Bayou Heat Read online

  It wasn’t any of this that unnerved her—it was the sexual awareness running wild and rampant through her body because of him. It was all she could do not to jump him right here and that angered her even more.

  “The kiss was uncalled for.” Eris was thankful her voice didn’t crack.

  “That might be true, but you didn’t have to bite me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “And how was I to know that?”

  He held up his hands in surrender as he stepped back. “You have me there, but that was the object of this little lesson.”

  “I don’t need you to teach me anything.” Eris stayed out of arm’s reach as she made her way past him and moved toward Bourbon Street. She would feel more in control once they were out of the alley and back in the open. She kept an eye on him as he followed her to the street and then she turned, purposely put her back to him and started walking away. She’d only taken a couple of steps when he caught up and fell into step beside her.

  “What are you doing?” she snapped as his arm brushed against hers and fire traveled through her body.

  “Walking with you, making sure you’re safe.”

  Eris stopped and turned to face her self-appointed bodyguard. “I don’t need anyone taking care of me.”

  “Well, I happen to think you do. Where are you headed?”

  “Home. I’m tired and my very large, professional-body-building, gun-toting family is expecting me at any moment. Don’t feel you need to come along, it’s only a few blocks.” She hoped he would take the hint but doubted it.

  “Sounds good,” he said, matching her stride as she continued on her way. “Maybe I can tell them they shouldn’t let you roam about alone late at night.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s not a safe area, especially in the dark alleys. What the hell were you doing there anyway?”

  “I’ll have you know I grew up right here, in the middle of the French Quarter,” she answered, ignoring his question. “I know it like the back of my hand.”

  “Then you must be a few bricks short to ignore the dangers.”

  She ground her teeth as they rounded another corner. “You’re out all alone.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Let me guess—you’re a man. That automatically makes doing stupid things acceptable.” She stopped in front of an old apartment building, which had seen better days, and turned to face her nemesis. “You’re not my father, brother, husband or lawyer—so I don’t have to explain dick to you.” She smiled sweetly up at him. “Good night.”

  She tried to go inside but before she could turn her back on him, the hunk bent down so she was looking into vivid blue eyes that, at the moment, flashed with suppressed anger. “I was simply trying to do a good deed. Shoot me for being concerned that you might end up as the town’s next crime statistic.”

  Eris took a step back from his penetrating gaze and away from the citrus scent that threatened to lure her in for another taste of those wonderful lips. “Well, I’m not your concern, now am I?”

  With that said, she turned and entered the building. The screen door slammed behind her. She hit the stairs, taking them two at a time. Unfortunately in her haste, she almost ran over Pixie, who lived on the second floor. She mumbled a quick apology as she passed but wasn’t even sure Pixie knew she was there. By the time she reached her third-floor apartment, her nerves were down to a slight tingle. Maybe, in another hour or three, she would forget the irritating man and be able to sleep.

  “Don’t tell me you live here.”

  Her keys fell to the floor and her heart skipped a beat as she whirled around. “Make some noise the next time you sneak up on me.”

  “I didn’t walk quietly, but a herd of elephants could come through here and you wouldn’t know it with all the moaning coming from the pair on the second floor.”

  She met the hunk’s gaze and refused to blush. “Pixie’s clients are sometimes in a hurry.”

  “I understand urgency, but couldn’t they at least make it inside?”

  The heat in her cheeks was unavoidable. She knew exactly what he’d seen. She’d seen it too, and unfortunately it put ideas into one’s head, but she refused to turn away. “I happen to agree with you. We might live in a town where sex is a major business but that doesn’t mean we want a front-row view to every performance. Some things are better shared in private.”

  He gave her a slow, sexy smile that reached his eyes and made her heart quiver. For the first time all evening she relaxed and pushed her current problems to the back of her mind. It felt so good not to be strung tighter than a piano string. In a passing observation, she found it odd that every time she was close to this man, a feeling of being safe and secure washed over her. It was like being wrapped in her favorite worn bathrobe. She’d never felt this way around anyone, not even her ex-fiancé. Suddenly she didn’t want the evening to end. “Would you like to come in?”

  He didn’t answer immediately as he bent to retrieve her keys and handed them to her. Then he gave her that smile again.

  “Sure.”

  Her toes curled inside her boots as she opened the door and entered her small one-bedroom apartment. She spotted Drew asleep on the couch and, feeling the slight chill from the air conditioning, immediately went over and covered the boy. She turned back to her guest and motioned for him to follow her into the small alcove that was her kitchen. There they could have a drink and talk quietly. Lord, she didn’t even know his name and she’d invited him into her apartment. She must have gotten hit harder than she thought.

  When she would have walked away, she noticed that he still stood frozen in the open doorway, his gaze fixed on the boy.

  When he finally turned to her, fire virtually shot from his eyes as he motioned for her to come back out into the hallway. She declined and pointed to the kitchen. In three steps he crossed the room, took her by the arm and pulled her back out into the hall. Before the door closed, he started in on her.

  “So where exactly are those body-building, gun-toting relatives of yours?”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Eris pulled her arm free of his grip and briefly wondered if she’d been wrong about him.

  “Answer me. Is someone, other than that small boy, home or not?”

  Eris frowned because she had no idea where this conversation was headed. “I lied about there being a bunch of people waiting for me. What is wrong with you?”

  “You left a small child here alone.”

  “He’s eight and I—”

  “You don’t even live in a complex with a secured entrance.”

  “I—”

  “Do you realize anyone could walk in here and be inside that apartment within three seconds flat?”

  “Well—”

  “You don’t even have a decent lock on the door.”

  “I—”

  “People like you disgust me. You shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce.”

  “Excuse me.” Eris started to blast right back at him but before she could form a response, he turned and walked away. As he disappeared down the stairs, she found her voice. “Well, good riddance to you.”

  “Is that man going to come back and hurt us?”

  Eris swung back to the door to see Drew standing there holding a cooking pot by the handle. The pot was almost bigger than he was. Immediately she reassured him. “He was angry, but he’s not going to hurt us.” Instinctively she knew that without a doubt.

  She took the pot from the boy then shut and locked the door. “I told you as long as you’re with me, I’ll keep you safe. Now let’s get you back to sleep. In the morning I’ll make us pancakes.”

  Eris tucked the boy into his makeshift bed and stayed beside him until he fell back to sleep. The poor child was fighting his own demons. His mother had her own priorities and one of them wasn’t raising a son. A few months back, Eris had opened her home and heart to the little boy. Now he showed up whenever things got rough at home, which was a sad l
ittle apartment on the bottom floor of the building.

  When she finally heard his soft, steady breathing, she stood and tucked the covers around him one last time before heading to her room. Today was going to be another tough one and there weren’t many hours before the sun would be coming up. She hoped to get at least a couple hours of sleep tonight but doubted she would. Not after her encounter with a man who looked like a Roman god but kissed like the devil.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Rob paced the conference room of Titan Security Agency and inhaled a badly needed cup of hot coffee. Sleep eluded him the night before, which wasn’t a huge surprise. It’d been months since his last good night’s sleep. The restlessness he’d felt prior to taking a two-month overseas assignment hadn’t abated as he thought it would. Instead, he still found himself wandering the streets in the wee hours of the morning.

  Last night was different though. For a few precious moments he’d felt connected to another human being, something he’d never felt, not even with his mother. The emptiness that had plagued him his entire life had dissipated, and for a few minutes he wasn’t an empty shell.

  By the time he arrived back at his place, he found it impossible to forget the woman and child he’d left at that apartment. Seeing the child hit way too close to home and brought back memories he’d just as soon remained dormant. It was the woman who haunted him though. Something about her big, innocent green eyes seemed inconsistent with the negligent mother image he knew all too well. There was even a part of him that wanted to believe she was different.

  Rob turned at the sound of a door opening to see his very late partner, LD Carmouche, walk into the room. Rob was more than ready for a distraction from his thoughts. “Can you give me some details about this case that you so graciously agreed to without consulting me?”

  LD gave him a sharp look and Rob could tell he was pushing his friend’s patience. “I agreed to take this case for a lot of reasons, one of them being income for the firm. As for the other reasons, we don’t have time to go over them at the moment because I saw our clients pull into the parking lot as I was walking into the building. I’ve assigned Matt to work the case with you. He is joining us this morning because it looks like this will be an around-the-clock assignment.” LD paused a moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it in earlier.”

  “Bad night?”

  LD took a long drink of his coffee and rubbed his eyes. “Not really, but I’ll trade you this client for one housebound and very pregnant Marie.”

  Rob didn’t miss the strained look on his friend’s face or the forced lightness to his words. “How are she and the twins doing?”

  “Good. The doctor is pleased with her progress, and the babies, but keeping her still and happy is like trying to lasso a tornado.”

  Rob laughed. “No thanks, padre. I think I’ll take this assignment, no matter what it is. Last weekend when I was over there, Marie was snapping out orders faster than most five-star generals.”

  LD chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

  “How’s Kayla handling all of this?”

  LD smiled. “She can’t wait until the babies are out of momma’s belly and she can play with them.”

  Voices from the outside corridor carried to them.

  “Is there anything I should know before we get started?” Rob asked as the voices grew louder.

  “A third party is hiring us to protect the subject, but it’s important that it appear to everyone that the police are paying our salary.”

  “Why?” Rob was more than a little confused at this point, but he trusted his partner to know what was right.

  “Later,” was the only response LD got out before two police officers and Matt walked into the room.

  A lone figure, looking at the ground as if she didn’t want to be there, trailed slowly behind the three men, and Rob could only assume this was their subject. He adjusted his tie as he moved closer to the conference room door and wished he’d opted for something more comfortable today.

  Rob liked being close to his new “assignments” when they were introduced for the first time. A person’s initial reaction to a situation often spoke volumes about their personality. As the woman passed by him, she looked up and vivid green eyes met his gaze.

  “Oh shit,” Rob muttered as he silently cursed his partner to hell—and then some.

  Chapter Two

  Rob stared at the woman. Today her hair was light blue. The same shade as the letters embossed across the chest of her yellow t-shirt that he couldn’t help but read.

  Not for sale.

  Inquire about lease options.

  “Please tell me you are not my appointed bodyguard.” Even though she spoke softly, her words carried a great deal of sarcasm.

  Rob rubbed his chin, deliberately delaying the answer. “It looks like you’ll be stuck with me some of the time.”

  “Great. Just great. I hope last night wasn’t a display of you at your best. If it was, then I’m in big trouble. Unless you can be taught to stand back and let me handle the situation.”

  “Excuse me?” The woman’s audacity irritated and intrigued him at the same time.

  “Yesterday you were more of a hindrance than a help. Because of you, I have a bruise on my chin this morning. Look.”

  She took a step toward him, lifted her perfect small chin and pointed to a slight discoloration with one long, elegant finger. Her scent wrapped around him like a warm summer day. For a fleeting instant he was tempted to reach out and caress the spot, to tell her how sorry he was then go find the kid and teach the punk a lesson. Instead, he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and backed away.

  “Do the two of you know each other?” Detective Randall Olson asked as he poured a cup of coffee from the side table.

  Rob could feel LD’s curious gaze.

  “Not really.” Rob thought his answer was more than adequate but the woman obviously felt otherwise.

  “And we’d rather not get to know each other any more than we do. Thank you very much.”

  “Well, that’s too bad because you’re here and you’re going to do as we say for once.” Olson pulled out a chair and pointed to it with a jerk of his finger.

  Rob narrowed his eyes at the detective. He didn’t particularly like the woman either, but he really disliked hearing someone speak to her in such a disrespectful tone.

  “I’ve already told you I don’t want, don’t need and don’t require a bodyguard. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  The woman stood her ground as she frowned right back at Olson. It was obvious she didn’t think highly of the detective either, which was the only thing in the universe they had in common.

  “Now, Eris.” Detective Charles Tarrington moved forward, placed a hand beneath her elbow and guided her toward a chair. “Remember our agreement.”

  Tarrington’s softly spoken words worked their magic and she reluctantly sat in the chair. Rob had only met Tarrington on a couple of occasions and was always surprised by how low-key the man was. So low in fact, he’d all but forgotten the man was in the room.

  Rob watched as the woman they called Eris slumped in the chair in obvious defeat. The name was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t place where he’d heard it.

  “Fine, can we just get on with it?”

  Tarrington patted her hand. “Yes, now I’ll make the introductions.”

  LD and Matt both shook hands with Eris DuBose when they were introduced. Then it was Rob’s turn, but he didn’t offer his hand.

  “Don’t you own Moon Glow Finders Ltd.?” LD asked as he refilled his cup.

  Eris kept her gaze fixed to Rob’s. “Yes. I specialize in finding lost articles.”

  “You also have an impressive record for finding lost people,” LD continued as he took a seat across the conference table from her.

  “Thank you.” Her gaze moved to LD and Rob could no longer see her eyes. The fact he couldn’t read her expression bothered him. Ca
sually, he poured more coffee then moved to stand behind LD.

  “If memory serves me correctly, you found a body about six weeks back?” Matt asked as he pulled out a chair next to Eris and seated himself.

  Eris’ eyes clouded as she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “I did.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Tarrington stated from his position at the head of the table.

  “All of you know about the serial killer running loose in our streets.” Olson walked right over his partner’s words, taking control of the conversation. “Ms. DuBose has found a few of the bodies.”

  “I’ve found all the bodies.” Eris’ tone was hard but Rob noticed the way she rubbed her arms.

  “We are here to discuss your protection, Eris, not how many bodies you’ve found.” Olson’s tone was strained.

  Rob placed his mug on the table and walked across the room.

  “I happen to think it’s information these men will want and need. I know I get really mad when people aren’t upfront with me. It’s their lives they’re putting on the line, and in my opinion—”

  Olson cut off Eris’ words. “Nobody asked for your opinion, girlie.”

  “That’s enough, Detective Olson.” Rob stood behind Eris with his jacket in his hands. “You can either speak in a civil tone to Ms. DuBose or leave. Either way, understand that I will not tolerate further disrespect. Do I make myself clear?”

  Olson turned red with suppressed anger but gave a curt nod.

  “Good.” Rob looked down to see Eris watching him over her shoulder. Her emerald eyes were wide with surprise. He dropped his jacket around her shoulders and watched her eyes grow even wider.

  She pulled the jacket tight around her and flashed him a shaky smile. “Thanks.”

  Rob stepped back as she turned back to the others, confident lightning was going to strike any second. Briefly he wondered why he’d given her the jacket, because he didn’t like taking care of others. Then he turned his attention back to why they were there. “Why don’t you try telling us the whole story then maybe we can decide how best to help?”