“I don’t want to kick you out of the house. It’s okay if you stay while I talk to them,” Carlise said with a frown.
“It’s fine. I want you to be able to say whatever you need or want to without worrying about me overhearing.”
She’d read her mom’s messages, then the emails from her clients but hadn’t gotten to Susie’s before Riggs served lunch. Afterward, he’d suggested she call her loved ones with his satellite phone to reassure them that she was okay. Perhaps tell them to be extra careful until they could get to Newton and talk with Chief Rutkey about the situation.
“Overhearing what? I have no secrets from you, Riggs,” she told him.
He winked, and Carlise almost swooned right then and there at the sexy move.
“Oh, you know . . . how cute I am and how you can’t keep your hands off me.”
He wasn’t wrong, but Carlise still rolled her eyes. “I’m thinking it’s you who can’t keep your hands to yourself, mister.”
“True,” he said without any trace of embarrassment. He stalked toward her—that was the only word she could think of to explain the way he approached—and Carlise backed up until she was trapped against the counter.
Riggs’s hands went to her waist, and he yanked her against him.
She giggled and put her hands on his chest, giving him her weight without any concerns about his intentions. If Tommy had grabbed her so aggressively, she would’ve tried to get out of his hold.
“You, woman, are lethal. I swear, all I have to do is look at you and I want you. Again. I can’t get enough. But it’s not just about sex. It’s talking to you. Watching you work. Seeing you with Baxter and the trust he has for you. Listening to your laugh when I do something stupid. It’s everything.”
“You have it wrong, it’s you who’s dangerous. I had no idea I could be this . . . this fixated on sex.”
“As long as it’s only with me, I’m okay with that,” Riggs said with a smirk.
“Oh, there’s no doubt. You’re the only man I want, Riggs,” Carlise told him seriously.
“Good. Now kiss me before I go out and get all hot and sweaty. And probably sore. I’m sure I’ll need a massage when I get back inside.”
“Right. Of course you will. But only after a shower,” she teased.
Riggs grinned, then his head was dropping. Carlise went up on tiptoes to meet him halfway. She’d wanted to kiss him again ever since the last time, just before eating lunch, when he’d swung her around and planted one on her eager lips.
The kiss immediately turned carnal. By the time he pulled away, her shirt was askew, his jacket had been unzipped, and one of her hands was under his shirt on his bare skin. The other was in his hair, which stuck up in all directions from her clenching and pulling.
“Lethal,” he muttered before kissing her hard once more. Then he pulled back, straightened her shirt, and zipped his coat.
“The cold’ll do me good,” he said. Then he turned to Baxter. “You want to go outside with me, Bax?”
The dog didn’t make a sound, just trotted to the door, then turned back to look at him as if saying, “Well? Let’s go already.”
Carlise chuckled along with Riggs. Then she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Be careful.”
She immediately winced. She was a worrywart. She couldn’t help it. She’d always said that to Tommy when he went anywhere, and he’d hated it. Told her she was being ridiculous, that it wasn’t as if he was going to be intentionally reckless.
But Riggs smiled at her and said, “Always. Take your time with the calls. I’ll be a while.”
“Okay.” He got to the door and had it open before Carlise added, “Riggs?”
“Yeah?” he asked in the doorway.
“Love you.”
Seeing the smile cross his face was the highlight of her day.
“Love you too. Later.”
Then he was gone.
Carlise took a deep breath, then grabbed his satellite phone and went to the couch. She pulled a blanket over her lap and dialed her mom’s number.
She answered after three rings.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s Carlise.”
“Leese! Where are you? Are you okay? You haven’t answered any of my messages or texts. I’ve been so worried!”
“I’m fine, Mom.”
There was a short pause on the other end of the phone. “You actually do sound fine. Especially considering the last time we spoke, you were pretty much panicking.”