by Calista Fox
At the sheriff’s office, Ryan changed into the pair of jeans and the white button-down shirt he’d worn to Austin that morning. He returned to Ginger’s shop as she was packing a few items into one of her monogrammed shopper’s bags.
“Interested in a police escort home, ma’am?” he asked in a playful tone.
She smiled sweetly at him, making his gut clench and his groin tightened. No two ways about it, he was crazy about her.
“I was hoping you’d offer,” she said. “I want to make dinner for you, for all you’ve done for me.”
“You don’t have to do that, darlin’.” His hands clasped her hips and he eased her toward him so he could give her a long, deep kiss.
When she finally pulled away, her chest rose and fell quickly and she spoke in a breathless voice. “You curl my toes.”
Ryan grinned at her. “I can do better than that.”
He kissed her again, passionately, loving the feel of her soft lips and her tongue tangling with his. Having her body pressed against him as he slid his arms around her waist aroused him instantly.
They eventually came up for air, and Ryan said, “We should take this somewhere else.”
“Gladly,” she said. “Follow me.”
They pulled into her drive twenty-five minutes later and Ryan had her wait in the foyer again as he swept the house. This evening, he’d paid extra attention to the cars around them as they drove out to the lake. But there hadn’t been many people on the road, given that it was dinnertime. And no one had come out this far, except for the two of them.
“So, did you learn anything else from the sheriff?” she asked when he gave her the green light to enter her kitchen.
“Just that our perps are good at disappearing. They know when, where and how to lay low, it seems. Ditto on making their moves.”
Which had caused Ryan to want to continue his downtown patrol this evening, but the sheriff wanted to take over, apparently finding it a personal slight someone had committed a crime in his town—two was worse. He wasn’t going to let the robbers get away with the trouble they’d caused. Plus, he’d told Ryan that since there was no Mrs. Johnson waiting at home for him, he didn’t mind putting in the extra hours. He’d also let Ryan know he could log the time he spent watching out for Ginger, but Ryan had immediately declined the offer. Keeping an eye on Ginger while there were thieves afoot, who’d already attacked her once, was something he would’ve done whether he was a deputy or not.
“Maybe this time they really did leave town. A full tank of gas could get them out of our hair,” she said.
“Yeah, well, we’d prefer to nab them before they become someone else’s problem. They’re professional criminals. They’re also drinkers,” Ryan added as he pulled the cork on the bottle of Chardonnay she’d handed over before turning her attention to the refrigerator. “Max Lawton said they loaded up on beer and whisky, along with other groceries and necessities, the latter being the reason the sheriff hoped to find them in one of the campgrounds in the area.”
“The one who tackled me reeked of alcohol,” she confirmed. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“They might be particularly dangerous because of impaired judgment and an overinflated sense of power and agility. Or they could slip up for the same reasons.”
“Huh. That makes sense.”
“We’re hoping the scale tips in our favor.”
She laid out several ingredients on the island he sat at and asked, “Do you eat fish?”
“I’m good with it.”
“Try to curb your enthusiasm,” she said with a laugh.
“I’ve always been more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but I’m game for anything. Just don’t go to too much trouble for me, sweetheart.”
Setting a glass bowl on the counter, she told him, “I can throw together a spectacular lobster-and-crab stuffed Swai in just a few minutes. All I need to do is whip up the stuffing, roll the filets into pinwheels and drop ’em on the grill. Piece of cake.”
He grinned at her. She was so natural to be with. Despite the obvious tension their relationship created amongst his family and some of the townsfolk, and the fact he’d eventually have to break it to her that the sheriff wanted him armed with more than the baton, he thought they were incredible together. Suspected she did too, though they were both cognizant of the challenges they faced.
Lifting his wine glass to hers, they touched the rims and then sipped. He thought of how easily he could get used to this, how much he’d enjoy spending every evening with her. It had nothing to do with her cooking for him or cleaning up after him—he’d been a neat and tidy bachelor since he was eighteen. Rather, he liked being here with Ginger because he found her fascinating and completely irresistible.
Setting his glass aside, Ryan asked, “What can I do?”
“Would you mind starting the risotto? It’s the packaged variety, so it’s a breeze to make. But it takes about twenty minutes.”
“I’m on it.”
She pointed out the pantry and then he selected a heavy skillet from the rack hanging over the large, stainless steel stove. He lit the burner and followed the directions on the box until the parmesan-flavored rice boiled. Turning down the heat, he stirred occasionally as the risotto reduced to a simmer. Then he went back to the kitchen island and watched her roll the Swai into fat circles, with layers of the stuffing inside.
“How about I light the grill for you?”
With a sassy smirk, she said, “Sure. Just push the button in the middle.”
He whistled under his breath, teasing her. “Fancy.”
Ryan headed out to the back patio, illuminated by solar lights all arranged at various heights on thin copper stands. She joined him as the flames flickered around the rocks in the bottom of the grill after he’d ignited it.
“Should we eat out here?” she asked as she placed the baking sheet she’d brought with her on the sideboard.
“Absolutely. May as well enjoy the weather before the humidity sets in. I’ve been spoiled with the dry heat in Arizona. This first summer back is going to be a real bitch. In a uniform, no less.”
“You look damn good in it, though.”
He chuckled as she lifted the tin foil from the sheet, with the two pinwheels arranged on top, and moved the fish to the grill.
After closing the lid, she said, “Those’ll need about twelve or thirteen minutes. They’re kind of thick.”
“I can set the table while you clean up.”
“Deal.” She gave him a flirtatious smile that made him groan.
Admittedly, it was hell keeping his hands off her. But he followed her back into the kitchen anyway, instead of pulling her into his arms, as he wanted to do.
They ate dinner under the stars, and he asked her what had inspired her to go into the lingerie business.
“I really wanted to be a designer,” she told him. “I can sketch decently enough, but I can’t sew worth a damn.”
“Can’t you hire someone to do that for you?”
“I suppose.” She took a sip from her wine glass, then said, “I still have all these ideas in my head. I don’t know. I can’t even really say what made me fall in love with lingerie to begin with, except that every time I’d wander through that section at the department store in Austin, I was always so taken by how delicate and pretty everything was. All the lace and the satin and the silk. It’s more than sexy. It’s luxurious and sensual and…beautiful, really.”
“And from what I’ve seen, you have exceptional taste.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I started saving up for inventory and rent when I was in high school, and of course, there was life insurance money from my mom’s death, but a lot of that went to my dad’s bills because his insurance policy was null and void since he committed suicide. I knew I wouldn’t be going to college, so I needed a career.”
“You’ve had some rough times,” he said as he covered her hand with his while it rested on the table. “I�
��m glad the career of your choice worked out for you.”
“This is more of a lifestyle than a job, which is why I love going to work every day and I don’t mind being in the boutique all week long. I just want to help women feel pretty and desirable.”
“And I’m sure the women in town appreciate you for it.”
With a frown, she said, “Most of the women. Some just think lingerie is evil. That it promotes promiscuity. As if being naked doesn’t have the same effect,” she scoffed. “If two people want to have sex, they’re going to do it regardless of whether or not one of them made a purchase at my store.”
“That is a true statement and I’m glad you’re standing your ground, sweetheart.”
They finished dinner and did the dishes. Then they took a stroll down to the lake and walked barefoot along the sandy edge. The near-full moon cast glittery rays over the placid water that lapped languidly against the shoreline. Ryan kept his eye out for anything suspicious, but this portion of the lake was all private property, with patches of dense forest here and there. It’d be difficult to get a car down this way without using Ginger or her neighbors’ driveways and side yards. He’d have seen tire tracks if this was where the robbers were hiding out.
It was past nine when they returned to the house, which they’d locked up and had left the lights on. Ryan checked around anyway before Ginger disappeared into the bedroom with her shopper’s bag, telling him to sit tight in the living room. He sipped his wine as he waited for her to come out, wondering what surprise she had up her sleeve this evening.
He hadn’t stopped into the drug store for condoms today. For one thing, he and Ginger already had the rumor mill churning. They’d burn it to the ground if someone started gossiping about him stocking up on prophylactics. In addition, he truly did intend to take things slow. He didn’t want to rush her into sex, despite the fact his body ached for her and his hands craved touching her.
She was something special and he planned to treat her as such. He respected and admired her forthrightness and her tenacity. She was grounded and good-natured, but also had an appealing sense of style and grace. A sweet disposition and a flirty sense of humor. No one in town, including his aunt and uncle, could taint his image of her.
Especially when she strolled into the living room wearing a short, red satin robe tied at the waist and a pair of matching slippers with a two-inch heel.
Ryan’s pulse instantly shot into the stratosphere as he took her in from head to toe. And back up. She’d loosely piled her long blonde curls on top of her head, leaving a few strands to frame her beautiful face, which was accented by just a hint of skillfully applied makeup. She’d removed the sultry crimson she typically wore on her lips and her mouth was bare and extremely kissable.
Joining him on the sofa, she said, “I forgot to ask what your favorite color is.”
His throat had practically closed up as his breath came in heavier pulls. “Red,” he told her in a strained voice as his cock sprang to life. “Definitely red, sweetheart.”
She smiled sexily and it turned him inside out. He’d thought about her all damn day, having a hell of a time keeping his mind from wandering to the memories he had of kissing her and touching her. Feeling her luscious body pressed to his. Making her come so hard she screamed his name.
He let out a low groan as she scooted toward him on the plush white sofa and tucked her legs under her.
“You are sensational,” he told her as he draped an arm around her.
“Told you, it’s a lifestyle.” She gave this a moment’s thought, then added, “Or maybe it’s a secret fetish, since I’ve never shared the private side of my lingerie addiction with anyone else.”
“Well, darlin’, this is one addiction I cannot argue with.”
“How about the fact I’m addicted to your kisses?” Her lips grazed his neck as she spoke.
“Nope, can’t complain about that one, either.”
“Good. Because it’s pretty much all I thought about today.”
“You and me both.”
Her fingertips brushed over his skin at the opening of his shirt as she asked, “Do you want to watch TV?”
Ryan’s cock twitched. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Heat flared in his gut.
“No, sweetheart, I don’t.”
He felt her lips curve into a smile against his neck. “What do you want to do?” she whispered.
A low grunt echoed in the quiet room. He really had intended to behave himself this evening, but she was a temptation he could not resist.
“I want you to show me what’s under that robe.”
“Okay.” She slipped from the sofa, a mischievous look in her emerald eyes.
Standing before him, Ginger slowly pulled the sash at her waist, teasing him. She let the robe fall open and slide down her arms to the floor.
Ryan sucked in a sharp breath.
“Now that’s just plain cruel.”
His gaze roved her scantily clad body, and he was suddenly tormented by the reminder he didn’t have a condom.
The nightie she wore—if one could call it that—was taut red lace that hugged her hips, accentuated her waist and plumped up her breasts. Thin satin straps sat on her shoulders, and the hem ended just shy of revealing her panties.
“You got my blood flowing,” he told her in a dark tone.
A deceptively innocent smile played on her lips. “So you like it?”
He groaned. Then he reached for her and pulled her back to the sofa, where she fell into his lap with a soft laugh.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said.
His concurrence was a kiss. He slipped one arm around her waist and cupped her face with his free hand as his lips tangled with hers.
In between kisses, she suggested, “Why don’t we take this into the bedroom?”
Ryan actually hedged, surprising himself. “I’m not looking to take advantage of our great chemistry.”
“I am,” she said with a half-snort.
She amused him. “You’re turning out to be a wild one, sweetheart.”
“I may be inexperienced, but I do know what I’m getting myself into. Or at least, what I’m trying to get myself into.” She winked at him and it was his undoing.
Everything about her made it impossible for him to deny her desires—or his own. Gathering her close, he hoisted her up and, once again, carried her into the bedroom. Though this time, he drew up short just past the threshold.
Her entire room had been transformed into a romantic scene from a movie. The bed was turned down and red rose petals were scattered all over the dark brown duvet and cream-colored, satin sheets. More petals were strewn over the hardwood floor. Soft, sensual music flowed from the iPod speaker dock on a nightstand. A musky, enticing scent wafted on the air. And the moonlight that shimmered through the windows was enhanced by the flicker of candles, which were the waxless kind.
Recalling he’d seen similar ones in her shop, he said, “You’re terrified of another fire, aren’t you?”
With a nod, she told him, “Liza and I were extremely lucky to get out of that old, under-fire-code building alive. If Jack hadn’t been so resourceful—or brave—we’d have been in big trouble. Our last resort was to jump out the second-story window.”
“You would’ve broken a lot of bones,” he commented. The idea of Ginger’s life being in jeopardy made him strangely tense, so that he couldn’t even move from the spot in which he stood, with her still in his arms. Moreover, knowing his aunt had been the one to put her in such peril caused his gut to wrench. Ginger had told him the fire had been an accident and he believed that. His aunt was not a malicious woman by nature. Frigid and bitter, yes. But not homicidal. Yet it still unnerved him that she’d been the one to cause the fire.
Obviously noting his tension, Ginger whispered in his ear, “Planning on putting me down anytime soon, stud? Maybe joining me in bed?”
He forced a grin, though he was still disturbed by an incident that had
numerous implications, such as how serious and suddenly personally involved he was with Ginger’s safety. How ridiculous it was his aunt had been so shocked and appalled by sexy lingerie that she’d accidentally knocked over lit candles in Ginger’s store. The fact that it was Ginger’s store, in general. And the apparent animosity Lydia felt toward her.
Ryan wasn’t one to stir up a hornet’s nest with his family—he’d always gone with the grain, with the exception of his chosen profession. And now his association with Ginger. He’d also always believed in the “blood is thicker than water” adage. Yet he quite clearly could not side with the Bains when it came to the woman he held in his arms.
That realization was a tough pill to swallow. He didn’t want to upset the family apple cart. Nor was he willing to give up Ginger for them.
“You are thinking way too much about all of this,” she murmured against his temple.
He said, “I just don’t want to make any mistakes with you.”
She sighed. “None of this is going to go smoothly. How can it? Particularly given all the circumstances surrounding our…whatever this is.”
Finally depositing her on the bed, he said, “This is not something I’m taking lightly, Ginger.”
“Nor am I.”
He settled alongside her, pulling her to him as they lay on their sides so they could face each other. He told her, “When I was sitting in the diner, staring out the window, wondering how the hell I was going to tell my aunt and uncle I didn’t intend to pursue ministry work, you came out of your store. Standing under the golden glow of those antique streetlamps, your blonde hair glimmering in the light, I thought you looked like an angel.”
She stared curiously at him, but didn’t say a word.
Continuing, he said, “I glanced up at your sign and realized who you were. Dozens of memories of you came back to me. Mostly your pretty smile, your soft laugh and how protective I’ve always been with you. And I suddenly thought…” He let out a long breath, not sure how she’d take the admission he was about to make.