Coveted Justice (Cowboy Justice Association Book 15) Read online

“If you think I’m going to argue with you, you’re wrong.” She slid off the couch and sat on the floor between his legs so he could easily reach. “I’m going to enjoy every minute of this, too.”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t willing,” he said with a laugh. “Now relax and let me work my magic.”

  It was pure sorcery. She didn’t know where Tanner had learned to massage sore muscles but within only a few minutes her neck was loosened up and she was softly moaning as he worked on a particularly tight shoulder.

  His magic fingers were also making her warm. Very warm. She could feel a bar of arousal beginning in her abdomen with every tempting touch. She gasped when he hit a sensitive spot and she heard him chuckle behind her.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “I’m laughing at myself. How do I get in these predicaments? It’s my own fault. I should know better.”

  Not having a clue what he was talking about, she turned to ask him, but when she saw him it was all clear. His boxers were tented, clearly showing his own arousal.

  “I see that you are in quite the predicament,” she teased. “We should probably do something about that.”

  “I know that you haven’t had a good night—“

  “True,” she replied, cutting him off. “But I think that this is a great idea. In fact, you’ve managed to get me a little hot and bothered as well. It would be cruel to say no to me.”

  His smile was as sexy as he was.

  “When have I ever said no to you? And why would I? Come here, beautiful.”

  She climbed up on his lap, rubbing herself against him. His hands were gripping her hips and his lips were currently tracing a wet path down her neck and over her shoulder where her oversized t-shirt had fallen.

  “Tanner,” she sighed when his fingers trailed up her ribs and cupped her breasts, the thumbs brushing the already hard tips though the thin cotton fabric.

  “Easy, honey,” he whispered, his lips close to her ear and his warm breath fanning out on her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  It had been too long. With Amanda home this last week, they hadn’t had much private time together. They needed this.

  “Now,” she breathed, her hand reaching down to grip him, her fingers encircling his hard length.

  His lips covered hers as he eased her over him. She was glad she hadn’t bothered with panties as she lowered herself inch by inch until she was completely and deliciously filled. They were still for a long moment, simply enjoying the feeling of being this close to one another. She’d never get tired of this or him.

  She wasn’t sure who moved first but they started slowly, their soft sighs loud in the silence, before building up more speed. Tanner had hiked up her nightshirt and taken a rosy bud into his mouth, worrying it gently with his teeth and making her want to scream with pleasure. He knew exactly what to do, and how to do it after all these years. Every single pleasure point she had he’d catalogued and committed to memory. He used that knowledge to drive her slowly out of her mind on a regular basis.

  She had no complaints.

  His tongue lapped at the diamond hard tip of her breast, and she arched her back as each stroke ran over all the sensitive spots inside with unerring accuracy. She could feel herself teetering on the brink, her nails digging into the flesh of his biceps as her arousal built, threatening to send her careening into the silvery stars.

  “Tanner,” she groaned, gone too far to be able to express what she needed but luckily Tanner could read her mind. Or maybe it was just what he needed, too.

  He placed his thumb on her clit, softly rubbing circles around the swollen button and her climax hit hard and fast. Fireworks danced behind her eyelids and heat sizzled through her veins as she let the pleasure wash over her like a warm waterfall in the most romantic tropical location.

  Tanner fell over the precipice right after she did, his entire body tensing and her name falling from his lips. When it was over, she rested her head on his chest, listening to the sounds of their ragged breathing and her own frantic heartbeat in her ears. Their skin was damp and she pressed a kiss to his neck, her tongue tasting a tang of salt.

  “I think I need a shower,” she said a long while later. She’d completely lost track of time, content to lie in his arms for as long as she could.

  “We both do,” he conceded. “Then we need to try and get a few hours of sleep if we can.”

  “I’ll definitely be able to sleep now. You’ve worn me out.”

  “And it was my pleasure,” he replied with a grin. “Now how about that shower? I can wash your back for you.”

  Tanner’s idea of a few days away was perfect. A quiet little vacation was exactly what they needed.

  5

  Amanda and Josh were stuffing envelopes for the campaign. A deadly dull task but it had to be done. Like all interns, they did what was asked of them whether it was making a coffee run, answering telephones, or mind-numbing administrative work. Like this.

  The campaign was being run out of a small, rented storefront in Springwood that used to be a doggy day care. The business had relocated to a large house on the edge of town, and the dirt cheap rent had meant that Tanner Marks for Governor could get the place for a steal.

  They were the only two in the building at the moment. Amanda’s father had been determined to keep the staff levels small and not to create some monster of a campaign that didn’t reflect him and also cost an arm and a leg. He was trying to keep large donors to a minimum, although he’d given in last night for the fundraising dinner.

  Not that Amanda and Josh were getting paid. They weren’t. They were volunteering their time and planning to put the experience on their resume. Her mother had told her that she would pay them both out of her own pocket because she was proud of them for doing the work.

  Amanda held out her index finger with a Band-Aid wrapped around it.

  “If I get another paper cut, I’m quitting for the day.”

  “You can’t quit,” Josh laughed, shoving another flyer into the legal sized envelope. “We have to get these done this morning.”

  “What are they going to do? Fire us?” Amanda joked, continuing her labors despite her minor injury. “We’re volunteers, Josh.”

  “Dedicated volunteers. Besides, you wouldn’t want to let your dad down. We only have a few hundred more.”

  Amanda’s gaze ran over the stack of boxes surrounding them.

  “There’s probably a few hundred in that one box alone. I’d say we have closer to a thousand. Just what is the population of Montana, anyway? Are we sending one to every single person in the state?”

  Josh would know the number. From what she’d seen, he pretty much knew everything. She was no slouch in the academics department, but he blew her away. And he barely had to crack a book to do it.

  “At the last census, there were one-point-one million, give or take,” Josh replied. “And I hope we’re not going to have to stuff a million envelopes.”

  “It feels like a million,” she said with a sigh. “I’m getting hungry. I skipped breakfast so I could be here early. Maybe we should order something? I could go pick it up from the diner.”

  “Or I could. You just want to get out of stuffing envelopes.”

  “I wouldn’t mind a break. But I am seriously hungry. My stomach is growling.”

  “I could eat,” Josh said, pulling out his phone. “What do you want? I’ll call it in.”

  She reeled off her usual order from memory, having visited the diner almost every week since she was a baby. Her father often worked long hours and her mother couldn’t cook to save her life. Consequently, they’d eaten a great deal of takeout and frozen food. Luckily, her dad was a great cook and fixed them home-cooked meals whenever he had the time.

  Josh whistled softly and shook his head.

  “I don’t know where you put it. You must have the metabolism of a hummingbird. Or maybe it’s those long legs of yours.”

  “I come by it honestly. Mom can eat a lot of food, too, and never gain an ounce. Believe me, I’ve taken a bunch of shit about it at school.”

  “Mean girl stuff? Don’t take any of that high school clique crap.”

  “I just ignore it. I was glad to leave high school in the rearview mirror. I remember one girl in my biology class said that her mother told her that the high school years would be the best in her life.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I didn’t really say anything. I just nodded as if I agreed. She seemed to trust her mom so much, and I didn’t want to be nasty about it.”

  She went silent as Josh recited their order into the phone.

  “Fifteen minutes,” he announced when he was done. “They said that they’d put it on your mom and dad’s tab and they hung up before I could say no. I want to pay for my own breakfast.”

  “When have my parents every let you or any of the others pay for a meal? You can try and pay them back, but they’ll only tuck it in your pocket when you aren’t looking. Mom feels bad enough as it is that the campaign isn’t paying us.”

  When it was time to pick up the food Amanda hopped up from her chair, happy to be able to stretch her legs. She was getting antsy sitting there stuffing envelopes.

  “I’ll go get the food,” she said. “Unless you want to do it?”

  Josh chuckled and shook his head.

  “I think you want to do it far more than I do. Maybe we can go for a walk after we eat. We could both use the fresh air and sunshine.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Tucking her own phone into her jeans pocket, she headed down the block to the diner, her nose leading the way. The smells that hit her when she opened the door had her stomach making angry noises. She vowed never to skip breakfast again. It was her favorite meal of the day. Who wouldn’t want pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, and a cinnamon roll? Her mother used to make her cinnamon toast when she was little. She said it was the one thing she could make and not burn.

  “Hey Trudy,” Amanda called out, sidling up to the counter. “I’m here to pick up our order. Is it ready?”

  Trudy had been watching the television mounted up on the wall, but when she turned around her mouth was hanging open and her face pale.

  “If it’s not ready, that’s okay. I can wait,” Amanda offered when the older woman didn’t speak.

  The guy sitting at the counter just a few feet away finally spoke up, pointing to the television. The news was on, and a reporter was standing with a microphone in front of the local bed and breakfast.

  “You haven’t seen this yet?” the man asked. “There’s been a murder at the inn.”

  Murder wasn’t common in their little town. It was always big news.

  “Wow, that’s terrible. Who died?”

  “Martin Parnham. Your dad’s ex-wife’s husband. He was found shot in the heart early this morning.”

  Marty was dead? Less than twelve hours after he and Abby had a blowout at the fundraiser?

  “Who shot him?” she asked, fearing the answer. “Why was he shot?”

  “They don’t know who shot him,” Trudy replied, finally finding her voice. “But they’ve taken Abby in for questioning. The first suspect is always the spouse. I wonder if your dad has heard the news yet. His face is plastered all over the television because she’s his ex-wife and he’s running for governor.”

  Amanda was sure that he hadn’t. Her parents were at Uncle Jared’s cabin which was so far off the beaten path that they weren’t connected by cell phone.

  But her father needed to know. This could affect his campaign.

  She didn’t have a clue how to get in touch with him, save driving up there herself. Lunch was going to have to wait.

  The sun was already high in the sky when Tanner opened his eyes the next day. There was a loud whirring sound in his head, and he was sure he hadn’t been drinking the night before. He hadn’t had alcohol in decades.

  Next to him, Maddie lifted her head from the pillow, a frown on her face.

  “What is that noise? It sounds like a helicopter.”

  Yes, that was what it sounded like. But why on earth would a helicopter be out here in the middle of nowhere?

  He rubbed at his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed before tugging on a pair of pants.

  “I’ll go take a look outside.”

  The sound was getting louder and by the time Tanner stepped on the front porch of the cabin a helicopter was hovering above the clearing next to the lake, getting ready to land.

  What in the…?

  He managed to pull on the t-shirt he’d grabbed on the way out of the bedroom and headed down to meet whomever had flown in and disturbed the peace of his and Maddie’s getaway.

  The door of the helicopter opened and Jason Anderson hopped out, ducking down as he ran toward Tanner. A clutch of fear took hold on his heart as his old friend jogged the distance between them. For Jason to have flown all of this way…

  Someone was injured, sick, or dead. Amanda? Chris? Emily? Everything had been just fine when they’d left town last night. Had there been some sort of accident?

  Tanner swallowed the lump that had taken up residence in his throat. He was afraid to ask, yet he needed to know.

  “What happened?” he asked Jason as they stepped onto the porch where it was quieter. “And don’t tell me nothing because something had to have happened if you flew in here. Is it one of the kids?”

  The words had tumbled out quickly, but Jason seemed to understand what Tanner was getting at.

  “The kids are fine. I promise. This is about Abby.”

  His entire body sagged with relief, and he leaned against a porch post for support. Thank goodness nothing had happened to his children. He didn’t care how old they were or that they had kids of their own. He never stopped worrying about them.

  Then he realized that Jason had said Abby was the reason he was here.

  “Abby? What in the hell has she done now?”

  He couldn’t think of one thing his ex-wife could have done to warrant a helicopter ride from his friend.

  “Marty is dead,” Jason replied, his tone flat. “He was shot and his body was found this morning by the inn’s cleaning staff. I guess they were staying there so they didn’t drive home after having a few drinks. Since the spouse is always the first suspect, Abby has been taken in for questioning. It’s all over the news and that means that you’re all over the news. Every television and newspaper outlet is running the story that Tanner Marks’ ex-wife might be a murderer. You need to get back and make a statement. Amanda called me unsure how to get in touch with you, and I told her that I’d handle this. The entire campaign is in an uproar.”

  Murder. That would warrant a helicopter ride.

  Abby, what have you gotten yourself into this time?

  6

  After hearing the news from Jason, Tanner had gone back into the cabin and told Maddie what was going on. Both of them had quickly dressed and packed. Luckily, it only took Tanner about five minutes to get ready to leave. It took Maddie a little longer, but she’d never been high maintenance. Within fifteen minutes, they were out the door.

  Jason had brought along Seth Reilly to help pack their food and belongings and drive the vehicle back to town.

  “Don’t worry about your bags and other things,” Seth assured them. “I’ll take care of all of it. You just worry about what in the hell you’re going to say to all the reporters when you get to town. They’re smelling blood in the water.”

  “There is no way Abby killed her husband,” Tanner replied, exasperation in his tone. His ex-wife had the worst taste in men since their divorce. Her last boyfriend had been the head of a drug cartel and tried to have Tanner eliminated. “If she was the murdering kind, she would have offed me years ago when I was drinking.”

  “Is that what you’re going to tell the reporters?” Seth asked, his gaze darting to where Maddie was talking to Jason. “She looks pretty calm. How’d she take the news?”

  “You know how Maddie is, sensible and practical to the bone. Once she got over the shock, she took control of the situation and started barking out orders like a drill sergeant so we could get dressed and packed.”

  “She’s an understanding woman. I doubt Presley would be near as understanding.”

  Tanner fully expected Maddie to be angry and frustrated at the entire situation. She, of course, didn’t have to feel jealous when it came to Abby. Not at all. Tanner loved and adored his wife. His feelings for Abby were at most friendship and at worst tolerance. Now that the children were grown, they didn’t have to co-parent any longer. All they had to do was be in the same room and not snap at one another. So far, it had worked out fine.

  He’d been rather surprised when she and Marty had shown up to support him last night, but Abby had always liked to get dressed up and party a little. From what he could see, Marty didn’t mind it either. They’d seemed like a happy couple, although they’d been arguing during the dinner. But what married couple didn’t have a tiff every now and then? Usually, no one got shot later.

  “Maddie would have every right to give me a rash of shit,” Tanner finally replied. “Neither one of us has forgotten that Abby’s ex wanted me dead and was probably going to kill her, too.”

  It had been years ago before they’d even married, but they’d purposefully kept their distance from Abby after that. Trouble always seemed to follow his ex-wife, even though most of it was minor stuff like not paying her parking tickets and getting her license revoked.

  Tanner hadn’t intervened with the judge, either. He’d decided that she needed to work that one out herself.

  Tanner handed Seth the keys to the SUV and he and Maddie climbed into the helicopter with Jason and the pilot. The bird lifted into the cloudless blue sky and swept over the lake and valley below. If he’d been in a different mood, he might have been able to enjoy the view from up this high, but instead his brain was going a mile a minute wondering just what had happened to Marty. And where had Abby been when her husband was shot?