Winds Of Fortune Part 17

Catching the smile, Deo leaned against the door frame, her fear and anger giving way to pleasure at the slight c.h.i.n.k in Nita's formidable armor. "Did you look at it?"

"Yes." In fact, it was the fi rst thing she had done when she arrived at the house. She'd walked through the dusty, barren rooms studying Deo's notes, imagining the ornate ceilings restored, the woodwork and fl oors sanded and refi nished, the wainscoting and scrolled chair rails replaced. "I still need to call your references."

"Don't trust me?" Deo teased.

"Not a whit."

"Going to let me in?"

No, Nita's common sense screamed. No. No no no. Reminding herself it was a simple business transaction, she stepped back. "I can't live here without plumbing and electricity."

"You need a kitchen."

"I can live very well on take out."

"For food, maybe. What about coffee in the morning?" Deo followed Nita down the wide central hall, admiring the way Nita's rear fi lled out her navy slacks. Her cream colored blouse was the perfect * 129 *

RADCLY fFE complement to her coffee complexion, and Deo thought once again how beautiful she was.

"By the way, I think you missed something," Nita said.

"Impossible."

When Nita stopped abruptly and turned, Deo almost b.u.mped into her. They were so close she could smell Nita's earthy fl oral perfume.

Her stomach tightened in the way it did when she was getting hard, and she shuddered with the unexpected surge of arousal.

Nita nearly recoiled at the s.e.xual charge pouring from Deo's body.

The force of Deo's attraction was so tangible she expected to see it materialize, a beast clawing its way to freedom and hunting her down.

But rather than run, there was a beast of her own straining to charge back-aching for the frenzy of mating that left only wreckage in its wake.

"There's a water mark on the ceiling under the stairs," Nita said hoa.r.s.ely, pointing back over Deo's shoulder. "It's not on your report.

You probably couldn't see it the other night."

Swallowing, forcing down the urge to grab Nita and kiss her the way she'd wanted to kiss her the night before, Deo looked where Nita indicated. Frowning, she pulled her jackknife from her pants pocket and sc.r.a.ped at the plaster in the stairwell. When it fl aked away, she pressed her fi ngertip to the small gouge. It was dry. "An old leak. They probably fi xed it but never bothered to repair this. Good pickup."

"Thanks. So," Nita said, backing up a step. "Want to fi nish the tour?"

"Sure." Deo didn't move. Neither did Nita. What about me, Nita?

Want to fi nish me? Just a kiss, just a touch. I've been ready since last night.

"a.s.suming your references check out-"

"They will."

"a.s.suming they do," Nita said fi rmly, "when can you start?"

"It will take a few days to get materials lined up. Sometime next week."

"How long before I can move in?"

Deo shrugged. "Can't tell until I see what kind of surprises we fi nd. There are always surprises with this kind of job."

"Ballpark."

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Winds of Fortune "It depends on if you're willing to rough it or not."

"I don't need pampering."

"But do you like it?" Deo asked softly.

"A condition for you doing this job," Nita went on steadily, "is that you cease your pointless fl irting."

"Do you want that in the contract?"

Nita laughed and shook her head ruefully. "How good is your word?"

"I don't make promises I can't keep."

"Then your word will do."

Deo shook her head. "Sorry, I can't oblige."

"Why?" Nita asked, half aggravated and half intrigued.

"You know why."

Nita's pulse pounded as if Deo's hands skimmed her body. She didn't bother denying the attraction. They'd both know she was lying.

"I forgot," Nita said. "It's second nature to you."

"I don't mind if you want to pretend that's all it is." Deo regarded Nita seriously. "No more exploring this place by yourself, especially once we start working. I'll meet you at any time and take you through personally."

"That won't be necessary. But I appreciate it."

"Consider it part of the service." Deo grinned.

"Come on, let's fi nish up." Nita turned away, refusing to allow herself to succ.u.mb to the lure of Deo's attraction. "I'll call you when I've made a decision."

"I'll be waiting."

The words, even though she knew they were empty, sent a ripple of pleasure through Nita's core. She was so aroused she knew that denying herself release tonight was not going to be possible, and she didn't know whether to rejoice or repent.

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* 132 *

Winds of Fortune

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Hi," Allie said breathlessly as she rushed into the waiting room and kissed Bri on the cheek. At nine p.m. on Sat.u.r.day night, the waiting room was nearly empty. "Sorry I didn't make it yesterday- hi Caroline-we had a three car pileup on Six last night that took us hours to sort out-how's the chief?"

"Pretty good," Bri said. "He still has that breathing tube in so he can't say anything, but he blinks when I talk to him so I know he's okay."

Allie dropped into one of the dark green vinyl chairs and let her arms fl op over the sides. She'd changed out of her uniform into low-cut jeans and a scooped neck short-sleeved cotton top that came just to her bellyb.u.t.ton, and it felt great not to be working for a few hours. "That's good. Everybody's asking for him. Tell him that, okay?"

"I will. You didn't need to drive all the way up here, you know.

You called yesterday after the surgery."

"I know, but..." Allie blushed and glanced at Caroline, who stood with one hip c.o.c.ked against Bri's and her arm around Bri's waist. The possessive stance wasn't conscious, but Allie got the message just the same. "It feels like we're more than just people who work together, you know?"

Bri nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Caroline kissed Bri's cheek and stepped away. "I'm going downstairs to get us something to drink, baby. Allie, you want something?"

"No. Thanks. I'm not going to stay that long."

"Okay. Back in a few."

"Got a date?" Bri perched on the wide arm of Allie's chair and braced an arm against the back.

"Ha. I wish." Allie leaned back to look up, her cheek nearly * 133 *

RADCLY fFE touching Bri's hand where it rested on the vinyl. "I don't have anything lined up, and if I did, I think I'd be too tired to do anything about it."

"What about Deo?"

"Oh yeah. Deo." Allie eyed Bri. "So much has happened this week I forgot you were bent out of shape about her. What gives?"

"I asked you fi rst."

Allie lifted a shoulder and gave Bri a lazy smile. "She's hot. I mean like touch me and I go off like a bomb hot."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I kinda got that from watching her feel you up on the street in front of Spiritus."

"She wasn't and so what if she was?"

"That's a low-life move. You're too good for her."

"You don't even know her, and for your information, she refused to f.u.c.k me on the street when I asked her to." Allie sighed in exasperation.

"We're f.u.c.king, Bri. She's fun to be with, and she makes me come like there's no tomorrow. End of story."

"Deo's got a rep for never staying around long, so just...be cool, okay?"

Allie sat forward and rested her hand on Bri's knee. "Listen, stud, I know what I'm doing, okay? But thanks."

"I'm coming back to work on Monday," Bri said.

"Yeah?" Allie brightened. "That would be great. Are you sure?"

"As long as my dad is still doing okay, I want to. I don't feel right just sitting around here. Especially with how busy all the rest of you are covering for me, and Reese doing double duty with my dad out."

Allie squeezed Bri's hand. "You should be here. Everyone understands."

Bri grinned and shook Allie's hand playfully. "What's the matter?

Don't you miss me?"

"Oh yeah," Allie laughed. "I really miss you b.i.t.c.hin' about me being late and complaining about who I f.u.c.k."

From the doorway, Caroline said wryly, "That's a sign she likes you." She crossed the room and held out sodas to both Allie and Bri. "I got you one Allie, just in case."

"Thanks." Allie released Bri's hand and took the bottle. "I haven't been out of my uniform all week and it's time to go dancing. I'll drink this in the car on my way home."

"I'll call you tomorrow and let you know if I'm coming in for * 134 *

Winds of Fortune sure," Bri said to Allie as she hooked a fi nger through the belt loop on Caroline's jeans.

"Okay. See you." Allie waved and hurried out.

As she took the stairs down to the lobby, she twisted off the top of her soda and pulled down a long swallow. Nice of Caroline to bring it-nice of Caroline to put up with her creaming over Bri, too. Jesus that was embarra.s.sing, especially since she knew Caroline knew, even if half the time Bri was clueless. Girls always knew these things.

She was tired. Tired of working. Tired of walking on eggsh.e.l.ls around Bri, never knowing when she'd look at her and want her in ways she shouldn't. Tired of wis.h.i.+ng the women she slept with were more than bed partners. And so d.a.m.n tired of wis.h.i.+ng Ashley would call her.

With a mental snarl, she fl ung herself into the car, keyed the ignition, and tore out of the parking lot. None of that was going to change tonight, and there was nothing wrong with a little company to take her mind off what bothered her.

y Nita was restless. For the fi rst day in a week and a half, she hadn't worked. Tory had insisted she take the weekend off. Feeling at loose ends all day, she'd been painfully reminded of just how little connection she had established in her new community, and how much she had allowed work to take the place of pleasure in her life. Determined to change that, she'd walked through town to her new house, and the sun and the enthusiasm of the crowds and the breathtaking glimpses of the harbor that teased her through the narrow alleyways between buildings had banished some of her discontent.

Once at the house, she'd immediately lost herself in the excitement of imagining how it would look when it was restored. Even when she realized she was making mental notes of things she wanted to discuss with Deo, far from being derailed, her antic.i.p.ation grew. Buoyed by the uncharacteristic surge of happiness, she extracted the estimate from the manila envelope she had left lying on the counter in the kitchen the day before and impulsively dialed the phone number on the report. She got an answering machine, which was what she expected, and left a message accepting the proposal.

* 135 *