A/N: Thank you to the following readers for leaving wonderful reviews: angelicedg, WishfulThinker66, mrsreedus69, lollipop2404, rocknrollprincess131, and MissDawes. One of you said that Rick and Steve don't seem like the sharing type – and you're absolutely right. We'll start to see hints of that in this chapter.

Enjoy! ;)

Deanna walked alongside Amy, but Amy had no idea where they were headed. They were traveling at a slow pace, so she had to wonder if Deanna even knew. Her suspicions were confirmed when the older woman said, "I've been trying to find the right job for you, Amy. I have one in mind, but before we go there I want to ask – are you a good shot? Rick was just saying that we need someone in the bell-tower at all times."

Amy shrugged. "I am when it counts. I'm not the best, though. Sasha? She's your girl. That job shouldn't be given to anyone less than the best."

Deanna stuck out her bottom lip and nodded. "Fair enough. What did you do before all of this?"

"I was a graphic designer. That makes me pretty useless now…"

"That's not true," Deanna disputed. "If you're alive, then you're useful."

Amy smiled at the woman's wise and encouraging words. She'd frequently felt like a waste of space, like she had no special purpose or contributing trade. She pulled her own weight, but didn't always exceed beyond that.

"Would you consider yourself organized?" Deanna asked a moment later.

"Absolutely. That was always a strong suit of mine."

Deanna gave her a pleasant smile. "Perfect."

They began to walk a little faster and wound up at the town's supply building. Deanna pushed open the door and Amy followed her inside. Shelves of food filled the entire first room and weapons in the second.

"Olivia has come down with a nasty flu bug and the guys are going on a run tomorrow. We need someone to take these lists and do an inventory of everything – see what we have and what they need to get. Are you my girl?" Deanna asked, referring to what Amy had said earlier.

"I am," she replied, "but what about after today, ya know, when Olivia gets better?"

"She's been given more responsibilities lately. You'll share this job with her, and then perhaps take it over. Would that be all right?"

Amy nodded. "Let me see those lists and I'll get started."

As much as Rick told himself that Amy's behavior by the gate was exactly what he had asked of her, she'd still left him reeling. He was starting to second guess the whole thing. It seemed like a jerk move to come to an agreement and then yank it away because of his selfish state of mind – the same one he was sure Steve was in – but Steve was the sole receiver of Amy's attention now. She'd barely even looked at him. All he wanted was a hint of something, a glimmer of recognition that he was more than just some guy on the street. The night before, she'd gazed into his eyes as they'd made love, as they'd become one. The Amy he'd just seen was nothing even remotely close to that woman. That was the woman he wanted – and he couldn't wait until the sun went down to have her again.

Stalking down one of the side streets, he put his patrol on hold and went in search of Deanna. He found the woman at her house.

"I heard that Amy was getting a job this morning…" he began.

"Yes, I set her up to do inventory of the pantry and armory," Deanna said. "Did you have something else in mind?"

"Uh, no. Just thought I'd check up on her and see how she's doin'." Rick offered the woman a casual smile, as not to cause any suspicion.

After saying a quick goodbye, Rick continued on to the supply building. He quietly opened the door and then proceeded to lock it behind him. He walked into the next room, where Amy had her back to him as she looked over the list in her hand. Rick allowed his lusting eyes to drift over her round backside, which was perfectly accented by her tight jeans. He crossed the space between them and settled his hands on her hips. She jumped and let out a squeak. Her clipboard dropped to the floor with a loud clatter as she spun around.

"Shit, Rick! You scared me!" she exclaimed as she tried to quell her racing heart.

He didn't allow another word to escape from her lips. He dipped his head and kissed her with a fierce intensity that he didn't even know he possessed. Her body fused to his and he ground his rigid erection against the apex of her thighs. She moaned against his mouth and gripped his solid shoulders as she returned the kiss with equal intensity. He slid his hand between them and rubbed the warm, jean-clad area between her legs with the heel of his palm. He wanted her wet and begging for him – he wouldn't have her any other way.

Suddenly, Amy pushed him back. "Rick, we can't do this here. Anyone could walk in…"

"I locked the door," he said, breathless. "You're alone, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Then, shut up and kiss me," he quipped, lowering his head once more. She stopped him.

"Rick, you can't just barge in – while I'm working, I might add – and expect me to open my legs for you at your beck and call."

He lightly licked his lips as his hungry gaze roamed over her face. He lowered his head and nuzzled her hair, finally hovering just over her ear to say, "I know you and Steve took a shower together this morning, and as much as the thought of that drives me crazy, what you do with him is none of my business. But you belong to me, too, Amy. And I, you." His hand snaked down her front and disappeared beneath her waistband to dip his fingers into her damp heat. She held her breath and stilled. As he circled one wet finger over her clit, he said, "Don't fight me on this, because I can feel how much you want it, too… I need you, Amy – right here, right now."

Amy's bones turned to water as she melted into his embrace. Rick saw her shudder from his touch, and she released the tiniest of moans. He accepted her surrender with another wicked kiss, licking into her mouth to experience her wonderful taste all over again. She clutched onto him, worried that the weakness he was causing in her knees would make her collapse on the spot. He moved his lips away from her mouth and kissed down her neck, nipping at the soft skin as he neared the opening of her blouse. Amy tipped her head back and closed her eyes on a sigh. He began unbuttoning the thin material, revealing the same black bra from the night before. He tugged the lacy fabric to one side, baring her nipple to him, before roughly taking it into his mouth. She cried out and wove her fingers through his wavy hair, holding his head to her chest as he took his fill. A moment later, he switched to the other side. He wanted to love every part of her thoroughly, and the sweet sounds she was making told him he was doing a good job of it.

Fully standing to kiss her lips once more, Rick backed her up against the wall – one that was out of sight of the windows – and started to unfasten her pants. She pushed the article of clothing down her weak legs, toed off her shoes, and kicked it all aside. She tried to return the favor, but couldn't get past his hands. After shedding his jacket, he braced them on either side of her head and allowed her to undo his belt and jeans, all the while stealing kisses from her. Once his pants were open, she whipped off his tie, remembering the smooth feel of the garment as Steve had draped it over her eyes the night before. She stared into Rick's as she took her time with each button on his constable uniform. His burning gaze filled her body with the most delicious tension – she absolutely could not wait to have him inside of her.

When Rick's shirt was fully open, she touched her slender fingers to the bare skin, lightly dragging her nails down his quivering, yet taut, abdomen. He sucked in a breath as she lowered her head to circle one flat nipple with her tongue. She savored the salty flavor of his skin and then moved to the other side. At the same time, her hand slipped below the elastic of his boxer briefs and cupped the underside of his package, before wrapping around his throbbing cock.

Suddenly, he slammed her against the wall – not painfully, but enough to show that he was done fooling around. His mouth took possession of hers once more, his hands fisting in her already disheveled hair. She jerked on the side of his pants to free him from the stiff confines and then proceeded to do the same with her own underwear, tossing away the thin scrap.

Rick skimmed his hands up the back of her bare legs and stopped at the top of her thighs. Gripping her there, he lifted her up and held her legs around his hips. He pushed her further into the wall for added support and, once they were lined up, drove deep. Amy clung to him, their mouths brushing with every hard thrust. She let out whimpers of pleasure from the sensations he created with each stab of his hips. The slap of flesh-on-flesh was so carnal, so erotic – it made her even wilder for him. She moaned into his mouth and he smiled.

"That's it, baby. I want to hear you… I want to hear you say my name…"

She moaned again, and he clutched the tender skin beneath her backside a little tighter, his short fingernails digging into the flesh. He pounded into her, the rhythm almost unforgiving.

When her cries got louder and more frantic, Rick whispered against her lips, "Say it. Say it, Amy…"

"Rick, oh, Rick…" she breathed, and felt something in her heart shift as she gazed into his brilliant blue eyes.

I love you.

Amy swallowed the confession before it could escape and make a mess of everything.

"That's right," he said, kissing her again, "I'm the one making love to you, Amy. Me."

He sounded hurt, like maybe his pride was taking a beating with their odd arrangement, which it probably was. She had to clamp down on her bottom lip, because she almost spoke those three sacred words once more.

Rick took her to the edge, and they continued to look into each other's eyes as they reached that point of absolute oblivion. He touched his forehead to hers and gasped her name, returning the favor. She kissed him as they caught their breath and grinned at the crazy act they'd just carried out.

"I'm the worst employee ever," she whispered on a laugh.

"You could say that you were under police orders," he said with a wink.

She chewed on her lip at the handsome sight he made – pants around his knees, shirt open, hair messy…all because of her.

"You can order me around anytime you want, Constable."

Rick made a pleased sound from deep in his chest and their lips touched again. Finally, he set her down and pulled up his pants. She put on her underwear, and he retrieved her jeans before buttoning up his shirt. She accepted them with a playful smile and then closed her own shirt. She could swear that there was love in his gaze every time he looked at her, and her heart ached to share those feelings, but it was too much, too soon – and of course there was Steve to think about as well.

Just as Rick pulled on his jacket, someone tried to open the front door. When it didn't, they knocked. The startled couple looked over to see Lauren standing on the other side of the little window. She squinted from the bright sunlight outside and cupped her hands around her face to peer through the glass. Amy rushed to unlock the door, pretending to struggle as she did so.

When it opened, Lauren glanced past Amy and saw Rick standing behind her, to which she asked, "What are you doing here, Cuz? Everything okay?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah, um, I was just talking to Rick about…"

"The run tomorrow," he supplied when she came up short.

"Yes, the run. And this stupid door. I don't know what's wrong with it," she said, glancing at Rick with a nervous laugh. "It keeps getting stuck."

"I'll have someone take a look at it," he said, keeping his beautiful gaze on her.

Lauren observed the man and woman, her eyes narrow. She noted the fact that Rick's shirt wasn't fully tucked in and red splotches covered Amy's chest.

"So what's up?" Amy asked her cousin.

Lauren cleared her throat and said, "I wanted to get a few things for dinner tonight. Is this your new job?"

"Yeah! It's temporary for now, but will probably become permanent."

"That's great! So then you can help me find our dinner – or are you going to be at Steve's again tonight?" Lauren asked with a smirk.

Amy eyed Rick and saw him glance at the floor with an uncomfortable expression. Trying to diffuse the awkward situation, she said, "I don't know. He and I haven't talked about it yet."

"Well," Rick said suddenly, "I'll let you ladies get to it…"

"Yeah, uh, Rick, thanks for filling me in…" She refused to smile at the sexual innuendo, but was sure that Rick picked up on it. "Ya know, about the supplies for tomorrow."

"No problem. It was my pleasure," he said, almost giving away too much in just that one statement.

Unable to deny herself, she reached out and softly touched her fingertips to Rick's arm. He gave her a tender smile and then nodded at Lauren as he headed toward the door. Lauren stepped forward to allow him to leave. When the door shut, she pointed a look at Amy.

"Is there something going on between you and Sheriff Rick?"

Amy laughed and hoped that it didn't sound crazed. "What? What made you think that?"

"You guys keep looking at each other all weird. I kind of think that he likes you…"

"No, no way. We're just friends. That's all," Amy insisted.

Lauren sighed, still not fully convinced. "If you say so."