In Too Deep (35 page)

“You haven’t been to faerie, and yet you are.” He smiled a little. “How old are you?”

She backed up without meaning too, and found herself against his desk,
“Twenty-five. My family was exiled before I was born. But how did you know?”

“It’s all right, Amethyst, I won’t bite. Slater told me enough to know that you were born and raised down in California. Now come on, I’ll take you back to your car.” He held out her keys and license, which she took hesitantly. “And for the record, I am a different type of fae from you. Earth fae, but I’m not one of the elitist.”

“Oh, um… good.” She didn’t want to trust him, but she sort of was anyway. Goodness, he was almost a foot and a half taller than her. His shoulders were broad and defined. In fact, he was built like a warrior. He was all solid muscle, no fat, but he wasn’t built like a freakish body builder.

Still, he dwarfed her, and it was a little intimidating in all the right ways. Swallowing back an unsettling mix of emotions, she looked up into those dark mesmerizing eyes.

“I’m sorry I was speeding, but after the day I had, I just,” she sighed, “I wasn’t paying attention to the speed limit, or my speed. I swear, I didn’t argue with him.” She blushed because he flustered her so badly, but she kind of liked it, which was just wrong.

“And yet, I think you could have fought him off if you wanted too.” he grinned. “You seem a bit skittish, but from what Fallon told me, you have a right to be. She also says you can protect yourself quite well.” His eyes delved into hers, and it felt way too intimate for a stranger.

With a shrug, she shook her head. “I really don’t want to get into my past. Officer Simons didn’t hurt me, and he didn’t do anything wildly inappropriate. If he had, I would have stopped him, but I don’t want everyone knowing what I am. I’m really not sure I could fight off a werewolf who is nearly two feet taller and more than three times my weight.”

“From what Fallon says, you did a couple times in San Francisco,” he murmured.

Blushing, she shrugged slightly. Fallon had taught her a few nasty tricks, but she didn’t like resorting to them.

“Do you trust me?” Hayden asked her softly as he stepped right in front of her, leaving her nowhere to go as he looked down into her eyes.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. He was just so big and edible, that he made her crave things she didn’t want to crave.

* * * *

Hayden just wanted to put her at ease, but he had a feeling that no matter what he did, she was going to be skittish. Well, there were a whole lot of things he wanted to do to the little woman, but she was a fraction of his age. And whoever her parents were, it seemed she was raised as a human.

Shit, now he was curious who her family was. He only knew one fae who shared her last name. Paavo was from the water realm, and in a solid relationship with another fae of similar background.

“Well? I just want to help,” he said softly, hoping she would say yes because he was only going to heal her. Besides, her delicate little wrists were raw and blistered, and he knew they had to burn. If she would just let him, he could fix it easily.

“Why should I trust you?” she breathed the words, barely whispering as she stared up into his eyes. Amethyst was mesmerizing. So little, and temptingly seductive without trying. Even in the cargo pants and plain tank, she was still so feminine.

Of course she was afraid of him. Her lack of trust after being held by the Silver Council for two weeks for something she didn’t do made perfect sense. Other than Fallon, he imagined it would be a long while before she put her confidence in anyone.

“I just want to help you. I can take the pain away,” he promised.

Amethyst shoved her hands behind her back and shook her head before looking down at the ground.

It dawned on him then. Did she assume all fae healed with lust or love?
“Which are you? Nymph or siren?”

She didn
’t answer, just shook her head again.

“Amethyst, I don’t heal that way, I promise.”

“Nymph,” she muttered. “My brother is half siren. I know how we all heal.”

“Paavo?”

She nodded slowly. At least he knew her brother. Worst case, he could call him and have him talk to her.

“I only have to touch the injury, not even all of it. I can get Paavo on the phone to see if he can explain. I assume you trust him, and he is an old friend.”

“All right.” Her voice was soft, delicate, and her pouty lips turned down in a frown. One delicate little hand came out, held in front of her, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded, and he wished he could see her eyes, but she wasn’t looking at him. He sighed and gently took her arm with one hand, tracing over the burn with the fingers of his other.

* * * *

The big sheriff was oh so gentle, sweet even. His magic felt good, soothing the burn almost instantly. “Tha…oh…I,” then she remembered you weren’t supposed to thank the older fae, and he seemed old. Not how he looked, just the feel of his magic that wrapped around her like a blanket.

If he was even half as old as she thought, she probably shouldn
’t want to lick him like a giant lollipop. And she didn’t have much experience with too many fae outside her family.

“I may be older, but I’ve been here long enough to live as a human. Thanking me won’t insult me.” His smile was genuine and pleasant, his gaze stayed on her eyes when she finally looked up at him. “Can I see your other hand?”

She swallowed hard and let him. Again, he was gentle, nothing sexual there. She could have done it by stealing lust from someone, or well… she wasn’t going to think of that. Then again, he didn’t seem to desire her which was disappointing, even though she was not going to be getting naked with him, or anyone.

“Thank you. I should go to my jeep. Fallon wanted me to meet her at In 2 Deep. She has the key to the apartment.” By that point, Amethyst could really use a drink, or few to relax.

“I’ll drive you to your car, and then show you where the bar is. Then, if you’d like, I’ll show you where they live after you unwind a little. I’ll even help you unpack.”

“I can manage,” she frowned, tired of being treated like a stupid little girl, “but I
would appreciate the ride to my jeep.”

“I’m off duty, unless something comes up and I’m called back. Just give me a minute to change.”

“All right.” She managed a tiny smile before he left the room.

Her phone buzzed again, her text messages.
Crap
. She pulled her phone out and saw several texts from Jess, Jamie and Fallon.

With a sigh, she texted them all back and told them she was coming but was delayed.

Her phone rang almost immediately, and she answered Fallon’s call. “Hi. Sorry. I’ll be there soon.”

“Why is your car abandoned on the side of the damned road?” Fallon was ticked, and rightfully so.

“Uh, one of the policemen had a bad day,” she muttered sheepishly, “He brought me down to the station because I was going eighty in a forty.” Feeling stupid, she sighed. “I just wasn’t thinking, and before you start, I wasn’t rude to him.”

“Stop, I think I know who you’re talking about,” Fallon sneered. “Simons caught his wife cheating. He probably saw your purple hair and thought you might be related. The bastard does have purple in his hair, but it’s dusky, almost a dark gray.”

“Oh, okay.” Amethyst shook her head. Some people just didn’t like anyone different. “Sheriff Hunter is taking me back to my car.”

“And escorting you to the bar,” he said mildly.

Her eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips. She didn’t need him taking her anywhere. “That’s totally unnecessary.”

“May I?” He held his hand out for the phone, and she gave it to him with a scowl. His lips quirked up in a grin. He told Fallon, “I’ll bring her to the bar as well. I’ll make sure she gets to your place if she leaves before you do. I’ll even help her bring her things up to her apartment.”

He paused and nodded, but amusement danced in his eyes, and that made her wonder.

His smile was warm. “Don’t worry. I just want to make sure Simons’ welcome to town hasn’t rattled her too badly. She seems awfully nervous.”

There was only kindness and protectiveness in his gaze and tone. The jerk, but then she realized that wasn
’t fair. Why should he want someone like her? Hell, Fallon or Brody probably warned him already. Not to mention that she was just a baby in comparison to the big delicious sheriff.

His deep, warm voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“We’ll be there soon.”

He handed the phone back to her and locked his firearm in the desk.

Amethyst finally let her eyes graze over his big body. He was scrumptious in his boot cut jeans that hugged those long powerful thighs. His worn tee shirt did the same to his very impressive abs, sculpted chest and let’s not forget his big bulgy arms. Hayden didn’t look like a steroid junky, but he was powerfully built, with each muscle well defined.

She just wanted to trace every ridge with her tongue.
No, no I don’t
, or so she told herself.

Devouring his appearance with her eyes was a bad idea when he was not on her menu. Hell, she was fasting, and he was like an eight course meal with something spectacularly sweet and tempting for desert.

Right, she needed to get off the phone and to her jeep. “See you soon, Fallon,” she couldn’t keep the irritation out of her tone, so she hung up before Fallon could reply.

“Come on. I’ll let you sit in the front seat, no cuffs involved,” he winked, and there was just a hint of something dark and salacious in his gaze.

She swallowed her first snarky remark and followed him to a giant SUV. “Does it need to be so big?” She knew she blushed when she looked back at him. It didn’t just go for the truck. His wolfish grin left her feeling all shivery.

“Here,” he opened the door and picked her up, much too easily, as he sat her inside.

“You didn’t need to do that.” Her voice squeaked

She could feel his chuckle dance over her, and it was much too inviting.
“You look nervous, and I don’t want to keep Fallon waiting. I’m afraid of what she’ll do if Simons shows up at the bar.”

“Right. That might not go over so well.”

He nodded. “She is very protective of her friends. In fact,” he frowned and touched her arm, just above her elbow.

She flinched at the gentle contact, but saw the bruise in the shape of Simons
’ hand when she looked down. His magic washed over her in a caress, and she had to bite back her whimper. Oh, that felt so good she closed her eyes against it, and she tried her darnedest to fight off any reaction.

* * * *

“Amethyst,” he said softly, trying not to spook her worse, but she flinched every time he touched her. “Are you okay?”

Her laugh was nervous.
“Sorry Sheriff Hunter….”

“Hayden, call me Hayden, please. Most everyone knows me as Hayden.” Damn it, his voice was low and husky, he tried to dial back his lust back, but it wasn’t happening. She was just everything he craved, and it had been a long time since he craved anyone.

“Hayden,” she sighed and opened up her beautiful eyes, but she still looked nervous. “Can we just go get my jeep, please?”

With a nod, he shut her door while she buckled in. He hopped in and drove to where he knew her jeep would be. Simons had called it in, and Fallon had already called Hayden to interrogate him about what happened to Amethyst. Thanks to Simons and those damned cuffs, Amethyst hadn
’t been able to answer her phone.

Thinking of Amethyst being manhandled by that big brute put Hayden on the breaking point. He wanted to track Simons down so he could beat him into the next state. That wouldn’t help anything, and he reminded himself of that fact for the twelfth time in 20 minutes.

Her Jeep wasn’t far away. He pulled up in front of it. Before he could say or do anything, she hopped out of the truck and hurried to her vehicle.

Hayden followed,
“To make Simons feel better, can I please check your glove box?”

She nodded, but had her back to him as she unlocked the doors and climbed inside. He opened the passenger door, leaned in and looked. There was nothing there but the proper documents and a few CD
s. “Just what I thought. I’m sorry he was so rough with you. I made him take a couple days off. His family situation doesn’t excuse his actions.”

“It’s okay. Fallon told me about his wife. I’m sorry.” She shrugged. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Follow me, please?” He wasn’t going to argue with her, but he wanted to keep an eye on her. Wanted to protect her, and he knew she probably wouldn’t appreciate it, but there was something about her that drove those instincts. She seemed innocent, but so incredibly sensual at the same time. Hayden wanted to get to know her, in every sense of the word, but had a feeling he was going to have to take it really slow and work at it.