Desert Heat

by Elizabeth Reyes

  Another alarming thought suddenly hit her. Had he possibly looked into her? Could he be here because he knew something? She shook her head with a frown. She was being paranoid.

  Running her fingers through her hair, she opened the door. “Hey.” She smiled cautiously.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, glancing behind her, looking a little too concerned.

  “Yeah, yeah. The, uh,” she motioned behind her, “the fan just tipped over.”

  As concerned as he first appeared, Bethany didn’t miss the way his eyes did a quick scan of her body from top to bottom. It reminded her that she was wearing shorts she’d only ever wear indoors, because they were that short. The tank top she wore was almost soaked through, and it’d been too hot for a bra. She moved over so the door covered half her body, beginning to feel paranoid. “What brings you around these parts?”

  He held his hand up to her. “This.” She glanced down at it. To her relief, he held a hair clip in his hands. “This is yours, right? I was cleaning my car out and found it in there, and since I was in the area today, I thought I’d bring it by for you.”

  Bethany smiled, reaching out for it. “Thanks.” She took it, her hand brushing his warm fingers as she did.

  “I stopped at the theater, and Amos said your show’s on a hiatus for a while. But you were so good.”

  Bethany sighed, leaning her head against the door. “Yeah. Well, I’m on a mandatory leave for a few weeks.”

  “Why?” Damian asked, his brows furrowing, bringing Bethany’s attention to those dark, penetrating eyes she’d been so drawn to since day one at the speed date, but even more so after spending time with him last week. “Did something happen?”

  She lifted her shoulder, wondering how much she should tell this cop whom she barely knew. “He worries too much, is what happened. He thought I needed the time off—says I work too much.”

  With his brows still furrowed, Damian stared at her as if he was waiting for more. Deciding it was no big deal if she told him, she went on. “The day you were there, I was just a little lightheaded, but then a few days later I almost passed out. With my jobs keeping me busy all day and then the articles for my internship keeping me up most the night, I was running on very little sleep and a couple of Red Bulls. He’d warned me when he first gave me the opportunity to do my show that at the first sign of burnout I’d be out, so when I nearly passed out, he said he wasn’t canceling the show indefinitely, but I did have to take a few weeks off.”

  The concern on Damian’s face went even more severe now. In an attempt to escape the intensity of his gaze, Bethany glanced away and took in his big hard shoulders and arms. Even under his work shirt and slacks last time and the shirt he’d worn to the speed date, she had had an idea of the kind of muscle he was probably packing, but this surpassed all of her expectations.

  Was it possible he got better-looking every time she saw him? He’d gone from the understandably smug best-looking guy at the speed date to even sexier when cleaned up in his dress-up shirt and slacks to near perfection now that she could see what was under those layers of clothes. With the realization that she’d been taking in every inch of his hard body when her eyes finally made it back to his eyes, she felt her face warm. His previous severely concerned expression was now a playful grin. “Amos is a good guy.” This time he took her in from top to bottom unabashed, and how could she protest? She’d just shamelessly swallowed him up whole with her eyes. “How you feeling now? The time off doing you good?”

  She shrugged. “I guess, but I was so used to constantly being on the move, I almost don’t know what to do with the extra time now.”

  “So you have a free day today?”

  She cleared her throat, standing up a little straighter and hiding a bit more of her body behind the door. “Yes, today’s just one of the several semifree days I have coming in the next weeks. It’s gonna take some time to get used to. I hope by then Amos will let me come back.” Because God knew she needed the extra money bad.

  The smoldering bedroom eyes she’d gotten caught up in during her show and even a few times when they had dinner later made an appearance once again. “Well, if you have some time, I’ve got something I’d like to show you.” Her jaw nearly dropped, but before she could beg his pardon he added, “It’s a place I think you’d really like to see. In fact, I’d be willing to bet you’d more than like it, you’d be thrilled.”

  “What place?”

  The curiosity suddenly replaced the scandalous thoughts that had shamefully crossed her mind when he said he had something to show her. He knew nothing about her; how could he possibly be so sure she’d be thrilled?

  “Let me surprise you,” he said, the smolder in his eyes becoming a bit more vulnerable. “It’s not too far from here. Maybe twenty minutes.”

  Secretly delighted already that he would even want to surprise her—thrill her—she held back the enormous grin that threatened to splash itself across her face. Instead she continued to study him curiously. “Well, I’m not totally free. I do have this article I have to get written today.” She bit her lip, trying to decide if she should do this. “Twenty minutes?”

  The relieved but nervous smile on this man, who had every reason to emanate confidence, began making her insides feel all kinds of craziness. Was it possible she made him nervous? Had he really been in the area and happened to drop off the hair clip or did he drive there just to see her again and invite her somewhere and try to thrill her? She wanted to scold herself—remind herself that she had neither the time nor the room for any of this in her convoluted life. But her heart pounded away, beating out all the forewarnings.

  “I might be able to do twenty minutes,” she said, biting her lip again in a desperate attempt to keep the smile restrained.

  He lifted a mischievous brow that made her heart beat even faster. “I said it’s twenty minutes from here, but once you get there, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna wanna hang around for a while.”

  That piqued her curiosity, and the enormous smile broke through. “Can you give me a hint?”

  Exhaling a bit exaggeratedly, he crossed his big arms and squinted as if to think of a good hint. “Let’s just say you’ve probably already seen it but not in person.”

  That could be a lot of places in Vegas. Maybe since she was a performer, he had easily figured out she loved the theater. Could he be taking her to a show? “Do I need to dress up?”

  Damian obviously took the question as an invitation to look her up and down again, because he did so with a very satisfied grin. “I know it’s hot, but you may wanna throw a little more on, and no, no need to dress up. Just wear something comfortable.”

  With that Bethany stepped back, opening the door wider for him. “It’ll only take me a few minutes, but you’re welcome to come in and wait if you’d like.” As she’d expected, there was no need to insist; he was already making his way into her small front room. “Would you like some cold water? Sorry I don’t have much else to offer you.”

  She turned from her refrigerator in time to catch him just as his gazing eyes darted away from her body where they’d been focused.

  “Sure, I’ll take one,” he said, glancing around the very small apartment. For a cop he wasn’t the slickest, and it was unlike her not to be annoyed by his ogling. Normally that’s exactly how she’d feel: annoyed. Maybe it was that she hadn’t allowed herself to even consider being attracted or excited by any man in so long, and there was something so undeniably exciting about a guy like Damian being attracted to her. The thrill of it stomped away any annoyance she should’ve felt.

  As she handed him the bottle of water, their eyes met once again, warming her insides instantly. What the hell was with her? She’d never been one of those girls who were easily taken by a man’s good looks. She was not about to start now. With that thought in mind, she broke out of the spell-like gaze and spun around. “I’ll only be a couple of minutes. Have a seat if you’d like.”

  After closing h
er bedroom door behind her, she stripped off her clothes and rushed into the shower, rinsing off in record time. She’d already showered that morning, but there was no way she was getting into his car after sitting in her ovenlike apartment for hours, feeling the sweat drip through all her body crevices. Fortunately, she was used to living in a rush; jumping out of the shower and getting dressed in under five minutes was the norm for her. Within minutes she was pulling her hair into a ponytail, powdering her face, and smacking her glossed lips in the mirror.

  With a deep breath, she reflected on the fact that in the eight months she’d been living here, this was one of the very few times she wasn’t leaving her apartment for work, her internship, errands, or research. She was actually leaving for pleasure—and with one of the sexiest men she’d ever laid eyes on. The very thing she knew she should not be doing.

  Refusing to let her conscience ruin this for her, she reminded herself how hard she’d worked to get where she was at now and that soon it would all be over anyway. She deserved to enjoy herself a little, and with things moving along now, maybe she finally could.

  * * *

  The apartment was very sparsely decorated, something Damian always made note of when searching suspects’ properties. Was it really their home, or was it a hideout—a temporary residence while they finished whatever premeditated crime they had been planning for months?

  She did have a few plants on the kitchen windowsill and a corkboard with help-wanted ads tacked onto it along with some grocery and fast-food coupons. There were a couple of photos on the outdated TV console of herself, a younger girl, and an even younger-looking boy in a baseball cap, possibly siblings, if he had to go by the resemblance. Then there was the one he couldn’t help pick up. She and Simon stood in front of a stage, but not the one at the City Lights Theater. Simon had his arm around her shoulder and, in this case, the big, beautiful smile she wore didn’t make him smile. Instead he found himself examining the exact placement of Simon’s hand on her shoulder as his jaw worked. Though in the end, Simon had agreed she should take the ride, Damian wouldn’t be forgetting how the guy had also kissed her onstage and then seemed anxious to say good-bye to her before she left.

  Hearing the doorknob of her bedroom door jiggle, Damian quickly put the photo down. She walked out, and he held his breath, reminding himself not to be so damn obvious. He and his brothers had always laughed at the idiots who practically let their tongues hang out in the presence of a good-looking woman, and here he’d been close to doing just that more than once today.

  The worst thing was she’d caught him each time. He already knew he was physically attracted to her, but that wasn’t why he was here, and that’s not the impression he wanted to make. He knew plenty of physically attractive women. But none had even come close to having such an effect on him. With the stress of continually having to prove himself to all the condescending old pricks at work and all the depressing shit he’d seen in the past two weeks alone, the very short time he’d spent with Bethany had been a breath of fresh air. He wasn’t even sure how to explain it, but just thinking about her smile and that easygoing, adorable laugh of hers made him smile as he hadn’t in too long.

  Seeing her again was confirmation that she was exactly the kind of distraction he needed in his life right now. But he hadn’t been prepared to see her in those mouthwatering little shorts and the wet tank clinging to her perfectly plump breasts that had him twitching in his pants instantly. It was a wonder he hadn’t made more of an ass of himself. As hard as he’d tried, it was nearly impossible to keep his eyes from wandering. When she’d turned to get the water out of the fridge, he’d been surprised his legs hadn’t buckled at the sight of her tight, round ass, especially since the tiny shorts she’d worn left little to the imagination.

  Sexy and sensual were two words that would easily describe her. Her dark, cold, but smoldering expressions at the speed date. Those lips she so slowly curved in such a breathtaking, teasing smile. The unforgettable way she’d worked him into a complete frenzy during her show, then left him stunned. Even the way she’d let her hair down in his car had been pant-tightening exciting, but today took the fucking cake. Now he’d have an all-too-clear visual of the places he’d love to get his hands on and the things he’d do to her if he ever did. The image of the swell of that perfect ass peeking out of the bottom of her tiny shorts would torment him now. Why did his eyes always have to go there? Even after she’d caught him, the second she turned away his eyes had gone right back there.

  Now she’d changed into a pair of denim shorts that were a bit longer than the ones she wore earlier, but even her curve-hugging, simple, cotton T-shirt had him letting out a slow breath. He recognized the writing of the word “Wicked” on her T-shirt to be from the Broadway stage show, but the way the word was sprawled across the curves of her breasts, enhancing what didn’t need any more enhancing, gave the word a whole new meaning.

  Taking a swig from his bottle of water in an effort to bring his attention to something else, he cleared his throat. “You ready?”

  “Yep,” she said, walking over to the sofa and pulling out a small wallet from her book bag. “Need more water?”

  Damian gulped down what was left of his water before walking over and dumping it in the small wastebasket in the kitchen. “Nope. I’m good.”

  After locking her door, they walked down the flight of stairs to the first floor, Bethany first. The heat alone as soon as they’d stepped out into the sun was enough to make him feel clammy all over, but the added need to take the stairs only furthered the uncomfortable heat. “How long has that elevator been out of order?”

  Bethany smirked, looking back at him with a roll of her eyes. “It was out of order when I moved in, but my neighbor said it’s been at least a year now.”

  “Can’t you ask your landlord to do something about it?” Damian asked, reaching his hand out for hers as they stepped off the curb to cross the street. She looked at him, then at his hand, a little weirdly, without extending hers. Damian let out a quick laugh, bringing his hand back to his side. “Sorry. Instinct. I have a little niece.”

  His flub came with instant gratification, because her sweet laugh had him grinning already. “I was gonna say, I’ve crossed this street plenty of times on my own. I’m pretty sure I got this.”

  “Yeah, well you never can be too safe.” He smiled, enjoying the fact that just like last time, being around her felt very natural. He hardly knew her and yet, even hearing her laugh at his expense, he felt as if they’d been doing this forever.

  He came around and opened the door for her, waiting until she was all the way in before closing it. As he climbed in on his side, he decided he’d take advantage of the drive out to her surprise to get to know her a little better. There were a few things he was curious about, though some he decided to hold off asking about until later. “So you mentioned you haven’t been living out here too long. Where’d you move out here from?”

  He started the car but didn’t miss how she straightened awkwardly. When he glanced at her, she immediately looked away. A big part of his training included studying body language, and Damian was one of the best at it. He was usually spot-on when it came to figuring out whether someone he was interrogating was telling the truth or full of shit. This was a simple enough question with no motive behind it, other than that he was curious, but already he could tell this was a subject she was uncomfortable discussing.

  Chapter 7

  This was not something she’d been anticipating talking about so soon, but she reasoned that just as with everyone else she’d met here so far, this was the first thing she should expect to be asked. It shouldn’t feel any different with Damian than when anybody else asked—but already it did.

  Clearing her throat¸ she decided that, regardless of how it felt, she’d stick to her usual spiel. “I’m from the southern tip of Arizona—Nogales.”

  “Hmm.” He glanced at her, then his eyes were back on the road. “So what brou
ght you out here?”

  “The internship,” she responded, maybe a little too quickly, then added, “Interning at the Desert Informer was a really good opportunity. And since I knew the potential to get jobs in theater out here, I decided why not take a few months off school, maybe a year, and do this instead.”

  She hoped with all her might he didn’t know too much about DI. There was nothing exceptional about this particular paper. In fact it was rather inferior, compared to most other papers she would’ve preferred.

  “Journalism, huh?” Damian asked still staring ahead at the road. “Is that the dream job you were talking about the other day when you mentioned doing what you love for a living?”

  “Sort of.”

  Bethany glanced away and out the window before she could get too caught up staring at his profile. He’d obviously been off work for at least a day, because the five-o’clock shadow she remembered from the speed date was back. She couldn’t make up her mind which look was sexier on him: the clean-shaven one like when he’d shown up at her show or this one. One thing was for sure, this way had her visualizing herself cradling that strong, scruffy jaw in her hands, maybe even leaning in to lick his lips. Stop it.

  “What does that mean? Sort of?”

  Gulping away the completely unexpected and dangerously vivid visuals, she glanced back at him. Since they were at a stop now, he was staring at her.

  “I’m sorry. What was that?”

  He smiled but seemed to be studying her face. “You moved all the way out here for the journalism internship at DI, but it’s only sort of your dream job?”

  “Oh, yeah, well it’s sort of a backup plan. My real passion is in entertainment. Not just singing either. Anything in the field. I’ve always loved singing, dancing, acting, being onstage, period. My aunt always said it was in my blood. There were a lot of entertainers in my family. Mostly in Mexico, but still they were big in their own right.”