She cut him off, slicing her hand through the air. “No. No. No. And more no. Did you not hear me? The sex-toy mistress practically clung to me, and then I was very nearly subjected to a discussion of Eli’s predilections.” She dragged a hand through her hair in frustration. “I did not find the bowlful of diamonds, so we’ll have to go back again, and my champagne buzz is nearly gone, so I could really use a Cherry Popsicle.”
“Is that code for a ruby-encrusted—”
“No. There’s a bar along the beach that serves frozen cherry margaritas and they’re called Cherry Popsicles because they’re made around a frozen block of cherry ice, and when you get to the end you can suck on the Popsicle in the middle of it, and if I do not get one stat, my brain will be permanently branded with images of my stepfather’s fiancée holding that thing,” she said, gesturing wildly at the black pouch.
“Fair enough. To the Cherry Popsicle purveyor we go. Do they have ice cream? I do love a good ice-cream cone.”
“I’ll find you ice cream, Jake.”
“By the way, what’s a bandage dress? Is that like a dress made out of Band Aids?”
She heaved a sigh. “No. It’s a style. It’s very clingy and tight, but the fabric is sturdy,” she said, stopping to point to her breasts as if to show how a bandage dress would hug her curves.
He cleared his throat, and when she looked up, she saw him looking down.
At her boobs.
“I forgot. You’re a boob starer. Didn’t mean to tempt you, since you’re trying to stay on the wagon.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “One, you say that like it’s a bad thing. Two, you have fantastic breasts. And three, do you blame me? You were waving your hands in front of them. I had no choice but to stare at them.”
She tugged his arm and resumed her walk, wishing she didn’t like it so much that he enjoyed the view.
Once inside the car, he smiled at her like a cat who’d caught the tastiest mouse in the universe.
“What?” She held her arms out wide. “What’s the smile for? The velvet pouch? The boob stare?”
“Just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
His grin spread across his whole handsome face. It lit up his eyes. They twinkled with mischief. “The diamonds aren’t in the house. We don’t have to go back.”
She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“You did an excellent job.”
“At what?” The hair on her arms stood on end.
“At getting info about the first floor of the house.”
“Jake, what are you getting at? Just say it,” she said. “What do you mean about the first floor?”
He shrugged happily. “I took care of the second floor.”
Her eyes popped, her jaw dropped, and her brain went haywire. “What?”
“I climbed in through the second-story window and checked out his office. Want to know what he keeps in his safe?”
Equal parts surprise and curiosity ripped through her. “You were in there the whole time I was there, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I wanted you to be able to act natural and not worry about my poking around upstairs and trying to break into a safe.”
“You tricked me again!” she shouted, grateful they were in her car, parked at the end of the block.
“That’s one way to look at it. But I like to think I was protecting you.”
“From what?” She crossed her arms.
“From you inadvertently letting on that the guy you’re teamed up with was sneaking around upstairs and cracking your stepdad’s safe.”
She shook her head and breathed out hard. She couldn’t believe that’s what he had been up to while she was parked in the midst of the sex-toy ladies. But yet, she couldn’t deny his plan was brilliant. Nor could she deny her curiosity any longer.
“What did you find?”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. The wrapper said it was from Ecuador. “He has a few dozen of these in his safe, along with his passport. I grabbed one from the top. Didn’t want him to notice they were gone and start worrying.”
She studied the chocolate, tapping the bar. “That’s the chocolate he invested in that went belly-up, right?”
“Guess he likes it, and held onto a few for himself,” Jake said with a shrug.
She laughed. “He always did like his sweets.”
“Can’t blame him on that account.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Steph sucked on a cherry Popsicle.
Steph sucked on a cherry Popsicle.
Steph sucked on a cherry Popsicle.
Try as he might, his brain was stuck on repeat. His eyeballs were glued to the scene in front of him. Steph, licking the Popsicle. Her tongue swirling along the length of the cherry ice. He shifted on the picnic table bench, trying to adjust his shorts.
Futile effort.
It was fucking tight in there. He’d been hard since he first saw her tonight, then again when she waved her hands in front of her fantastic breasts, and now ever since she’d started licking the frozen treat.
Then she emitted a moan of culinary delight. And rolled her eyes.
Rock. Hard.
Not. Fair.
He did not know why he’d suggested they focus on just work. She was all he could focus on right now. He could barely remember why getting involved on a job was a bad idea. Couldn’t possibly be a bad idea. His body thought it was a very good idea.