Page 39 of Inflame

I fix my sweaty ponytail and gather my almost empty water bottle from the dusty ground. “I have one more surprise stop planned. Afterwards, do you want to head back to the hotel to hit up the pool bar to cool off?”

“That sounds amazing,” Angie responds.

Going back on the loop trail is much easier because it’s mostly downhill. It takes half the time to reach the parking lot.

“Want to follow us?” I ask Graham and Angie.

“Sure. Sounds good,” he responds.

I don’t bother even asking to drive, so when Nic holds out the keys for me to take, my smile cannot be suppressed.

“Really?” I ask, just to be sure.

“I may regret this,” he snickers.

I’m relieved he is back to talking to me. Or maybe it is me back to talking to him. I can’t keep track. Most of the hike was a dry spell and the silent treatment was making me twitchy.

“Hopefully you’ll live to talk about it.”

“Funny.”

I unlock the doors and slide into the low riding seat, feeling the stifling heat from the greenhouse effect. I power up the engine and rev up the A/C to the max. I readjust my settings and fling my ponytail over the back of the seat.

“I’m so freaking hot,” I moan, closing my eyes and taking a moment to relax.

“Yes, you are.”

My eyes fly to Nic’s. At first I think I misheard him. However, the smoldering flames behind his crystal blues tell me I heard every word just as he intended. His lingering gaze heats me faster than the desert. It is like I am being cooked from within and don’t have a clear path to get out of the fire.

“I can’t keep doing this,” I mutter.

“Doing what?”

I try to think of the right word but come up empty. “This”—I take a deep breath—“this dance.”

“You think working in a building where I’m going to be head of security is going to help? You think this attraction you and I have toward each other is going to go away? If you think it will, you are fooling yourself. This”—he motions with his hand from me to him—“isn’t going away, Claire. I wish it would, trust me. You. Are. Trouble.”

My ears heat. “Me? I am trouble? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You are everything I am attracted to and yet someone I shouldn’t mess around with. You are my brother’s fiancée’s best friend. You are basically off-limits to me. And yet—”

“I’m off-limits because I’m already taken,” I correct him.I’m taken. I need to keep reminding myself that this toxic desire we feel for one another needs to end before we ignite something that can’t be put out.

“Sure, and that.” His words have a humorous edge to them.

“Don’t be mad at me if Angie and I decide to take up shop at HH. Be mad at Graham for offering.”

“Right now, I’m mad at a lot of people,” he admits.

“Sounds counterproductive, if you ask me.” I am in a snippy mood. He put me here. I blame him.

“Didn’t ask you,” he huffs.

“Whatevs.” I turn to Nic, looking at his uncomfortable self. “It was just a kiss. A mistake. Quit extrapolating emotions out of something that was just a physical lapse in judgment. Get over it. I already did.”

11

NIC

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