Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (25 page)

“No, it’s not me I’m
talking about. It’s just that I worry about…well, how do I know you won’t get tired of me? I mean…forever is an awfully long time.” There, she’d said it. Her worst fear put into words - the one thing that scared her more than anything. That one day he’d regret tying himself to her for all of eternity.

But he didn’t hesitate for a moment, and
the candid reply was exactly what she needed to hear.

“
Ah, Eva…forever won’t be nearly enough time to show you how much I love you.”

~*~*~*~

“Slow day in the neighborhood?”

Stuart grinned at Sami as she dropped into a chair and propped her feet aimlessly on the edge of his desk. By way of answer she yawned and linked her hands together, stretching her arms behind her head. She’d never felt so exhausted - or so completely gratified - in her life.
Having had no sleep whatsoever, she’d managed to reluctantly drag herself out of Asher’s arms for work this morning, leaving him alone in the disheveled bed that was littered with crumbled bits of hardened candle wax. Which must not have been as hot as she’d assumed, because there were no signs of burns anywhere on his perfectly formed chest. Thank goodness. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for defacing a work of art.

“I take it Patsy isn’t working this afternoon
,” her coworker remarked.

Sami laughed ruefully. “Oh my God, Stuart, that woman shouldn’t be allowed with
in fifty feet of
any
form of technology. Where did she ever get the idea that a mouse could get a virus? It wouldn’t work because it was full of cracker crumbs!”

“Hey…don’t blame me. Do you know how hard it is to find good help?”

“I know…we shouldn’t poke fun though. I like Patsy. She’s nice.”

“Well, I like her too but that doesn’t mean I’d
want her anywhere near
my
computer.”

“
Oh, yeah, I know how embarrassing it would be for you if she happened to come across some of the stuff you’ve been downloading.” She tried to hide a smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched obstinately. In spite of the lack of sleep, her mood was sunny.

Stuart flushed self-consciously. “What stuff?”

“
You
know what stuff. You should really clear your browser history before letting me work on your computer.” Her smile broke through. She couldn’t help it.

The flush brightened to a beet red, and he polished off the rest of his energy drink before responding. “That was just something
Logan was showing me. I wasn’t the one looking up that crap.”

Sami gave him
an innocent look. “Sweetie, I was only referring to the illegal song downloads. Why…what else have you been up to?”

“
You are an evil, evil woman!” Stu tossed the empty can across the room and missed the trash can by a mile.

“Nice shot, Chamberlain.”

“Shows what you know. I meant to do that.” Hopping up, he retrieved the can from the floor and dropped it in the trash, bowing deeply. “
Ta-da!
”

“Wow. You really gotta take that act on the road.”

“I really should. I’ll have you know I can also juggle and play the bagpipes.”

“Do them at the same time
- then I’ll be impressed.” She paused, then asked curiously, “Can you really play the bagpipes?”

“No. I can play air guitar though.
Want a demonstration?” He pushed her feet off his desk playfully.

“You know what, I’m just gonna take your word
on that one.” Sami picked at one of her fingernails, wondering whether Ash was still sleeping or if he was up and around someplace. She hated her own weakness for asking but… “Hey Stu, you seen Reid around today?”

As if by magic, the office door
blew open and they both looked up to see the man himself breezing in. Sami felt a tingle all the way down to her toes.
Speak of the devil, and in he walks.

Ever the professional
when on the clock, Stuart snapped immediately into his
Mr. Efficient
mode. “Afternoon, Mr. Reid.”

Ash tossed something he was holding into the air, then caught the small
round item with one hand. “Relax, Sedgwick. Anyone ever tell you, you’re way too uptight?” He ambled over to the desk, sitting on the edge of it directly in front of Sami while playing catch with his object once more. He bit into it, his eyes locked on hers as he chewed and swallowed. “I was having the strangest craving for fresh peaches today. Can’t imagine why.”

“I’m sure I couldn’t tell you,” was her cherubic reply.
He took another bite, the juice running down his freshly shaven chin and she desperately wanted to lick it. If Stuart hadn’t been there she would have done it, too. Holy guacamole…whatever happened to not mixing business with pleasure?

Ash wiped his mouth with the back of a hand and held
out the piece of fruit in offering. She tasted it, catching in her peripheral vision Stuart’s engrossed stare. He seemed to be trying very hard to keep a straight face, going so far as to cover his mouth in an attempt to stifle something that resembled a cough but probably wasn’t.

“Coming down with a cold,
Studebaker?” Ash politely asked.

“Not me
. I’m healthy as a horse. I think…ah, I think I’ll go…I need a Coke. Anyone want anything from the vending machines?” He began to inch towards the door.

“You and your caffeine
,” Sami admonished him. “I don’t know how you ever get to sleep at night.”

“Not everyone sleeps at night. Do they, Miss Porter?” The blue eyes
sparkled shamelessly.

“U
h…I’ll be right back.” Stuart beat a hasty retreat, leaving the two of them alone.

“Tired?” Ash wanted to know.

“I’m okay.” Actually she was feeling pretty darn good for someone who hadn’t slept a wink all night.

“Are you sore?” His voice dropped to a more intimate
timbre.

“Maybe a little.”

“Good. I like that.”

“Yeah? Why do you like that?”

“Reminds you I was there.” Finishing off the peach, he tossed the pit in the direction of the trash can. He didn’t miss. “Think you’ll be up to going out for a while tonight?”

“Sure. Where are we going?”

“To see some fireworks on the beach.” A ghost of a smile haunted his lips, giving her reason to believe his plans weren’t nearly as benign as they sounded.

“You didn’t get enough fireworks last night?” she couldn’t
resist teasing.

“
Hell to the no.”

“Okay…what time?”

“Let’s say seven - we can have dinner first.”

“Sounds good.”

“You still have that Ruger I gave you?”

The gun? Tucked away in her bedside table,
it had been completely forgotten. “Yes.”

“I want you to bring it. And
you should dress in dark colors, just in case.”

Just in case of what?
“Why…are we robbing a convenience store?” she joked, even as his odd request twisted her insides into taut knots. What could he possibly be planning on doing with a gun? And why did she need to dress inconspicuously? A million warning signals went off in her head. As usual, she would ignore every one of them.

“
Nothing quite so plebeian.” He smiled mysteriously. “You’ll be ready at seven, yes?”

“
Okay.”

“Thatta girl.” He leaned in to reward her with a sweet kiss that tasted of peaches. “See you then.”

Guns, dark clothes, dinner and fireworks. Have mercy…her night just got really bizarre.

Just
how
bizarre…well, that remained to be seen.

~*~*~*~

“Hey…got any money on ya?”

Dane glanced sidelong at Imogen while
continuing to bag Mrs. Spivey’s groceries. “Maybe. Why?”

“I need some cigarettes.”

“Explain to me how I’m responsible for supporting your bad habits?” He dropped a box of laxatives into the bag on top of two boxes of bran cereal. Man, the things you learned about people just by seeing the stuff they purchased. TMI for sure.

“Well, if you’d just sneak me a pack I wouldn’t have to ask you for the money, would I?” she retorted, ignoring Mrs. Spivey’s disapproving frown.

Blushing, he quickly reached for his wallet and shoved a five into her hand. “Here. If that’s not enough, too bad. And don’t ask me to sell them to you because you know I can’t.”

“You’re such a boy scout.” Pulling a tabloid from the rack, she scanned it while waiting for him to finish bagging the groceries.

The bell over the door jingled and Dane glanced over to see Eva Spencer, of all people, entering the store. He prayed that Imogen wouldn’t say anything to embarrass him in front of her. Lately the girl was becoming a royal pain in the ass.

Eva’s bright smile was
the ray of sunshine he needed. “Hey there, sweetie. Working hard or hardly working?”

“Depends on who’s watching
,” he admitted, returning her smile. He noticed Imogen watching them with interest and silently willed her to keep her huge trap shut for once. “What are you up to today?”

“Nothing much…just had to pick up some stamps at the post office and thought I’d stop in and say hi.”

Imogen chose that moment to chime in. “You over eighteen?”

Eva turned to her with a
confused look. “I’m sorry?”

“Are you over eighteen? I need someone to buy cigarettes for me since
Sweetie
here has a stick up his butt about selling them to me.”

He wanted to strangle her. Why did she always have to do this? No wonder his parents couldn’t stand her. But Eva only laughed and said, “You must be Imogen.”

“I must be. So can you buy them for me or what?”

“I wish I could help you out, honey
. But that would be a crime because smoking causes wrinkles and you have such beautiful skin. It would be a shame to ruin it.”

“Uh-huh.” Imogen eyed her skeptically.

“Why don’t you try one of those electronic vapor ones?”

“Well now, it’s just not the same thing, is it?”

Eva shrugged and returned her attention to Dane. “You ever get your truck back?”

“Not yet.” He rolled his eyes. “You know my mom. She’s totally unreasonable.”

“Aw, poor thing. Maybe she’ll come to her senses soon and realize what a hardworking, responsible son she has.”

“Yeah, keep dreaming,” he said, ignoring Imogen’s derisive snort.

“Well, you guys take it easy. Dane, call me if I can help you out with anything.”

He doubted she’d appreciate him calling
if she had any idea what he
really
wanted her to help him out with. The redhead had been the subject of every erotic fantasy he’d had since the day he first met her. “Thanks, Eva. I’ll see you around.”

Imogen waited until she was gone to speak
again. “Well, well, well…do we have the hots for the fire crotch or what?”

“Why are you such a little bitch?” He glared at her,
ticked off that she would say anything nasty about his crush. Imogen would never in her wildest dreams come even close to possessing the class and beauty that Eva had. There was no comparison. Zilch. Nada. None.

“Oh, don’t get your
drawers in a wad. I’m just kidding. Jeez.” She crossed her arms and gave him an impatient look. “You take everything so seriously.”

“Whatever.” He wasn’t in the mood to listen to any more of her crap.

“Don’t be mad.”

“I have work to do. Maybe you should go.”

Seeing that he wasn’t kidding, Imogen stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his mouth, taking him completely by surprise. That was the last thing he’d expected her to do, and he had no idea why she’d done it.

“What was that for?” he
demanded.

“
So you won’t be mad anymore.”

Damn, girls were hard to figure out!
What went on in their crazy minds? “Okay, I’m not mad. But I still have work to do.”

“All right, all right.
So how about we sneak out and do something tomorrow night?”

He was intrigued in spite of
his irritation. Maybe her kiss meant she was changing her mind about seeing him as more than a friend. “Like what?”

“It’s Friday night. You know my dad’ll be hammered. Why don’t we take his car and go somewhere?”

Not
that
plan again. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Oh,
lighten up. What could happen? I promise you, he’ll never know.”

“I’ll think about it, okay?” He really had a
deep-down bad feeling about this. If he got caught, he’d
never
get his truck back and he’d also never hear the end of it from his mom. Then again, if she hadn’t taken his keys away in the first place they wouldn’t need to swipe the Camaro, now would they? And he was really sick and tired of being grounded all the time.