Tempting Alibi
Authors: Savannah Stuart
Tempting Alibi
Scott got into a fair amount of trouble as a teenager, but now he’s grown and runs a
respectable auto body shop. Unfortunately, the sheriff of his town has it out for him, no
matter how much he’s cleaned up his act. When he’s accused of a crime he didn’t
commit, no one is more surprised than he is when straitlaced Michaela Miller provides
him with an alibi. An alibi that’s a complete lie. Determined to find out why his sexy
next-door neighbor helped him out, he puts himself in danger of losing something he’d
never considered. His heart.
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
Tempting Alibi
ISBN 9781419929366
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tempting Alibi Copyright 2010 Savannah Stuart
Edited by Jaynie Ritchie
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication August 2010
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in
part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing,
Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of
this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or
print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and
a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print
editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your
support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales
is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
TEMPTING ALIBI
Savannah Stuart
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the
following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
BMW: Bayerische Motoren Werke
Crown Victoria: Ford Motor Company
Duke: Duke University Non-Profit Corporation
Mercedes: Daimler Chrysler AG Corporation
Mustang: Ford Motor Company
Smith & Wesson: Smith & Wesson Corporation
Trojan: Church & Dwight Virginia Co., Inc.
Velcro: Velcro Industries B.V. Limited Liability Company
Volkswagen Beetle: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Corporation
Savannah Stuart
Michaela Miller froze with her glass of wine halfway to her mouth. Her eyes
widened as she watched her sexy-as-sin neighbor Scott O’Callaghan step through his
back door and strip out of his t-shirt. He glanced around, once in her direction, then
toward the house on the other side of his own before stripping his pants off.
Underneath he wore shorts that should be illegal. She knew he’d been in the Marine
Corps before settling back in Hudson Creek and those were his…silkies or softies—or
some other ridiculous name. Whatever the damn things were called, they barely
covered his crotch and they put all sorts of bad thoughts in her mind. The man
obviously wore them to drive her insane. Every morning he was up at dawn and
jogging around the lake they lived on and showing off all sorts of taut, lean muscles and
tattoos. And she’d only discovered that by accident. She’d gotten up early one morning
six months ago and had seen him run by her place at the ungodly hour. Now mornings
were her favorite time of the day.
Seemed she was getting a double show today though. Apparently his morning
workout wasn’t enough and he was getting in some extra time tonight. Something told
her he had no clue she was watching. The light bulb on her back porch had blown a
week ago and she’d been too lazy to replace it. Usually the moonlight and stars
reflecting off the lake gave her enough light anyway, but the sky was overcast tonight
and she was sitting in relative darkness.
Her hand tightened around her glass as he reached up and grabbed on to the metal
bar he’d installed recently. It was attached to some sort of pole thing and now she
realized why he’d mounted it. Michaela’s stomach fluttered as he started doing pull-
ups.
6
Tempting Alibi
Up and down, up and down. Those big arms clenched and tightened each time he
pulled up. It was beyond embarrassing, but her panties dampened as she watched him
move. For such a bulky guy, he moved with a fluid grace that made her wonder what
he’d be like beneath the sheets.
He was male perfection. Dark hair, dark, piercing eyes and not an inch of fat on that
hard body. Unfortunately he was quiet as hell and no doubt thought she was an idiot.
Scott was from the area, but he’d been gone for years and had moved back only seven
months ago. She’d brought him cookies to welcome him to the neighborhood. Everyone
who lived on Hudson Lake knew everyone and she’d wanted to do something nice.
When she’d shown up with her plate, he’d grunted something inaudible, then just
stared at her as she rambled on for a full two minutes about—God, what was it? She
couldn’t even remember now but since he’d barely responded to her neighborly
gesture, she’d steered clear of the sexy man. Didn’t mean she couldn’t admire what was
placed in front of her.
After the pull-ups, he started on the sit-ups. When he switched to push-ups, she
shook her head and slipped through her back door. Nearly an hour had passed and if
she wasn’t careful, she’d combust from watching him.
She had to get up early to teach a yoga class anyway. Thursdays were her early
days and her patrons paid good money for her to do her job right. She wasn’t going to
come in late and tired because she’d been horny and spying on her neighbor.
* * * * *
“Hey, boss, would you sign off on this?”
Scott glanced up from filling out the payroll as Daniel walked into his office
holding a clipboard. “What is it?”
“I just finished with Mr. Wilkinson’s BMW. I’m gonna call and let him know if
that’s all right.”
7
Savannah Stuart
“Sounds good.” Scott quickly scribbled his signature without reading the
paperwork. Daniel had been with him since he’d opened O’Callaghan’s Auto Body
Shop. He was the most trustworthy employee he had.
Daniel cleared his throat. “Thanks. By the way, I just saw Michaela Miller drive up.
Thought you’d like to take that one personally.”
That got Scott’s attention. “Get the hell out of here,” he muttered.
Chuckling to himself, Daniel quickly left the office.
Scott wiped his dirty palms on his work pants. His mouth filled with cotton at the
mere mention of
her
name. Anytime the sexy woman got near him, he lost the ability to
think, let alone speak. He’d lived through boot camp, SERE school, and about a dozen
other brutal training programs during his eight years in the Marine Corps. Not to
mention he’d lived in a warzone for six of those years. But for some reason he couldn’t
talk to his petite, redheaded neighbor for longer than a couple minutes without
breaking into a nervous sweat. It was fucking embarrassing.
The sound of the bell jingling on the front door pushed him into action. He turned
off his computer screen and exited his office.
Michaela stood behind the counter with her car keys in hand. She smiled when she
saw him. “Hi, I think my car needs to see a doctor.”
His gut clenched as her face lit up.
Talk
, he ordered his mouth. “What’s the
problem?”
She shrugged and her smile faded a fraction. “I have no idea. On my way to work
this morning, it started making these little chugging sounds. Like it was coughing or
something. I figured maybe I could leave it with you and stop back by when I’m done
with work… Of course that’s only if you can fit me in. I know you’re busy and—”
“I’ll fit you in.” He wished he could smile or do something to put her more at ease
but all he could think about was pushing down those tight black yoga pants she wore
and sliding his cock into her tight pussy. He didn’t know how, but he knew she’d be
8
Tempting Alibi
tight. As far as he was aware, his neighbor didn’t date. Or she hadn’t since he’d moved
in. Not that he’d been paying attention.
Much.
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll just leave my keys here. Do you want me to fill out some
paperwork or anything?”
“Yeah.” Good for him. Another word. Reaching under the counter, he started to
pass her the information form when he spotted Sheriff Hill slamming his car door shut.
He cursed under his breath.
“What?” Michaela asked, confusion evident in her pale gray eyes.
“Wh…oh, nothing.” He realized she thought he’d been talking to her. As the front
door opened, Scott braced himself for more bullshit from the sheriff.
Michaela turned at the sound of the bell. “Hi, Sheriff,” she murmured before
returning to her paperwork.
“Morning, Michaela.” Just as quick, the older man turned his hard stare on Scott.
His dark eyes narrowed. “Hello, Mr. O’Callaghan. Was wondering if you’d be able to
provide an alibi for where you were last night.”
And there it was. No preamble. No niceties. Nothing. The son of a bitch had been in
here hassling him for the past couple of months for no reason. Scott gritted his teeth. He
hated that this was happening in front of Michaela of all people. “Who wants to know?”
The sheriff slammed his fist down on the counter. “I do. How about you show me
some respect, son? There was a robbery down at my nephew’s shop last night. Got the
guy on video.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Scott could see Michaela watching them and he wanted
to knock the sheriff’s teeth in. “First of all, I’m not your son. And second, if you’ve got
the guy on video, why are you here hassling me about it?”
“He was wearing a mask but he’s got your build.” The sheriff leaned forward a
fraction in what Scott supposed was meant to be an intimidating manner but after
having a tough bastard as his drill sergeant, the sheriff was like the Easter bunny.
9
Savannah Stuart