Bayou Heat (18 page)

Eris took a deep breath. “Tell me what to do.”

Rob smiled and she knew she could do anything. A cracking
sound ripped through the car and water hit the back of her head.

“The window’s not holding. In the glove box there’s a window
punch. Do you know what that is?” Rob’s words were laced with an unspoken
urgency.

The water coming in through the window was now a hard stream
hitting her in the face. “Yes.” With her eyes closed she felt around the inside
of the box. Thankfully, she knew what one was and it was heavy so it couldn’t
float off because the water was already covering her lap. Wrapping her fingers
around the cool metal, she pulled it out and handed it to him.

“Kick off your shoes and breathe quickly like you’re
hyperventilating.”

“Why?” She kicked her purse in the process of removing her
shoes and moved it out of her way. The last thing she needed was to become
tangled with the strap.

“It’ll help you hold your breath longer.”

She heard another popping sound and the stream of water
became larger. Water was now to her waist, so it wasn’t hard to breathe
rapidly.

“Are you ready?” Rob’s words were clipped.

No.
“Yes.”

“Once the windshield is out of the way, swim as hard as you
can toward the surface. If you aren’t sure which direction to go, let a few
bubbles of air escape and follow them. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Ready?”

“Yes.”

“On the count of three. One. Two—”

Eris grabbed Rob’s arm. “What about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

She let go of his arm as the water reached her chest.

“One. Two…”

She took a deep breath and watched Rob take his.

Rob shattered the glass and the water rushed in, covering
them in a matter of seconds. Then Rob’s hands were on her, pushing her out of
the car and toward the surface. Once free of the car, she knew Rob was right—she
could do this. She looked back at the car to check on Rob.

He wasn’t there.

Rob!
her mind screamed as she turned in a circle,
checking all directions. The murky water only allowed her a few feet of
visibility. Fear filled her every pore even as she swam back to the car.

Her lungs started to burn and she feared she was going to
have to surface soon. She pulled herself down over the broken-out windshield
and almost cried out when she saw Rob tugging on his seat belt. She hadn’t
noticed he was trapped in her near panic. His head jerked up and she saw the
fear in his eyes before it disappeared and was replaced by anger. She started
to move toward him to help with the jammed belt only to be shoved away.

Rob pointed to the surface in an obvious effort to get her
to leave. She gave him a negative shake of the head. Ignoring him, she swam
back inside the car and grappled blindly for her purse.

She thanked God for not letting it float away and pulled it
up from the floorboard. Unzipping the outside pocket, she found the pocketknife
she always carried. It wasn’t large but it was sharp.

With one slice, the seat belt fell away, freeing Rob. She
swam out of the car and waited for him to reach her. Side by side, they swam
toward the surface together.

Eris’ lungs burned to the point where she thought she
wouldn’t be able to hold her breath any longer. Each stoke was a battle between
life and death. Just when she thought she couldn’t keep going, they broke the
surface.

Rob circled her waist with one arm while they treaded water
and gulped in large amounts of air. She watched as a kaleidoscope of emotions
passed across his face. His eyes darkened and his arm tightened around her,
pressing her more securely against him.

He let go of her way too soon and pointed to the bridge. “I
want you to swim over to the bridge pillars and stay out of sight. I’ll come
get you once I make sure it’s safe.”

She did as he said and it felt as if it took forever to
reach them. Once there, she stayed close to one of the large concrete supports,
treading water and worrying. Her legs and arms were starting to feel heavy and
she wondered how much longer she could last before moving to dry land.

“Eris.”

She swung around at the sound of her name and was surprised
to find him so close. He closed the short distance in a few quick strokes. Her
breath caught in her lungs as she looked into his eyes and saw the depths of
his emotions. For once he didn’t try to hide the feelings clearly visible on
his face. “Is it safe?”

“Yes, apparently the truckers kept moving.”

She wasn’t surprised when his eyes dropped to her lips and wondered
if he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Her fingers itched to run through
his hair, down his back to his fine, hard butt, but she couldn’t do that. If
she did, they’d sink. So she kept treading water as desire flicked through her
veins like a drug and made her crave more. The wreck caused them to connect in
a way she couldn’t explain.

“What the hell did you think you were doing coming back down
for me?” Rob’s words were short and crisp.

Okay, so much for making a connection, Eris thought as her temper
took over. “I thought I was saving your life.”

His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared and then he blew out a
frustrated breath. “Thank you, but you are going to shorten my lifespan
considerably if you don’t start doing as I ask.”

“What was I supposed to do, leave you down there?”

“Yes!”

“You’d be dead by now!”

“I can be replaced,
you
can’t! Now let’s get to shore
and find a phone.”

Rob started toward the closest bank and she followed at a
slow, steady pace behind the man who thought he could be replaced as easily as
an old pair of socks.

* * * * *

Rob paced Eris’ living room like a caged beast, positive if
he didn’t get out soon he’d explode into a million pieces.

After making it out of the water, he’d flagged down a
passing motorist and called LD. He’d been hoping to avoid an invasion by the
DuBose family and was doing pretty good until the tow truck driver arrived.

The man was like a twelfth cousin once removed of Eris’ and
by the time they arrived back at her place, the entire gang was waiting on them.
Rob wanted to take Eris straight to the emergency room to be checked out and
have a deep slash to her hand and the lump on her head looked at, but she’d
refused. Now she sat next to Lance as he performed his magic on her latest
injury.

Rob watched as Zane detached himself from the other brothers
and made his way toward him. Mentally, he prepared for another round of
promises of what would happen to him if any more harm came to their sister.

“She wouldn’t be any safer with someone else, so stop
thinking that.”

Rob was certain his facial expressions hadn’t given away his
inner turmoil. “I wasn’t—”

“Don’t say you weren’t thinking it because I was picking up
your thoughts on the second-floor landing. Right now you’re second-guessing
every action you made today and you need to stop it right now if you plan on
keeping her safe.”

His lungs seized again as he remember the soul-crushing fear
he’d felt when he thought he might actually lose her. He forced his breath out
before he could continue. “I never meant to put her in danger.”

Zane turned and studied him for a few seconds before giving
his head a slight shake. “You didn’t make her come back for you, that was her
decision. She has a mind of her own and pretty much does as she pleases despite
the worry and gray hair it causes the rest of us. You do realize keeping that
one out of trouble is an impossible task not many men would be willing to take
on?”

Rob looked at Zane. Eris had begged him not to say a word
about her going back down for him. She’d been afraid it would upset her parents
too much. “Did Eris tell you about that?”

“No, I picked it up from you. Eris has gotten good over the
years at hiding her thoughts from me. As children, she and I would play a
mental hide-and-seek game. I really didn’t think she’d ever be able to conceal
her thoughts from me but now she can.”

“So you can’t read her thoughts?”

“Most of the time no, and even if I could I wouldn’t tell
you what they were. I learned years ago not to interfere. In fact, I try really
hard to avoid other people’s thoughts.”

Zane’s words carried a note of melancholy, which was very
unlike the man. “Obviously you don’t feel the need to block
my
thoughts.”

“When it comes down to my sister and her happiness, I don’t
feel one bit sorry about trespassing into other people’s thoughts.”

“I’m sure she hasn’t always agreed with that philosophy.”

“There’s an understatement, and from the look she’s giving
me right now, I’m sure you’ll be getting the second degree about our
conversation.”

Rob turned and made eye contact with Eris, and he instantly
knew she was going to quiz him about the exchange with Zane. He rolled his
eyes, giving the impression Zane was boring him as he leaned toward the man.
“If you swear not to tell your parents about Eris coming back for me, I’ll save
your sorry butt from your sister’s temper.”

Zane glanced over at his sister and flinched before turning
back to Rob. “I’ll take that offer.”

* * * * *

Eris sat cradling a cup of chamomile tea between her hands
and stared unseeing out the window into the darkness. Anger ran through her
veins, making her edgy and restless. She’d managed to contain her rage until
her family finally vacated her apartment. Then she’d turned to Rob, planning to
give him a piece of her mind. But words totally failed her.

What did one say to a person who thought their life could so
easily be discarded? Was it even possible to change feelings that had been in
place for years? From what little she knew of Rob’s past, she was fairly
certain those emotions had been in place since childhood. She wondered if he
was ever told he mattered. Or what a decent person he was. More importantly,
was he ever told he was loved?

Loved. Oh man, she loved him. When had that happened, and
how? She thought back over the time since she’d met Rob and couldn’t identify a
moment when rockets went off or music filled the air. The physical attraction
between them couldn’t be denied. Even this afternoon when she could have
happily ripped his head off, she could still feel the underlying sexual pull.
It wouldn’t have been hard to have gone down that path, but he hadn’t allowed
it.

The feelings she felt went deeper than the physical level.
Her heart ached for the boy he wasn’t allowed to be. For the hardships he’d
suffered. Most of all she felt bone-deep sorrow for the man who didn’t think he
was worthy of love.

She raised her cup and took a sip of her now-tepid tea and
wondered why she was destined to have a complicated love life. Her first love,
or so she’d thought, had been nothing more than a ladder-climbing lizard who
thought nothing of stepping on others to get what he wanted. Now it looked as
if she were drawn to a man who didn’t think he was worthy of having the normal
life most people took for granted.

When she’d learned Jeff-the-lizard wasn’t in love with her
but instead in love with her family name and the power it carried, she was sad.
She hadn’t been heartbroken over the breakup like she should have been, but she
had taken a blow to her self-confidence in reading people’s motives.

Turning her thoughts to Rob, she wondered if she picked up
on his intentions correctly. If so, she was sure he planned on protecting her
until the killer was found then returning to his solitary lifestyle.

Which meant she’d be back to her lonely life, and she didn’t
like that picture one little bit. Despite his moods, lack of belief in the
unseen and total dependence on facts, she still couldn’t imagine her life
without him. From the kitchen she heard the sounds of him cleaning up the
dishes from takeout. She couldn’t help but wonder if he ever got lonely. She
sure knew she did.

There were things a person could change and there were
things they couldn’t, life was pretty much that simple. Loneliness is one of
the changeable items, she thought as she put her cup on the end table and
stood.

She crossed the room to the small kitchen and stopped. Rob
was putting away plates and seemed to sense her presence because he closed the
cabinet door and turned to her without saying a word. She watched as he
clenched the dishtowel in one hand but he didn’t move toward her. Slowly she
raised her eyes to his and held his gaze as she crossed the room to him.

The sexual energy that was always there between them felt as
if it’d taken on a life of its own. Without speaking, Eris started removing her
clothes.

The cords of Rob’s neck tightened as her top came off. His
eyes darkened as she slid her pants and panties down her legs together. She
stood and watched his nostrils flare as he reached back and gripped the edge of
the counter with both hands. For several long seconds he did nothing but study
her from head to toe.

His eyes finally made their way back to hers and when he
spoke, his voice was rough and deep. “I don’t think we should be mixing
business and pleasure. It will only muddy the water even more.”

“Do you regret the other night?” If he said yes, she was
going to be mortified, but she needed to know.

A deep rumble made its way out of his chest that sounded
more like a groan than anything. “Hell no, I’m not sorry about the other night.
But we’ve been forced together 24/7 due to circumstances out of our control. If
it wasn’t for this case we wouldn’t even be together. Logically, this isn’t a
sound move for either of us.”

Eris moved forward and cupped Rob’s erection through his
jeans and smiled when he gave a deep-throated groan. “You aren’t going to try
and deny this attraction are you?”

Rob gave a half smile. “That would be difficult, now
wouldn’t it?”