'I can't drive them. Every poser cowboy bounty hunter in the country is looking for me, along with a lot of law enforcement. I've got a green Explorer parked on the street.'
'And a new wardrobe.'
Ranger was total Abercrombie in jeans, olive-drab T-shirt, and a loose-fitting button-down shirt, worn untucked.
'You aren't going to give me grief over this, are you?' he asked.
I smiled at him. 'You look cute.'
'Cute,' Ranger repeated. That just dropped my testosterone level.'
The Pleasure Treasures bag was sitting forgotten on my counter. 'Looks like I'm not the only one who's been shopping,' Ranger said, reaching for the bag.
'No! Don't touch that.'
Too late. He had it in his hands.
This is embarrassing,' I said. 'Give me the bag.'
Ranger held the bag out of my reach. 'Want to wrestle me for it?'
At another time this exchange might have felt flirty. Tonight there was an edge to Ranger. Anger simmering just below the surface. And I thought it wouldn't take too much provocation for him to rearrange someone's face. Not mine, of course. He liked my face. Still, he was a little scary.
I narrowed my eyes at him. 'Just give me the damn bag.'
'I let you snoop in my computer,' Ranger said. The least you can do is let me see in this bag.'
'I don't think so.'
'Not much you can do about it, babe.'
'I'll be mad at you.'
'You can't be mad at me,' Ranger said. 'I'm cute. I might even be adorable.'
'Try jerk on for size.'
'Sticks and stones.' He looked in the bag and gave a single soft bark of laughter. 'Nice,' he said, taking the dildo out, setting it on the counter, balls down, shaft up, like a giant pink rubber mushroom.
I'm not one of those women who blushes easily, but I could feel my ears burning.
'Having problems with Morelli?' Ranger asked, the edge gone. Anger replaced by something much softer… amusement, exhaustion, affection.
'The woman working in the Pleasure Treasures store went FTA, and Lula and I went in to make an apprehension, and Lula got this dancing dildo, but they were having a two-for-one-sale, and somehow I ended up with this. It's the Herbert Horsecock model.'
'It's impressive.'
'It's frightening,' I told him.
He took the DVD out of the bag. 'Big Boys,' he said. 'I'm seeing a theme here.'
'Lula said it would change my life.'
Ranger put the dildo and the DVD back in the bag. 'Does your life need changing?'
'I don't know. I thought so a while ago, but it feels comfortable now… except for a commitment dilemma.'
He pulled me to him and kissed me in a way that more than made up for the benign kiss in the bakery. 'Let me know when you figure it out,' he said.