Defiant Heart (Starlight Cove Book 1)

WHY THE HELL did that woman get to me so damn much? She was like an itch I couldn’t scratch. Or like a persistent fly that wouldn’t leave me the hell alone, buzzing around all day but just out of reach.

I glanced over at her in the holding cell, her head tipped back against the wall and exposing her long neck, eyes closed, a soft smile on those plush pink lips, and I had to force myself to look away.

But it didn’t matter.

Somewhere along the way during the time she’d been here—here, in Starlight Cove, yes, but also here, in the station—I’d looked at her enough that her features were seared into my brain. I could recall the exact twinkle in her eye when she said something she knew would piss me off. Knew the exact shade of copper streaked through her chestnut hair when the sun hit it. Knew the exact curve her lips tipped up into when she thought I wasn’t looking.

Knew how goddamn hard she made me by simply breathing—not to mention having her curves on display while being forced to witness her flexibility. Nothing like having her ass directly in my line of sight to make my cock thicken enough that I’d worried it’d actually escape my uniform pants.

Fuck me, this woman was trouble with a capital T.

My desk phone rang before I could make my way to Luna, and I sank into my chair with a sigh. “Sheriff McKenzie,” I answered.

“Sheriff, it’s Mayor Drummond.”

“Mayor.” I relaxed back into my chair. “What can I do for you?”

“Seems there was another…scuffle out at the Williamsons’ old place.”

I blew out a heavy sigh. “How’d you hear about that?”

“It’s spreading like wildfire. Mabel’s Live already has four hundred views.”

I couldn’t hold in my gruff sound of irritation. Those goddamn Lives were going to be the death of me. “I’ve got it under control.”

She hummed. “I’m not so sure you do. This is the second day in a row she’s been there. Plus, don’t you think perhaps you’re sending a conflicting message to criminals when you show up with food and use that as a negotiation strategy?”

I liked the mayor—she’d been a close friend of my mom’s and had been a part of my family my entire life—but there was a reason she was in public relations and not law enforcement.

“I did what I had to do to get her to leave as quickly and quietly as possible. I’m assuming that’s what your call is about.”

“Yes, that’s the key here. Quickly and quietly. We don’t want to cause a fuss for the developers.”

I hummed—that was something we agreed on. “I assume you’ve already talked to Holton Group?”

“I have.”

“And how do they want to proceed?”

“They’re not happy she keeps showing up and halting progress, but they don’t want the headache that pressing charges will bring. They let yesterday’s infraction go with a warning, but she needs to pay a fine this time. And if she continues to show up, they’ll have no choice but to press charges.”

I grunted in agreement, my gaze darting over to Luna to find hers already locked on me. “I’ll talk to her,” I murmured into the phone.

“See that you do. And, Sheriff? Get her to see reason, will you?”

I barely held in my snort. I may not have known much about Luna Lancaster, but I knew, without a doubt, reason didn’t even enter her realm of reality.

After hanging up, I strolled over to my little lawbreaker, using my keys to unlock the holding cell, and tipped my head for her to follow me. “Let’s go, Ms. Lancaster. We have a lot to discuss.”

She swept out of the cell, far too close for my liking, her jasmine and lavender scent sweeping over me. Giving a goddamn Pavlovian response, my cock twitched in my pants, and I had to grit my teeth to keep myself in control. I hated that she had this effect on me. Hated that she tested my limits when I’d never, ever had that problem before.

She strode straight to the interrogation room, having done this far too many times, and I shut the door behind us.

She sat in the chair and folded her hands on top of the table. “I have nothing to say.”

“Good. Because I have a lot to say, and it’ll be a hell of a lot easier if you keep your pretty little mouth shut.”

Her eyebrows rose, but I had no idea why. It wasn’t the first time I’d told her to shut up. If she actually did, though, now that would be a first.

I sat down across from her, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. “Why do you feel the need to keep doing this shit? Did you not get enough attention as a child?”

She rolled her eyes. “When I was a child, my parents encouraged me to follow my passions.”

“How lucky for me that one of your passions seems to be irritating the shit out of me.”

Her lips curved up at the corners, and her eyes sparkled with amusement. “That does seem to be a bonus, yes, but my protests have nothing to do with you, believe it or not. We should all care about the environment, Sheriff. If we don’t put a stop to greedy corporations razing two-hundred-year-old trees just so we can buy lettuce and socks in the same store, there’s not going to be any wildlife left, and then what will we have?”

“You’re being a bit dramatic, don’t you think? This is one tiny pocket of land—”

“One tiny pocket of land that happens to be a special value habitat which houses seventeen species of mammals, twenty-six different birds, and an immeasurable number of plants. Not to mention this pocket removes fifty-two tons of carbon dioxide each year.”

I lifted my brows in surprise. I’d, apparently falsely, assumed she’d been doing this because she was bored. Not because she’d actually researched the possible ramifications and cared about them.

Regardless, it didn’t matter. Having a new shopping center in Starlight Cove was going to be good for the community. I’d seen the plans and the proposal. On paper, it was exactly what we needed—something that would bring jobs and retain residents.

“That may be so, but this shopping center will only improve the town,” I said. “That outweighs any possible ramifications you’ve found.”

She shook her head, shooting me a look that could only be described as disappointed. “I shouldn’t be surprised you wouldn’t get it. Not everything is about money.”

Only a spoiled princess who could travel the country in a converted van without worrying about pesky things like a steady job would say something like that.

“It’s pretty apparent we’re not going to agree on this,” I said. “Though that’s not exactly a surprise.”

“Yeah, yeah, get on with the arrest already. The sooner you do, the sooner I’ll be gone and can get back there to protest again.”

I blew out a heavy sigh and sat forward, mirroring her position as I rested my forearms on the table. “That’s where the problem is. If you show up back there again, Holton Group is going to press charges.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Sheriff, what about me makes you think I’m scared about someone pressing charges?” She leaned forward and met my gaze. “I don’t care. The whole point is to make sure they can’t move forward with the development. Whether or not I continue to be arrested is irrelevant.”

There was no reasoning with someone like Luna. Someone with their head in the clouds and no grasp on the real issues facing people down on their luck. Which meant I needed to flip to Plan B and negotiate. My family just needed her to lay low for a couple weeks. Then she could protest all she wanted for all I cared, and I’d be right there to keep arresting her. It wasn’t as if she’d be able to stop the corporation that’d set their sights on this land.

“What’s it going to take for you to stop going back there?”

“Death,” she answered with so much gravity, something hot and uncomfortable bubbled in my gut.

I ignored the foreign feeling and rolled my eyes. “Quit being dramatic, and let’s see about a deal.”

She raised a brow, clearly not having expected that. “That doesn’t sound very sheriff-like. Did you manage to get that stick pulled out from your ass when I wasn’t looking?”

“Spending a lot of time looking at my ass, are you, lawbreaker?”

She lifted a single shoulder. “I can admire a nice one when I see it. Doesn’t mean I have to like the human it’s attached to.”

I brushed off her words that were undoubtedly intended to goad me and instead focused on what needed to be done. Namely, making sure Luna didn’t screw up this opportunity for my family or this town.

“You need to lay off the protesting for the next couple weeks.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Weeks? Not gonna happen. In that time, they could have the whole thing cleared.”

“Doubtful. The forecast calls for storms the rest of this week.”

“That only buys me a little time, and it’s tumultuous at best.” With her hands folded on the table, she leaned toward me. “If you want me to lay off, then I want you to fast-track the motion for discovery paperwork I submitted yesterday.”

That paperwork was pointless and a waste of my resources, but if it’d get her to agree to this, then I’d do it. It wasn’t like they’d find anything anyway. It’d only halt the progress for a short time, but a short time was all we needed.

“Fine. I’ll handle it.” But I sure as hell wasn’t going to spare a lot of manpower for it. I’d send out one of my deputies with Mark, the high school biology teacher. Otherwise, we’d be waiting around for who knew how long to get someone down here, and Luna wouldn’t be satisfied with that, which would only mean trouble. “But that’s not all I need from you.”

She pursed her lips and hummed low in her throat, the sound sending a shock wave straight to my cock. “Getting awfully greedy, aren’t you?”

I clenched my jaw, forcing back all the unwelcome images that bombarded me featuring all the ways I could be greedy with her. Now wasn’t the time or the place, and she sure as hell wasn’t the woman.

“Can you be serious for two goddamn minutes?” I snapped.

She held up her hands in surrender, but the corners of her lips tipped up as if she was enjoying this back-and-forth. “Fine, fine. What else?”

“Harper, the journalist who was at the site this morning, is here doing recon for an article on getaways along the coast. If the resort gets featured, it would mean an influx of bookings, which would be good for everyone, the town included.”

“Uh-huh…” she said, unmoved. “And let me guess—a protester going up against an evil corporation isn’t exactly the wholesome, small-town vibe they’re going for.”

“Basically,” I confirmed with a nod. “Look. I know you’re new around here, but you genuinely seem to care about this town. That resort has been a part of Starlight Cove for over a hundred years. It was—” I stopped myself, clearing my throat as I broke off. She didn’t need to know it’d been my mom’s dream. That she’d loved it with her whole heart, which was why we loved it and why my siblings and I fought tooth and nail to keep it afloat. Luna just needed the barest of facts. “It just matters, okay? And if I have the ability to help it succeed, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it so.”

Even if that meant getting creative with keeping Luna busy and out of the way.

She narrowed her eyes at me, studying me for long moments, before she nodded once. “Okay.”

My brows flew up my forehead. I hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. “Okay?”

“I’ll behave under a couple conditions.” That was more in line with what I’d been waiting for.

“Who said you get to make any demands? Or did you forget you’re the one in lockup?”

“You haven’t arrested me. No Miranda rights.” She waved a hand through the air. “We’re negotiating, so that’s how this works. If you want me to behave, I want permission to lead yoga classes on the resort’s property. I’m tired of being arrested every time I find my Zen. I’d much rather be arrested for actual important causes.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering if it could really be that easy. Especially since Addison had just been muttering about something similar this morning. “That…sounds reasonable.”

“I’m not done.”

I exhaled a long-suffering sigh. “Of course you’re not.”

“You also have to agree to attend two of those classes—as a willing participant—and receive one massage. My treat. You’re looking a little stiff, Sheriff. Holding in all that stress isn’t good for your body or your soul. As you’ve so generously proven.”

I swept my gaze over her, from her mass of chestnut waves swept over her shoulder in a messy braid, to her blue eyes lit with a ring of fire around her pupil, to her full, lush lips lifted at the corners, to the delicate lines of her throat that I so desperately wanted to wrap my hand around while I—

I shook my head to clear those thoughts and tried to get a read on her. There had to be a trick in there somewhere, but I couldn’t see it. Though, truth be told, being in her presence for the scant three hours she was demanding was going to be punishment enough. But if it’d help my family and the resort, as well as the town, I’d do it without question.

“Those are your terms? Fine.”

“That’s not all.”

I leveled her with a stare that had made fully grown men wither in their seats. She just regarded me with amusement dancing in her eyes.

“I think that’s plenty,” I bit out.

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “One last thing or there’s no deal.”

“What is it?”

“A kiss.”

I froze for half a second, sure I’d heard her wrong. “A…what?”

“A kiss,” she repeated, not even a hint of a waver in her voice.

“From Beck?” The words tasted like acid on my tongue, though I had no idea why. It wasn’t my business who she went around kissing, even if the other party was one of my brothers.

She snorted and shook her head. “From you. For educational purposes, of course. I want to see if you kiss like you do everything else.”

“And how’s that?”

“Utterly controlled and like you have a stick lodged so far up your ass, your tongue gets splinters.”

I clenched my jaw, the urge to storm out of here pitted against the need to bend her over the table and smack her ass until my hand was imprinted on it. And then find other ways to occupy her mouth so she couldn’t run it just to piss me off.

Not thinking about it a second longer, I stood and stalked over to her, pulled her straight out of her chair, sank my fingers into that lush mass of hair, and slammed my lips down onto hers.

With the amount of aggression that had built up between us in the time she’d been in town, it was no surprise that sparks erupted as soon as our mouths met. But that had nothing on the jolt of electricity that zipped through me and pooled in my cock when she parted her lips and our tongues slid against each other. I gripped her hair tighter as she moaned into my mouth. With her hands resting on my chest, she melted against me, her fists bunching the fabric of my uniform shirt. And I didn’t even care that she was wrinkling it.

Couldn’t be bothered by it.

Not when I already had to use every ounce of my restraint so I wouldn’t reach down and grip her ass, slam her into a wall, and show her just how much she affected me. I was hard as fucking stone, and it was all because of her. All for her.

Christ, this woman. She was infuriating and intoxicating at once, and I had no business being sucked into her orbit.

But as we finally pulled apart, gasping, her eyes glazed and lips swollen from my kiss, I knew that would never be possible. As long as Luna stayed in Starlight Cove, I was totally and completely fucked. And not only had I just agreed to willingly subject myself to her presence, but I’d promised my family that I’d stay on top of her to make sure she didn’t throw any more wrenches into our plans.

That meant I needed to ignore this blatant chemistry between us. Sweep it under the rug, go back to business as usual, and pretend like Luna Lancaster hadn’t just shifted my entire foundation with one tiny kiss.