A Mate for the Sheriff (Shifter-Match.com Book 4) Read online

  “You cleaned up the area. No one would run against you. You’re too good at your job, so it is what it is.” She shrugged. “You are strict and you can be an ass from what I’ve been told, but then again there are a lot of falsehoods that fly through Shifter Falls, aren’t there?” she asked with a smile.

  “True enough. The trick is determining what’s truth and what’s lie in everything that goes around town. It’s amazing what one can discover the moment they find that tiny thread and give it a tug. After all, there’s not a soul in this town that is exactly who they appear to be on the surface once you dig down a little further.”

  For a split second she feared he might be talking about her, but she buried that down and knew he couldn’t be. She had carefully hidden her tracks and was powerful in her own right. “So from what I understand the council is sending you another secretary. Are you ready for that? They’ll probably drive you batshit crazy, because the ones I’ve seen coming in and out for interviews with them have been idiots. If I didn’t know better, I would swear they were trying to get you to quit or something.”

  “I’m ninety-nine percent positive that is their goal. Won’t work. If I can survive the rampant stupidity that is our youth in this town, then I can survive whatever air-headed bimbo they lob my direction. No offense to the rest of womankind, but the ones they send my way are not exactly sterling representatives for your gender.”

  She snickered. “Well, just don’t hesitate to kick whoever it is out if they pee themselves when they first meet you. From what I understand, that’s happened more than once?”

  “Three times, if you want to be specific. It really isn’t that hard of a position, and it’s not like I chain them down to whip them or anything. Don’t believe that rumor either,” he advised. Slowing down, he turned onto the road leading out to her house and took it with familiarity, easily missing all the potholes even in the dark.

  “Have you been down my road before?” she asked, turning so that she could look at him. “You’re missing all the potholes.” It was sad, but when he mentioned tying someone down and using whips it made her all kinds of horny. Damn. Knowing he was a shifter made it hard for her. She could only pray that he didn’t smell her desire. “So, I know this is a rude question, but you know that I was born to witch parents and have no abilities, that I’ve been labeled human, so what are you?” Yep, she went there just that bluntly.

  He gave her a slow grin that only made her want to squirm desperately in her seat. Damn but his slightly crooked smile should be labeled for the safety of all women on the planet. “Wouldn’t you and everyone else like to know? Maybe one day I’ll tell you, Ms. Morris. But not tonight. As to the roads, I’ve driven them all repeatedly over the years. I grew up here, something the grapevine should know but likes to leave out. Left when I was ten, when my parents decided to get out for reasons of their own. Turned out they were not exactly upstanding citizens, and at age fifteen I became a ward of the state until I was kicked out at eighteen. Joined the Marines, did a few tours, and when I got out I connected with an old friend who happened to be the mayor of my hometown and asked me to come back here to kick some asses and take some names.”

  “And here you are.” She cocked her head to the side. “Why do you not tell anyone what you are, though? Here in Shifter Falls we have just about every animal there is. Well, except for the sabertooths that were thankfully run off last Christmas.” It had been bad, very bad. Most of the town didn’t even realize how close they’d all come to dying when that pack had petitioned to become part of Shifter Falls.

  “A little mystery never killed anyone. Besides, the town uses it as a fundraiser at the winter festival each year, and it’s entertaining to see what everyone guesses. Since it’s always done in a manner that I’m the only one to see the ballots, no one knows what anyone else has guessed unless they actually discuss it. A few folks have attempted to trick me into telling them, but it’s one of the few tables that makes a ton of money. Why ruin it all by telling anyone?”

  “True. But what’s to say that you aren’t fixing the ballots and not admitting it when someone gets the guess right? Anyway, I just hope that one day you’re able to let your beast out. It’s not good for shifters to stay cooped up in their human bodies all the time.”

  “Oh, I don’t stay all cooped up. I just pick my moments to let the beast out for some fun.” With that cryptic statement, he made the final turn onto the drive that ended in her front yard. He pulled to a stop, then slid out and came around to open her door. He even offered her a hand down before walking her to her door. “I am also an officer of the law. Fixing ballots is beneath me and is wrong. That goes against every moral fiber of my being. Besides, with how the people around here guess at things, I’ll be four hundred years dead before they even get close.”

  That had her laughing and she shook her head. “Well, I’m sure you have your reasons for keeping your animal secret, so I’m not going to ask again. Thanks for getting me home safely and having them come pick up my car.” She chewed her lower lip and looked toward her house. She shouldn’t ask him for anything. Whatever beast that was inside of him didn’t recognize her as its mate, so the less time she spent with him the better. Yet, she turned to him and said, “Listen, I know that this is a lot to ask, but could you maybe pick me up in the morning and take me to the county offices? I have to work and since I have no car, please?”

  “It would be my pleasure.” The sheriff tipped his hat her way and headed back toward his SUV. Near the door, he paused to look back at her and called out, “I’ll see you at seven fifteen. That should be enough time for you to get your morning coffee and Danish, if I remember correctly, unless you’d like me to be here at a different time.”

  “How would you know that?” she demanded. “I’ve never seen you when I’ve gotten my coffee or morning Danish. Heavens, I hardly see you around at all.” Seemed that he really paid her a lot of attention. God only knew she paid him attention at every single possible turn.

  His deep chuckle did things to her insides that nearly had her knees buckling. Forcing the joints to lock, she fought for air. “I see all, I know all, and I hear all. I’ll see you in the morning, Ms. Morris. Sweet dreams,” he said with a hint of a growl. She caught a feral glint in his eyes before it disappeared along with him into the truck. A second later he was turning around to head back up to the road, leaving her there panting on her doorstep.

  Goodness, Sheriff McHotty was seriously going to be hard on her soul. Tonight, just like that first time he had touched her, she’d felt the zing of power arcing from his hand to hers. That and the way his aura seemed to bend toward hers and blend only confirmed what she’d known for so long now. He was definitely her mate. What she couldn’t understand was why he didn’t realize it. She sighed. It was just as well that he was clueless.

  For the next hour, she put it out of her mind so she could get ready for bed and the coming morning. For his protection, she had to play it cool. If he didn’t realize she was his mate, she needed to keep it that way. Even though she came from a family of royals, she had to consider that she might not be protected if anyone ever found out exactly what she was. No, she would probably die and if she mated Sheriff McHotty, he would die with her. She couldn’t do that to him. So she made up her mind. As soon as she got to work in the morning, she needed to arrange for a rental car until she had hers back, because being near the sheriff was not a good idea, not if she wanted to keep him alive and her heart intact. It was the safest thing for both of them, period.

  Chapter Three

  At precisely seven fifteen the next morning Jessica heard a vehicle pulling into her yard. Peeking out the window, she got to watch the sheriff walk toward her door. When he was nearly there, Novak stopped and turned to look directly at her. She was pretty sure she saw his lips twitch a second before she jerked back having been caught red-handed watching him. A heavy knock sounded on the door a second later.

  Jessica put her back to
the wall and breathed in and out for a few seconds. Once she had her racing heartbeat under control, she opened the door and invited him in. “I have fresh coffee. If you want any, that is. I also have a go-cup you can take with you so that it doesn’t spill all over your car.”

  “Messing with your schedule, Ms. Morris. Shame on you.” He stepped in further to allow her to shut the door, then followed her to the kitchen. “I definitely won’t refuse coffee. It’s what fuels the sheriff’s department, don’t you know.” He accepted the go-cup from her and filled it before screwing on the lid and taking a sip of the brew.

  “I’ll be fine, so don’t worry about me.” She had her coffee in hand as well and picked up her purse and keys. “I’m as ready to go as I’m going to be. Are you ready?” she asked with a smirk. “Because you look very comfortable leaning there against the wall like you are.” He seemed to fill her kitchen to max capacity and beyond.

  “It’s a solid wall, and the view is superb. What more could a man ask for at this hour of the day?” Pushing off, he waved her toward the door, once more following on her heels. Outside he moved to his SUV while she locked up, then helped her into the passenger seat when she joined him. A minute later they were on the road into town. “I talked to Mick this morning. He had to order the part in for your car, but he said he should have it by tomorrow. He has a loaner for you, if you’d like, or I can continue to be your chauffeur. Personally, I’m leaning toward option two. More opportunities to try and figure out just who you are, Ms. Morris.”

  “Are you flirting with me, Sheriff?” she quipped instead of answering his question. She would have to decline his offer—make her excuses—and she would, just … not yet. To buy herself a little more time, she settled back against the seat and took a sip of coffee. “So tell me, what exactly is it that you want to learn about me? I’m pretty much an open book, and I’m willing to do or tell you just about anything if you ask me nicely.” He had asked her nicely, but she liked being able to give him a hard time and see the way his jaw clenched ever so slightly. At the same time she reminded herself that she needed to not let this go past a certain point, because he couldn’t realize he was her mate. There was no future that included the two of them, together. But it was damn hard to remind herself of that fact when she was sitting next to him.

  “Oh the possibilities you’ve opened up with that simple statement. And I want to learn everything, my dear. Absolutely everything there is to know about who Ms. Jessica Morris is. What she was like as a young girl, her dreams, fondest memories, and deepest desires. No detail is too small.”

  For several long moments, Jessica hardly dared to breathe. Then she replied, in as even a tone as she could manage, “I’m a woman who was born into a family of witches, born without power. And a witch without power is one who isn’t welcome. I spent some time with my grandmother in Ireland, and then she sent me back to my mother in Salem. Eventually, I ended up here,” she said, deciding to skip neatly over anything too personal, like her deepest desires. And she didn’t mention anything about exactly who her family was. That was a whole different can of worms that she refused to open up, wounds that she didn’t want to tear open because they were still far too raw. “I’ve been working for the Shifter Falls town council since I was in high school. I think the mayor at the time felt bad for me because I was an eighteen-year-old on my own, in my senior year of high school. He took me in and gave me a job. I worked my way up from sweeping floors to what I’m doing now. What he didn’t realize was that I had been on my own for the last two years prior to that, living right under their noses and working under the table at the diner. Fun, right?” she asked with a grin that was only a little forced.

  Novak gave her a sidelong look and hummed softly. “Not quite the word I’d use, but it is interesting information that helps fill in a couple blanks. Not all of them, but some things are better discussed behind closed doors. Now, before I forget, do we need to stop for your Danish?”

  Except there wouldn’t be any closed-door anything for them. “If it’s not too much trouble,” she said cautiously. She went back in her mind about what he had asked her about the car. “Look, I appreciate all your help so far, but you don’t have to go out of your way to come and get me every morning and then take me home every night.” Oh, how it hurt to say those words, but it really was for the best. Every second she was with him she felt the pull to him stronger and stronger. Not only was she trying to mask her reaction to him, but she was also struggling to act as normally as possible so he would think she was human.

  “If Mick can get the part, it’s only two more trips, hardly any bother at all. Although I wouldn’t mind picking you up every morning and dropping you home each night. So less frowning and more smiling, Ms. Morris. That’s where the corners point up,” he said, giving her a comical demonstration.

  She gulped a mouthful of hot coffee before replying. “I realize what a smile is, but if you don’t stop calling me Ms. Morris, I might just have to start calling you Mr. Porter.” Against her better judgment, she found herself saying, “I think you and I have gotten past last name only, right? I’m Jessica. Say it with me, Sheriff, Jess-i-ca.” She loved the look on his face, and it was very nice to see him adjust his weapons belt, as if she had done something to have his pants tightening. Already she felt her resolve weakening. Hell, she was in so much trouble.

  “I’ve said your name more than once, Jessica. There’s no need for the sarcasm, and it’s Sheriff Porter, thank you very much. But for you it’s Novak. I like hearing the way you say my name with that breathless edge to it.” Jess felt her eyes go wide and caught the quick smirk he wiped away between one heartbeat and the next.

  “Well, Novak.” Damn, he was right. She did sound breathless when she said his name. Fuckity-fuck-fuck. She couldn’t do this. She had to hide that she knew he was meant to be hers. On the other hand, she could handle being around him for a couple of days, right? Two days, she promised herself. Two days, then she would let him go. She’d have a lifetime to stay away from him after that. “Well, are you sure it won’t be too much trouble, picking me up?”

  “You could never be any trouble.” He sent another glance her way, and this one with some sizzle behind it. His walkie talkie crackled before she could form a reply to that statement—and that look. Snatching up the radio, he clicked it and said, “Go ahead.”

  Almost immediately, a response came then from the dispatcher. “Seven-ninety-five Monroe Road, drunk and disorderly. They are asking for you as the lead on this one.”

  “Copy that.” Then he glanced to her. “How firm are your hours with the council, Jess? I may need to have a deputy shuttle you off.”

  “I think I can handle being late once. While they might not necessarily care for you, I’ve never been late, so they can suck it.” Another mile passed before she told him, “You’re an amazing sheriff. The way you and the other alphas handled that thing last Christmas was impressive. And you are an alpha. I can feel it from you.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “Most folks tend to curse me when I’m doing my job, unless it’s saving their asses, and then it ranges from boredom to hyperventilation, with the occasional teary session in the middle. Few rarely compliment me off the cuff like that, at least in regards to the job. I’ve had more than a couple tourists hit on me. I have no idea why, either, but they still do, usually right before I hand them a speeding ticket.”

  “Are you serious?” Jessica nearly spewed her coffee when he said that he didn’t know why women hit on him. “Are you really blind? Novak, they hit on you because you are very handsome.” She looked at his hands, at the tattoos that ended at his wrists, and smiled. “And women love tattoos.”

  Novak appeared startled by her words, then frowned slightly. “Can’t do much about the looks. Just good genetics and all that, along with the years in the Marines that gave me a workout routine that works for me.”

  He made a turn onto another street before sliding a look her way. “Compare
d to you, I couldn’t hold a candle. Even the hair works, though I have to ask how the hell you managed to get it all those jewel colors without it looking like a royal mess. It suits you.”

  Jessica blushed at his compliment. “It takes the hairdresser hours. She fans my hair out on a large board and does each color separately. She’s gotten it down to a science over the years.” She tucked a length of her hair behind her ear. “I know that this is small and petty, but I do my hair like this because I like to be able to tweak the council’s nose from time to time. It’s hilarious to see the looks on their faces when I have it touched up.” She didn’t know what else to say. The fact that he thought she was attractive was just another sign that they were meant to be together. Like she needed yet another reminder of how good things could be. Dear God, how long could she fight him? Fight the attraction? What would happen if she couldn’t? She was already cursing herself for giving in and accepting his offer of transportation to and from work. How in the hell was she going to make it through the next two days? She supposed she could always back out, opt for the loaner car Mick had offered instead, but she knew that would only pique Novak’s interest more. He’d expect an explanation, and there wasn’t anything she could say that wouldn’t arouse his suspicion or give away how she felt about him.

  Again, his gaze skimmed over her hair. “I can see those tight ass old farts getting bent about it.” Pulling to a stop, he turned off the truck but left the keys in the ignition. “Stay put, this won’t take too long. Back soon,” he said.

  Novak slipped from the truck and moved toward the walk leading up to the house. He didn’t head up immediately. Instead he stood watching the house and, if she wasn’t mistaken, also listening, given the tilt of his head. A deputy’s vehicle pulled up to the curb and two she recognized stepped out. Novak waved them around toward the back while he went up to the front door.