Buck Naked Read online

  “I can tell you’re just agreeing with me to make me shut up,” Samantha said accusingly, breaking into her thoughts.

  Sadie sighed. “I was just thinking that I only made the split with Jeff final last month—it’s really too early to be thinking about finding Mr. Right.”

  “He doesn’t have to be ‘Mr. Right.’” Sadie sounded exasperated. “What you need is Mr. Right Now. Just some guy to have a little fun with.”

  Sadie laughed. “I swear, if you followed your own advice you’d be having so much sex . . .”

  “All right, so I haven’t had it in six months—who’s counting?” Samantha sounded a little testy. “All the more reason for you to get some for both of us.”

  “Good night, Sammie.” Sadie’s headache was coming back in force now and suddenly she was incredibly tired. She loved her sister but right now she needed some sleep.

  “All right—I can take a hint. Good night and be safe, sis. Love you,” Samantha said.

  “Love you too.” Sadie blew her a kiss and hung up the phone. She looked at the box with its many albums of pictures that should be impossible and slowly put the baby book back inside.

  Had her mother had a secret life? Another life in another time long before Sadie and Samantha had been born? But how? How was that possible?

  Sadie shook her head. It was too much—she would deal with it in the morning. In the meantime, she hoped her growing headache would fade away while she slept.

  Nine

  Unfortunately, the headache didn’t go away. Sadie woke up with it and it stayed with her—a dull throbbing in her temples that refused to leave no matter how many ibuprofen she took.

  Looking at Fiona’s books didn’t help any either. Sadie picked them up from the eccentric pharmacist as soon as she got to work and spent all morning studying them. By lunchtime her headache was much worse and she still hadn’t made much sense of Fiona’s strange method of bookkeeping.

  She was just about to call it quits and take a short break when she heard a sharp rapping on her glass outer door. Her stomach fluttered—who could it be?

  Mathis, whispered a hopeful little voice in her head. Sadie squashed it ruthlessly and stood up to go to the door. She just hoped she looked all right if whoever it was turned out to be a prospective client. Today she was dressed much more comfortably in a red sweater and jeans but she’d only worn the casual outfit because she was certain she wouldn’t be meeting any new customers.

  She took a deep breath and stepped out of her office into the lobby area. It was a small space, just perfect for a waiting area and a receptionist if she ever made enough money to hire one, which Sadie doubted.

  Her knocker had already let himself in, which was strange because Sadie had been certain she’d locked the door. After her disastrous walk around town the day before, she wasn’t taking any chances on being alone with anyone—especially strange men.

  Which is exactly the position you’re in now, whispered a nervous little voice in her head. A very large strange man.

  Not that he looked particularly strange—just big. He was a tall man—at least as tall as Mathis—with broad shoulders and eyes a pale green the color of spring leaves. Sadie placed his age around twenty-six or-seven, though it was hard to be exactly sure. He had dark brown hair pulled back in a sleek knot at the nape of his powerful neck and tan skin that was offset by the pressed white oxford shirt he wore tucked into clean, tightfitting jeans. Italian driving loafers on his feet and a watch that appeared to be a Rolex belied his casual dress.

  But even without the expensive accessories Sadie would have known this man was something out of the ordinary. There was an aura of muted power about him—like a charge of electricity. A lightning bolt about to strike.

  He lifted his head and sniffed the air—inhaling slowly and obviously, like a hunting animal trying to catch a scent. Then he gave her a smile that made all the short hairs at the nape of her neck stand up at once.

  “Hello,” she said nervously, making sure to keep plenty of distance between them in case he went crazy like the men at Sweet Stems and the Friendly Bean. “I’m Sadie Becker, CPA. How can I help you? Are you . . . are you looking for an accountant?”

  “I might be.” His lazy grin grew a little. “Hello, Ms. Becker. I heard you were new in town and I wanted to come make you welcome. I’m Liam Keller, the mayor of Cougarville.” His voice was a deep, purring rumble and he stepped forward with one well-manicured hand extended to shake.

  “The mayor? Really? You look so young for such an honor.” Sadie put out her own hand reflexively.

  “Age is nothing but a number, wouldn’t you agree?” Keller murmured. “I would argue that none of us should let our age stop us from reaching for that which we desire.”

  He took her hand in both of his and bent over it as though he would kiss it. But instead of kissing, he inhaled deeply again, his green eyes closing in what looked like ecstasy as he scented her skin.

  “Ah, I didn’t believe that fool Blackwell when he told me what you were. But now I see he was actually right for once,” he said, straightening up at last.

  “Blackwell? You mean Mathis?” Sadie’s heart began to pound. “What did he say to you about me?”

  “Nothing that need concern you.” He was still holding her hand in his, his sharp eyes searching her face. “You’re not . . . attached to Blackwell, are you?”

  Sadie thought of the meal and the kiss she’d shared with her neighbor . . . and then the way he’d basically kicked her out in the cold.

  “No,” she said firmly. “No, I’m definitely not. He’s my neighbor—that’s all.”

  “And he didn’t offer you his protection?” Keller persisted.

  “Protection?” Sadie frowned. “Protection from what? No, he never said anything about that.”

  “Good.” There was a purring note of satisfaction in Keller’s deep voice. “I’m so glad to hear that because I came here to invite you to lunch.”

  “Lunch?” Sadie looked at him uncertainly, wishing he would let her hand go. “Um, that’s a very generous offer but I have a lot of work to do so—”

  “Perhaps you’re worried about a repeat of your past experiences at Sweet Stems and the Friendly Bean?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “Oh . . .” Sadie felt her cheeks go hot. She wished more than ever that she could take her hand out of his but she didn’t know how to do it without being rude. “How . . . how did you know about that?”

  “I make it my business to know what happens in my town.” His voice dropped from a purr to a growl. “Let me assure you that those fools who attacked you yesterday have been punished and you need not fear a repeat of such unpleasantness.”

  “Punished? You punished them?” Sadie felt her stomach do a flip. Keller was beginning to sound more like a mob boss than a small-town mayor. And he still wouldn’t let go of her hand.

  He seemed to sense her concern because he gave a soft laugh and shook his head.

  “Don’t misunderstand me—I mean they’ve been sanctioned, that’s all. After all, we can’t have our unmated females afraid to go out of doors, can we?”

  “I guess not,” Sadie said doubtfully.

  “Exactly. So I want you to know that you’re safe, Ms. Becker—completely safe here in Cougarville. I personally guarantee it. And if you’d like to accompany me to the Cougar’s Den for lunch, I’ll announce publicly that you’re under my protection so no other male will dare to so much as look at you.”

  “The Cougar’s Den?” Sadie thought of the bar and grill at the end of Main Street and a cold shiver went down her back. Both Mathis and Fiona had warned her against going there.

  Keller, who had been watching her face carefully, seemed to understand her trepidation.

  “I own it, you know. You’ll be perfectly safe there,” he drawled, tugging gently at her hand, which he still held hostage in his much larger ones.

  “I’m sure I would.” Sadie gave him a polite smile. “