Page 5 of Her Rugged Guardian

“Not until I see yours. That will be helpful when I contact the sheriff. He’ll be mighty interested in the reason you attacked me.”

I opened my mouth to issue a sundry list of hateful words but sucked in my breath instead. “What else do you think a woman will do when confronted with a dangerous man?”

It took a few seconds, but he grinned, and I could swear the sun was shining down through the popcorn ceiling. Why were my nipples hard, pressing against the thin material of my blouse? When he slowly lowered his gaze, I knew without a doubt he had a general idea of my body’s reaction to him. Shit. This wasnotthe way I wanted the evening to go.

“You’re right. Iama dangerous man. I’d keep that in mind if I were you. However, that doesn’t change the fact you accosted me.” He yanked his cell phone from his back pocket, immediately pressing his fingers on the screen.

“What are you doing?”

“Contacting my buddy at the sheriff’s office. We’re close friends and he won’t take kindly to a stranger beating the shit out of me.”

“Let me tell you something. If I’d wanted to beat the shit out of you then you wouldn’t be standing.” He ignored my comment, pulling his hand away and staring at me as he waited for the call to connect.

“Hey, Bart,” he stated, his deep baritone still able to send shivers down my spine. “I need to report a crime.”

“Don’t you do it.” He ignored me. Without thinking, I reacted, moving toward him and ripping the phone from his hand. When it slipped through my fingers, smashing against the hardwood floor, I gasped, the hard thud and cracking sound not what I’d wanted to hear. This had gone from really bad to insufferable in a heartbeat.

There was a moment of quiet calm, but within seconds I realized he was livid. I expected him to lash out, possibly striking me, but his only reaction was to take a full ten seconds to shift his enraged gaze to the shattered phone.

The bile in my throat remained and swallowing several times had no effect. A strange need to say ‘uh-oh’ coasted through my brain.

He took an equal amount of agonizing time to hunker down, retrieving his demolished phone. When he finally tilted his head in my direction, I could see a firestorm building.

I should tell him I was sorry, but what good would that do? We weren’t destined to be friends.

For some reason I thought he would fondle his Apple product. Instead, he crushed what was left between his massive fingers, taking a deep breath before depositing the handful of metal and plastic into the suede satchel secured to his side. The entire time Moose whined, turning his head from the stranger back to his Mommy dog. The pup was smart enough to know I’d fucked up. Royally. At least he had the good graces to remain on his haunches, although his thick tail thwapped back and forth, keeping time like a metronome.

Jake finally lifted his head in my direction, narrowing his eyes as he studied me. In the next few seconds, there was no doubt he was undressing me with his eyes. I’d never felt so uncomfortable in my life. In my mind I was naked, my nipples hard as rocks, red from anticipation of his mouth sucking them. Blinking, I tried to look away, but it was impossible to yank myself from his powerful stare.

The man had a dangerous aura, rough and tumble as if he could wrestle with a den of bears and win with no issue.

“Here’s the way I see it,” he stated, utter domination in his voice. “I can either head over to my place, and make another call to my buddy from my landline, waiting until he arrives and enjoying the moment he slaps handcuffs on you, or…”

The asshole purposely allowed his statement to die off. The son of a bitch was playing me, enjoying every moment. “Or what, Mr. Spencer?” I’d backed away by several feet, loathing the concept of being close to him. He purposely closed the distance, his chest heaving as he took several deep breaths. Oh, this wasn’t good in any language or on any level.

“Or we can handle this the old-fashioned way.”

CHAPTER 2

Cassandra

The old-fashioned way? What in God’s name was Mr. Grinch trying to say? I glared at him, now almost happy I’d nearly bashed his head in. Even his grin was evil. He was the epitome of a grumpy jerk, the name suiting him perfectly. But Cinnamon Girl? Okay, so my shower gel of choice had hints of vanilla and cinnamon, but that didn’t give him any right to call me names.

You mean like you called him.

Great, now even my inner voice was taking the rugged man’s side.

But I was justified.

Maybe.

“Excuse me? What are you talking about? Fine. I’ll pay for your phone if that’s what you want.”

The bastard grinned. “Not enough. However, I can dole out punishment right here, right now. That will do the trick. For now.”

Punishment? The man had a screw loose. “I’m not accepting anything from you but an apology.”

He took a deep breath, slowly blowing it across my face. His scent was enriched by the hint of peppermint candy. My panties were soaked, my pussy throbbing. This wasn’t good at all.