Burning Hunger (2 page)

Chaz took a seat next to Val, directing his
gaze on her. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart?
Val blinked as if she was
just emerging from a trance. Why was she just sitting there? She
was staring into the wicked heat of Chaz’s eyes, wondering what
they would look like in desire. Then his question to her
registered.

“I think you’re out of your mind,
sweetheart.
I’m not going anywhere with you.” She crossed
her arms over her ample breasts. When his interested gaze dropped
down, Val groaned silently, imagining what his mouth would feel
like there, his tongue swirling around her hard nipples.

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” he
countered, grinning crookedly and mimicking her body language, he
crossed his arms.

Lowering her gaze to the front of his pants,
Val decided either he was getting an erection, or he was just that
big. Feeling the heat fill her cheeks, she turned her attention to
her dad.

“Don’t look at me, I think Mr. Evans has a
good idea. You need to get away from here for a while. Besides, you
haven’t taken a real vacation in years; this will be good for
you.”

“Okay, say I do go down to the Keys, just
how long do you expect me to be gone? This thing with Hal Cramer
isn’t going away overnight, and I doubt this will be brought to
trial if it goes to trial for months.”

“You think I don’t know that? We’ll decide
on things as they come up. Mr. Evans is being paid to protect you
for as long as it takes.”

For as long as it takes!
Frustration
bubbled up inside Val like a volcano ready to erupt. This wasn’t
happening. When had she lost control of her life? She looked at her
dad, and then at Chaz, too worked up to think straight. Chaz was
smiling back at her, and when he topped it off with a wink it was
the last straw for Val.

She glared at him and said as sweetly as she
could muster under the circumstances, “I hope you have tough skin,
cowboy.” It was a threat. He knew it, and she knew it.

“So, who’s Craig?”

Val ignored Chaz’s question, sitting stiffly
in the passenger side of his truck and staring out the window. It
wouldn’t take them long to reach her apartment. Her mind raced with
the new current of events, wondering how it was possible that
things could change so fast.

“Stewing about it isn’t going to change
anything.”

“I don’t stew.”

She clenched her teeth and forced herself to
breathe in slowly. She knew why Chaz rubbed her the wrong
way-because deep down she was physically attracted to him, and
there was nothing wrong with the man. He was a big, tall Texan with
enough sexual charisma to fill the Grand Canyon. A month ago it had
taken all the will power she could muster to ignore him and pretend
he didn’t affect her, something that had been hard to do when
sitting right beside him.

The truth was that Val wanted Chaz, and had
wanted him from the moment they looked into each other’s eyes a
month ago. It wasn’t with the same mind-set that she usually felt
toward the men she met. The countless one-night-stands that took
care of her sexual needs and then sent on their way, never to be
thought about again. Her intense sexual attraction toward the
infuriating Chaz nearly sent her running away in fear. The worst
part was that she was certain he knew what she was feeling.

“You want to talk about it?”

Why won’t he just leave it alone? And why
does his voice have to sound so sexy?
“No.” What was there to
talk about? Val was extremely independent, and that independence
had just been taken away. The turn leading into her apartment
complex came up, and before long Chaz was pulling into a vacant
spot and switching off the ignition.

Without a word Val exited the vehicle,
forgetting how high she was off the ground and nearly falling.
Hearing a light chuckle behind her she slammed the door and began
walking toward the glass doors that led to the lobby. She made it
halfway before a hand on her arm whipped her around to face a very
angry Chaz Evans.

“Look, lady,” he said in a hard tone. “For
some reason you don’t like me. I can live with that. But you will
follow my instructions if you want to remain safe.”

“You didn’t give me any.” She tried to pull
her arm away. Being touched by him, even in anger, gave her a
little rush.

He ignored her. “No telling how long we’re
going to be forced to endure each other’s company, but if you
insist on acting like a child I can certainly treat you like
one.”

The tic in his lean jaw caught her interest.
“Really?” Against her will Val found herself intrigued by his
subtle threat, wondering what he meant. “Just for the record, Mr.
Evans, I don’t feel anything for you. I’m furious that I’ve been
forced into this arrangement, and I’m not handling it very well.
You just happen to be in the line of fire.”

“Well, I fire back, sweetheart,” he ground
out in a low tone. “So I suggest we make the most of it. I make a
damn good living at protecting people, not being part of the
problem.”

Val just stared at Chaz, knowing if she
wasn’t careful she’d give away how she really felt about him. Anger
was a good cover-up at hiding true emotions, but an intuitive
individual would figure out the truth pretty quickly, and Chaz
didn’t look like a stupid man. She took in a deep breath hoping, it
would calm her down. Big mistake! She’d sucked in a lungful of warm
spice and basic man scent that tipped her over the edge of mild
arousal and into the abyss of full on wanton lust.

The next time she tried to pull her arm away
from him Chaz, let her. She opened her mouth to say something but
since it appeared he wasn’t expecting a response she turned and
started walking again. She caught his heavy sigh behind her and
smiled. It wasn’t in her nature to dislike anyone, or let them
think that she did, but in this case, it might aid her in keeping a
good, safe distance between them.

It surprised her when she started to reach
for the door to the lobby of her apartment building and his hand
got there first. “Thank you.” She stepped inside the decorative
foyer, passed the concierge, and headed straight for the elevator;
avoiding Chaz’s eyes she punched the button to the elevator.

“Is there some place else you’d rather go on
vacation than Florida?”

The deep rasp of his sexy voice drew her
gaze to his sensuous mouth. “Purgatory?”

Chaz threw back his head and the deep rich
sound of his laughter filled the lobby. “I wouldn’t have pegged you
for a skier. You look more like the beach goddess type.”

Was he being purposely obtuse?
But
the longer Val starred into his amused eyes the more she realized
that he knew exactly what she’d meant. The elevator door opened and
they stepped inside. It was about to close when a voice called out,
“Hold the elevator, please!”

The man just managed to stick his arm
through the narrow opening, forcing the doors to open again. Chaz
slowly moved in front of her as though to protect her, forcing Val
to take a step back. His large bulk grew taut, and she sensed he
was on guard.

“You live here?” he casually questioned the
man.

“No, not yet,” the stranger replied. He had
a long way to go to meet Chaz’s gaze. “But hopefully soon, I’m
meeting my wife and the realtor at the apartment now.”

Chaz nodded, and Val saw his stance relax
somewhat, apparently satisfied that the man wasn’t a threat. She
smiled, imagining that an angry Chaz would be a force to be
reckoned with. He looked like he could handle anything. Then she
realized he was watching her reaction in the mirror surrounding
them. Her smile vanished, and she looked up to see what floor they
were on.

Why is it taking so long to reach the
seventh floor?

Finally the doors opened and the stranger
stepped aside so they could leave. Val turned down the hallway
leading to her apartment, digging in her purse for her keys as she
walked. When she stopped at her door to unlock it she could feel
Chaz’s presence behind her. He was close; she could feel his warm
breath against the back of her neck. A tingle shimmied down her
spine. Val couldn’t get the door open and alarm off fast
enough.

“Well?” She laid her purse and keys down on
the marble countertop when they reached the kitchen. “What’s next,
cowboy?”

Chaz grinned. “While you were making sure
your father hadn’t forgotten anything work related, I made a phone
call. A friend is going to fly us to the Keys in the morning.”

The Keys. I haven’t been there in ten
years.
In spite of herself, Val was growing excited about
Chaz’s vacation choice. She was suddenly looking forward to some
sun and relaxation.

“Have you been to Florida?”

Val nodded. “A couple of times. Once on
spring break, and again ten years ago.” Suddenly feeling ashamed of
how she’d treated him earlier, she asked, “What about you?”

“It’s been a while for me, too. In fact, I’m
due for a vacation.”

“Then maybe we’ll both get a little
something out of this.”

Aware of how suggestive her comment sounded,
Val wasn’t surprised by the silence that followed, and she couldn’t
seem to draw her gaze away from Chaz’s darkly, sensual one. He
glanced away first. She felt her nipples rise when his gaze dropped
and lingered a little too long on her breasts. Was he wondering how
her D-size breasts would look in a bikini top?

Val was tall and slender, yet cursed with
large breasts that drew more attention than she liked, especially
in her line of work. Normally she wore a concealing jacket, but had
skipped it today in favor of a more feminine look. Without being
obvious she glanced past Chaz at the mirror on the wall. She still
looked professional in a lavender blouse made of flowing georgette,
and a gray pencil style skirt.

As his gaze continued a slow descent down
her body she kicked off her heels which brought her down at least
two inches. Standing so close to Chaz made her aware of just how
tall the man was.
Why am I suddenly so nervous?
Maybe it was
because Chaz was eating her up with his eyes, and not being very
subtle about it.

Val had seen that hungry look in a man’s
eyes before, plenty of times. After work and on weekends she liked
to go dancing at the local bars and flirt with men she met there,
had even gone home with a few in her younger days. Craig’s marriage
proposal had been a quick fix to end her careless ways when she’d
grown tired of one-night stands.

But that only reminded Val how long it had
been since she’d had the sexual gratification of a good one-night
stand. Something about doing it with a stranger was as exciting as
it was dangerous. And suddenly she found herself horny beyond
belief. Trying for nonchalance she reached for the clip in her hair
and released it. Once the blonde tresses fell across her shoulders
she ran her fingers through them and massaged her scalp.

“What time will you pick me up in the
morning?”

Chaz had been watching the cascade of thick
hair tumbling down around her face when her words finally seemed to
register. His gaze met hers. Then a slow smile made the corners of
his sexy lower lip turn up. Damn, she wanted to bite that lip, and
then draw it into her mouth and suck on it until they were both a
little breathless.

“I’m not going anywhere tonight.” His words
were clipped and final, and he backed it up by crossing his arms
over his massive chest.

“I can turn on my alarm. I’ll be safe,” Val
insisted. The thought of Chaz spending the night was as exciting as
it was frightening.

He shook his head. “No good, remember what
your father said? I’m your shadow.”

“I only have one bedroom,” she lied. Well,
it wasn’t exactly a lie. Her guest bedroom had turned into a huge
walk-in closet a long time ago. There was a bed in there
somewhere.

Chaz’s gaze moved to the couch. “Won’t be
the first time I’ve had to sleep on the sofa.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Val slapped
her hands on her hips, unaware that the action pulled her blouse
tight across her breasts.

“Yes, ma’am.” She began to tingle all over
from the sensual look melting the chocolate of his eyes. “Unless
you have a better idea.”

Yeah, you can always sleep on top of
me.
Val quickly banished from her mind the erotic thought of a
naked Chaz keeping her warm. She thought about the vibrator under
her pillow. It would come in handy tonight. She’d have to keep it
on low so he wouldn’t hear it from the next room while sleeping on
the sofa.

“Sorry,” Val said. “A pillow and a couple of
blankets are all you’re gonna get from me.” She turned and went to
her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her victory of getting in
the last word was short lived, though. When she turned to glance at
the clock she found that it wasn’t anywhere near bedtime.

She opened her door. Chaz hadn’t moved from
his spot, standing there with an amused grin on his face as, if
knowing she’d be right back out.

“It’s too early for bed,” she said, feeling
a little embarrassed.

“How about some dinner?” He suggested.

Val thought about the club she favored. The
Moonshine Club had good food, drinks, and dancing. It sure beat
staying home and eating something tasteless from the pantry, and
sharing an awkward evening while trying to make polite chit-chat
with a man she was hot to fuck.

“That sounds good. Let me go freshen up
first. And there’s a bathroom down the hall if you’d like to do the
same.”

Val turned and left before he responded.

“This was a good choice.” Chaz sipped his
beer, soaking up the celebratory atmosphere surrounding them.
Between the conversations and the music, the place was loud, packed
with patrons at the bar, and on the dance floor. Most of the
candle-lit tables were full, too, with the exception of a couple.
Waitresses hustled to and from the kitchen, while the aroma of food
swirled around their heads.