She’d brought the outdoors in by placing plants on all available surfaces, including the mantel over the small fireplace, the shelf at the bar-type eating nook and the counter between the sink and the microwave.
In the bathroom, she’d exchanged the utilitarian shower curtain with a puffy one the shade of butter that matched the towels and floor mat. In the corner, another plant hung from the ceiling.
He went two steps up the ladder to the loft and saw she’d also exchanged the bare bedding with a soft quilt and matching shams on fat pillows. Other changes were obvious in the loft, like the hanging light and lap desk with a book still on it, the low storage trunk she used as a nightstand and the wicker laundry hamper.
Phoenix Rose had taken a small vacation cabin and turned it into a cozy and functional home.
“Do you see something?”
He glanced down and found Phoenix standing very close by, her face turned up to his, her eyes worried behind the lenses of her glasses. “Only a decorator’s touch.” As he climbed down, she moved back—and almost fell over one of Ridley’s suitcases.
The cases alone crowded the small space. With a muttered complaint, Phoenix moved them to flank the fireplace, clearing them from the center of the floor.
She’d have her hands full tonight getting her sister settled—and that on top of a busy day.
Plus a brief foray into lust.
If he thought about that much, he’d get primed again. Not good with two women standing there watching him in such close quarters.
“Everything looks secure. Maybe it was Daron looking for you...” Although he couldn’t imagine any of his employees leaving mud tracks behind. It was almost as if whoever had come up on her deck had first tromped through the woods during the storm.
He didn’t like that notion at all.
“Well.” Phoenix laced her fingers together and smiled up at him. “Thanks for checking.”
“Seriously,” Ridley said. “It’s always nice to have a big stud around for the dangerous stuff.”
Phoenix looked horrified, but Coop found her hilarious.
“Been a long time since anyone called me a stud.”
“Bull.” Ridley had been peering into the bathroom, but now she turned his way. “You’re too confident to be unfamiliar with outrageous flattery.”
“And you, Ridley? You’re rather confident yourself. Does that mean you get outrageous flattery heaped at your feet?”
She gave him a shark’s smile, all teeth, attitude, and yes, confidence. “Absolutely.”
Before the banter could go any farther, Phoenix dove in. “I guess we should call it a night.”
Coop hesitated, but with Ridley now inside the bathroom, complaining about the minuscule proportions of the shower, he scooped a hand around Phoenix’s nape and drew her up on her tiptoes to brush his mouth over hers.
The sensation was electric, especially now that he knew how good she tasted and how quickly she could ignite. He stepped back slowly, resenting the distance that had to be between them, even while knowing it was for the best.
He had a hell of a lot to think about, and she needed time to decide just how far she wanted the physical attraction to go.
To keep Ridley from knowing, neither of them said a thing until he reached the door and opened it. “Will I see you tomorrow at the store for coffee?”
She drew a slow breath and smiled. “I’ll be there.”
Hopefully, her sister wasn’t an early riser. Coop would enjoy the chance to talk to Phoenix alone...and if things went right, maybe taste her again, too.
5
Ridley woke with a stiff back and a desperate need for coffee. There were no familiar sounds. Sunlight poured in through the thin curtains over a small window.
It took her a second to orient herself, and then she realized she was in the cramped loft of Phoenix’s new digs.
God, the mattress—if you could call it that—was just too lumpy.
She turned over and found that Phoenix had already ditched, leaving her alone, and she hadn’t heard a thing.
That shouldn’t have surprised her. After all, she’d always been an owl to Phoenix’s rooster, but last night they’d been so physically close in the bed; every time she’d moved, she’d bumped Phoenix. Little sis hadn’t complained. Ridley had, repeatedly, but Phoenix had stoically concentrated on sleeping.
Or more likely, she’d been concentrating on that big, hot-and-sexy hunk she called a boss. Whew. Cooper Cochran had that indefinable thing that drew women like flies. Call it machismo or a sexual aura; it gave him the power to dominate a room.
It made a woman ultra-aware of his presence...but could also make her feel safe.
In Ridley’s opinion, he was exactly what Phoenix needed—and the last man Ridley would have expected to draw her interest. Clearly, big men were no longer off the list for little sis.
She smiled, seeing that as a positive sign, an indication that Phoenix was getting back to her usual self.
Now, if only they’d capture the bastards who had savaged her...
With an effort, Ridley unclenched her fists and turned to her back, staring up at the exposed boards of the loft ceiling. It was so low in some places that she couldn’t stand upright.
This is where Phoenix has chosen to escape—rather than come to me.
It broke her heart to know she’d let down the person closest to her, that, for some reason, Phoenix wasn’t comfortable using her for support and backup when she needed it most.
Even though she’d gone running to Phoenix when her scum ex had dropped her like a hot, barren potato.
Groaning, Ridley forced herself to sit up and, using both hands, shoved her wild hair out of her face.
First things first: she needed coffee.
Where had Phoenix told her she could get a cup? Oh, yeah, the camp store. Hopefully that wasn’t too far away, or too crowded with other people.
They’d talked for a while last night, after Ridley had insisted on sleeping where Phoenix slept, not only so they could talk, but because in the rustic resort with woods all around and numerous big trees, any number of bugs could be lurking.
Ridley didn’t do bugs. Not ever.
It had seemed far more likely that the ground floor might suffer a bug attack, so she’d gone to the loft.
Did bugs climb ladders?
Still sluggish, she crawled across the awful mattress and peered over the side.
The bathroom was down there.
Her clothes, her makeup...everything she needed so she could then go fetch coffee, which she needed the most, was down there.
Resigned, she turned and carefully descended the ladder. The wooden floors were cool against her feet, but once she stepped out of the air-conditioning, it would be smothering hot, probably muggy too from all the rain last night.
Wearing only her nightshirt and panties, she went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and looked at the disaster of her reflection in an oval mirror over the sink.
She was contemplating the phone-booth-sized shower when the knock came at the door.
She stared at it for a full ten seconds before deciding to answer. It could be Big Sexy and if so, she had some questions for him.
Glancing down, she saw that her shirt covered all things vital; no need to delay while she dug through a suitcase.
Shoving her hair back again, she turned the knob and opened the door—then gawked. “Lord have mercy. You might be better than coffee, and that’s saying something, you know?”
More than six feet of tanned, chiseled body stood before her. If that wasn’t enough, nature decided to go for overkill with dark blond wavy hair, a sensual smile and laughing, vivid green eyes. My, my, my.
She’d had a lot of conquests, but none as stunning as this walking turn-on.
“Thank you—I think?” The vision grinned down at her. “And actually, I have coffee, too.” He lifted a foam cup. “Phoenix sent me, so I assume it’s the way you like it.”
“Delivered by a gorgeous man? Oh, Phoenix knows me so well.” She took the cup and sipped, her eyes closing in bliss as the warmth and taste—and yeah, maybe the caffeine, too—penetrated the fog surrounding her. “Wow, that’s good.”
Tall, blond and sexy propped a rock-hard shoulder on the door frame. “So you’re Phoenix’s sister, Ridley?”