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

  Oh shit. She knew this house. A powerful warlock lived there. He was a complete asshole, but he was also someone that would be affected by her abilities if he were to get too close to her. Oh shit, she was in deep trouble. “Please don’t come out of the house. Please don’t come out of the house. Please don’t come out of the house,” she kept saying to herself as she sat there.

  Novak glanced toward her like he’d heard her, which was possible, maybe. He frowned at her, then lifted a hand to the radio clipped at his shoulder. A second later he banged on the door and she could hear him clearly announcing who he was.

  The door opened and several things happened all at once. The warlock was in the doorway in nothing more than a ratty pair of boxers with a snarl on his lips. His eyes quickly went wide with shock and up came his hands. Jessica went to yell a warning, but Novak merely reached out and gave the guy a shove back into the house hard enough she saw the warlock’s feet jerk up off the floor before he vanished inside, with Novak following at a sedate pace. The screen door slammed shut on his heels, and absolute silence descended on the neighborhood.

  Jessica watched the door with horror and put her hand over her mouth. The warlock had felt her nulling ability, she just knew it. She had a hard enough time suppressing it when she wasn’t stressed out. Hell. She couldn’t let that get out. They would kill her, happily. The coven here in Shifter Falls was fairly decent, but there were some old assholes in there that followed all of the old rules and edicts as if they were a religion, which she supposed they were. She was also worried for Novak. He had walked into that man’s home without even thinking twice about it. So there she sat, waiting for something to happen. To learn the fate of her mate and figure out if she was going to have to run or not.

  Five of the longest minutes of her life later, Novak walked out looking none the worse for wear. Still neatly pressed, not a pleat out of place, he calmly strolled down the sidewalk toward the truck. Behind him the deputies had the warlock in handcuffs and were mostly dragging his limp body toward their squad car to fold him in the back. Novak climbed in next to her and keyed the radio, telling the dispatcher that they were all clear and the deputies were bringing someone in. “Are you all right? You look tense, Jessica.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I was worried for you because I know that man is a warlock and know that he could have possibly hurt you, no matter what sort of animal you are.” She exhaled. “That’s new to me. I’m not used to worrying so much about others.”

  “All’s well,” he assured her. Reaching over, he touched her cheek. She leaned into the warmth, only then realizing how chilled she’d felt while he’d been inside the house. Just as quickly, she pulled away. “He was no problem to handle and will be spending some time in our county jail for his efforts. Now then, let’s get you your Danish and then get you to work before the council comes up with some new way to torture me.”

  Jessica did laugh then. She couldn’t help it. “Oh God, last I heard they were flying in an eighteen-year-old girl who graduated college online to be your assistant. I guess she’s a gum popping, nose picking, braless nympho who can’t wait to get into the pants of the handsome Sheriff McHotty.”

  Novak turned his head slowly to pin her with a narrow-eyed look. “Are you fucking kidding me?” When she shook her head, he let out a stream that she was guessing could be swear words but not in a language she recognized. “I think it’s time for some midnight raids at council homes,” he muttered.

  “You need to find your own assistant and make sure it’s someone that will piss them off even more. It’s the subtle hints and jabs that you need to use. And, yes, from what I understand, this girl can’t wait to have at you. She doesn’t know you’re a shifter, though. All she knows is that you are freaking hot.”

  “How the hell does she even know that? Not that I agree with the assessment, but I’m on the inside looking out,” he said. Shaking his head, he scratched at his jawline. “I don’t even know who to hire that would piss them off the most. It’s not like I really know anyone that could do the job, let alone the way I need it to be done.”

  “I don’t know who you should hire either. But if you want my advice, it should be someone that would put them out.”

  “Someone that would have them scrambling to hire someone themselves,” he said, giving her a pointed look.

  There was no mistaking the unholy gleam in his eyes. He was seriously about to ask her to come work for him. As far as bad ideas went, Novak being her boss—and her seeing him every day—had to be near the top of the list. Then again, really, who was she kidding? Staying away from him sounded doable in theory, but with every passing minute she spent in close quarters with him, with his solid strength beside her and his voice and scent wrapping around her, Jessica’s good intentions were going up in smoke. “Q and Phi were trying to get me to take the position,” she admitted, knowing she was playing with fire but unable to stop herself.

  “Would you even consider taking the position? I mean, you’d have to put up with me and my neurosis. There’s also some general mayhem and craziness to deal with around the sheriff’s office. Plus, there’s no one there that can actually make decent coffee. There’s lots of paperwork, some not-so-great hours involved, and did I mention putting up with me?”

  Jessica shook her head, realizing that she was so screwed—and had been since the moment she’d gotten in the car with Novak the night before. Quitting her current job and going to work for him was the height of recklessness, and she was going to do it anyway. “If I can put up with the town council, don’t you think I can put up with you? Besides, I’m pretty neurotic about paperwork, and I make a damn mean cup of coffee. You even said so yourself.” The only question would be if she would be able to continue to hide what she was. “Would you be able to put up with me?”

  “I don’t see why not,” he told her. “Not saying it will be easy in the beginning, but once we find our rhythm, I think it will be beneficial to us both. I should find out now, though, before we get too far—you planning on filing a workplace harassment suit if I continue to flirt with you?”

  “Nope,” she said, deciding to throw all caution to the wind, “not as long as you don’t plan on filing one against me.” She couldn’t deny that she liked the fact that he flirted with her. She enjoyed everything with him. And as long as she didn’t let it go too far, would a little flirting be so bad? Define too far, her subconscious needled her. Okay, point taken. It was probably only a matter of time before she and Novak crossed that line. Although, if he hadn’t yet figured out she was his mate, she wasn’t about to tell him. And maybe she could be strong enough to resist him sexually. For now, just being with him every day felt like it would be enough. It was better than not seeing him at all, at least. She would need to up the spell on herself to hide what she was from him, though.

  Slowing, he spun them around into the parking lot of the bakery and came to a stop. “You know, one day I might even tell you what type of shifter I am, but you would need to be sworn to secrecy with an oath of great magnitude. Not something to be taken lightly. After all, we don’t want to disappoint the winter festival coordinators by taking away their most profitable booth. At least not for a few more years.”

  “Anything that you ever tell me would always be kept between us as long as you wanted it to be. I would never betray your trust in any way. I want you to know that, Novak. I like you. I know that we barely know each other, and more in passing than anything, but trust is a huge thing for me. I would never betray yours.” She just prayed that if it ever came down to it, he would also keep her secrets.

  “Ditto, sweetheart. You share something with me, there’s no way anyone is getting a word from me even with the worst torture known. Especially since I’m sure I’ve already been put through several rounds by the council.” Getting out, he went around the truck to open her door, then followed her into the bakery.

  She paused by the door and let him open it for her. “If you want me, I can pu
t in my request today to the council. I think they’ll still want the nympho teen to come and give you a hard time just because we know how they are.” She wondered if he would keep her secret knowing that the secret she kept was one that was a death sentence.

  “Damn straight I want you,” he said. Inside he let her lead the way to the counter, lowering his voice and leaning in to keep his next words between them. “Anywhere and however I can get you. We’ll start with the job position and work our way to other, more provocative, positions, Ms. Morris. Jessica.”

  The way he said her name had her toes curling and her knees wobbling. Jessica turned and looked at him. She shivered in reaction, then spun away from him so that she could order her Danish. When they had their treats, she waited for them to get back into his vehicle before saying, “You have no idea how much I want to take you up on that.”

  “But?” he guessed.

  “But we should get to work,” she said, not without regret, then took a bite of her Danish.

  He pointedly sniffed the air and winked her direction. “Have I mentioned today how lovely you look? If not, it was a gross oversight on my part. Now then, let’s get you to work so that you can formally put in your termination papers, and then I need to get to work and potentially throw a bimbo into the nearest jail cell.”

  “Good luck with that. I would make sure to have another officer do it, or she might think you’re coming on to her.” She took another bite of her Danish and licked her lips. “And thank you, for saying how lovely I look.” Oh, she had caught the sniff of the air and she knew that he knew just how much she wanted him, too. “And yes, I’ll put in my transfer papers, effective immediately. Unless you would rather I begin tomorrow?”

  “Fuck that. You get out of there and over to the sheriff’s offices pronto. Are you prepared for whatever protests they might raise? They’ll probably have something to say about this, and I bet it won’t be in my favor.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. Besides, I’m sure more than one of them will be ready to get rid of me. They’ll probably think that I’ll walk away from the position with you and then come back begging for my job. Which I seriously doubt.”

  Novak slowed the SUV, then eased to the curb in front of the council building. “Well, good luck. Try not to do anything that has them calling for me to haul you out in handcuffs. As hot as that thought is, it’s not quite how I picture having you tied up and at my mercy.”

  Oh my. She was almost afraid to examine too closely why the mental picture of him tying her up was so hot. Instead she just said “Agreed” and left it at that.

  Hopping out, he came around to offer her a hand down from the truck. “Good luck. When you get there, have the front desk give me a call. I’ll need to get you through the security doors the first time until we have you set up with a key card.”

  She just nodded and placed her hand in his. She felt the electrical spark travel up from her hand, up her arm, and straight to her heart. Jesus, it was hard to hide who she was around him. “I’ll see you in about an hour. Thankfully I don’t have a lot of stuff at my desk.” She reluctantly let his hand go and bit her lower lip.

  “See you soon, Ms. Morris.” Once again he used that tone she knew would get her in trouble down the road. Tipping an imaginary hat, he whistled softly while going back around to the driver’s side. A minute later he pulled out into traffic and headed the two blocks up the street to where the sheriff’s building sat next to the county courthouse.

  Chapter Four

  Slamming his door shut, Novak prowled to his desk while keeping close watch through the wall of windows into the bullpen. Two deputies were hauling the struggling woman, the council’s latest offering to make his life miserable, from the building. He couldn’t believe her fucking audacity. She’d actually tried to grab his cock in front of the entire department. Lucky for him he was faster than she could even imagine and had easily sidestepped the move, leaving her to trip over her feet in an attempt to stay upright.

  He’d told her in no uncertain terms she was never working for him, never getting a piece of him, and if he saw her again she would regret it. Now all he had to do was pray Jessica didn’t abandon him to whatever harebrained bullshit the town council was cooking up behind his back. If he had to deal with one more hire they sent his way, he’d likely walk into their next meeting and plug them all. Happily.

  That’s when he saw her, Jessica walking into the sheriff’s office with a smile on her face. Damn she was beautiful. Novak yanked open his door and waited for her to come closer. She passed him a file folder. “As long as you want me, I’m all yours, Sheriff.”

  “Thank the gods,” he muttered. Taking the folder, he waved her into his space and closed the door behind them. “Grab a seat and tell me how the town council took the news. I need something to get my mind off the fact that woman tried to sink her claws into my family jewels.”

  “Oh they were seriously pissed off that I turned in my notice and told them I was coming to work for you. Sadly, however, that didn’t last for very long. They suddenly got it into their minds that I would spy for them. Silly men. I swear to the gods, they are all dumber than a box of rocks.”

  He nodded his agreement before sitting behind his desk. “You have no idea how relieved I am to have you here.”

  “Let’s dive right in. Where do I start?”

  He dropped a file folder to the top of his desk and leaned back. “On today’s agenda is getting you your ID, key cards, and passcodes for the doors and computer you’ll be working on, plus all the paperwork to make you an official member of the sheriff’s department. Tomorrow we throw you in the deep end and you get to work like a crazed woman on the backlog.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’m a good swimmer. So, where do you want me?”

  Novak fought a grin and coughed delicately. “Loaded questions will get you everywhere with me, Ms. Morris,” he said, enjoying her blush. “For now, you get to go visit HR for all the paperwork, forms, and to get your picture taken for the ID. While you’re stuck there, I get to go do some work. Maggie will page me when you’re about done, so I can come back and show you step two.”

  “Well, hells bells. HR, I hate HR,” she grumbled. “Are you sure that I can’t do everything while I’m in here with you?” She did, however, rise to her feet.

  “Come on, I’ll take you down. Don’t worry, Maggie knows to be gentle with you. I told her you were one I wanted to keep, so she’s not to run her usual spiel. Although if you ask nicely I’m sure she’ll gladly run through it for you. She’s apparently very effective with it. She ran off four previous prospects before the council got wise and warned the applicants.”

  “I’ll ask her to be as fast as possible. The sooner I’m back to you, the sooner I can help you with that pile in the inbox there.”

  Novak gave the pile in question a glance, then turned to look at her. “Oh you poor delusional woman. That’s only today’s pile. You haven’t seen the piles for the last three weeks yet. But that’s for later, after you’ve signed your life away into servitude to me.” Standing, he went around his desk and waved her out the door. He then took her through the bullpen, up the stairs, and down a hall to the HR department.

  Inside he introduced her to Maggie. “She’s the keeper, Maggie. You can run the spiel past her, but don’t get too theatrical. We want her to stay.”

  “You sure, Porter? She could be a council spy.”

  “I trust her, Maggie. Be good to her and give me a call when she’s finished with your mountain of paperwork, because then she gets to attack my many mountains’ worth for the next couple days.”

  “Fine, I’ll behave. Mostly.”

  Shaking his head, Novak looked to Jessica. “You good?” He wanted to say more, but Maggie was a notorious gossip and had big ears that heard way too much around the place. No way was he going to give her fodder for the grapevine.

  “I’m good. You go.” She took a seat in front of Maggie and looked ov
er her shoulder at him. She gave him a wink, then waved him off. “Go, get on out of here and get started on your paperwork.”

  He grinned. “I’m out of the office for the next hour, Maggie. Have Priscilla get me on the radio if you’re done before then.” One last look to Jessica, and Novak left her in Maggie’s clutches. He hoped the woman didn’t try to run Jess off. He did want her sticking around. Not only in the office but in a more personal setting. Something they would discuss later and outside the office.

  For the moment, he needed to head across town to serve a warrant, then dash off to the general store to pick up supplies for the breakroom, since that was normally a job his assistant looked after. He also needed to pop into the courthouse to check in with the bailiffs for upcoming court dates either he or his deputies would be required to attend. If they didn’t have it ready, he’d have to stall a couple of his deputies on their vacation requests. And he truly despised doing that to them. They worked hard and earned that time off.

  ****

  When she came back to the sheriff’s office, Jessica was completely stunned. She was shocked at the utter chaos that surrounded everyone and everything. Dear Lord have mercy!

  She put her fingers in her lips and whistled loudly. When they all turned to look at her, she shook her head. “Okay. First things first, if you are here only to cause issues and give hell to the men and women here, then you need to leave. Second. If you have a legitimate reason to be here, I need every single one of you to step back, take a number, and get in line. You will all be helped in due time. If you’re here to try to get a look at the sheriff, then back your asses out and just go back home. Now, what do we have left?” she asked and saw the majority of people moving out. “If you’re a part of the town council, then you need to leave, now. I will set up meetings with your secretaries when the sheriff has a chance. Do you understand me?”