Winter's Heat (2 page)

What exactly did he want from Winter? He silently questioned himself.

He knew he had more of a responsibility for his actions than she did due to the fact that he was her boss. But somehow he knew it was more than that. She seemed less experienced than most twenty-six year olds and certainly not like the usual women he dated. She didn’t seem to even share the same orbit as women he’d been with.

The usual women he’d dated would have acted on the budding interest he’d glimpsed in her eyes a time or two without hesitation or encouragement, but she hadn’t. And while that made him cautious, he was honest enough to admit it was a total turn on too.

Did he dare even go down that road with her? His libido said hell yes, while his mind told him to continue to be cautious. So far, that’s what he continued to do.

A grin lit his ruggedly handsome clean shaven face when he thought of the cookies he had found when he’d arrived home from his last trip. They had been seating there on the kitchen counter after he had admitted to her one day that he was addicted to her chocolate chip cookies. Apparently she still had not gone over to the diet food dark side enough to deprive him and his sweet tooth of her delicious cookies.

Would a taste of her sinfully made lips be just as sweet? That was only one of the many questions and thoughts he had been torturing himself with lately concerning Winter. He knew that he would have make a move soon to appease his need for her once and for all because it was getter harder and harder to deny how much he wanted her.

Not willing to torture himself anymore, he shook off his wayward thoughts and disconnected the video feed. Clicking on the file that held the Carlton case, he reread the client profile again. He’d been in the middle of a meeting the last time his friend and business partner Quinn Thomas had called with an update on the case. Now as Eric sat there looking at the most recent notes, he realized that he needed to refresh himself on exactly what they were dealing with.

From the first day they’d started J&P Securities, they’d built a name for themselves in the security and protection business with their personal touch in dealing with all their clients. One of their newest clients was movie star and latest media darling, Vivaca Carlton. They were currently trying to get to the bottom of some threatening letters she was receiving along with suspicious incidents on her latest film set. Quinn was now in New York working with local law enforcement to find out what was going on.

Eric was very interested in how his no nonsense partner was dealing with what by all intents and purposes was turning out to be the job from hell. As he continued to read the client profile that Quinn wrote, the words difficult and uncooperative kept jumping off the page at him.

Just great. A hostile client.
He didn’t know who to feel sorrier for—Quinn or Vivaca Carlton. With Quinn’s ‘take no prisoners attitude’, probably Vivaca Carlton.

But as intense as Quinn could sometimes be, Eric had complete confidence that he would be professional and handle any situation that might arise in that calm, cool manner he always employed.

And it’s a good thing too. Looking at the second message that Pam had left for him earlier, things were heating up real fast there in New York.

Eric reached for the phone to put in a call to Quinn before it got any later on the East coast to get filled in on the latest on the Carlton case. It was their habit to back each other up on difficult cases. And Vivaca Carlton was definitely shaping up to be a difficult case with a capital D.

An hour later he sat back in his chair with a frown marring his face as he thought about what Quinn just told him about the case. It would take all their combined resources due to the fact that Vivaca herself was not telling them the whole truth. His conversation with Quinn led him to believe so, even though he didn’t come right out and say it. Eric couldn’t help but feel there was something his partner wasn’t telling him.

Sitting there for a few more minutes in thought, Eric finally got up and started gathering everything he would need to finish up some of his work at home this weekend. If something came up, he wanted to be prepared. Because if by some small chance Quinn needed reinforcement, he knew Eric would back him up without hesitation. There hadn’t been a case yet that could withstand their combined ‘kick ass, take names later’ method.

****

Finally pulling up in the parking lot of her apartment complex, Winter Jones coasted her beat up old white sedan into her parking space. Turning off the headlights, she tiredly closed her eyes as she sat there wondering how long she had before her car finally gave out on her. Judging by the knocking she heard on the harrowing forty-five minute drive from work and the thrift store, not very long at all. The last thing she needed was to be stuck on the side of the road in rush hour traffic at the mercy of the most impatient drivers on the planet.

Once again she thought of the standoff she and her handsome employer Eric Jameson had come to about her using the shiny new silver SUV left sitting parked in the garage while he was away. She admitted to herself that she might just have to concede defeat and accept his unofficial command that she drive that big honkin’ thing before her car made good on its threat to quit on her. It’s not like she’d have much of a choice if that happened. She ruefully admitted that her pride often played too much of a role in most of her decisions when it came to excepting help. It always had.

Which she suspected Eric knew because he’d simply shrugged those big shoulders of his and would say that he’d never understand why she was making such a big deal out of something so small.

Only he would think giving her a brand new car as something
small
. She thought reluctantly getting out of the car.

A few minutes later, she walked the short distance to her first floor apartment. Inserting her key in the door, she opened it and was greeted to the cool interior that was filled with sounds of loud alternative music blasting from the direction of her roommate’s bedroom. She was on the verge of going to ask Cheri to turn it down when her face instantly flushed as she recalled why he music was turned up so loud.

After she had complained one night about hearing Cheri and her new boyfriend Randy have sex, her roommate had started turning the music up on her stereo to cover the sounds coming through the paper thin walls. Unfortunately, it didn’t completely eliminate the suspicious thump of the bed hitting the wall that no amount of noise could hide.

Sighing wearily, she put her purse on the counter and went into the kitchen instead to get something to eat. Not wanting to cook anything on the stove that dominated the small kitchen, she mentally ran through what was left and settled on a bag of microwave popcorn.

Opening the cabinet where she always kept her things, she reached for the popcorn box sitting in there and found it suspiciously light. She already knew what she’d find before she even opened it, but some part of her was obviously a glutton for punishment. As if she couldn’t help herself, she looked inside the box anyways.

Empty. Not even one packet left.

Damn.

She felt irritation rise up in her like an angry snarling beast as she threw the box in the trash under the sink. As she did so, a burnt half empty popcorn bag fell out onto the kitchen floor spilling its black charred contents.

She had to count to ten and pray to Jesus as she got down on her knees to pick up the mess that was solid proof of Cheri and Randy’s disrespect.

“
Really?!
” She all but yelled. Here she was, talking to herself like a crazy woman. She was so mad.

She’d gone to all the trouble of marking all her food with her name on it like a kindergartener on crack and they still managed to buzz through it like they couldn’t read…

That was it
.

Do what you will, but don’t mess with the kettle corn!

She marched to the hallway leading to her roommate’s door and knocked hard to be heard over the music that was still blasting. Hearing laughter come from the other side of the door only further inflamed Winter as she stood waiting for Cheri to answer.

When the door opened, she stepped back in shock at what she saw. Instead of Cheri standing there, Randy in all his sleazy glory stood there wearing Cheri’s much smaller robe on his tall lanky body. She didn’t know what offended her worse: his bare bony chest so grossly displayed or the stupid smirk on his face.

“
What did you want Winnie?” He taunted in his annoyingly nasally voice as he casually leaned against the door frame. As a result the folds of the robe moved even further apart.

Eww!

She quickly closed her eyes and inwardly cringed wanting to erase the nasty image of him from her mind. She turned away before she could start dry heaving all over the place and give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to her yet again.

It would serve him right if she blew her cookies all over his raunchy butt!
She thought taking a deep breath.

“
Tell Cheri I want to speak to her in the kitchen.” She called over her shoulder as she hurried away from his offensive presence.

Not for the first time lately, she thought about moving out. The lease would be up in a month and she really needed to start exploring her options because things were getting ridiculous. It was at the point where she didn’t even want to come home anymore because she was tired of feeling like she’d been taken hostage by their relationship.

Making it back to the kitchen, Winter leaned back against the off white countertop and looked out of the small window above the sink trying to clear the confused thoughts playing tag in her already tired mind.

For what seemed like the millionth time, she asked herself:
What did Cheri see in him?
She honestly didn’t get it. They were total opposites. Cheri was a sweet and bubbly country girl while Randy was just…well Randy. Nasty, crude and rude. She’d heard of opposites attracting, but this was beyond that. Winter never would have moved in with Cheri if she’d known things were going to be this way.

What would it take to break Cheri of her cult-like devotion and make her see that Randy was no good? Winter knew she had to try to talk some sense into her friend some kind of way.

“
I’m sorry about that Win.” Cheri said calling Winter by her nickname as she breezed by in the exact same robe Randy had worn just a few minutes ago.

“
You know how Randy likes to joke around a lot.” Cheri said opening the fridge and taking a swig straight from the orange juice container.

Frowning at the inconsiderate action, Winter mentally marked off one more thing she wouldn’t be eating or drinking if she could help it. She might get Randy cooties by association.

“
Why is Randy here all the time Cheri? It feels like he never goes home…” Looking at Cheri, Winter tried to keep the disgust from rising up in her at the memory of him standing in the doorway just now.

“
Well….I told him he could stay with us for awhile until he gets back up on his feet.” Her words came out in a rush as she threw a guilty but challenging look Winter’s way.

“
You did
what
?” “When?” Winter asked as she went and sat on a bar stool next to Cheri hoping she had heard her wrong.

“
Today… well last week—but you don’t have to worry Winter. You won’t even know he’s here, I promise.” Cheri’s confident promise had no effect on her as she thought of all the drama about to ensue. This isn’t what they agreed at all when they originally moved in together. Winter couldn’t believe Cheri was sitting there changing the rules on her now.

“
I thought we had an agreement to ask each other about things like this
before
we did them. What happened to that Cheri?” She had to hold Cheri accountable for this one.

Waving off her concern Cheri said, “That’s why I’m mentioning it
now
, silly.” She went on drinking her juice not realizing how much her flip statement was twisting knots in Winter’s stomach.

Sitting the now empty container down on the counter, she reached over to pat Winter’s shoulder when she saw her panicked stricken expression. “Don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay. You’ll see. You won’t even know he’s here.”

When Cheri got up and left, Winter sat there contemplating the problematic situation she now found herself in. There was no way in hell she could live here with Randy living here too.