. I do everything from mucking out stalls to riding fence and feeding stock.”

“What about working at the Ace in the Hole?”

“That’s part-time. Rosey Traven, the owner, is the best boss in the world.”

Russ had been in his share of bars and seen how badly guys who drank too much behaved. A woman as beautiful as Lani would be a first-class target for come-ons and drunken passes. The thought of some jerk hitting on her made him almost as mad as the water in his boots. But all he said was, “It probably gets rough in there.”

“It can sometimes. But Rosey’s husband, Sam, was a navy SEAL. He knows three hundred ways to immobilize a creep with a cocktail napkin.”

That made Russ feel a little better, but not much. “What do you like about the job?”

Her shrug did mind-blowing things to what was under the top part of that sundress. The material was thin, still damp, and he could almost see her breasts. They looked just about perfect to him and made his hands ache to touch her and find out for sure. And this wasn’t the first time he’d experienced that particular feeling around her, but he’d always made sure not to get too close.

“I’m a people person,” she finally said. “I like chatting with the regulars, and almost everyone in Rust Creek Falls comes in to hang out at some point or other. You know, guys’ nights, girls’ night out, poker games...or people just coming in for a burger and a beer. I like hearing what’s going on in their lives and apparently, that makes them want to talk to me.”

He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound.

“What’s funny?” she asked, a small frown marring the smooth skin of her forehead.

“My job is the polar opposite. I’m a detective for Kalispell PD, and no one wants to talk to me.”

“I see what you mean.” She smiled her happy, under-the-influence smile. “But can you blame them? It makes a difference when your job is selling drinks as opposed to interrogating a perp.”

“I suppose.”

She half turned toward him in her earnestness to make him understand. “I’m somewhere between a family counselor and confessor. People feel comfortable baring their heart and soul to me, and I take that as an obligation. I consider it part of my job description to offer sensible advice or sometimes to simply listen. Whatever the situation calls for.”

“I had no idea the job was so demanding.”

“Go ahead. Make fun.” There was annoyance in the look she settled on him. “But I think people trust me.”

“In what way?”

“Rust Creek Falls is a small town. Everyone knows everyone, and some people think that gives them the right to every last detail of a person’s life. But some things shouldn’t be spread around. I know the difference, and folks who know me know I’ll keep that sort of information to myself.”

“I know what you mean about a small town,” he said.

“How? Kalispell is a pretty big city compared to Rust Creek.”

“I grew up in Boulder Junction. It’s a small town about halfway between here and Kalispell.”

She nodded. “I know it. That’s farming country, right?”

“Yeah. My family has one. Mainly they grow wheat, corn and hay. But they have smaller crops, too.”

“Like what?”

“Apples. Potatoes. Barley.”

“Sounds like a pretty big farm.”

“Yeah.” One of the biggest in Montana.

“Family, huh? Does that mean you weren’t found under an arugula leaf?”

“It does.” The corners of his mouth turned up a little in spite of his resolve to keep his distance. “I actually have parents and siblings.”

“Plural?” she asked. “Boys? Girls?”

“Two brothers and a sister. I’m the oldest.” He didn’t usually talk this much, but there was something about Lani Dalton, something in her eyes that said she was sincerely interested. She was listening, and he didn’t even have to buy a drink, just arrest her for drinking too much.

“So you grew up in a small town, too. Have you done any traveling?” she asked.

“Some.”

“Lucky you. I’ve never really been anywhere.” There was a wistful expression in her eyes. “Have you ever thought about leaving Montana?”

“No.” Not since he’d come back from Colorado a couple years ago.

“Really?”

Russ had done enough interrogations to spot a technique for coaxing information out of someone who was reluctant to part with it. He wasn’t inclined to do that. “Really.”

She studied him for several moments then nodded, as if she knew the subject was closed. “Tell me about your brothers and sister. Anyone married? Do you have any nieces or nephews?”

“No to all of the above. What about you?”

“I have two sisters and three brothers. The oldest two were at Braden and Jennifer’s wedding—”

“What?” he asked when she stopped talking.

“Nothing.” But her body language changed. She sat up straighter and shook her head. There was something she didn’t want to talk about. “My brother Caleb got married last year. My sister Paige took the plunge the year before that, and now she and her husband have a baby boy.”

“Good for them.”

“Yeah, they seem happy. But I’m not sure it would work for me.”

On a night full of surprises, that might have been the biggest one yet. “Doesn’t every girl dream of a long white dress and walking down the aisle?”

She laughed. “I’m not every girl. And in case you didn’t get the memo, a woman doesn’t need a man to be happy and fulfilled.”

“Spoken like a woman who’s been dumped.” He was watching her and saw a slight tightening of her full lips, indicating he’d gotten that one right.

Irritated, she leaned in closer to make a point. “Is that observation based on crack investigative skill, Detective Campbell?”

“Nope. It’s based more on gut instinct.”

“Wow, who knew I was going to get locked up with Dr. Phil?”

“I have my moments.” He could feel the heat from her body and her breath on his cheek. The sensations were taking him to a place he was trying very hard not to go. “You know, Lani, it’s none of my business, but I don’t think you should let one bad experience sour you on marriage.”

“Why? Because you’re married and highly recommend it?”

“No.”

“Ever been married?”

“No.”

“Then how are you qualified to endorse marriage?”

“There’s a lot to be said for it.” He hoped that didn’t sound as lame as he thought, especially because it didn’t really answer the question. He just kind of liked the way her eyes flashed when she was annoyed. It made the green and gold flecks stand out, warm colors that hinted at the fire inside.

“Like what?” she demanded.

“Well...” He thought for several moments. “Having someone waiting for you at the end of the day.” He’d missed that when Alexis walked out on him. “Someone there to listen to you bellyache about the bad stuff. And celebrate the good.”

“I have girlfriends for that.” She slid a little closer, practically quivering with indignation. “Frankly, I don’t get the appeal of being with one person for the rest of your life. Guys just stand you up. Make promises they don’t intend to keep. I mean, seriously? The very expression—tying the knot. Sounds an awful lot like a noose around your neck.”

“You said yourself that marriage is working for your brother and sister,” he challenged.

“Yeah, well, those two always were the black sheep of the family. Who wants to be tied down? Take the plunge? Think about that. Every expression referring to wedded bliss has a negative connotation. And I don’t think I’d like having to answer to someone else when I want to come and go.”

If that’s what she wanted, why should it bother him? And that, in a nutshell, was the damn problem. It did bother him. The idea of her playing the field seemed wrong. When confronted with right and wrong, wrong tweaked his temper every time.

“You know what?” he said. “Forget I mentioned it.”

She rolled her eyes. “How come your badge is all bent out of shape? You brought it up.”

“No, you did,” he reminded her. “Asking about my family and telling me about yours.”

“I thought most guys wanted to be bachelors, but you’re the one pushing the perks of matrimony. I disagree with everything you said, and now you’re crabby—” She stopped. “Make that more crabby.”

She was full of intensity and obviously capable of strong feelings. More than his next breath he wanted to hold all that passion in his arms. And every rational part of his brain not drenched in testosterone was telling him to move as far away from her as he could get. The problem was the locked door meant he couldn’t go anywhere. Shutting down this conversation was his only choice.

“You are absolutely right. Being on my own is good. I like being on my own.” His face was only inches from hers. “The best thing about my life is not having any commitments.”

“A girl could get a serious case of whiplash the way you change your mind. Just what makes you so happy about not being committed?”

Before Russ even knew what was happening, he closed the small distance between them. “Because if I were committed, I couldn’t do this.”

He hadn’t planned to kiss her, didn’t know he was going to until his lips touched hers. But once it happened, he couldn’t seem to stop. She had, without a doubt, the sweetest mouth he’d ever tasted. He cupped her smooth, soft cheek in his hand, ready to go wherever she would take him. Her sigh of contentment said she’d take him somewhere special, make him forget where they were.

That thought was like getting a bucket of ice water dumped over his head. They were in jail, dammit. With an effort, he pulled back and dropped his hand. “I’m sorry. That was wrong.”

Lani blinked at him, trying to focus her fuzzy brain. “Why?”

“I’m an officer of the law. Using a position of power to take advantage of you is the very definition of sexual harassment. You have every right to be upset.”

Upset? Lani wasn’t the least bit upset. He’d finally noticed her! He’d kissed her and it felt really, really good. She wanted him to notice her some more. “I’m not upset.”

“Well, I wouldn’t blame you if you added sexual harassment to that false imprisonment complaint.”

“Why did you really stop?” She slid closer, until their thighs were touching, and her arm brushed his. The heat of just that small contact threatened to make her go up in flames.

“I’ve sworn to uphold the law. There are rules.” His voice was ragged, and he was breathing hard.

So was she. And right this moment she didn’t give a flying fig about rules.

“Maybe rules were made to be broken.” She searched his eyes for a moment and then leaned in and kissed him.

She felt his hesitation and heard him make a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a curse. Suddenly, he was kissing her back, touching her everywhere, and she was tugging the shirt from his waistband. All she could think about was getting closer. The sound of their ragged breathing filled the small space.

“Damn it. I don’t have protection.” Frustration snapped in his voice.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m on the pill.”

“Oh, thank God.”

He slid her dress up to her waist then yanked his shirt off and lowered his jeans. She couldn’t believe that he wanted her as much as she did him. Still, it seemed they’d been heading toward this since the moment he’d scooped her into his arms earlier. Never taking his mouth from hers, he gently lowered her to the mattress and slid her panties off. He ran his hand down her side, letting his fingers graze her breast. Everywhere he touched she caught fire, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Lani, I want you.” The words were hardly more than a breath against her lips.

All she could say was yes and that was all he needed to hear. When he tenderly and carefully entered her, she wrapped her legs around his waist. With every stroke he took her higher until pleasure exploded through her and she cried out from the sheer power of the feelings.

“Lani—” A groan cut off his words, and he went still then found his own release.

Their breathing slowed and returned to normal, the only sound in the small cell. Cuddled up to Russ, being held in his strong arms, made Lani decide that getting arrested wasn’t so bad, after all. She wasn’t sure what she’d been drinking at the wedding reception, but something had lowered her inhibitions and let her go for it.

And suddenly she was really sleepy and found her eyes sliding shut.

She wasn’t sure how long she dozed, but sometime later she felt him move.

“My arm is numb.”

Lani blinked her eyes open at the sound of the deep voice. It took her several moments to realize where she was. And what she’d done. What they’d done, right here in the cell. And he’d let her sleep, long enough for his arm to go numb. That was awfully sweet.

“We better get dressed.” Without waiting for a response, Russ rolled away from her and off the bunk. He picked up her panties and handed them to her. Then turned his back while she righted her clothes.