Desert Heat

by Elizabeth Reyes

  This close, he heard the other person on the phone, and it wasn’t her sister. It was a guy. “Okay, tonight then. I’m really looking forward to it, Bethany.”

  Damian yanked his head back.

  “I am, too. Bye.” She turned to him as soon as she was off the phone.

  “Who was that?”

  This was another first for Damian. He’d never felt anything like what he was feeling at that moment, as he stared at her, his heart pounding as it always did when he was around her, but for an altogether different reason now. It had actually been a chore to refrain from cussing and asking her who the fuck was that on the phone.

  “That was Simon,” she said, as if it were nothing.

  That only spiked the annoyance that had already boiled over and was reaching a new height. He wouldn’t even attempt to hide what he was feeling now. “What’s he looking forward to tonight?”

  “Seeing me.” She said it so calmly, it gave him hope this was a complete misunderstanding.

  Still, he fisted his hands tightly, trying to remain as calm as she was. “Seeing you?” He lifted both brows, unable to hide the anger now. “You’re gonna see him tonight?”

  She nodded, touching his face softly. “What’s wrong with you?”

  While her touch did calm him a little, it wasn’t nearly enough. “What do you mean what’s wrong with me? You’re gonna go see this guy tonight, and he’s looking forward to it? And so are you?” Then it hit him. “You told him you were working. Why?”

  Pinching her brows together to think about it, she tilted her head. Damian took a few steps back—away from her. As cute as he normally thought it when she did that, right now he was too damn pissed to appreciate it.

  “No.” She cleared her throat. “He asked why I said it’d be better if we talked tonight instead of now, and I told him I was working tonight.”

  “You’re lying,” he snapped.

  Never had he been so sure about anything in his life. Every word she’d just said to him had been insincere.

  “What?”

  Damian stared at her, taking a step forward now. He had to calm down. He was getting too fired up to read her. She looked stunned, but was it because he’d called her on her lying or was it because she was pissed he’d just called her a liar?

  Her eyes pinched together again, but it wasn’t in that cute way anymore. This he could read loud and clear. She was mad. Glancing down at his fisting hands, she looked back up at him, shaking her head slowly. “What is wrong with you? And why are you calling me a liar?”

  Feeling a little panicked now that maybe he had jumped the gun—let the seething jealousy cloud his judgment—he took a deep breath to compose himself and spoke more calmly. “You told me you were off today. Said you had the whole day off. Remember?”

  Swallowing hard, it was frustrating that his anxiousness wouldn’t let him concentrate as he normally would on even the smallest details of how she responded to his questioning. Her eyes had opened slightly at that last question, but she held her chin up, looking straight at him. “Amos’s call woke me. He needs me to come in tonight. They’ve had a few waitresses call in. Then he told me to call Simon because he wanted to talk to me.”

  Instantly wound up again, he couldn’t wait when she paused. “About what?”

  “About my show,” she said, crossing her arms.

  As irritated as she appeared to be getting, Damian couldn’t put his finger on it. For someone who’d just been accused of lying, her irritation was understated. “Your show?”

  “Yes. My show,” she said with a little more conviction. “He has some ideas he wanted to go over with me, but I told him it’d be better if we talked tonight when I go in.”

  They stared at each other for a moment silently. He was beginning to feel a little stupid, but something still didn’t sit well with him. “I’m sorry,” he said, bringing his arm around her neck and kissing her head. “I’ll just be honest with you, sweetheart, I don’t like him. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

  She pulled away from him a bit roughly. “Or trust me, obviously.” She glared at him now, but he almost welcomed it. Finally a real show of someone whose boyfriend had just accused her of something way off. “You really think I’d leave your bed to go do something inappropriate with another guy? Regardless of what you think of Simon, after everything that just happened between us, you’re worried about me doing something with him?”

  Okay, it took her a minute. Maybe she’d been too stunned at first, but this was genuine disgust she was spewing—disgust at him. She started to walk away, but he reached out and caught her hand, pulling her back to him. “Baby, I’m sorry. I really am.” He shook his head. “I don’t know.” He kissed her forehead, then her nose, anxiously staring into her eyes. “It’s just that everything I feel for you is so different from anything I’ve ever felt. Every reaction to you feels different—untamed.”

  He held her hand to his bare chest, needing for her to feel just what she did to him. A moment ago his heart had nearly pelted out of his chest because he’d been ready to spit bullets. Now it pounded because he feared he’d pissed her off so bad she’d leave here tonight and never come back.

  Bringing that same hand up to his mouth, he kissed it several times. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He kissed her lips this time. “I’m an idiot. A jealous fucking idiot, and I’ve never been like this, ever. I swear to you. I’ll work on it. I will. And I do trust you. No matter what I feel about Simon, I’ll trust that I don’t have to worry about you doing anything inappropriate with him ever.”

  Finally she smiled, and he leaned his forehead against her, the relief enormous. “You’re not an idiot,” she assured him.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No, you’re not,” she insisted, pulling her forehead away from his and looking him in the eyes a bit seriously now, “And you’re right about Simon. He has asked me out.”

  Damian had just admitted that he was a jealous idiot, but he’d also promised he’d work on it, so he clenched his teeth and said nothing. Taking long, deep breaths he stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

  “He did so way back when we first met, but I declined.” This time she kissed Damian’s knuckles, and he took another long breath, gulping hard and continuing to listen to her calmly. “When he asked a few times more, I let him know that while I liked being his friend I wasn’t interested in anything else. I told him his continuing to ask me out made me uncomfortable and maybe we wouldn’t be able to be friends if he was gonna keep asking. He promised me he would respect my wishes and not ask anymore. He wanted us to stay friends, and ever since he hasn’t brought up the subject of anything between me and him again.”

  “How long ago was the last time he asked?”

  She shrugged. “It’s been a while. Maybe six months ago?”

  Damian wrapped his arms around her waist. “And you’re gonna tell him about us now? Tonight?”

  “If it comes up, sure.” Without even thinking, Damian lifted a brow. “My private life is none of his business, Damian. I don’t want him thinking that I feel I need to report anything to him. So I won’t. But if it comes up, of course I’ll confirm it.” She brought her hands to his rough chin and rubbed it. The corner of her lips lifted in that sexy way he loved seeing. “The fact that I have a big, tough, sexy-as-hell boyfriend now won’t be a secret, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Damian lifted her suddenly, making her yelp, then squeal, but her legs were wrapped around him instantly. “You forgot horny,” he said, diving into her neck as he pushed what was so ready for her again against her crotch. “And crazy about you.” He started toward the patio door. “I think you need a little reminder,” he said, biting her lower lip.

  Just like that she did one of the things he’d loved so much about her from the first time he kissed her. She cradled his face in her hands and kissed him, just as frenzied as he was.

  * * *

  “You told Stella you agr
eed with everything.” Bethany got off her bed, no longer able to sit still. “She said it was a done deal.”

  “I did agree to everything, Bethany. There were just some minor details I needed to look into further, and I take full responsibility for the delay,” Max said, sounding every bit as remorseful as he claimed to be. “But you have my word that it’ll all be taken care of. This is why I wanted to talk to you. You know how your sister gets. I didn’t want to be responsible for one of her little . . . episodes.”

  Play nice. You have no choice. She’d already done her part by acting genuinely happy to hear from him after all this time. She’d cheerfully told him all about the fake job she’d made up and how excited she was about getting back home when this was all over. She even assured him that once back she’d take her old theater job back, and things could go back to the way they were so long ago when she first met him. They’d start over again. She was anxious to let bygones be bygones and get back to the dream life she had once upon a time.

  For most of the call she’d watched herself in the mirror, practicing all the fake expressions that went along with all the bullshit she had to feed him.

  With an exaggerated deep breath, she looked in the mirror again and smiled. “I suppose waiting a little longer won’t kill me. I’ll explain it to Stella. But you won’t get the money, Max,” she said this very firmly. “Not a cent until I have what I need in my hands.” She knew that wasn’t the part he was worried about. The whole needing-the-money thing had just been an excuse. She knew what he really wanted. “And I won’t set foot back in California again until you give me what’s rightfully mine.”

  “Understood,” he said without hesitation. “But I’d like the opportunity to deliver it to you.”

  This was what made her nervous. The only reason he’d want to deliver it himself would be to ensure that once it was done she’d either have to reinvent herself elsewhere or follow through with coming back to California and pretending none of this had ever happened. Something she had been fairly certain she couldn’t do even before Damian, but now she was absolutely sure she wouldn’t. She’d already explained to Stella that once this was over, they were all moving to Vegas permanently.

  But they had to hold on to that house in California. It was all they had. Without it, and Bethany being the only one working, she just didn’t see how they could make the move. There was no way she could fit them all in her little apartment, and she could barely afford the rent there now. She’d figure out how to catch up on the mortgage payments one way or another.

  After just one week, but especially after the night she’d spent with him, and then almost the entire day today, until she was forced to leave to make this call, she was certain of one thing: She couldn’t leave Vegas now. Everything she lived for could easily be transplanted here. Stella had even been excited about it. But as insane as it sounded, she could already feel it: Leaving Damian was not an idea her heart would entertain.

  “It’ll give us a chance to speak in-person about this proposition I mentioned to your sister. I’m quite certain you’ll agree; it’s a very reasonable offer and a win-win for both of us.”

  Bethany refrained from groaning. She wasn’t remotely interested in hearing his proposition, but again she humored him. “When the time comes, we’ll talk,” she said simply. “For now just work on getting this taken care of.”

  Without her having to ask, Max assured her he wouldn’t “blow up her phone” with texts or calls. Considering how badly things could’ve gone today with Damian, Bethany couldn’t have been more grateful for that. An entire hour after getting off the phone with Max, Bethany still lay there staring at the ceiling. On top of the usual feeling of the weight of the world, heavier than ever because her siblings and aunt were counting on her, she was now also wrestling with her conscience. There was no way she could tell Damian about this. Not yet. He’d insist on getting involved, and there was no way she could allow that. Especially not after what he’d told her about his image at work being so important and his not wanting to give them any kind of ammunition. His being involved with this could ruin him.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head, remembering the look in Damian’s eyes today when he’d hit it on the nose, calling her a liar. No way had she anticipated his getting close enough to hear Max, so it was no wonder he’d picked up on the lie she pulled out of her ass when she couldn’t say it was her sister.

  Fortunately, she’d been able to come up with something believable. And after the initial shock of nearly being caught, she was able to sound a bit more convincing. It helped to use the anger at realizing he actually thought that after the night and morning she’d spent with him, giving herself to him in every way imaginable, she was actually going out with another man and blatantly standing there informing him of it. Before that, she’d been drowning in the guilt that she had so boldly lied in his face that she couldn’t conjure up the least bit of resentment at him for calling her on it.

  She brought her hands to her face, nearly groaning. But did he have to be such a sweetheart again about apologizing to her? First he was so remorseful about not telling Ashlynn he had a girlfriend and now this. As if she didn’t already feel crappy about having to keep something so big from him. The one thing that gave her conscience the tiniest bit of relief was that evidently he, too, was of the opinion that some things were better left unsaid. He had made it very clear that if Ashlynn hadn’t shown up being so obvious, he’d had no intention of mentioning she’d “kept him up,” and especially not of mentioning her proposition to him. Knowing this, and based on his reaction to what he thought she was lying about, she was more convinced than ever that she was right to hold off until everything was done.

  She vowed that until she could tell him everything, she wouldn’t be so careless about letting him overhear things that might have her fumbling again. Because staying away from him or slowing things down until this was really a done deal was out of the question now. She could hardly stand knowing that because of her internship, work, and his job, it’d be at least a few days before she could be with him again.

  Chapter 18

  For almost two weeks Max kept his promise about not blowing up Bethany’s phone. Clearly, not blowing up her phone did not mean he’d cease contacting her, because he hadn’t gone too long without texting or calling now and again. Each time was supposedly to update her, but the updates were no more than to tell her there wasn’t anything new. He claimed he wanted to keep her in the loop because he knew she was anxious.

  Tonight was the first time since Damian had all-out called her on her lying that Max’s texts had ignited his suspicions again. Since she’d gone back to doing her show, she’d been really busy, though Amos had insisted on cutting her waitressing hours a bit, so she wasn’t as busy, but her social life and time with Damian had taken a hit. Several times in the past couple of weeks Damian had had to cancel their plans because of work, too. So she was finally getting to surprise him like she’d wanted to weeks ago.

  They’d been at his house while she helped him get ready, because he didn’t know where they were headed, and she didn’t want to tell him, so she was going to dress him. Determined not to screw up again, she’d resorted to keeping her phone on vibrate when she was around Damian. He’d asked her about her phone always being on vibrate several days ago, and she explained she had so little downtime that when she finally did get some, she didn’t want to be bothered, but in case her sister called, she didn’t want to turn it completely off.

  With that he let the subject go. But earlier tonight when she’d glanced at a text from Max, then shoved her phone back in her bag the moment Damian walked into the room, he called her on it.

  “Why do you do that?”

  She looked up at him, her heart already thumping. “Do what?”

  “That’s not the first time I noticed you hide your phone suddenly when you see me coming.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t realize I did that.”

&
nbsp; “You do.”

  “I’m always in a hurry, Damian. I think I just have a habit of shoving everything in my bag without thinking.”

  The mood had gotten a little tense, since she hadn’t had much else to add. But after a while they were back to cuddling and laughing playfully as she tried in vain to get him fully dressed in the appropriate attire for tonight’s surprise, and they’d end up entangled in each other’s arms for too long.

  “We’re gonna be late,” she reminded him as his hands were already making their way down inside her skirt and squeezing her bare ass.

  “Mmm,” he groaned. “It’ll be worth it.”

  Giggling, she pulled away. “No, I’ve waited weeks for this. I don’t want the surprise to be ruined.”

  He was already in black slacks. She’d almost pulled out a black tank from one of his drawers. The kind she loved seeing him in so much. But then she saw the black sleeveless shirt and pulled that instead. “Try this on.”

  “With slacks?” he asked, lifting the shirt in the air.

  “Yeah, I think it might be just the perfect thing.”

  He pulled off the shirt he was wearing, allowing for a very pleasurable view of his beautiful chest and shoulders, then threw the sleeveless shirt on. It was so perfectly snug, it accentuated his big chest and abs. His hard shoulders looked even bigger in it somehow, too.

  “Perfect,” she said, unable to help herself and reaching out to caress his big arms.

  “Are you sure about this?” he said, looking into the mirror.

  “Yes. Just tuck in the shirt.”

  He began to just as her phone buzzed. She’d pulled it out from her purse earlier and it was now on the table in front of the mirror Damian was looking into. Their eyes met in the mirror as he continued to tuck his shirt in, then she saw his eyes travel down to her phone again. “You gonna check that?” She shook her head, but again he didn’t let it go. “Why? ’Cause I’m here?”