Page 42 of Turn Up The Heat

On legs that didn’t quite belong to his free will, he stepped in close to meet her eye to eye. “No apologies.”

Sure. Except for the big, fatsorry, you may not kiss the rich girlthat his neurons were trying to send to the impulsive part of his brain.

“Okay.” Bellamy took the phone and dialed, pacing the floor in a loop. She brushed her free hand through her hair until her forefinger snagged on a lone curl. Moving her wrist in a gentle roll, she wound the curl around her finger as she assured Jenna that she was safe but definitely stuck until the storm passed through.

The graceful way she carried herself was so unexpectedly beautiful that it captivated him, and even though he knew he was supposed to be doing something, he’d be damned if he could remember what it was. His stomach growled, sending up the hungry-man’s version of a slap upside the head. Food, right! He needed to find them some food.

“So, what’ve we got?” Bellamy finished her lap around the garage, returning to where Shane stood with nothing to show for his efforts but a smile made up of pure bravado and a prayer that she hadn’t caught him staring.

“Well, we always keep bottled water around, and there’s half a case of it in the office.” Thank God he knew that without looking, having snagged some the day before. “I’ve got a turkey sub and two apples in the mini-fridge, but there’s not much else. Oh, except for the jelly beans.” They were such a staple around the garage that Shane had almost forgotten about them.

“Jelly beans?” Bellamy looked at him, surprised.

He nodded. “Grady keeps a stash of them in a jar in the office. He swears they’re how he quit smoking,” Shane replied, going into the office to retrieve the jar. The thing was half-full, and while they might get one hell of a sugar high for their trouble, at least it looked like he and Bellamy wouldn’t starve.

“That’s kind of an unorthodox way to go.” She looked at the jar with curious eyes.

Shane thought of the old man and grinned. “Yeah, he has a helluva sweet tooth. Those damned things work, though. It’s been sixteen years since he had a cigarette.”

He put the jar down on the workbench with a plunk and shuffled through the contents on the shelf over the coffeepot. “We have plenty of coffee, too. That and the blanket from my truck should keep us from getting too cold.”

A look of panic seeped into her glance. “What?”

Shane was quick to diffuse her worry. “Relax, as long as we have power, there’s heat. It’s just that it’s drafty in here with all the windows, and we’re not exactly well insulated, like a house. So, you might want to keep your coat handy after it gets dark and the temperature drops, that’s all.”

“Oh. Okay.” A hopeful look flickered over her face. “You know what? I think I saw a safety kit in Jenna’s trunk when she took her suitcase out the other day. It might have something useful in it.”

Shane laughed. “Like maybe a snowmobile?”

Bellamy crossed her arms over her chest, but the laugh she was trying to press between her lips was obvious. “Well, there might be an extra smartass in there. Just in case I need a matched set.”

He laughed again. “All right. I have to venture out there to get the blanket from the truck, anyway. Give me the keys and I’ll check the trunk.”

The indignant look he got in return was just as much of a turn-on as the banter that followed. “I think I’m capable of making it to the side lot to check the trunk for a safety kit, Shane.”

The way her lips kicked up over his name sent a blast of heat right through him. He shouldn’t flirt with her. He should. Not. Flirt with her.

Oh, fuckthat.

He took his coat from the hook by the door and pulled his ski cap low over his brows. The wind could get bitter enough to curl a polar bear’s toes in a storm like this, but far be it for him to stand in her way.

“By all means. Ladies first.” His stare offered no quarter, mostly because he wanted to make her squirm, but a tiny part of him just couldn’t look away from the sexy fire in her emerald gaze.

She didn’t flinch, but the longer he held the eye contact between them, the more her glance softened, as if she were surprised he’d conceded. “Okay, then.”

Bellamy sauntered to the side door and slid into the coat she’d abandoned there earlier. She set her cute little knit gloves in place and palmed the key fob to the BMW, squaring her shoulders before opening the side door. A gasp flew out of her as soon as she was met by the wall of wind and snow four steps past the threshold.

“Holyshit.” She cursed in Shane’s direction, hugging her arms around her body to ward off the blast of cold air as she took a few more steps through the relentless snow.

Shane bit back a shudder. Damn, it really was bone-chilling, and he was used to the weather up here. “What’s the matter? I thought you were all over this,” he joked. Guilt didn’t let him stand there for very long, though. She stopped, and he stepped in close to block her from the stinging wind, letting it force the snow against his back instead.

“I was. I mean, I am,” she said, but her cheeks were already flushed from the biting wind and she was clearly shivering.

Reaching down to catch her gloved hand in his, he slipped the keys from her fingers. “You proved your point, tough stuff. I can get the safety kit.”

Bellamy lifted her eyes up, unwavering. “I’m not going back.” She shivered again, but her determination was crystal clear.

He curled the keys back into her palm, returning her gaze with his own certainty. “Suit yourself.”

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