Burning Hunger (9 page)

As she pulled out the items to make a pot of
coffee, she turned on the small TV that was on the kitchen counter
to listen to the news. Maybe there would be something on Hal
Cramer.

Chaz was steaming inside, as he made the
necessary calls to cancel their flight, and hotel accommodations in
Key West. He wasn’t angry about having to make new plans, he didn’t
care about that. He was furious that he’d let himself get involved
with Val in the first place. He should have kept his libido in
check, and his cock in his pants. He’d never gotten involved with a
client before, but he’d known as soon as he got the call from her
father that things were going to be different with them.

Meeting her for the first time at his
brother’s house a month before had whet his interest in her from
the start. Instinct, and the way she avoided his gaze, revealed she
was just as attracted to him. That evening had been the beginning
of a lifestyle change for Chaz, though he hadn’t recognized his
reason for it at the time. All of a sudden, his usual variety of
women didn’t seem as appealing to him anymore.

Sighing heavily, he sank down onto the sofa.
He should have told her father that he was busy. But the truth was
Chaz had been eager to see Val again, to see if the chemistry was
still there or if it had dulled with time. It hadn’t, and now that
he’d had a taste of her, it wasn’t about to go away. The time
following his first meeting of Val had been spent thinking about
her, and included waking up in the middle of many nights with a
hard-on.

Hell, I’m falling for the lady.

“How do you like your coffee?” she called
from the kitchen.

“Black.” For the first time Chaz realized he
was sitting there with his phone open. He pulled up his contacts
list and hit Doug’s name. It barely rang twice before he heard the
gravely voice of his long-time friend.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me.”

Doug’s laugh sounded like sandpaper. “Let me
guess, you’re not going now.”

“Sorry, guy, if I’d known earlier I would
have called. Have to come up with a new plan.” Chaz glanced up when
Val walked into the room, and accepted the cup she held his
way.

“Trouble?” Doug asked.

Chaz’s gaze met Val’s. “Big trouble,” he
agreed, watching her sit on the arm of the chair close by.

Doug laughed again, and this time Chaz
detected humor. “Sounds like woman trouble, man.”

“Nailed it right on the head,” Chaz
responded. He took a sip of his coffee. “Right now I’m trying to
make up my mind if she’s worth it or not.” He didn’t care that Val
was listening.

Her gaze was fixed on him, as she sat there
sipping her coffee. Chaz thought back to her conversation with
Craig. As soon as he got off the phone with Doug, he needed to get
to the bottom of that little issue. He didn’t want to believe she
was the kind of woman who would sleep with one man while engaged to
another. His intuition about her couldn’t be that off.

“Look, Doug, I’d appreciate you staying on
standby just in case I need another flight out.”

“Sure, man. You know I ain’t doing nothing
but lazing around the pool with Bonnie all day.”

“Thanks. Later.” Chaz flipped his phone
closed, lifted his hips, and slipped it into his back pocket. He
took a big drink of coffee.

For the first time, he noticed how pretty
Val looked in her rose-colored sundress. The top outlined the
fullness of her breasts like the caress of his hands, revealing
just enough cleavage above the heart-shaped bodice to draw the eye
there. As he ran his gaze over the smoothness of her bare shoulders
and arms, he took another drink. After a few more seconds of
silence, Val’s pretty mouth turned up in a slight smile.

“Are we just going to sit here and stare at
each other the rest of the day?”

“I’m thinking,” Chaz replied. He was glad
she’d interrupted his thoughts about her. He needed to get his mind
back on the right track, like figuring out what he was going to do
now.

“Chaz, I’m sorry for messing up your plans.
I was actually looking forward to going to the Keys with you.”

She really sounded contrite. He just looked
at her, because it seemed she was going to say more.

“Craig and I aren’t engaged,” she added,
surprising him. “We used to be, but I broke it off long ago. We’re
just good friends. I…,” she hesitated, as if unsure that she should
continue. “Don’t know why I let you believe we were still
engaged.”

Chaz carefully kept his expression neutral,
but deep down inside he thanked God. He wanted Val, and not just in
his bed. Now that he knew she was free, he intended to make sure
she knew that. “Maybe you should ask yourself that question.”

Val surprised him by saying, “I already
have, when I was making coffee in the kitchen.”

“And did you come up with an answer?”

She brought her cup to her lips, her gaze
meeting his over the rim. There was no denying the sensual flame
burning in her eyes. Chaz took that as a good sign.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” she said after
removing the cup from her mouth.

Cup empty, Chaz put it on the coffee table
in front of him. “And?” He crossed his arms.

There was a long pause. Val’s chin turned
obstinate. It was clear she didn’t want to answer him. Interesting.
What’s she afraid of?
The knowledge of Val’s barracuda
reputation in the court room brought a smile to Chaz’s face. That
wasn’t the woman he saw before him now.

“Come on, sweetheart, the truth won’t hurt
you.”

“I don’t want you gloating,” she
snapped.

“Why would I gloat? Does your answer have
something to do with me?”

“Yes! Damn you!” She bolted from the arm of
the chair and was gone before he could stop her.

Chaz got to his feet and followed her to the
kitchen. He found her pouring herself another cup of coffee. He
could tell she was taking a sip, even though she kept her back to
him.

“Sometimes I’m not even sure I like you,”
Val began, sensing he was there. “But…when I like you,” she slowly
turned to face him, “I like you a lot.”

Something opened up inside of Chaz. He was
suddenly flooded with a warmth of sensation that was alien to him.
His brother, Beau’s, words came back to haunt him, that he’d know
when he met the woman who was meant for him. Was it possible? Chaz
had felt a spark ignite the second he’d looked into Val’s eyes that
evening a month ago, when he’d seen her at his brother’s ranch.
Is she the one that’s going to turn my life upside down?

“Then I guess we have the same problem,” he
said after a while. The ringing of the phone caused Chaz to reach
in his back pocket. “Hello?”

“It’s Benjamin Martin.”

“Good morning, sir.” Chaz acknowledged,
turning his back on Val.

“It’s over!” the older man said with
excitement in his tone.

“What?” Chaz frowned. “What’s over?”

“Quick, turn the news on now!” Benjamin
ordered. “Chief Benson is getting ready to make a statement.”

With the phone to his ear, Chaz rushed into
the living room and switched on the TV. He was vaguely aware that
Val was on his heels. She’d obviously sensed something was up. He
quickly turned the TV to the local news channel and slowly sank
down onto the arm of the closest chair. The regular news was over
but it was apparent there was a news conference getting ready to
air. The mikes were set up, and standing there was the chief of
police, along with other individuals in uniform.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chaz could see
Val sink down onto a corner of the coffee table. She remained
silent, as if she knew that she’d have the answers to what ever
questions she had soon enough. He could hear her father’s breathing
in his ear, and remained on the line.

Chief Benson, a tall man in his fifties,
stepped up to one of the mikes and looked directly into the camera.
“Good morning,” he began in a deep, Texas drawl. “At precisely
three-eleven this morning, Hal Cramer, the nephew of Mayor Cramer,
was shot dead inside the estate house. As there were no signs of a
break-in, at this time it’s unclear whether he knew the killer, and
allowed him inside. Mr. Cramer apparently died by a single gunshot
wound to the back of the head. No one else in the house was
injured.”

Chaz glanced at Val, who had clear signs of
shock on her pale face. “It was a hit,” he said simply, before
turning his attention back to the TV.

“Exactly what I thought when I heard it the
first time,” her father said in his ear.

“Chief Benson, do you think this has
anything to do with the shooting a few days ago?” one of the
reporter’s called out.

“We won’t know until after the
investigation—”

“Chief, it was determined the man Hal Cramer
killed was Aldo Bruno, and that Bruno had strong connections to the
Italian Mafia. Do you think it’s possible this was a hit?”

Chief Benson shook his head. “We won’t know
until a detailed investigation is done, and that could take months.
Right now you know what we know.”

“But it seems like a big coincidence that
Cramer killed Bruno a few days ago, and now Cramer is dead, don’t
you think?”

“At this point, a coincidence is all it is,”
the Chief responded, unable or unwilling to speculate.

“Chief, how is Mayor Cramer holding up?”
another reporter asked.

“Mayor Cramer is in shock, and trying to
deal with the loss of his only nephew,” the Chief replied. “I
understand his doctor is with him now.”

“Chief—”

“Look, that’s all I have for you at this
time. Please keep the mayor and his family in your prayers.” He
turned and left the mike before anyone else could get a word out.
As he walked away, a man wearing a suit stepped forward to take his
place.

Chaz turned the TV off. He’d heard of the
Bruno family and their mafia involvement on a job a few years back,
when he’d been hired to protect a casino owner in Vegas. Cramer had
sealed his own fate when he killed Aldo. If they’d had that
information going in, Chaz could have told Benjamin that Cramer was
the one who needed protection. In fact, he was surprised the mayor
hadn’t taken the necessary steps to prevent what had happened. That
told Chaz they probably hadn’t known who Aldo Bruno was.

“A big break for us.”

“Yeah. I thought we were in it for the long
haul,” Benjamin agreed. “If this was a hit, they didn’t waste any
time.”

Chaz could hear the relief in the older
man’s tone. “I don’t doubt it. I’ve heard of the Bruno family. They
don’t only have mafia ties in Italy, they head up the
organization.” Before taking on the job, Chaz had done some
research on Cramer and found that he was a two-bit hood trying to
get into the big leagues. How the hell had he gotten involved with
Aldo?

“Well, no matter. I’m just thankful Val’s no
longer involved. Thank you for your services. I’ll get a check in
the mail for you. Put my daughter on, please.”

Chaz wordlessly handed Val the phone.

“Hi, Dad.”

As Chaz listened to her side of the
conversation, he realized his time with Val was coming to an end,
and much sooner than he’d anticipated. He wasn’t done with the
beautiful lawyer yet. He might be off the payroll, but he intended
to spend more time with her. In fact, there was no reason why they
couldn’t head to the Keys after all. Spend a few days basking in
the sun, and their nights fucking.

Yeah, he wanted to get to the bottom of his
fascination with Val. Find out how much of it was based on emotion,
and how much was purely physical. In bed they were equals. A
pleasant surprise, since he’d never met another woman as passionate
and giving as her. And, another shocker, she satisfied him
completely so that he wanted only her.

She said goodbye, and handed Chaz back his
phone.

“I take it he doesn’t want to see you back
in the office too soon.” He’d heard enough to draw that
conclusion.

She nodded. “He insists since I don’t have
to worry about any work for a while that I take a real vacation
while I have the opportunity.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Chaz agreed. “I
was just thinking the same thing. I can call Doug back. We can head
down to the Keys and spend a few days getting better
acquainted.”

“For a bodyguard out of work, you take a lot
for granted, Mr. Evans.”

“I would never take you for granted, honey.”
Chaz pushed himself away from the chair. “Let’s just say I’m
hopefully optimistic.” He found it interesting that for every step
he took, Val took one backwards. “You just got done saying that you
like me, a lot.”

“When I like you,” she reminded him,
remaining just out of reach.

“Do you like me now?”

Val shrugged, but the look in her eyes was
seducing him, promising him heaven on earth. She licked her lips,
the movement of her tongue drawing his gaze there. All of a sudden
his cock was tingling and his senses were on full alert.

“Don’t you want to see where this is going
between us?” She stopped backing up, and Chaz wanted to believe she
was considering what he said.

“You mean beyond the fantastic sex?” she
teased.

He nodded.

“Then you’d better call your friend
Doug.”

Two months later…

“Callie, honey, you look beautiful!” Marissa
exclaimed, the moment the bride walked into the room.

“Like a princess!” Val added, smoothing out
a crease in her veil. “I can’t believe we managed to pull this
thing together in less than a month.” She turned her attention to
Marissa.

“Well, let’s not get too excited, at least
not until the reception is over,” Marissa cautioned. “We still
don’t know if the ice sculpture will arrive in time.”

Callie laughed, while turning to look at
herself in the full length mirror. “I still can’t believe you
managed to find someone to do a sculpture of me and Blade sitting
on a horse.”