Fahrenheit (19 page)

The shrill of the phone jolted Adam out of a deep sleep. It took a few seconds to realize it wasn’t his phone, it was Eve’s. It took a few more seconds to process the reality that she was asleep on top of him, and it was now morning. She had been there all night and not once had they awakened so that he could take her home.

Her hand reached up as her arm moved haphazardly. She hit around the table for her phone. “I’m up,” she mumbled. “I’m up.” She hit at the phone as if she were trying to turn off an alarm clock. He laughed, and reached for her phone, trying not to move her from his body. He very much liked having Eve asleep on top of him.

He looked at the caller ID and growled. “It’s him,” he wanted to throw the phone across the room. After hearing what Mitch tried to do to her Adam couldn’t see the man’s name without wanting to pound his face in. Eve took the phone from his hand.

“Hello,” she said groggily as she tried to wake up. “What time is it?”

She started to move, but Adam wrapped his arm around her and held her firmly pressed against his chest. “That late,” she said a little more alert. “No, I guess I was sleeping comfortably.” There was a brief pause and then she said, “I’m not working today. I’m going down to Orlando to pick up some things that I need.” She mumbled some more and then she agreed to whatever he had asked her to do. When she hung up Adam took that as his cue that it was safe to ask the question he needed an answer to.

“What was that about?”

“He wants me to get some pictures of the White Eagle fire...” she yawned. “…Today. He’s working on another story. He says it’s something big. I told him I’ll get it before I head down to Orlando.” She placed the phone on the edge of the couch and then placed her hand on his chest as she kept her head resting there as well. “You should have woke me up. You couldn’t have been comfortable with me sleeping on top of you all night.”

“I slept just fine,” he mumbled. “Do you ever take a day off?”

“Do you?”

He brushed his fingers through her hair. She was beautiful—even when she was still waking up. “I’m taking today off with you.”

“That’s a mandatory day off,” she countered. “You’re off the rest of the week because you have to be.”

“Don’t change the subject,” he let his fingers brush over her cheek. Her soft skin felt good beneath his fingertips.

“I take time off. This will only take a few minutes anyway. I just need a few shots and then we can go to Orlando.”

He mumbled under his breath. Mitch was using her. She had to see that.

“Is this about my working, or the fact that you no longer like Mitch?”

“I didn’t like him in the first place,” his tone was laced with hostility.

“So this is about Mitch.” She raised her head, folded her hands on his chest and then rested her chin on the back of her hands so that she was now staring at him. “I’ve moved on, Adam. Please don’t make me go back there?”

“I’m sorry,” he once again ran his fingers through her soft hair. The sun light peeked through the uncovered crescent shaped window above the bay window. The light illuminated the red undertones in her hair and caressed her skin gently. She looked amazing. “But I can’t forget what he did to you.”

“I shouldn’t have told you.”

He knew she hadn’t meant to, but when she said she hadn’t pressed charges he had too much information for her not to tell him the whole story.

“Morning breath,” she said. “I’m going to go brush my teeth.”

“I have an extra brush in the cabinet.”

“No need. I always carry toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse.” She carefully moved off him. When she reached the hallway she looked back at him. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I shouldn’t have unloaded on you. I’ve been carrying this around for so long by myself that I shouldn’t have placed this burden on you. I’m sorry.” And on those words she turned and walked away.

She thought she was burdening him with her problems? Was she serious? He was glad she trusted him enough to share with him. She shouldn’t have had to carry the load at all, let alone by herself. He followed her into the bathroom and quietly picked up his own toothbrush and toothpaste. He had a double vanity so it was just as easy for him to brush his teeth while she brushed hers. The act alone felt natural, as if they had been doing this for years. He would look at her, and she would look at him. A slight smile tugging her lips upward as she brushed her teeth. He would have laughed, but laughing would have caused an extreme amount of spit to find its way onto his mirror.

“Okay, you’re finished. Get out. I have to use the bathroom.”

“You’ve slept on me all night, Eve. I don’t think it’ll be an issue if you pee while I’m in here.”

“I’m not going with you in here! I can’t go if somebody is in the room while I’m trying to go.”

He laughed. “Too bad. I need a shower.” He stripped off his shirt.

“Adam,” she hit his bare chest and he took the opportunity to grab her hand and pull her close to him. When she looked up into his eyes he went in for the kiss—one that had her leaning into him to get closer. He let his tongue delve deeper into her mouth as one hand came down to her behind and covered it, pulling her center closer to his growing erection. She moaned softly as he kissed her.

“Good morning,” he said when he relinquished her mouth.

“Good morning,” she smiled up at him.

“Now, you go on and do what you need to do. I’m going to take my morning shower.”

“You’re not…” she turned sharply when he started to unfasten his pants.

“Duty calls,” he said.

She shook her head and headed for the toilet. “If I didn’t have to go so bad I would just wait.” She looked back to him and he already had his pants down.

“Oh my,” she stammered as her eyes traveled lower to his boxer-briefs. She looked away for all of one second before her eyes reconnected with his body. He could see her blushing. He could see the way her breasts rose and fell with excitement. He smiled deviously, knowing she was admiring the package. He slipped his fingers into the waistband and started to pull his underwear down. She turned so quickly he thought she might trip over the toilet trying to get away from him. He laughed.

“You are impossible!”

“Thought you might like to see what you’re getting once we get married.”

“Married!” She turned around, clearly forgetting that he was now fully naked. Her eyes widened as she drank in his naked body. “My God you’re gorgeous,” her mouth hung open. “You should model for me.”

“Model?” He folded his hands across his chest.

“Yeah…I actually started off taking artistic photos when I was younger. They weren’t nudes, but I’ve always wanted to try them.” She kept accessing his body. “Wow,” she breathed in deeply.

“Only if you get naked and pose with me,” he said.

“I just might. There’s something I have wanted to try anyway, so why not do it with you?”

She kept staring at him. He smiled, knowing she appreciated what she saw and he wished he could see her right now too—all of her. “Are you through appraising me or should I keep standing here?”

She shook her head as if trying to clear the fog in her mind. “Go take your shower.” She snapped. “I have to pee.”

“Maybe I’ll watch.”

She gasped loudly before grabbing a towel from the rack and throwing it at him. “Get in that shower right now Mr. Man.”

He laughed. “Going,” he kept laughing as he stepped into the glass encased shower and turned the water on. He had perfect view of the toilet from where he stood. If she wanted complete privacy she was going to have to wait until the steam fogged up the glass. Otherwise, he was just waiting for her to drop her pants so he could get a good look at those gorgeous legs of hers.

For the second time within twenty-four hours he had mentioned the possibility of him being her husband. He was trying to get her comfortable with the idea before he proposed because he knew she would need some time to think about it. Marrying him would mean coming with him to California, assuming he got accepted to the program. There were plenty of newspapers there that would kill for her photojournalistic skills. He wanted her to come with him, to be with him always. He was one hundred percent sure that he wanted to marry this woman. Now he just needed to convince her that she wanted to marry him too.

A full day with Eve had been like a full day in heaven. She made him laugh harder than he had laughed in weeks. And she was so down to earth that he couldn’t resist enjoying the day with her. After he had taken her home to shower and change clothes they stopped at the White Eagle fire. She took her shots and then they were on their way to Orlando, where she found a few of the items she needed. They played around for a while before heading back to Palm Coast where he helped her get some things in order for her new home and then they spent the night talking into the early hours of the morning. She had insisted he stay over because she didn’t want him driving while sleepy. He was fine to go home, but he wouldn’t pass up the chance at another night holding her in his arms while they slept, so he stayed.

She received two more phone calls from Mitch, both asking her to get more photos of different fires, including the damage from the house fire that was still under investigation. “What are you up to, Mitch?” He had heard her ask. Clearly she didn’t get full details because when she hung up she shrugged and said, “He’s chasing a big story. I think he’s looking into the apartment bomb, but he won’t give me all the details. He’s meeting with a source,” she grinned. “Whatever…” and with those words she had prepared herself for the day they had planned to spend with each other. He wanted to take her up to Marine Land Beach, and while he had planned to be there before mid morning, he now had to wait until after she collected her photos. Even if she was spending a few hours working, he couldn’t deny that spending the day with her was wildly enjoyable. And of course he made sure he remembered to drop the
M
word a few more times. He smoothly transitioned to a conversation about last names, trying to get her comfortable with the idea of possibly taking his last name one day. She informed him that if she ever did marry she planned to keep her last name. “I’m rather fond of Eve McGregor,” she had said. “I don’t plan on renaming myself.”

He could live with that decision. It’s not as if changing her name was going to make a big difference on whether or not they loved each other. Of course, she hadn’t yet told him she loved him. He figured it was too soon for her to say it, but he was sure she felt it. She had to feel it because he surely did. Never let it be said that the Carrigan men didn’t fall hard and fast, because he surely had. He gathered if his brothers ever settled into thinking of more than just a two week fling they’d fall fast too.

Adam McGregor
, he tossed the name combination around in his head and realized he didn’t dislike it at all. If he just felt the need to have the same last name as his wife then he would take her last name. It’s not as if there weren’t enough Carrigan men to pass on the family name. And unlike Eve, he didn’t have such a strong professional attachment to his last name. She did.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind. First he had to get her to say yes to his proposal, and then he could worry about the last name game.

Chapter Twelve

“I
noticed,” Sylvester pinned the barrel of the gun against Mitch’s back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mitch said nervously. He had been following Sylvester Williams all day, trying to find out who the man was and what he was up too. He knew he had a military background because he had discerned that from the limited information he had been able to find. What he hadn’t been able to figure out is why this man had been planting a bomb at the apartment complex. He would ask him, but it had been his experience that when a gun was pressed at his back it was best to not tip his hand. If he didn’t let the bastard know just how much he already knew then he might just make it out of this alive.

“How much does she know?” His voice was low and lethal.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about?” He would never give up a source.

“Don’t pussy foot around with me. Talk.” He pushed him against the wall. The bad part about dark alleys was that very few people navigated them at night—the smart ones stayed out and the junkies just didn’t get involved in whatever crap was going down unless they were in need of a fix and they thought they could score enough money to get some.

Suddenly Mitch wished he hadn’t followed this man into Daytona, into an area where nobody cared if somebody died so long as it wasn’t them. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He felt a hard fist punch into his back. The pain seared through him.

“I’m going to ask you again; how much does she know?”

“I don’t give up a source,” he gasped.

“I already know about your source,” he snapped. “I took care of her this morning.”

He had killed her. How could he have known about her?

“You dumb bastards meet down the street from where I’m working and you don’t think I’ll know—real dumb. Now, tell me what Eve knows before I put a long, hard, hurt on you.”