Gifted - The 5 Book Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 13

  Annie snorted again. “She’s interrupting a very important meeting to pull a page of coloring from a filing cabinet. If you think that adds ‘value’ to our community, then—”

  Suddenly looking more than a bit uncomfortable, Annie swallowed, seeming to decide not to finish her thought. This might have had something to do with the fact that Jim was now looking at her with a look that could only be described as beyond stern, with muscles working in his strong jaw. It was a look that didn’t invite further comment about Jen’s value to the community.

  He only spoke again when he seemed satisfied that Annie wasn’t going to make one. “Jen is trying her best to contribute to this community in the ways she’s able to, which is admirable, and should be encouraged.” Pausing, he flicked his gaze to me for just a fraction of a second. “Her contributions since arriving in Timberline have also at least been far more substantial than those of some other people present at this meeting, which should make those other people pause for thought.”

  I bit back a gasp of outrage before speaking. “Just go ahead and single me out by name, Jim. Just go ahead and tell everyone all about how I’ve been refusing to participate in training, and refusing to fight against the Angels.”

  Before he could respond, Jen, who’d been rifling through a drawer in the filing cabinet, seemingly so intent on her task that she was just ignoring the whole conversation, pulled a colored picture out. “Found it, guys.” She returned to her seat and slapped the picture down on the table. “Here’s part of the minutes from that particular meeting, Annie, and as you can see, this minutes page is dated.”

  Indeed, the page of coloring did have a date carefully printed in numerical form in the upper right corner.

  Jen pointed to one of several stick figures in the picture, one with long, dark hair and brown eyes. “Here’s you, Annie, right here. And as you can see, you’re looking at Tasha, who’s looking at you, as you were telling her that Gifteds should join the next fight in two different waves. I even wrote part of what you were saying above your head.”

  The letters in a speech bubble above stick-figure-Annie’s head spelled out Dgerf!

  Giving Annie a look of undisguised triumph, Jen leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. “Any questions?”

  Annie snorted. “So, so many. Why am I still at this meeting? How is it possible that you and I are related?”

  Jim heaved a sigh. “All right. This meeting is adjourned for now. We’ll have another soon, and I hope we can all manage to remember that we’re all part of the same community, the same team, and should be working to help each other, not tear each other down.”

  Everyone got up to leave, and I did as well, still fuming about what Jim had said, even while at the same time, I realized that he was right. Jen was trying to contribute in whatever ways she could, while I’d only been concerned with being let off the hook from contributing. Even though I felt that I had very valid reasons for wanting to be let off the hook, I still felt embarrassed and even borderline ashamed by what Jim had said; but these feelings just seemed to amplify my anger that he’d actually said what he had, and in front of others at a meeting, no less.

  I just wanted to get the hell away from him.

  But while I tried to file out the meeting room door with everyone else, Jim caught me by the arm and asked me to wait.

  I whirled around, livid. “Why? So you can say other things about me not contributing?”

  Jen, who’d been filing past us, now paused. “Please don’t be angry at each other, you guys. I think you guys would be so awesome as boyfriend and girlfriend together, and—”

  “And we’re going to mind our own business and leave, so that Avery and Jim can talk privately.”

  Annie had said that, half-dragging Jen out the door. Now it was just Jim and me in the room, and he moved over to the doorway to block it, seeming to correctly anticipate that I was about to bolt right through it.

  “Please wait, Avery. Please just wait. I’m very sorry about what I said. I never should have said it.”

  Balling my fists, I took a few steps to stand right in front of his face. “So now, to show me you’re sorry, you’re physically preventing me from leaving this room? Real nice way to show me—”

  “I just want to talk to you. If you’ll please just—”

  “You know what your problem is? You’re stuck in a sheriff’s mindset from all your years working in law enforcement. You think you can make people do whatever you want. You think you can force me to participate in training exercises, and now you’re forcing me to remain in a room when I just want to leave to get the hell away from you.”

  I had a feeling he’d move and let me leave if I asked him to with enough firmness, but I didn’t care. I was mad, and getting even madder. My heartbeat, which had been hammering in my ears since he’d said what he had about me during the meeting, now began to accelerate.

  “You just think you’re the say-all, end-all, be-all sheriff around here. That’s your damn problem.”

  With his hand on the door-frame, a position that displayed his well-defined bicep to its best advantage, he snorted. “Well, I am the sheriff of sorts here in Timberline, and although I won’t force you to stay in this room if you don’t want to, I’m asking that you please hold up a minute and talk to me.”

  Glancing between his bicep and his lips, and becoming nearly enraged at myself for not being able to stop myself from doing so, I sputtered for a few moments. “Well... well, move out of the way, Sheriff, because there’s a new sheriff in town.”

  With his luscious lips suddenly twitching with amusement, Jim cocked his head to the side a degree. “Who is it? Are you saying that you’re the new sheriff?”

  He had me so angry and flustered that I wasn’t even sure.

  “Yes. Yes, I’m saying that I’m the new sheriff. And my first command is that you get your damn lips out of my face.” Instantly realizing what I’d said, I tried to cover. “I mean, get your damned face out of my face, and move out of my way.”

  Jim’s lips now became even a bit twitchier.

  “Do you like the look of my lips, Avery? I have to admit, I like the look of yours.”

  “Well, I don’t know if I like the look of your lips or not, because I’ve never even looked at them before. That’s just how much I couldn’t care less about them.”

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  “Well, why don’t you try me? Why don’t you just go right ahead and kiss me, so that I can prove to you just how much I don’t even care about your lips.”

  The moment my words were past my own lips, I realized that I’d probably just ensured that Jim and I wouldn’t be leaving the meeting room for a very long time.

  CHAPTER 13

  Without even bothering to close the meeting room door, Jim took a small step forward, studying my face, then took my face in his hands and brought his mouth to mine. Almost immediately, I made a soft moan, realizing that not only did I “care” about his lips, contrary to what I’d claimed, but I loved his lips. Soft yet firm, they felt heavenly pressed against mine, and this heavenly feeling was intensified by the fact that I was now breathing in Jim’s masculine, woodsy scent through my nostrils.

  Wanting what was happening to last forever, or at least a very long time, I bit back a whimper when Jim pulled his mouth from mine after only a few seconds. “Why? Why you did do that?” Realizing that his brief kiss had jumbled my thoughts to the point that I’d messed up the order of my words, and seeing that his deep green eyes were twinkling with amusement apparently because of this, I added another word. “Jerk.”

  “Careful, now, Miss Clark. Keep in mind that you’re speaking to the unofficial sheriff of Timberline and as unofficial sheriff, I keep a set of handcuffs in that storage cabinet against the wall, just in case I ever need to arrest someone. Hasn’t happened yet, but I do have an issue with being sassed by a member of the public. In fact, I could see myself even being moved to consider it a cri
me.”

  I glanced over at the tall gray storage cabinet against the wall to my left. “And then what would you do?”

  With his full, sensuous lips curving just slightly, Jim moved his hands from my face to the small of my back, pulling me a little closer. “Well, once I had my prisoner secured in cuffs, I might move on to rather unorthodox methods of punishment for the crime committed.”

  With my rate of breathing accelerating and my heartbeat thudding in my ears, I worked to keep my voice steady and even. “Such as?”

  “Such as stripping my prisoner naked to do a very thorough search. Then I might subject my prisoner to all manner of torture; not necessarily painful torture, but I think my prisoner might find the experience torturous nonetheless. I’m not the kind of sheriff who gives early release to prisoners, though. No, ma’am. For a prisoner arrested for the crime of sassing the sheriff, I’d be sure to thoroughly torture with my hands, and my mouth, before I ever even thought about granting release. And, honestly, well, I could see myself even making my prisoner beg for it.”

  Glad Jim’s hands around my waist were partially holding me up, I exhaled a fluttery breath.

  “But even when my prisoner first started to beg, I think I’d just go ahead and continue my torturing a little longer still. For one thing, I’d want to make sure that my prisoner had really learned her lesson, and for another thing, there’s something about the idea of having a beautiful, sassy prisoner cuffed and completely restrained, all mine to punish in whatever way I see fit, that really appeals to me. I could see myself dragging the torture out, really enjoying it.”

  I exhaled another fluttery breath, becoming a bit lightheaded.

  “So, Avery, you might want to think twice before calling me a jerk again. You may really want to think long and hard about whether you’re really ready to accept the consequences that will come along with that action.”

  When he’d said the words long and hard, the quietest little involuntary whimper had escaped my lips. With him holding me to the front of his incredibly well-sculpted body, I could feel that a certain part of his anatomy was already becoming hard, and this certain part felt long and thick, too. I wanted it already, and badly, the thought of Jim moving it inside of me making my knees decidedly weak.

  However, it didn’t seem that he was quite finished with my pre-torture just yet.

  “Now, to answer your question about why I stopped kissing you... Well, since you claim to not care about my lips, to the point that you’ve never even seen or looked at them before, I just wanted to take a little break to ask how you feel about them now...now that you’ve had a chance to feel them.”

  With my gaze drawn to his lips right then, I tried to shrug with all possible nonchalance. “They’re okay, I guess. But I really wasn’t able to make a complete judgment based off of just a few seconds. I think you’re probably going to have to kiss me again. That is, if you don’t mind kissing me again.”

  The fact that his mouth was on mine again not a moment after I’d finished speaking told me that he didn’t mind at all.

  He kissed me slowly and gently at first, seeming to savor the sweetness of my lips with appreciative little grunts and groans, pulling me even closer against his still-growing hardness. Savoring the sweetness of his own lips, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and soon, he intensified the kiss, probing my lips apart and beginning to explore my mouth with his tongue. It wasn’t long before his quiet groans became more like growls, and I was becoming a bit louder as well. Becoming increasingly turned on and hungry for his body, I moaned, rewarded for this action by Jim moving his large, strong hands from the small of my back to my rear. I moaned again when he began kneading the rounded globes, clearly becoming just as turned on as I was.

  But again, he broke the kiss sooner than I would have liked, then spoke in a low, extremely husky voice. “Now how do you feel about my lips? Any change in your opinion?”

  I only enjoyed the feel of his lips so much I was nearly breathless.

  But again, unable to resist teasing him a bit, I just lifted my shoulders in a feeble shrug. “Well, I guess I think your lips are fairly decent, but that kiss still wasn’t long enough.” With a little current of electricity rippling through my stomach, I paused. “Jerk.”

  In one swift, firm, but not in any way painful movement, Jim spun me a half-turn and pinned my wrists behind my back. When I heard his low, husky voice near my ear, another little current of electricity rippled through my stomach.

  “This is your last chance to avoid arrest, Miss Clark. Your last chance to think twice about your sassy mouth. You can either apologize sincerely for addressing me so disrespectfully, or you can say nothing and face arrest, a very thorough strip search, and extensive torture. You decide.”

  With butterflies rioting in my stomach, I turned my head to look at him over my shoulder. “I’m very sorry for addressing you so disrespectfully... jerk.”

  “All right. You’ve made your choice. Now march.” He began guiding me over to one of the wood-paneled walls. “As a prisoner, you’ll wait with your nose against the wall until I’m ready to finish with your arrest.”

  I was loving his deep, extremely husky voice, and the genuinely commanding tone he was taking with me. I was loving the feel of my wrists restrained in one of his strong hands. Really, I was loving every single thing about what was happening. Even just walking, I could feel how incredibly slick I’d become, to the point that it felt like my underwear were already drenched. I’d also developed a very distinct ache low in my stomach, the kind of ache that I knew wasn’t going to go away until the sheriff arresting me saw fit to “release” me.

  When we reached the wall, Jim guided me to stand with my face just inches from it. “Keep your nose to the wall, Miss Clark. And if you disobey this command, know that it will result in further punishment after your arrest.”

  Slightly dizzy with desire, I realized that I might soon need the wall just to hold me up.

  “Is that clear, Miss Clark?”

  Nearly panting, I nodded with my gaze on the wall. “Yes, sir.”

  Those two words had felt unexpectedly good to say. So good, in fact, that just the act of saying them had caused my nipples to contract, becoming even stiffer than they’d already been.

  Seemingly satisfied with my level of verbal respect, Jim released my wrists, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him go over to the door, shut it, and lock it, something I couldn’t believe we hadn’t done earlier. With heat rushing to my face, I realized that anyone could have been out in the hallway the entire time, listening to us. Because of the fairly short hallway leading directly from the bar to the meeting room being in an L shape, up to a dozen people could have been right around the bend, still within earshot of every word Jim and I had spoken. The thought that it was possible that one or two Timberliners, or more, had heard Jim “arresting” me made my face nearly burst into flames. Although, at the same time, I realized that I found the idea of a few random bar patrons wandering back toward the meeting room for some reason, and overhearing Jim’s sternness with me, strangely erotic. In fact, even while my face still flamed, I imagined a few shifters with their ears pressed to the door right then, about to hear me get “tortured,” and I felt my underwear become a little wetter still.

  Soon, I heard Jim open the storage closet, then some quiet sounds, like he was rummaging around. I wanted to see what he was getting beyond the handcuffs, if anything, so I took a peek over my shoulder, completely forgetting that Jim had instructed me to keep my nose to the wall. I’d peeked just in time to see him take a thick, plaid blanket from the storage closet and spread it over the long meeting table, but he’d seen me, too, our eyes connecting for just a split-second.

  “That disobedience was noted, Miss Clark, and your torture will be increased accordingly.”

  His words caused a surge of butterflies in my stomach. I was now growing desperate for my “torture,” every additional second I was having to wait feeling
like torture in and of itself.

  However, it wasn’t long at all before Jim returned to me and turned me to face him with his hands very firm yet gentle. Glassy-eyed and without a word, he immediately lifted my top above my head and tossed it to the side. Then, just as silently and methodically, he removed my black lacy bra and tossed it to the side as well. But that was when his silence ended.

  With a low growl rumbling deep within his broad chest, he surveyed my bare breasts for a good several seconds before turning me back around and handcuffing me. “Kick your shoes off, and I’ll do the rest.”

  I did as he’d asked, and right away, he began removing the rest of my clothes with his breathing becoming extremely fast and ragged. My own breathing was becoming a little fast and ragged as well.

  Once I was completely naked, with Jim having removed my socks and all, he began his “search” of my body, hands roaming everywhere, making me moan. When he dropped to his knees in front of me and began a far more intimate search with his tongue, probing my feminine lips apart, I moaned louder still, throwing my head back when I felt the tip of his tongue connect with my most sensitive spot, which was now throbbing and tingling near-unbearably.

  “Yes. Please, Jim.”

  I made an instinctive move to tangle my fingers in his hair to pull his face and his tongue even closer to tingling feminine bud, but of course, I found that I couldn’t move my hands at all, being that they were cuffed behind my back.

  And to my horror, Jim soon stood and began leading me over to the table. “I think you’re deserving of far more torture before your release.”

  I thought I could stand it if that torture was going to include more of Jim’s tongue exploring the most intimate parts of my body.

  After removing my handcuffs and then re-cuffing me with my hands in front, he lifted me onto the table and guided me down to lie on my back. Fortunately, the table was of such sturdy construction and great size that I knew it would hold both of us with no danger of breaking. I figured that might be just a bit awkward to explain at the next council meeting.