Page 2 of She's Got that Heat

Gina sends a text, then smiles at Allie. “Greg is already on his way to take over for the rest of the day. Don’t worry about a thing.”

“Could you bring me another glass full of ice, and a clean towel?” I ask Gina. Once she does so, I hand them to Allie. “Can you please hold these? I’ll carry you outside for some fresh air.”

“Sure, but you can’t—” Her eyes and beautiful pouty pink lips fly wide open as I lift her easily and take her out the back door.

There’s a bistro table set up where people probably take their coffee breaks, but I carry her a few more steps to a wide, wooden bench. I set her down gently, partially leaning against me, then wrap the ice in the towel. I pat it across her forehead for a moment, then hold it at the back of her neck. “More water, I think.”

She looks up at me through those long lashes, then as a soft smile blooms across her lovely face, I feel my heart stretching the center of my chest open.

“Thank you,” she whispers. She drinks a little bit more water, then stares blankly at the gravel parking lot.

Without being too obvious about it, I check her vitals. Pupils are fine. Breathing is fine. Although my index finger on her neck vein isn’t exactly the most accurate heart rate monitor, that seems to be fine too. And the bright flush across her cheeks and throat is fading.

“I’m Damon. I’m not a doctor, but I’m a volunteer firefighter, so I’ve had a bit of medical training. Should I take you to the town medic?”

“No.” Her head shakes just once, then stops. “I’m really sorry to bother you like this.”

“No bother at all.” I move the ice around the back of her neck and shoulders, not letting it sit in one spot for too long. “Human bodies are weird as hell. We all have our own personal limits, and you hit yours. That’s nothing to apologize about.”

“Really?”

“Yeah – you just had the misfortune to be working in a kitchen during our official annual heatwave.”

Allie snorts an adorable giggle. “You have an official annual heatwave?”

“Kind of. We never know exactly when it’s going to hit, but there’s usually a week or two in the summer where it’s strangely hot. Nobody is ever quite prepared for it, even though it happens every year. Then it settles back into the usual completely unpredictable mountain weather.”

“Well, you’re right about bodies being weird.” She looks up at me sheepishly. “I have a whole bunch of glitches. I’ve recently switched thyroid meds, and apparently now I overheat easily.”

“What are you doing working in a kitchen, then?”

She shrugs. “I needed a job.”

“Well, hopefully you can go home tonight and crank the air conditioning.”

Damn…The sadness in her eyes. “No air conditioning. I live in an attic apartment.”

“Son of a…” Now it’s my turn to stare blankly at the gravel.

“It’s fine,” she says brightly, forcing a smile. “I’m going to pick up a little fan on the way home to blow right on my face while I’m sleeping. That should help.”

I don’t think that’s nearly good enough. And if this precious girl doesn’t get proper rest, she’s going to feel even worse.

“Listen, I know you don’t know me. But you can check with Gina to confirm that I’m a good guy – in fact, I would actually prefer that you did. Because I would feel a lot better if you’d let me check out your space to see what can be done.”

Her lips part, then close. Staring at every single detail of this lovely girl, I can’t control the rush that floods my entire body from seeing how curvy and sexy she is.

Then she slowly nods. “Yeah. Maybe I do need some help. Thank you.”

Instead of stretching larger, my heart does a couple of backflips. Not only do I have a valid excuse to spend some more time with the most breathtaking woman I’ve ever met, I can also do everything in my power to make her more comfortable.

The thought of someone so sweet and delicate suffering… It actually hurts my stomach. As if part of me already belongs to her.

I’m glad I’ve been placed in her path to help her in every way I can.

2

ALLIE

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