Desert of the Damned (5 page)

Amy sighed. “I’ll have to watch what I leave on my desk in the future.”

Truly grinned, apparently not at all remorseful.

“It’s not that I don’t like it here,” Amy began. “I miss Florida. My family’s there and I left behind some good friends.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Not really. I was seeing someone but it wasn’t going anywhere.” Amy pursed her lips in disgust, remembering the evening she’d told Erik about her job transfer. He’d said she should go to Arizona. It was a great opportunity. His lack of emotion stung more than moving away from her parents.

Truly crossed her legs under her long skirt and leaned forward in her chair. “What did he say when you broke the news about Drake Diagnostics consolidating all the laboratories in Arizona?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t a big hardship that I left.” Four months after she moved to Arizona, Erik got engaged. Had he been seeing her before Amy left? Amy didn’t know and wasn’t going to explain the gory details to Truly.

“Well, you’ll find someone special here.”

Amy shook her head. “I don’t want to get serious with anyone because I don’t plan on staying. If I can do a good job here, I hope they’ll consider me for a management position in the main office in Florida. If not, I’m looking into other companies.”

“Then why didn’t you apply to those companies before you moved?” Truly rolled back to her computer.

“The management position wasn’t available then and I couldn’t find another job soon enough. The raise and relocation reimbursement was too good to pass up.”

“Well, you can still adopt the kitten,” Truly said, sounding hurt as if not liking Arizona and the kitten was an insult to her.

“Why? I don’t want anything to tie me here in case I get a job offer. No pets, no year-long lease—I had to pay extra for month-to-month rent on my house—and no serious relationships.”

“No ties or friendships whatsoever,” Truly snapped back.

Now she had hurt her feelings. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Truly typed on her computer and the printer nearby began to print out reports. “Of course you did. How often do your Florida friends phone you now? Email you every day?”

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Amy crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I still get emails, occasionally.

They’re busy.”

Truly gave a self-satisfied smile but there was no pleasure in her expression. “Right.

And the emails will become fewer. You quickly fade out of their lives and routine. You can’t live your life as if your current arrangement is temporary. The nomad life becomes lonely. I know, I’ve lived it, Amy.”

“I see what you’re saying. But I think I’d be happier in Florida,” Amy said, hoping that explained her feelings and would ease the tension.

Truly sighed and shook her head. “You don’t see. You can’t find happiness in a place or with a person. You can only find happiness here inside.” She pointed to her heart. Then she stood, grabbed the reports and slammed them onto Amy’s desk. “Sign these, please. I’m going to lunch.”

Grabbing her coffee cup, Truly left the department and didn’t ask Amy to join her.

Leaning her forehead against her hand, Amy signed the reports, then scanned through her inter-office email. One was from Dante Akando asking her to come to his office.

She groaned. Heat rushed to her face. She was not going to jump at his beck and call.

“Amy, here’re two more racks,” Tina, the lab assistant from Central Processing, said as she dropped off the tubes of blood and requisitions.

“Wow.” Amy blinked at the petite blonde wearing an oversized lab coat and sneakers. “We’ve already had a triple run this morning. Did we get new accounts or something?”

“No, same accounts, just a ton of sick dogs, horses and several cows.”

“Cows? Since when did we start testing cows?” Amy picked up the forms and searched for some clue as to why there was such an increase of sick animals.

Tina shrugged her shoulders. “Last week, I think. I guess there are a few, huh?

We’re logging in more so don’t complain when I bring you more work.” She strode out of the lab. Looked like Amy was going to work some overtime tonight. Plunking her elbows on her desk, she massaged her forehead with her fingers.

She skimmed through the forms. Most of the veterinarians didn’t fill in the area that asked for symptoms. But a few stated listlessness, weakness, loss of appetite—vague symptoms that could be caused by many illnesses. The vets were ordering blood work and microbiology studies—across-the-board studies. In other words, they didn’t know what was wrong.

After lunch, Truly returned and still wasn’t talking to her. Amy received more work and another email message from Dante. “Urgent. Please come to my office concerning a new project.”

Project, my ass. Was this another game? She would have to go see him. He had captured her attention when she first started working at the lab. And there had been an 26

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awareness, a pull that she thought he felt too by the way he looked at her. When Dante had approached her at work, she had turned him down several times because she didn’t want to get involved, especially with her supervisor. But his dark handsome looks were too compelling to refuse. Now she realized what a mistake it had been to start up anything with him. “Truly, I need to go to Dante’s office. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” Truly said sarcastically, obviously still annoyed. “Have a good time. I’ll hold the fort.”

* * * * *

Amy resisted the urge to kick the door to the administrative offices instead of knocking. Physical gratification. That was all she and Dante were to each other. He shouldn’t infuriate her so. She wasn’t romantically involved with him, so why should she care?

With the realization of her empty love life, a big, dark hole grew in her heart. Even in Florida, she’d had plenty of dates but at thirty-two she had never been married. Most of her friends had kids, had husbands, divorced or on their second. What was wrong with her? Growing up living a nomad’s life with a father in the navy who had to move frequently didn’t help her when it came to making long-term friends.

Amy knocked at the door to Dante’s office. She’d save their personal discussion for later.

“Come in,” he announced.

She opened the door and walked in. The office was small but large enough to hold an ample commercial-grade black desk and a tall black leather chair. Two smaller burgundy leather chairs faced the front of his desk. Against two walls stood floor-to-ceiling bookcases, stacked with books, notebooks and audio-visual items. “Hello, Dante.

What do you need?” Crossing her arms, Amy strolled in and stood by his desk.

“Hmmm. I have a few things in mind,” he said with obvious innuendo.

“I have to get back. We’re very busy.”

“This won’t take long.” With a wave of his hand he offered her one of the two seats.

She sat and realized the seats were much lower than his chair. A power play to show his dominance? He stood and she began to do the same.

“No, sit, please.” He came between the desk and her chair and sat on the desk.

“Right. What about a project?” Despite her plans to break it off, her body heated up thinking about last night, thinking about what his hands, what his mouth had done to her.

“We’re getting a new account that’s going to mean some PR for the community so I want you assisting with the sample collection,” he said formally but she could tell he was looking at her mouth, at her breasts and lower.

“Who’s the account?”

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“Saguaro National Park. We’ll be running some tests on the wildlife. Apparently a number of animals in the park have died recently.” Dante met her gaze, a piercing look that unsettled her.

Her head swam for a moment. “I’m sorry, tests for whom?”

His smile was humorless and fierce. “Park service.”

“Of course.” She squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them but Dante’s face still looked blurry. And that damn self-satisfied smile of his. “What do you need me to do?”

Resisting the urge to tug on her black skirt, she crossed her legs. His scrutiny tightened her nipples beneath her bra and sent a throb to her pussy. It was maddening how this man could arouse her with just a look.

“Take charge of the project.”

She frowned as she studied him to see if he was serious. He wasn’t smiling, he remained professional straight-faced but something didn’t seem right. Something was going on and she didn’t understand what. Determined to stop her hands from shaking, she gripped the armrests. “Is that all?”

“I have a meeting shortly. I’ll call you in if we have any questions.” Then he leaned forward, pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “Amy, unbutton your blouse.”

“What? No, ar-are you crazy?” Her eyes met his and she wondered if she had the power to resist him. What made her think of such a thing? Of course she could resist him.

She pulled away, her hand pushing at his chest. Big mistake. She caught the slight scent of him, musk and smoke and urgently wanted to dig her fingers into his shirt and pull him down onto her. Grasping her hand, he guided her down to his erection, bulging beneath his trousers. She rubbed and pressed his hard length, aching to free his straining cock. With shaking hands she attempted to unzip his pants. How did he manage to do this to her? And how many more times would he tease her before she felt his rigid shaft pulsing inside her? Wasn’t she going to end her relationship with him?

His face moved close, lips a fraction of an inch away. Then he gazed into her eyes without blinking. “Unbutton your blouse,” he whispered huskily. This time, his voice had a demanding edge that sent an electric jolt to her pussy.

The air in the room grew dense and she couldn’t move, couldn’t draw her eyes away from him. Like a dream where her legs became lead and she couldn’t run.

“You’re safe,” he breathed.

Her hand went to the top button of her yellow silk blouse and undid it. Heartbeat racing, she continued unbuttoning the shirt down to her waist.

“Yes,” he hissed, tossing the folder on his desk. Dante’s heated gaze focused on her breasts as he slid his hand down her lace bra.

Amy arched her back to meet his hand, hot and rough. She whimpered.

“Oh yeah. You respond so quickly.” He pulled the top of the bra down, exposing her breasts and pinched her nipples hard until she jumped. The jolt of sensation rippled 28

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to her cunt. He chuckled under his breath then bent over and took one stiff peak in his mouth.

“Someone could barge in,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry about it.”

His hand reached under her skirt. “Ooh, thigh-highs. Nice.” His fingers danced at the edge of the lace top, brushing the bare skin above. “Spread your legs,” he demanded. She did without argument. The building desire between her legs already ached for his touch. After a few moments she’d tell him to stop and that she had to go.

When he reached her panties, he tugged on them. “Take them off or I’ll rip them off.”

“No.”

“Last warning.”

She lifted her hips and reached under her skirt, sliding the lace panties off. What was she doing? Every nerve in her body cried out for his touch. She had to stop but she couldn’t. Was she out of her mind? Anyone could walk into his office. She dropped the panties on his desk.

“Sit,” he instructed. “Hook your legs over the arms and hike up your skirt.”

Shamefully, she complied. The thought of resisting him had faded like morning mist. With her legs spread wide, she hooked them over the chair’s arms and realized her pussy was fully exposed to his view. Her breasts were hanging out over the top her bra.

She was panting now. Surely they could be heard by someone walking by. “Dante.”

“Hush.”

“This is for you, because I left you alone in the desert last night.”

Was this supposed to be an apology? The man lived dangerously. At least he acknowledged leaving her alone. “Where did you go?”

The roughness of his tongue laved at her sensitive nipples. He captured them between his teeth. “I bet you’re wet.” Between her legs, he circled her entrance with the tips of his fingers, then plunged one finger into her moist channel. Amy nearly cried out.

“Very wet,” he said, as he captured her moans with his mouth. “Shhh. I want to taste you again. Just for a minute.”

“No, Dante. We should stop.”

He ignored her and knelt between her legs. His tongue licked her slit and she bucked her hips. The sensations were so intense her body shuddered with every touch.

Grabbing his head, she pulled him down toward her swollen bud where her body ached for his attention but he licked, sucked and nipped everywhere but that one spot she needed him to touch most. The hunger tormented her and swept deep inside.

“Dante, you’re torturing me.”

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He hummed against her pussy, which sent another wave of sensations to her core.

Then he captured her clit between his lips and licked it with his tongue, which sent her over the edge.

She bucked against his mouth while the orgasm pulsed through her, gripping the arms of the chair and biting her lip to keep from crying out.

He raised his head and smiled, then picked up his folder. Checking his watch, he said, “Get yourself squared away, I need to go to my meeting.” His tone was cold after their intimate encounter and she felt cheap. She had agreed to no commitment. She hadn’t agreed to being treated like a whore.

She glared at him. “What was this?”

“I don’t understand. You didn’t enjoy yourself?”

She growled under her breath. “Dante—”

A knock at the door made Amy swing her legs down and pull down her skirt. Too late to try to button all the buttons, Dante handed her the file to cover her open shirt and slipped her panties in his pants pocket.

Seated on the desk, he calmly said, “Come in.”

Amy felt a jolt of terror.
My God, what was I thinking? I could get fired.
The door swung open.