Heat of the Night (Out of Uniform 5)

“I don’t have a thing for her,” he said quietly. “I had a thing for her.”

She propped herself up on her elbow, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity. “I knew it. Tell me the details.”

He avoided her intrigued eyes. “There aren’t any. I met her when she and Becker first started hooking up, and the two of us went out for drinks when they were kind of broken up. Nothing happened,” he added quickly.

“But you wanted it to happen.” Again, she had that perceptive look on her face.

“Maybe. But it didn’t. And I got over it.” He kept his voice firm, hoping he sounded sincere. He and Annabelle were only having a fling, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything by admitting he might still have a tiny, teeny thing for a woman who was off-limits.

“Honestly? You’re really over it?”

He met her inquisitive gaze head-on. “Yes.”

She offered a faint smile. “Good.”

He smiled back, enjoying the possessive note in her soft voice. He shifted onto his side so they were face to face, then slowly brought his lips to hers in a long, lazy kiss. Annabelle hooked her leg over his, her warm body curling into his as she kissed him back. And when she slipped his hands between them and encircled his hardening cock, he wasn’t thinking about anyone but Annabelle.

Chapter Six

Okay, so she was in deep trouble. Annabelle sat at the edge of Christina’s bed, staring at the cell phone in her hand. For the past five minutes, she’d been debating calling her parents and telling them she couldn’t make it for their anniversary dinner, but she knew her mother would kill her if she didn’t show up. But going back to San Francisco was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.

She didn’t want to leave Ryan.

And that’s why she was in trouble.

When they’d first started seeing each other, she’d told herself it was just temporary, that they were simply acting out a few fantasies, having some really great sex, and eventually she’d head home, go back to her job and look back on her time with him as a fun vacation fling. But deep in her heart she knew it was far from a fling. They’d spent two weeks together, and each day that passed, she only liked him more. He made her laugh. Treated her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Put up with her endless sarcasm. Bryce hated her sense of humor—he constantly told her she was too negative. And he hardly ever complimented her. In front of parents, sure, but alone, he often acted like Annabelle was there simply to cater to his needs.

What kind of relationship was that?

Truth of the matter was, she had no desire to see Bryce again. She didn’t want to rekindle their relationship, not after the way he’d dumped her so callously. But she knew she’d have to see him when she went home. Her parents were hosting a small but formal dinner party in honor of their thirty-year anniversary, and Bryce would surely be there. He was the CEO of her father’s company, after all.

God, she didn’t want to face him. What if he was an ass**le and brought a date to the dinner? She quickly pushed away the thought. No, Bryce was smart. If he wanted to remain in her father’s good graces, he would be on his best behavior tomorrow night.

“Annabelle?”

Ryan’s playful voice sounded from the living room. Her heart immediately skipped a beat, as it now did whenever she saw him. He and Matt had gone to see Shelby’s baby girl, but Annabelle had opted to stay home. She hadn’t wanted to intrude on Shelby and her husband, even though Ryan insisted they wouldn’t have minded. Besides, she felt kind of awkward around Matt, ever since the night she had sex with him. For a while she thought he’d act all weird around her, or maybe try to sleep with her again, but he treated her like a good pal and nothing more. She wondered if Ryan had spoken with him and told him it was a one-time deal. Because for her, it was a one-time thing. As great as the sex had been, as attractive as she found Matt, the only man she wanted was Ryan.

Again, trouble.

“I’m in here,” she called in response to his shout.

He poked his head in the bedroom doorway a moment later, smiling broadly. “Penny smiled at me today!”

Annabelle rolled her eyes. “She’s a week old, it takes like a month for that to happen. It was probably gas.”

Ryan looked offended. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I told Garrett he needs to accept it—his baby likes me more than him.”

She laughed. “Uh-huh, sure thing.”

Ryan flopped down beside her on the bed. “So what do you want to do tonight?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “We only have two more items on the list left.”

“And they’ll have to wait,” she said with a sigh. “I was about to call the airline to make a flight reservation.”

“You’re leaving?”

The dismayed look on his face brought a smile to her lips. “I’m flying to San Francisco this afternoon. Remember the anniversary party I told you about? But I’ll be back tomorrow night, and stay here for another week or two, until Christina gets back.”

He relaxed. “Right, I forgot about that. Are you excited to see your folks?”

“Uh, no.”

Leaning back on his elbows, he shot her a curious look. “You don’t talk about them much. What are they like?”

“Come with me and see for yourself.”

The request flew out before she could stop it, surprising them both. What was she thinking? She couldn’t bring Ryan home with her. Her parents would flip out. And it would pretty much be like waving a big sign that said “Bryce and I are over!” But they were over, and her parents had to accept it sooner or later.