“What—?” His mouth settled on hers before she could finish the question, answering with a demonstration that made her heart thunder.
His hot tongue teased along her lips, and she gladly opened, welcoming him in, curling her own tongue around him and giving up a soft moan of pleasure. His big hands framed her face, gently angling her one way while he tilted the other so that their mouths aligned perfectly for a hot, deep, wet kiss that curled her toes and tightened her womb.
He pulled back, drank in two deep breaths, then gripped her hand. “Come on.”
They stepped back into the humid air. He locked the door behind them, took her hand again and headed for his car. They’d gone only a couple of feet when her cell phone buzzed in her back pocket. While keeping pace with him, she withdrew it and glanced at the screen—then stopped. “It’s Phoenix,” she said by way of explanation. Never, ever would she ignore her sister’s call.
He paused with her, waiting, his expression hungry.
Ridley cleared her throat to remove the husky need from her voice, then said, “What’s up, Phoenix?”
“We found a dog.”
“We?” she asked.
Phoenix rushed out, “Cooper and me. We were down by the creek—”
“There’s a creek?”
“Ridley. The dog might be hurt.”
Something about this felt very off. She heard that odd note in her sister’s voice—a note that meant she was the one hurt, scared or upset. No, no, no. Phoenix had already been through too much. “What can I do?”
“Some a-holes were picking on it, so we brought it back and it needs a bath. Will you see if there’s any flea soap in the camp store, and maybe some dog food?”
“I’m on it, honey. Everything will be fine.” Or at least, she prayed it would. The idea of Phoenix encountering people who’d mistreat an animal made Ridley want to put on her whoop-ass attitude and annihilate some jerks. “Where are you now?”
“Cooper’s house. You know where it is?”
She looked at Baxter. “Cooper’s house?”
A new alertness had entered his expression, as if he recognized a problem, and knew it would lead to his frustration.
To his credit, he picked up on her angst and didn’t complain. “It’s there.” He pointed at the stone house on the rise. Putting his hand on her shoulder, his thumb caressing the joint, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Ridley shook her head and said to Phoenix, “I’ll take care of it and be there in just a few, okay?” She’d rush because she needed to see for herself that Phoenix was okay. She’d just gotten her sister back. No way in hell would she let her go again. “Don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Ridley.”
Blowing a kiss into the phone, she disconnected and, with a ton of regret, looked at Baxter. He stood there, tall, tense, and oh-so-ready. “I’m really sorry.”
His eyes closed. “Well, damn.”
Briefly, she explained what she knew while heading for the camp store. “I could have asked someone else to do it, but—”
“She’s your sister.”
How awesome was it that he understood? Pretty damn awesome. “Right.”
He kept stride with her, saying, “If Maris doesn’t have it here, I can run into town to grab what’s needed.”
She flashed him a smile over her shoulder. Not only did he not complain about their thwarted plans, but he offered to help. “A knight in shining armor.”
“Let’s not get carried away.”
She paused just outside the store door so that he almost bumped into her, then whispered, “Not yet, anyway. Later, I plan to get very carried away.”
Clasping her hips, he aligned his groin with her bottom. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Ridley drew in a shuddering breath. “That?” she asked, pressing back against him and the erection she felt. “Or my comment?”
“Both.”
Before she expired of need, Ridley hurried on inside.
Fortunately, Maris had everything she needed, and to Ridley’s surprise, Baxter didn’t leave her once she had it all in a bag. He took the bag from her and started with her toward the hill.
Slanting him a look, she asked, “You’re coming, too?”
“Might as well.” He stared straight ahead. “I’m in need of a distraction.”
Despite her worry, it pleased her that she wasn’t the only one deeply affected. “Can I ask you something?”
If Ridley hadn’t been watching him, she might have missed the very slight way he tensed.
“Something personal?”
“Relax. I’m not going to ask if you have dreams of marriage.” God knew, she didn’t. “Actually, it’s about Cooper.”
His shoulders loosened. “What about him?”
“Does he often take employees to his house?”
He shrugged. “For a grill-out every now and then, or to discuss a problem, sure.” He put his hand on her back as the hill got steeper, giving her a little boost. “But if you’re trying to find a roundabout way of asking if he gets involved with the women he employs, no, he doesn’t. This thing with Phoenix is a first.”
“So everyone has noticed that he’s interested?”
Baxter snorted. “It’d be hard to miss. Surprising, too. Not only does Coop not date employees, far as I know he doesn’t date. Anything he does with women he keeps strictly private.” He nodded at the house. “So private, that I’ve never known him to bring anyone here except, like I said, as a group thing.”
“Wow.”
“Don’t look so worried. Coop’s a good guy.”
“It’s not that.” She chewed her bottom lip, but she hadn’t had anyone to talk to, and for some ridiculous reason Baxter suddenly felt like a good confidant. She glanced at him. “Do you know anything about my sister?”
He shrugged again.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I can guess.” His brows pulled together. “I’m not exactly obtuse when it comes to women.”
Oh, hell no. He wasn’t...he wouldn’t... “You were interested in my sister?” If she was second choice, she’d—
“What? No.” He shook his head. “I mean, of course I noticed her. Any straight guy with a heartbeat would notice her. But from the start, she looked at Coop differently.”
Mildly appeased, Ridley said, “So let’s hear it. What do you think you know about her?”
Without hesitation, he said, “She’s not shy, though she comes off that way because she’s so reserved. Seems to me that’s something new for her, like she probably used to be more outgoing.”
“Very true.” It killed Ridley to know how much damage those bastards had done.
Baxter continued, saying, “She’s a little... I don’t know. Wounded. Divorce maybe?”
“No,” Ridley said without thinking. “Getting dumped is my shtick.” The second the words left her mouth, Baxter paused to stare at her. She didn’t want to go into those details, so she coasted past it real quick. “Phoenix was assaulted. Robbed, threatened.” Her throat tightened. “Hurt.”
“Jesus,” he breathed. “Tell me the fuckers are locked up.”
She wished she could. “They got away.” Shaking off the worst of the memories, she added, “Phoenix is one of the strongest people I know. You could tell that girl to move a mountain and somehow she’d make it happen, but since the attack, she’s had a hard time finding her inner Amazon. She’s still in there, I know it. Phoenix knows it, too, and she’s impatient to get back to one hundred percent. I think coming here is a great first step for her. But if things go wrong between her and Coop—”
“Give your sister some credit. Would an Amazon, even one in hiding, let a guy get the best of her?”
She frowned. “No, probably not. I can’t help feeling protective, though.”
“My guess is Coop is feeling the same.” They’d almost reached the yard when Baxter said, “You know his wife was murdered, right?”
Ridley stopped so suddenly, she almost tripped herself.
Baxter turned to face her. “From what I heard, she was in a convenience store picking up bread and milk. There was an attempted robbery, a fight broke out, guns were involved, and Coop’s wife got caught in the crossfire before the police arrived and killed both men.”