Page 56 of Heated
“I think I’m in love with you.”
I jerk in the driver’s seat of my Audi A6, my foot reflexively slamming down on the accelerator. Thank God the gear is already in park and the engine is shut off. If not, the front end of my vehicle would be tossing the salad of the Range Rover in front of me.
“Excuse me?”
Zora laughs, the sound light and thoroughly delighted.
“Calm down,” she says, patting my thigh. “I’m not planning to get down on one knee and propose. At least not until we’re at the retreat and in front of your coworkers on the last night. You’re safe.”
Ha ha. Funny.
And awesome. Now I can’t scrub free the image of her down on her knees in front of me. Fucking great.
After shoving the driver’s side door open, I climb out of my car, breaking free of the close confines that are permeated with her honeyed scent like an escaped convict. I round the hood of the vehicle and move to the passenger door, open it, and extend my hand toward Zora. She arches an eyebrow, just as she did when I held the door open when I picked her up earlier, but I don’t blink. Ingrained manners I learnedfrom watching my dad with my mom haven’t disappeared in twenty years.
The question here isn’t why I open doors for women but why she’s so unused to men paying her the common courtesy of opening them for her?
Who the fuck did she date, and where can I find them to beat some basic etiquette into them?
The press of her smaller, softer palm to mine distracts me from my bloodthirsty musings, and I temper my strength as I guide her from the car, shutting the door behind her.
“This place isgorgeous. I’ve lived in Denver all my life, and can you believe I’ve never been here before?” she whispers, her tone almost reverent as she drops my hand and spins in a tight circle.
I don’t blame her. Red Rocks is an awesome sight. The open-air amphitheater is actually built into a rock structure. Behind the stage, a disk-shaped rock sits, and to the right another huge rock angles up and outward like Noah’s ark. It’s like being surrounded by sky and earth, and it’s breathtaking.
A beautiful smile lights up her whole face, and she closes her eyes, tipping her head back to the last rays of the setting sun. I jerk my gaze away, but lust punches through my chest with a ham-size fist, propelling the air from my lungs. A fist of pure heat grips my cock, squeezing, pumping, and that quick I’m transported back to the night in her living room where I waged an epic battle not to fuck her into her couch.
Then, I won. Barely.
But in the days since, I haven’t been convinced the outcome would be the same if I were faced with the situation again. Even now, her sweet, toasty scent of honey and almonds lingers in my mouth, my nostrils. Hell, even my skin. She has become a fucking obsession that’s far from “friendly.”
That ship has sailed so fucking far and fast.
And my dick could be the mast.
She hunkers down, sliding a medium-size case off her shoulder. I’m not an idiot; I’ve seen camera cases before. But seeing Zora walk out of her house with it sent shock snapping through me. How did I not know she was a photographer? Or at least was into photography? There’s so damn much Idon’tknow about Zora. And that lack of knowledge drives me crazy.
This trust shit is not only new; it’s frustrating as hell.
With quick, expert hands, she removes the camera from the case, attaches what looks to my amateur eyes to be the lens and the flash, and then stands, looping a strap around her neck.
Beautiful.
Confident.
Sexy as fuck.
I stare, damn near spellbound, as she holds the camera up, adjusts the lens, and starts shooting. The people gathered in the parking lot for the concert. The huge stunning rock formations beyond the stage. The darkening sky. The stage. The park.
Me.
And me.
“What’re you doing?” I ask, resisting the urge to hold up a hand and block my face. Discomfort crawls through me. I might represent clients who are used to being in the spotlight or even crave it, for that matter, but that has never been my addiction. Unlike some of my colleagues.
Yeah, not thinking about work tonight.
Which is a first.
