Flirty (4 page)

While he hated to leave her alone, he wanted to talk to Sheriff Brody McGrath and Officer Leo Caan, who were still kicking back in the sand, to make sure no one in Whispering Cove was messing with Alexis and trying to scare her out of town. Not that he thought any of the good folks would do that, but still…

What Sam had discovered during his conversation with the sheriff, as well as over a glass of beer and pub food with his best friend Jon, was that the townsfolk really liked Alexis. When he mentioned all the strange noises she was hearing, and how he planned to stay in the old house to keep an eye on things, no one seemed surprised. In fact, Brody simply smirked and nodded. Even though he assured Sam he’d stop by to check on things, Sam had the strangest feeling the sheriff wasn’t taking any of his concerns seriously.

After leaving Hauk’s he cut through town square and hurried back to the house, a takeout container with a club sandwich and home fries tucked under his arm. He knocked but when no answer came he tried the front door and found it open. He stepped inside.

“Alexis, are you here? I brought you food in case you were hungry.”

When his call met with silence, he did a quick check of the main level, putting the food in the fridge, before heading upstairs. Her bedroom door was open and he peeked inside.

“Alexis, you in here?”

With worry gnawing at him, he moved to the end of the hall and climbed the winding set of stairs leading to the widow’s peak, the highest room in the house. Thinking perhaps she was in the glass turret overlooking the shore, he hurried up the steps. Other than a small loveseat and a table with an open book on it, the room was empty. Pushing his hands into his pockets, he walked to the window to look out, and what he saw jumpstarted his heart, not to mention his cock.

Sweet mother of God and all that was holy!

As the full moon glistened on the water, it gave him sufficient light to see Alexis’s body. Dressed in nothing but a pair of skimpy panties and bra, she waded into the water alone, her end of the beach now empty, the sand castles washed away after a spectacular day of family and fun.

He spent a long time looking at her, unable to wipe the ridiculous smile off his face because he damn well knew it…knew that underneath those too big coveralls existed one hell of a sexy woman. Small framed, yet curvy in all the right places, she had a body made for sin, which made him wonder more about the girl who kept her figure hidden and had come to Whispering Cove with the intention of modernizing the big old Victorian house.

He could help her, of course. Call in a few favors. During his teen years, he’d worked under his father and grandpa, both members of the restoration committee who oversaw every aspect of a renovation to ensure it adhered to the town’s code. They both taught Sam so much about the century-old houses, about how one needed to look beyond the surface and see the beauty and art in old world craftsmanship.

Except Alexis specialized in modernization and he knew that meant she wanted to strip the place of all that was weathered and worn, and replace it with the latest and greatest. It was no wonder the restoration committee wouldn’t give her the permits or return her calls.

Beneath his feet he looked at the old plank floors that stood the test of time. He thought about all the kids who had played on them, all the scuffs and scratches they made with their toys, all the history and stories the house had to tell. Sure the wood could use a good sanding and polish, but what they didn’t need was to be replaced with some fabricated product that had a life span of ten years.

Then again, Alexis wasn’t the first girl he knew who couldn’t see beyond the nicks and notches. His mind traveled back in time, but then he quickly shook his head hard to clear it. The last thing he wanted to think about was the house he’d secretly and painstakingly restored for his girlfriend some ten years ago, or how she turned down his marriage proposal and ran off with a guy from two towns over because he’d promised her shiny and new. Sam loved that house, loved every minute he’d spent working on it and couldn’t be happier that Josie Wells, or rather Josie Collins, now called the place home and shared it with her husband, Adam, and their soon-to-be newborn. Yeah, he’d caught her small baby bump at the beach today.

But the whole situation left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he walked away from the business, swearing he’d never waste another second of his time restoring a house to its original beauty—especially for some woman who wouldn’t appreciate it and would only end up leaving.

Turning his attention back to Alexis, he watched her release her hair from the ponytail and let it slide down her back as she ducked under the waves. His nostrils flared, the sweet citrusy scent of her skin still lingering in the air, making him harder than he’d been in a long time. She surfaced a few feet out, only to duck back under. Unable to take his eyes off her as she swam, he continued to watch like a regular old voyeur, keeping to the shadows so she didn’t catch him.

As raw lust swamped him, everything inside him urged him to go down there, to slip into the water, and have his wicked way with her. The sexual tension between them was undeniable, he knew she felt it every bit as much as he did. Except Alexis was the kind of girl he could fall for, which meant he’d be wise to keep his distance, because he had no intention of getting in deep—or helping her with the house—only to watch her pack up and leave town when all was said and done. Christ, he’d already fallen for one sweet, girl-next-door type and look where that got him.

But dammit if he didn’t want one small taste of her.

One tiny fucking nibble.

After her swim, Alexis stayed to the shadows and walked back to the shore, keeping her distance from the group still partying and sharing drinks over a bonfire at the other end of the beach. She picked up her towel and glanced up at the house as she wrapped it around her body. Sam jerked back from the window, hurried down the winding set of stairs and slipped into his bedroom. He paced as he listened to the front door open and close below. Deciding he needed something to keep his mind occupied before he went down there and dragged her to his bed caveman style, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped through his game apps.

He listened to her tiptoe up the stairs, the sound of her bare feet on the wood floor stopping outside his door. He practically stopped breathing, because for a second there he wondered if she was going to knock, wondered if she was going to drop her towel and beg him to take her right then and there. The next thing he heard was her shuffling to her bedroom and her door shutting behind her.

Ah, so much for wishful thinking…

Even though he knew staying put was probably for the best, it still didn’t stop the disappointment from settling in the pit of his gut, but the ungodly scream he heard next had him dropping his phone and bolting from his bed.

Chapter Three

What the hell…

With her heart racing so hard she feared it would pop right out of her chest, Lex locked her knees to keep herself upright and tightened the towel around her shaking body.

She looked around her empty room, her mind racing as she struggled to swallow down her unease and figure out what was going on. With fear forcing her to move her legs, to get her out of her bedroom and out of the house before she disappeared next, she took a tiny step backward. But the sound of her door flinging open and heavy footsteps rushing up behind her had her turning around. When she came face to face with Sam, and he put his big hands on her shoulders in a protective manner, she let out a relieved breath.

Eyes full of concern moved over her face. “Jesus, Alexis, you’re as white as a ghost. What is it?”

“My stuff. It’s all gone. My suitcase, my clothes. Everything. It’s gone.”

“Shit.” Sam stiffened and looked past her shoulder to scan the room. “Christ, all that’s left are your bed sheets.” He pulled her to him, crushing her wet body against his. “Okay, it’s okay, Alexis. Nothing is going to happen to you,” he soothed in a reassuring voice as her body quivered in his arms. “I promise I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Feeling absurdly safe in his arms, she explained, “I wasn’t gone for very long. I just took a quick dip in the ocean and then hurried home.” She inched back and met his dark eyes. “I took the key with me and thought I locked up, but I guess I forgot…my mind… I’ve just been so preoccupied with other things. I must have left the door open by mistake.” Then another thought hit and she whispered, “Do you think someone is in the house?”

“I don’t know.” He scanned the room a second time. “Have you checked your closet to see if your stuff is in there?”

“No.”

“I’d better take a look. Maybe you put your belongings in there and forgot.”

“I think I would have remembered that.” She hugged herself as Sam padded quietly to her closet, and when he glanced back at her she began shivering, her body cold from the ocean water.

“Nothing,” he said, his brow furrowed in concern.

She touched the air. Had the temperature in her room dropped? “Why is it so cold in here?” She exhaled, almost certain her breath would turn to fog in the frosty room.

“I don’t know, and it’s even colder in your closet. But first things first. We need to get you out of those wet clothes.” He captured her hand and tugged. “Come on, I’m sure I have something you can wear.” But the second he took a step toward the bedroom door—the closed bedroom door—he stopped mid-stride.

“Whoa,” he said. “I left the door open when I came in here.” He ran a hand through his hair, the look on his face perplexed. “What the fuck?”

“Sam?” she asked, her voice as shaky as her body as she stepped closer to him. His hand slipped around her waist, and he pulled her tight against his warm torso. “What’s going on?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.” He reached out, wrapped his other hand around the knob and gave it a yank. It wouldn’t budge, and from the look on his face as he angled his head to see her, his glance moving over her quivering flesh, she knew he suspected it had little to do with drafts or swollen wood. With a tug, he tore off his T-shirt and handed it to her. “Here. Put this on to stay warm until I can figure out what’s going on.”

He stood there watching her, but when she twirled her finger, he nodded and spun around to give her privacy. She dropped the damp towel and reached for her bra strap, then left it in place, deciding to leave her underthings on, despite how cold they felt against her body. She hurried into his warm T-shirt, which hung to mid-thigh on her, and drew in his scent before she murmured, “Okay, I’m done.”

Sam twisted back to face her, and a strange expression came over him. Half-naked and looking like sex incarnate, he stood there looking at her longer than was comfortable. She shifted, suddenly aware of the libidinous way he made her feel, of the sexual energy arcing between them. If he kept staring at her like that she’d be warm in no time.

“Sam?” she asked, her voice coming out a little rougher than usual.

His eyes slid over her, his expression hot when he answered with, “Yeah?”

Lex gulped air. Everything in the distracted way he answered, like he had something else on his mind, brought heat to her most intimate places. “Ah, how are we going to get out of here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think someone is in the house?” she asked again.

He shook his head. “When I came back earlier, I searched the place looking for you. There was no one here.” He ran his hands through his hair, a familiar habit. “And I talked to both Sheriff McGrath and Officer Caan tonight. They don’t think anyone is trying to scare you out of town, but they did say they’d stop by and check things out.”

“Maybe we should call them right now.”

Sam nodded and reached into his pocket. “Shit.”

“What?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have your cell phone would you?”

“It’s in my purse.” She held her arms out.

“And your purse is missing, like the rest of your things?”

She shook her head. “I left it in the kitchen downstairs.”

Sam walked to the two windows overlooking the ocean and tried to jimmy them. “They’re both stuck.”

“I know. I wanted to replace them but I can’t do a thing without a permit.”

He looked almost physically ill when he asked, “You wanted to replace them?”

“Yeah.”

He opened his mouth to say something more then seemed to change his mind. Instead he just stood there, his brows furrowed.

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

Sam walked to the closet. “We should try the hatch. At least if we get to the attic, we can get out on to the lower roof and call for help. There’s still a bonfire going on down the other end of the beach.”

She followed him inside the closet, and frowned when she looked up. “How are we going to reach it?”

“I’ll have to lift you.”

“Lift me?”

As he dwarfed her small frame he tossed her a skeptical look and said, “Unless you’d rather lift me.”

She thought back to all the times she roughhoused with her big brothers when she was younger. “I’m stronger than I look, you know?”

His eyes glistened as he glanced up and down her petite body. “You’d have to be.”

“Hey,” she shot back, giving him a whack. “I used to wrestle with my older brothers all the time.”