“Words,” he said in a commanding voice.
“I’m listening.”
He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Good girl. Now, I promise that if I say something is all right, I mean it. I’m not secretly stewing over something or upset.”
She licked her lips nervously. “What happens if I disappoint you? Or make you mad?”
He stared at her for a long moment. “What are you worried will happen?”
A sigh escaped her lips. “It’s really annoying when someone answers a question with a question.”
His lips twitched. “Sorry, you’re right. I guess that would depend on the circumstances. I’d try to talk it out with you.
“You won’t freeze me out? Stop talking to me?”
“No. I can promise I won’t do that to you, ever. If I’m upset about something to do with you, then I will tell you. And if you do something that warrants punishment, I promise that punishment won’t ever consist of the silent treatment. It’s more likely to result in you getting a red ass.”
“Ed!”
20
He watched as heat filled her cheeks.
Maybe it was a bit mean of him, but he enjoyed making her blush. Seeing the sparks shooting from her eyes as she glared at him. Much better than the emotionless mask she used to hide what she was really thinking. Having her angry and blushing was definitely preferable to seeing her look ashamed or stressed as she had just before.
“You cannot spank me.”
“I can’t? Hmm, that’s a shame. Been dreaming about turning you over my knee, pulling your pants down, and taking my hand to that lily-white ass.”
“You’re the sheriff!”
“So? That means I don’t get to spank you?”
“It . . . I . . . I’m an FBI agent! FBI agents don’t get spanked.”
He grinned. “They don’t? What do they get? Reprimanded? Scolded? Or do they get put in the naughty corner?”
“Ed!” She held her hands up to her cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re saying these things.”
“We should talk about the consequences for breaking the rules. Especially as I have a feeling that you might have broken a few already.” He glanced sternly down at the cup of coffee on the counter. “That your first cup?”
He placed his hand around it before she could answer. “I’m thinking not, since it’s still slightly warm and the coffee pot is nearly empty.”
She gave him a guilty look. Yeah, just what he’d thought.
“I can’t survive on one cup of coffee a day, Ed. That’s barbaric. It’s cruel and unusual punishment. Much like having to call my mother.” She winced as her phone rang. “Which I really need to do.”
He raised his eyebrows. She seemed to have a strained relationship with her mother. “I’ll go get your phone. You can talk to your mother. Then you can explain why your foot is bandaged.”
“Oh, that.” She looked down at her foot as though she’d forgotten about it.
“Yes, that.?
?
He turned and walked down the passage.
“No, wait, I’ll get it.”