Burned Deep (Burned 1)

I was tempted to seek out Kyle, just to even the score. But that was juvenile. And Dane had been adamant when he’d expressed that he and Mikaela were only friends. That I was the one he wanted to be with. So I tamped down my insecurity.

The crowd shifted as I approached him. Rain fell in the background; the lightning was stunning as the pink-and-purple streaks flashed across the mountains in the distance.

Dane murmured something to Mikaela, disentangled himself from her, and took a few long strides toward me. He was dressed in all black again, stealing my breath. The glower on his face only ratcheted up my excitement.

Here I’d been all tormented by her nearness, but it was Dane who radiated a possessive vibe, wrapped around me.

Was he the jealous one? Of Kyle?

Tingles ran rampant through my body. Dane closed the gap between us and the world fell away.

He’d been gone nearly a week. It was five days too long.

“Hello,” he said, all secretive and sexy. Though with the slight edge I’d anticipated.

“Hi.”

“I see you still have someone waiting in the wings.”

I fought the smile over his possessiveness. It’d only irritate him, I surmised. “Kyle’s a friend. That’s all. Like Mikaela.”

“Definitely not like Mikaela.” He gave a sharp shake of his head. “That’s not how I see it at all. He looks at you as though he’s about to ask you on a date. Or kiss you.”

I could say the same for his friend but refrained. “I doubt he’ll do either. I certainly haven’t encouraged him. And you keep getting in his way.”

“Good.”

The corners of my mouth quivered. I couldn’t hold back the smile this time. “Could you be any more alpha … territorial?”

“No one knows we’re together, and that’s fine for now. But he doesn’t need to be sniffing around.”

Similar to when we’d been on the phone, I mentally tripped over the we’re together part. And the fact that he’d likely go through the roof if he knew I’d told Kyle to apply at the Lux. I figured it was best to keep that to myself for now.

The salt-and-pepper-haired associate or friend of Dane’s from the bar suddenly appeared at his elbow. “Dane. We have a chance to speak with Delfino about Mikaela’s Old Town market.”

“Of course.” As usual, Dane spoke to someone else while staring at me. It took him several seconds to tear his gaze away. He said, “Ethan Evans, Ari DeMille. She works at the hotel now. Events Director. Ari, this is Ethan. A former Harvard professor and one of my investors.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss DeMille.”

“Call me Ari, please.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Dane told me—warned me? “Try to stay out of trouble.”

They left me on the terrace. I strolled over to the railing where there was an overhang that protected me from the torrent. I believed we were about to set a record for most rainfall in decades.

Thankfully, the wind remained calm. The Phoenix area could be exceptionally dangerous during monsoon season because of the dust storms, or haboobs, as the local weather people called them. They could be up to sixty or so feet wide and several kilometers tall, completely blanketing parts of the city as the wall of dust rolled through. We didn’t have that threat in Sedona, but we still experienced the violent thunderstorms.

“He is so not good at hiding his bad mood.” Kyle joined me again.

I innocently asked, “Who?” Though, of course, I already knew the answer.

“Your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my boss.”

“He acts likes he’s your boyfriend.”

“Boss,” I simply contended. No need to stir the pot. And I still wasn’t totally sure what Dane and I were. Another reason not to stress over Heidi Klum.