Summer Heat (7 page)

Too bad the shower
couldn’t wash away the embarrassment she’d have to face once she saw him again.

If she were a weaker
person she could feign a headache and at least temporarily put off what was
bound to be an uncomfortable meeting. But she wasn’t weak, had never been, and
wouldn’t allow herself to avoid contact with him.

Correction. She 
had
 been
weak, once.

Last night.

She soaped her body,
aching in places that hadn’t been touched in far too long. Oh sure, she got herself
off on a regular basis. After all, masturbating was a great tension reliever,
and in her line of work she ended every day stressed to the maximum.

But getting oneself off
and spreading her legs in the middle of a public park with such wild abandon was
an entirely different matter.

When she soaped her
breasts, she remembered the sensation of Aidan’s hands grasping her softly and
gently, tweaking her nipples until shocks of pleasure sailed through her.
Slipping her fingers between her legs, she was surprised at the instant
awakening of desire.

This kind of thing just
didn’t happen to her.

Refusing to give in to
the sexual need growing steadily inside her, she turned off the shower, dried
off and faced herself in the mirror.

No sense whining about
something she had no control over. What’s done was done, and she couldn’t go
back and change things, no matter how much she wanted to. She’d just have to
keep things cooler between her and Aidan in the future, and to make sure he
clearly understood that she was not a hot sex goddess, but a cool, calm,
professional.

* * * * *

Damn, she’d been hot
last night. Aidan flipped his car keys to Frank, the attendant, bounding up the
steps and into the lobby. For the first time in a long time, he was
supercharged about going to work.

Part of it was the
excitement of the casino venture with the hotel.

A lot of it had to do
with seeing Lissa.

His body already craved
her again, wanted her touch, wanted to inhale her sweet scent. He had to
mentally force down thoughts of fucking her to avoid walking through the hotel
with a very visible erection.

Never before had a
woman fired him up like Lissa had. She’d taken him completely by surprise with
her acquiescence to his sexual teasing. He’d only started it because he wanted
to rile her a little. He found her cool Boston exterior not only a challenge,
but charming.

Okay, maybe more the
challenge.

Then when she heated up
like a wildcat, her desires more than matching his own, she’d tantalized him
past the point of rational thought.

If Logan knew about
what happened between them last night, he’d have a fit. Aidan even felt a
twinge of guilt that he’d not only done the one thing Logan warned him not to
do, but he’d done it the first night Melissa was in town.

Considering she’d be
here at least a month, trying to keep his distance would be difficult, if not
downright impossible.

He’d had a taste of her
passion, and the storm within him was building. Stronger and harder than
anything he’d experienced before.

Good thing he could
control the magic. Otherwise a hurricane would be blowing through The Rising
Storm any day now.

His senses perked up as
the elevator doors opened.

Sure enough…Lissa.

Looking cool and
professional in her cream-colored business suit and matching high heel shoes,
she strode forward with a determined and quick step.

Right up until she
spotted him. Then she paused for a second, her pace faltered, and she broke eye
contact.

Interesting. She seemed
to be considering something on the floor. Then she lifted her head,
straightened her shoulders and headed purposefully in his direction.

“Good morning, Aidan,”
she said.

Gone was the heat wave
of last night. In its stead, a crispy Boston breeze.

“Mornin’. Sleep well?”

“Fine, thank you. Shall
we get started?”

No warmth. Not even a
smile. So this was how it was going to be. Ignoring the pang of regret in his
stomach, he figured it was for the best anyway. If she wanted to avoid
discussion of what had happened between them last night, obviously it hadn’t
been as monumental for her as it had been for him.

And didn’t that do
wonders for his ego? With a sigh, he said, “Let’s go to my office and we’ll
start working on the plan.”

She turned on her heel
and walked silently beside him. With every measured step she took, Aidan grew
more and more irritated.

Granted, last night
hadn’t been moonlight and stardust in a bed covered in rose petals. But it had
been hot and stormy. Fierce, passionate, elemental. And dammit, she had loved
every minute of it.

Today it was like a
Blue Norther’ had blown in, soaking and cooling everything in its wake.

Cooling his libido, for
certain. And definitely blowing his pride to bits.

Maybe he hadn’t done as
good a job for her last night as he’d thought.

She sure as hell had
taken him apart piece by piece. Just the memory of her mouth on his cock had
him hardening, despite her frosty demeanor.

“Now if we could just
go over this part of the plan,” she said when they entered the conference room,
all businesslike and barely making eye contact.

Aidan played along for
most of the day, offering his ideas and suggestions as he would with any
colleague. By the time late afternoon rolled around he was steaming inside, his
thoughts occupied more with how he could have pleased her better.

Which pissed him off
all the more.

He’d never had
complaints in the sex department before. Never. In fact, he always got asked
for seconds, even thirds.

Clearly the fault was
with Melissa. She was frigid. That had to be it. It couldn’t be him.

Unable to resist, he
asked, “Are we going to talk about it?”

She looked up from the
pile of papers on the table. “About what?”

“Last night.”

Her face tinged pink
and she quickly turned her gaze back on the papers. “Nothing to talk about. It
was a mistake.”

“Was it?”

“Yes. Let’s just forget
it ever happened.”

Aidan leaned back in
the chair and pondered if he really wanted to let it drop or not.

Not. “Was it that bad?”

Her gaze flew to his.
“Oh no! It was wonderful!” Then, obviously realizing she’d said too much, she
added, “I enjoyed dinner with your family.”

He chuckled. “That’s
not what I meant and you know it.”

Chin held high, she
said, “I’d prefer not to talk about the other.”

“Kind of hard not to
relive it and talk about it, don’t you think? After all, we did share something
intimate last night. We’re going to be working together over the next month. I
think we should get it out in the open.”

“I’d prefer to leave it
buried.”

That might be what she
thought she needed, but deep down Aidan knew it really wasn’t what she wanted.

“You enjoyed it.”

No response.

“You came. Hard.”

Still no reply, but her
blush deepened and she shifted in her chair.

“You sucked my cock
like a woman starving for it.”

Her head lifted
abruptly. Sparks of anger flared in her eyes. That got her attention. “I had
too much wine.”

He laughed out loud.
“Pretty flimsy excuse, Lissa.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? Lissa?”

“Yes. It’s not my
name.”

“I like it better. Less
formal.”

“You’re annoying as
hell.”

He grinned. “I’ve been
told that before.”

Pushing back from the
table, Melissa folded her hands in her lap, her back ramrod straight. “Look,
Aidan, let’s chalk up last night to a bad choice on my part. I apologize if I
led you to believe there could be something between us, because there won’t be.
Ever. What happened with us will never happen again. Now, I’d appreciate if
you’d let the subject drop.”

“I see.” He scooted his
chair so close to hers their knees touched. Melissa pushed back a little
further, until Aidan grabbed the arms of her chair and yanked her toward him.
“Let’s get one thing straight. Last night was hot. For both of us. I enjoyed
the hell out of it, and so did you.”

When she opened her
mouth to object, he silenced her with a look. “Why you don’t want to enjoy some
hot sex between consenting adults is beyond me, but I’ll honor your wishes not
to talk about it again unless you bring it up.”

“That won’t happen,”
she said, lifting her chin.

“We’ll see.”

He pushed her chair
back and picked up their marketing plan. At least he’d managed to have his say.
Now they could get back to business.

“So tonight the plan is
to head over to a couple of the competing casinos and check out the action?” He
tried to sound as uninterested and businesslike as she had.

“Yes. The company wants
me to survey their activities, find out what kind of volume they’re doing. I’d
like to visit them at various hours on different days to gauge their traffic in
the morning, afternoon and evening.”

“Works for me. I like
to gamble.” Damn. That had sounded almost friendly. He’d have to watch himself.
He’d nearly smiled when he said it.

She regarded him for a
few seconds, frowning. “You don’t have to go with me.”

Which really meant she
didn’t 
want
 him to go with her.

Tough.

“Yeah, I 
do
 need
to go with you. I don’t frequent the casinos enough to know exactly what your
marketing angles are. You can tell me a little bit about that while we’re
there. What the key points are we want to convey to our potential customers.”

She seemed to consider
it for a few seconds, doubt sailing across her face. Then she nodded quickly.
“Fine. We’ll start tonight.”

Great. She might as
well have just agreed to a root canal. Clearly, she wasn’t thrilled at the idea
of spending yet another evening in his company.

He’d had about enough
of Miss Frosty for one day. He needed some space between now and this evening
to gather his composure. He stood, picked up the remnants of his ego and said,
“I have another appointment. I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight.”

Before waiting for her
response, he stepped out of the conference room, feeling at least a little
satisfied that he’d managed to get the last word in while walking out on her at
the same time.

Melissa stood in front
of her closet once again, unable to believe that she couldn’t find a thing to
wear. For someone who’d brought a sizeable wardrobe with her, she sure was
having a tough time making choices.

Which had nothing to do
with the fact she was going to the casino tonight with Aidan.

Pangs of guilt hammered
her when she recalled his hurt look in the conference room earlier today. So
she’d bruised his feelings. So he’d walked out on her.

Wasn’t her fault. She’d
made no promises to him last night, didn’t reveal any feelings to him. They’d
had one episode of pretty intense foreplay, but that was it. And it wasn’t
going to go any further.

If she were smart she’d
pull out her conservative, long skirted business suit and wear it like a suit
of armor. Then again the thought of putting on that many clothes in this wet
heat made her nauseous.

Screw Aidan Storm,
she’d wear whatever she wanted. In fact, she’d dress sexy, even provocatively
if she wanted to. Just because she wanted to keep things strictly business
between her and Aidan was no reason for her to don nun’s clothing.

Defiantly, she yanked
the gold silk halter dress out of the closet, along with the four-inch heels
that matched. That should whet his appetite a little. More than a little, if
she made herself up just right.

She stopped dead in her
tracks on her way into the bathroom. Wait a second, what was she doing? She
wasn’t supposed to be dressing to knock Aidan’s socks off. She wasn’t supposed
to want him to want her.

Damn if he wasn’t doing
it to her again. Making her forget who she was and why she was here.

She turned and glanced
into the lighted closet, the drab gray suit catching her eye. Then her glance
drifted back to the sinuous gold silk on the hanger in her hands.

Silk or wool? Boston or
New Orleans? Hot or really damn hot?

No contest. Comfort won
out over propriety.

In less than an hour
she was showered and ready.

Ready to kill, judging
from her reflection in the mirror.

It had to be the sultry
New Orleans heat making her feel like a temptress, making her choose sexy
dresses and dabbing on tantalizing perfume.

She grabbed her bag and
headed toward the elevator, as perplexed as ever about what was happening to
her. She’d heard New Orleans was magical, full of mystical practices that went
back centuries. Maybe that’s what had overcome her—the magic of this place.

Certainly, it had
nothing to do with Aidan Storm.

* * * * *

Aidan cooled his heels
in the lobby, wondering what kind of reception he’d get from Miss Frosty
tonight. Most likely the same one he’d gotten all day today.

Spying his sister,
Shannon, at the front desk, he strolled over and grabbed her around the waist.
She shrieked and turned, a furious glare on her face.

“Dammit, Aidan! You
scared the hell out of me.”

“That’s the idea,” he
said with a grin. “What are you doing here so late?”

“Finishing up the PR
campaign for the French Quarter Business District.”

And still looking
bright and professional in her little business suit, even at nearly eight. He’d
never seen Shannon look anything other than completely put together. “I see.”

“And you? You’re never
here this late.”

“Waiting for Melissa.
We’re going to one of the casinos tonight to check out the competition.”

Shannon nodded and
swept her hair off her shoulders. “You two will be spending a lot of time
together, won’t you?”

“Yeah. So?”

“She’s very
attractive.”

“Yes, she is.”

“And whip smart.”

“Indeed.” He already
knew where this conversation was going, but enjoyed playing the game with his
sister.

“Not really your type,
though, is she?”

Shannon might be able
to bat those turquoise eyes and act innocent with someone else, but he’d never
fallen for it once.

“No, she’s not.”

“Kind of cold, isn’t
she?”

“Uh huh.”

She pursed her lips and
tilted her head. “Bet you’d like to heat her up just a little, though, wouldn’t
you?”

Now it was time. “Where
are you going with all this, 
petite soeur
?”

Her eyes narrowed.
“Don’t you 
little sister
 me, Aidan. I know exactly what you’re
doing with her.”

Aidan crossed his arms
and arched a brow. “Really. And what is that?”

“You’re setting her up
for heartbreak.” She laid a perfectly manicured finger in the middle of his
chest. “And yourself, too, if you’re not careful.”

“I can handle it,
Shan.”

She snorted. “Famous
last words. You’ve been 
handling
 women around here for years
now. But I think this time you may have met your match.”

“Why do you say that?”

Shannon shrugged. “I
don’t know. Something about her is…different. I noticed it last night.”

So, he hadn’t been the
only one. “Different, how?”

“Not that 
she’s
 different,”
she replied, looking around and then taking him by the arm to a sitting area
where they had more privacy. “She seems to bring out the magic in you.”

“Damn, Shannon, not
you, too. You sound like Mom.”

“I know, I know.
Believe me, I’m the last one to think the magic is all encompassing, especially
as it relates to destiny. All I’m saying is that as soon as she walked in the
door to the house last night, I felt it. It begs a warning for you to be
careful.”

He nodded and kissed
his sister on the cheek. She smiled up at him. “Unless, of course, you don’t
want to be careful.”

“Huh?”

“You 
are
 getting
up in years there, 
cher frère
. Maybe it’s time you settle down and start
raising those grandchildren Mom and Dad are always harping about.”

“You first,” he teased.

Her eyes widened. “Not
on your life. I don’t have time.”

“Talk about famous last
words,” he said, then stopped cold when the awareness hit him. He turned and
spotted Melissa.

“Wow,” Shannon said
behind him.

Dressed in one
hellaciously hot dress, Melissa strode toward them. Gold and shimmery, the
dress waved around her legs and clung to her like it had been painted on her.

“You’re in deep
trouble, Aidan,” Shannon said over his shoulder, mirth evident in her warning

“No shit.” This new
Melissa he hadn’t expected. In fact, after today he fully expected her to show
up in pants or some garb that covered all of her from head to toe. Not a silk
dress cut low in front and showing off her figure. Her long legs looked even
longer in those high heels.

Ignoring her would be
difficult, if not downright impossible. He’d seen the body barely hidden
underneath all that gold. And he wanted to see it again.

Melissa smiled brightly
at Shannon as she stopped in front of them. “How are you tonight?” she asked
his sister.

“Great,” Shannon
replied. “Working late as usual.”

Melissa nodded. “You
sound like a workaholic, just like me.”

“Gorgeous dress, by the
way,” Shannon said.

“Thank you.” A telltale
blush appeared on her cheeks as she glanced quickly over at Aidan.

“You two have fun. I’ve
got to get this paperwork finished.” Shannon scurried off toward the hotel
offices, leaving Aidan and Melissa alone.

The quiet was
unnerving. And he couldn’t stop staring. The gold dress shimmered against
Lissa’s creamy skin, the effect casting a burnished glow over her. Arousal
rumbled inside him and he fought for control. Not tonight. According to
Melissa, never again. He had to remember that.

“Shall we go?” she
finally asked.

He nodded and led her
to his car.

She stood at the door
to the Corvette. His thoughts gravitated to how she’d look when she slipped
into the low car, her long legs swinging over, her dress hiking up to her
thighs.

Ah, hell. How much
torture could one guy endure in an evening?

As Melissa situated
herself he looked straight ahead, refusing to glance down at her legs and
whatever else might be revealed.

The night was hot and
humid, and as he walked around to his side Aidan pulled the crewneck collar
away from his neck, feeling like a noose was tied around there. He’d be happier
if he could be sitting at home with shorts and no shirt on, watching sports on
television and drinking beer. Instead, he was working.

With a gorgeous partner
who didn’t want to have anything personal to do with him.

Life just sucked
sometimes.

* * * * *

The heat yanked the
wind right out of Melissa’s sails. Moist and sticky humidity clung to her in
most inconvenient places, and they hadn’t even reached the casino yet.

At least Aidan was
virtually ignoring her. Which was what she wanted. Although she’d noticed the
obvious male appreciation when she’d appeared in the lobby, and couldn’t help
smiling at the thought she had at least a few charms to tantalize him with.

If she were interested
in tantalizing him, that is. Which she wasn’t.

She shifted, the cool
air conditioning in the car peeling away the heat that seemed to permeate the
very air around her. Occasionally she stole a glance at Aidan, but he refused
to look her way.

As long as he was
ignoring her it gave her the opportunity to look at him without giving him the
wrong impression. When she’d first seen him in the lobby with Shannon, her
heart had hammered against her chest.

Dressed in black pants
and a beige crewneck shirt that hugged his well developed chest and shoulders,
he looked the epitome of cool, classic and outright sexy. He had the most
gorgeous head of full, dark hair that waved just the tiniest bit. How had she
missed the opportunity to run her hands through his hair last night?

That would have been
her only opportunity to do so, too. At her own request, of course, since she’d
made it clear to Aidan she wanted no part of a sexual relationship with him.

He turned his head
slightly in her direction as they turned into the driveway of the casino. He
had the most perfect nose. Straight, not too long or wide, and a square jaw
with just a hint of five o’clock shadow covering it. He looked like a man that
a woman would want to sin with.

Checking her rapid
heartbeat at the door, she entered the casino. The clanging bells, noise and
activity made Melissa feel right at home. Bright lights shimmered and pulsed
all around her, and cheers could be heard all the way from the back of the huge
casino where the craps tables no doubt were located.

“What first?” Aidan
asked.

“Let’s take a stroll
around the entire place and get a feel for the setup.”

He nodded and let her
take the lead. The casino, a national chain, was set up similar to others of
its type. Slot machines and video poker were strewn throughout the casino, so
that no matter where a customer wandered, there would always be spot for them
to pause and put in their nickels, quarters or dollar coins and take their chances
on a pull of the one arm bandit.

Blackjack, craps,
roulette tables, and various card games were strategically placed in high
traffic areas. Several restaurants and theaters were located within the
boundaries of the casino, ready to feed and entertain their customers no matter
what their pleasure.

“How does this place
rate versus your casinos?” Aidan asked as they walked the carpeted path.

Melissa cast her eye at
the craps tables. “Similar. Not as good as ours, of course.”

“Of course.”

They must have walked
the entire casino three times when Aidan stopped her and asked, “Why don’t we
play a little?”

Aidan could have
laughed at the expression on Melissa’s face. She thought something different
than what he meant. Good.

“Play a little?”

“Yeah. You know…poker,
blackjack, craps, some of the games.”

“Oh, that. I don’t
play.”

“You work for a casino
and you don’t ever play the games?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t.”

“So, you suck at
gambling, huh?”

She lifted her chin and
cast him a defiant glare. “I do not. I just don’t like to gamble.”

“I can see where
gambling would be a problem for you. After all, it’s risky, takes you out of
your comfort zone.”

Her eyes narrowed and
she said, “I’m perfectly comfortable gambling. I’m just…”