Obviously annoyed, Ridley sat up with enough angry movement to shake the whole bed. He could feel her glaring at him, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Not yet.
She smacked his shoulder. “Don’t you dare fall asleep.”
Here we go. Baxter looked at her. “Problem?” he asked with admirable calm—a calm he knew would only fire her up more.
With wild hair around her face, her naked body rosy, she snapped, “That didn’t go at all how I planned it.”
“No?” Baxter crossed his arms behind his head and said reasonably, “I came. You came.” He lifted a brow, eyeing her naked boobs. Damn, she has a kickin’ body. Despite that, his attention was drawn back to her eyes. “You even screamed a little—and RVs aren’t soundproof, FYI.”
Her jaw dropped and fresh color stained her cheekbones. “Oh, my God.”
Since he didn’t want her shy about letting loose in the future—and he had no real plans of taking her to his house—he said quickly, “We both enjoyed ourselves. So where’s the problem?”
It took her a second to gather her thoughts, then her beautiful blues fried him. “It was too fast.”
He could have laughed. Fast, yes. But he knew that wasn’t the lady’s problem. No, Ridley had wanted to call the shots and instead he’d made a point of taking over.
At least, that was what he told himself, that every move, every word, had been deliberate.
He wasn’t sure that was true. Once she’d opened that door, he’d lost sight of the long game in favor of just having her. Of finally getting her naked, touching her, tasting her.
He’d moved on instinct, on need, without a plan in mind.
Never would he admit that to her, though. “Give me five minutes and we can start over. I can maybe make it last a little longer the second time. Maybe. Might have to happen with the third—”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t think so.”
Another challenge? This time he did smile, openly, almost a taunt. “You don’t have to make it more interesting for me, you know.”
Her eyes flared wide. “Go home.”
Deliberately, he yawned. “In a minute.” And he closed his eyes...but kept his senses alert. Ridley was the type of woman who did unexpected things. She could attack at any moment and he had to be ready. Hell, he could feel the whole bed trembling with her ire.
Suddenly, she cuddled into his side. “I’ll give you an hour. Prepare yourself.”
Smug in the outcome, Baxter slipped an arm around her, kissed her forehead and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
*
Today was not a good day to be running late. After opening the padlock on the maintenance building doors and stepping inside, Phoenix checked the time on her phone. It was already 7:15 and she still had a lot of things to put away before she could grab a quick shower and join Cooper.
Maybe, she thought with a smile, she’d just shower at his house.
Would that be too invasive? Would it signify growth in their relationship that Cooper didn’t want? Sometimes he was so hard to read.
Regardless, now that she was more accepting of her feelings, she was anxious to see him again.
She stored the tools she’d carried in her hands, then turned to go for the cart that she’d left outside.
Suddenly the metal door slammed shut. With only a couple of small windows, heavy shadows immediately filled the interior.
Thoughts scrambling, she started forward. There’d been no wind, no reason for the door to—
A loud bang sent alarm screaming through her. Then another and another, until the rapid-fire pops registered in her brain.
Gunfire.
Dear God. An acrid scent filled her nostrils as she dove behind a tall toolbox, shaking uncontrollably, her heart slamming in her chest. Fear made her clumsy, and as the sound escalated, she covered her head, cowering in a tight ball, a scream strangling in her throat.
One thought cut through the terror.
She might die here...when she’d just started to live again.
Her poor sister—Ridley would be devastated.
And Cooper. Dear God, Cooper. How would he deal with this after losing his beloved wife?
“Phoenix!”
When she first heard the shout, Phoenix didn’t understand. She was so mired in her fear that it took her a second to realize that the loud pops had dwindled, replaced by a new sound that closely resembled...fists on the door?
“Damn it, Phoenix! Answer me.”
Daron? She thought it, then she yelled in relief, “Daron!”
The doors slammed open and he charged in as if he’d thrown himself against them. As he searched the gravel-floored building, their eyes met, then he looked around again and with a curse, headed to the right of the doors, growling, “Firecrackers.”
The fierce beating of her heart began to slow. Cautiously raising her head, she became aware of the gravel cutting into her knees and shins, of a small fire flickering on a bale of hay left over from the fall. And the smoke, so much smoke hanging in the air.
Now that she saw it, her eyes burned and she coughed.
Daron stomped, rearranged and smothered the flames before they could really take hold. Fresh air blew into the building.
She wasn’t alone. Wasn’t being attacked.
Her legs were too rubbery to stand, so Phoenix dropped back onto her butt—reminded again of that damn sharp gravel. She put her head on her knees and concentrated on drinking in big gulps of air.
Why did it keep happening?
She hadn’t heard him approach, but then Daron’s hands were on her shoulders and he pulled her close, offering comfort. “You’re okay, babe. Some fucking asshole threw in some firecrackers and then locked the doors.”
She’d been locked in?
“How...” She swallowed to remove the squeak from her voice. “How did you know?”
“I was heading up here to look for a fuse for a camper when I heard the noise. Fireworks aren’t allowed in the park.”
She suddenly realized his chest was bare, her hands fisted against him. He was incredibly warm, solid and safe.
But he wasn’t Cooper.
His hand cupped the back of her head. “I was already irritated, but then I saw your cart and I...” He shook his head. “I just knew.” Hugging her again, he kissed the top of her head. “Scared the bejesus out of me.”
She choked on a laugh. “Bet it scared me more.” Knowing she couldn’t continue to cower against him, she pressed back and sucked in another deep breath, hoping it would help to loosen the restriction in her chest. “Sorry.” Composing herself was so difficult. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Hush.” He stood and helped her up, frowning at her scraped knees. “I need to call Coop, and then I need to call the cops.”
“Cops?”
He gave her an incredulous look, which he quickly softened. “Hon, someone did this on purpose. The door was locked from the outside.”
“Oh, right.” She felt sick as it all started sinking in. “But who?”
“No idea, but we’re going to find out.” He withdrew his cell phone.
Phoenix touched his arm. “Don’t tell Cooper yet. I’ll explain it to him.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why wait?”
“It...might bother him. I’d rather he see that I’m okay first.”
Daron considered her a moment, then nodded before thumbing in a few numbers.
Fretful, so many worries squeezing her heart, Phoenix waited.
“Coop? Hey, it’s Daron. You busy?...No,” he said quickly. “Everything is fine, but could you come down to the maintenance building? I need to show you something.” He nodded, then added, his gaze on Phoenix, “Yeah, she’s right here. I’ll explain when you get here...Right. See you in five.” He disconnected and shoved the phone into his pocket, again looking around. “We need a new lock.”
Still feeling dazed, Phoenix looked at him.
Brows flat, he explained, “I broke the other one.”
She thought of how he crashed inside. And if he hadn’t? Eventually she’d have realized the problem, but would the straw have caught fire first? What about the fuel and other accelerants? There were so many tools and pieces of equipment in the building, she knew she’d have been jumping at shadows. Solemn, aware of what could have happened, she whispered, “Thank you, Daron.”