All three gulped and their skulks sped to a scurry pace. Then another woman paused, her spine stiffening as she whirled to face him. "We won't tell you anything!" she cried, her eyes and her voice fierce. "Your looks don't fool us. The truth is all over the B and B. We've been warned about you."
Dylan's jaw dropped. "Warned about what?"
Kitty spoke from behind him. "That you're dangerous, of course. Have you been harassing innocent women again?"
As he spun to confront her, from the corner of his eye he saw the tourists rush off. He shook his head. Something wasn't right. But the thought disappeared when he took in his first look of the morning at Kitty's flawless skin and pouty mouth. "The only innocent woman I want to harass is you."
A flush rushed up her neck and she glanced away. "It's Sunday. You'll get your wish, Sheriff, at two P.M. and at four."
She carried her plastic-wrapped costume, and he took it from her, looping his index finger around the hanger. "That's not the kind of wish I want, honey," he said softly. Leaning closer, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip.
Her "Oh" came out like a hiccup and he smiled to himself. It wasn't going to take much to turn up the angel-face's heat. He'd been foolish to wait this long, but he suspected the prolonged tension had primed her as much as it had him.
"Let's go." He took her hand, entwining their fingers, and set off in the direction of Old Town.
She made another hiccup-like sound and tried breaking his hold. After a moment he let her, resisting just enough so that the inner flesh of their fingers dragged against each other's on the long slide apart.
"Stop that," she demanded.
"But, honey - "
"Stop that too." The glance she gave him was stern.
"But that's how you taste," he said. "And I can't get it out of my mind."
A sound like a growl came out of her mouth.
"Sexy," he murmured, then had to leap away when she suddenly kicked out. "Hey, what's that for?"
She stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Okay. What are you up to?"
He was prevented from replying when someone called Kitty's name. They were in front of one of the many bed-and-breakfasts in town, and Mrs. Meeker, the proprietor of this one, hurried down the wide, front steps of her two-story, mint-green Victorian. Casting one suspicious glance back, Kitty moved to meet the other woman, leaving Dylan on the sidewalk.
Whistling lightly through his teeth, he prepared to wait. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kitty was already teetering on the sexual precipice, and he didn't have the slightest compunction about being the one to give her the gentle nudge over. Hell, he'd make sure the fall was good for her, right?
An older couple exited the B and B through its beveled-glass door, then crossed the painted plank porch. They watched their feet as they descended the front steps, looking up only when they reached the sidewalk.
Feeling nearly at peace with the world for the first time in days, Dylan smiled at them. "Good morning."
The little old lady emitted a small gasp and clutched her husband's arm, her fingers digging into the sleeve of his lemon-colored Arnold Palmer sweater. Without a rejoining pleasantry, they made a wide berth around him and hurried off down the street.
Dylan turned to stare after them. "Well, a good day to you too," he muttered. He was so surprised by their lack of courtesy that he almost missed the fact that Kitty had ended her conversation and was already heading down the street in the opposite direction of the impolite pair.
He jogged to catch up with her. "It's the weirdest thing. Since I've returned, half the strangers I meet recognize me."
"What's so weird about that? Didn't some magazine name you Man of the Year or some other ego-inflating title?"
"It's the other half. They seem to recognize me too, but they also seem afraid of me, as if I'm a criminal or something."
Kitty choked.
Which meant he got to pat her on the back, the touches turning into a lingering caress from her shoulder blades to the small of her back. It was the sweetest little dip and he planned on exploring it in more detail as soon as possible.
She glared at him over her shoulder. "I'm fine."
"I'm not."
He should have known she'd stop at that, looking at him with genuine concern. "Whatever's wrong?"