“Go easy on her.” This time he held back the laugh.
“Maybe I ought to call her now.” She glanced toward his telephone on the counter corner.
“Or maybe you should wait until you’ve calmed down?”
She moved her lips as if she were counting to ten. “You’ve got a point,” she said at last. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. By the way, did you know your answering machine light is flashing?” she asked, tipping her head toward the phone and attached machine.
He hadn’t noticed. He’d been too preoccupied with thoughts of finally seeing Lexie again. “I must have forgotten to check when I came in earlier. I guess I was too caught up looking for you,” he said, hoping to take her mind off her troublemaking grandmother and put it back on them.
He stepped in front of her, reaching over and hitting the play button on the answering machine. His hand not-so-accidentally brushed her chest, grazing her breast through the light cotton shirt.
She sucked in a surprised breath.
Mission accomplished, he thought, pleased with how her eyes dilated, awareness and desire shimmering in their depths.
He’d spent dinner trying not to think about sex with Lexie, focusing instead on learning more about her and just enjoying. But now the leashed desire had been brought to the surface and he could barely breathe from wanting her.
Suddenly a male voice from the answering machine interrupted the sizzling moment.
“This is Ricky Burnett calling again,” the gravelly voice said. “Did ya change your mind about returning my ring? I’ll give you a cash reward for saving my daughter instead. You can find me at the store most days so stop by any time. It’s got sentimental value and I want my ring back!”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Coop frowned at the man’s words.
“He asked if you changed your mind,” Lexie said, processing the message. “Has he bothered you about giving back the ring before?”
“Just once. Obviously, I said no.”
Lexie narrowed her gaze. She couldn’t think clearly with him standing so close, but with her back against the counter and his big body blocking hers, she couldn’t step away. Nor did she want to. Every nerve ending inside her thrummed in anticipation of the kiss she’d been sure he was about to give before Ricky Burnett’s message interrupted them.
Still, she wasn’t about to let sexual desire fog her brain. “When was this?” she asked of Ricky’s request for the ring.
“The day you and I met up at my father’s bar. And before you get all righteously angry, I wasn’t holding out on you. Back then I barely knew you. And I didn’t think about it until after the robbery and we were interrupted by hurricane Charlotte,” he said, rushing the words, clearly on the defensive.
He’d anticipated her complaint and she relaxed a little more. He wasn’t deliberately trying to shut her out of things.
“So it was before this place was broken into?”
“Yeah, which makes him my number-one suspect, since he obviously couldn’t know I had the ring in my pocket the first time he called and asked for it back. Maybe when I said no he decided to try to retrieve it himself.”
“And when he didn’t find the ring here, he took the laptop… Why?” she wondered aloud.
“To make it look like a legit robbery is my best guess,” Coop said.
“Then why return it?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. That part makes no sense.”
She pursed her lips, racking her brain for motive and finding none. Of course, with Coop’s hard thighs pressed against hers, pushing her into the counter and arousing her more, it was difficult to focus on the robbery.
“What did the police say when you told them about Ricky and the ring?” Lexie managed to ask.
“I didn’t tell them. At least not yet.” He shifted positions and she felt the swell of his erection against her stomach. His irises darkened, too, telling her he was every bit as aware of his actions as she was.
Lexie swallowed hard. “Why not?”
He braced one hand on the counter behind her. “Because I had the ring appraised and it is stolen property.”
“Then why didn’t the appraiser jump to call the police?”
“Let’s just say he owes me.”
Lexie nodded slowly. “Okay, and if you tell the police?”
“Then they’ll begin to look into the history of the ring, find out it’s stolen property and we’ll both lose it before we ever figure out the mystery,” he explained.
“Aah. Makes sense.”
“I thought so.” He wrapped the other hand around her waist.
Her heartbeat picked up rhythm and her br**sts grew heavy beneath her light halter. But somehow she retrieved the thought that had been niggling at the back of her mind.
“You know, when Ricky was speaking, I thought it was odd that he didn’t mention that your apartment had been broken into. For all he knows, maybe the ring had been stolen, yet he didn’t say a word! It’s the first thing I asked about—after inquiring if you were okay, of course.”
“Yes, I remember your worrying about my welfare.” He grinned. “As for Ricky, maybe he didn’t know about the robbery.”
“It’s been all over the news. You’re the Bachelor!” she said, unable to control a laugh. “And his store has been mentioned in every recent article about you. I can’t imagine him missing the break-in.”
“True.” Coop nodded slowly. “So if we play this out, if Ricky is the culprit, then he wouldn’t mention the robbery because he wouldn’t want to bring it up and have me link him with it in any way.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m also thinking we need to go talk to this guy in person,” Lexie said. She still held out hope that somehow the ring would end up in her possession as a gift for her grandmother. But she couldn’t think beyond the here and now.
Her entire body tingled in anticipation of his first real touch.
“How about we go check out the store first thing tomorrow when it opens?” Coop asked.
She nodded. “I’m in.”
“Yeah. I thought you would be.” He tipped his head until his forehead touched hers. Behind her, his thumb brushed lazy circles on her bare back. “The question is, What are we going to do with ourselves until tomorrow?”
“Oh, I can think of plenty of things to keep us busy,” Lexie murmured.