Feeling the Heat

One thing he could say, no matter what function she attended, whether it was in the finest restaurant in England or in a little hole in the wall in South Africa, she carried herself with grace, dignity and style. That kind of presence wasn’t a necessity for her profession. But she made it one.

It had been clear to him the first time he’d met her—that night three years ago when her father, General Neil Daniels, had introduced them at a military function here in D.C.—that he and Kalina shared an intense attraction that had foretold a heated connection. What had surprised him was that she had captivated him without even trying.

She hadn’t made things easy for him. In fact, to his way of thinking, she’d deliberately made things downright difficult. He’d figured he could handle just about anything. But when he’d later run into her in Sydney, she’d almost proven him wrong.

They’d been miles away from home, working together while trying to keep a deadly virus from spreading. He hadn’t been ready to settle down. While he didn’t consider himself a player in the same vein as some of his brothers and cousins, women had shifted in and out of his life with frequency once they saw he had no intention of putting a ring on anyone’s finger. And he enjoyed traveling and seeing the world. He had a huge spread back in Denver just waiting for the day he was ready to retire, but he didn’t see that happening for many years to come. His career as an epidemiologist was important to him.

But those two months he’d been involved with Kalina he had actually thought about settling down on his one hundred acres and doing nothing but enjoying a life with her. At one point, such thoughts would have scared the hell out of him, but with Kalina, he’d accepted that they couldn’t be helped. Spending time with a woman like her would make any man think about tying his life with one woman and not sowing any more wild oats.

When he’d met the Daniels family, he’d known immediately that the father was controlling and the daughter was determined not to be controlled. Kalina was a woman who liked her independence. Wanted it. And she was determined to demand it—whether her father went along with it or not.

In a way, Micah understood. After all, he had come from a big family and although he didn’t have any sisters, he did have three younger female cousins. Megan and Gemma hadn’t been so bad. They’d made good decisions and stayed out of trouble while growing up. But the youngest female Westmoreland, Bailey, had been out of control while following around her younger hellion brothers, the twins Aidan and Adrian, as well as Micah’s baby brother, Bane. The four of them had done a number of dumb things while in their teens, earning a not-so-nice reputation in Denver. That had been years ago. Now, thank God, the twins and Bailey were in college and Bane had graduated from the naval academy and was pursuing his dream of becoming a SEAL.

His thoughts shifted back to Kalina. She was a woman who refused to be pampered, although her father was determined to pamper her anyway. Micah could understand a man wanting to look out for his daughter, wanting to protect her. But sometimes a parent could go too far.

When General Daniels had approached Micah about doing something to keep Kalina out of China, he hadn’t gone along with the man. What had happened between him and Kalina had happened on its own and hadn’t been motivated by any request of her father’s, although she now thought otherwise. Their affair had been one of those things that just happened. They had been attracted to each other from the first. So why she would assume he’d had ulterior motives to seek an affair was beyond him.

Kalina was smart, intelligent and beautiful. She possessed the most exquisite pair of whiskey-colored eyes, which made her honey-brown skin appear radiant. And the lights in the room seemed to highlight her shoulder-length brown hair and show its luxuriance. The overall picture she presented would make any male unashamedly aware of his sexuality. As he took another sip of his drink and glanced across the room, he thought she looked just as gorgeous as she had on their last date together, when they had returned to the States. It had been here in this very city, where they’d met, when their life together had ended after she discovered what she thought was the truth. To this day, he doubted he would ever forgive her father for distorting the facts and setting him up the way he had.

Micah sighed deeply and took the last sip of his drink, emptying his glass completely. It was time to step out of the shadows and right into the line of fire. And he hoped like hell that he survived it.

Micah was here.

The smile on Kalina’s face froze as a shiver of awareness coursed through her and a piercing throb hit her right between the legs. She wasn’t surprised at her body’s familiar reaction where he was concerned, just annoyed. The man had that sort of effect on her and even after all this time the wow factor hadn’t diminished.

It was hard to believe it had been two years since she had found out the truth, that their affair in Australia had been orchestrated by her father to keep her out of Beijing. Finding out had hurt—it still did—but what Micah had done had only reinforced her belief that men couldn’t be trusted. Not her father, not Micah, not any of them.

And especially not the man standing in front of her with the glib tongue, weaving tales of his adventures in the Middle East and beyond. If Major Brian Rose thought he was impressing her, he was wrong. As a military brat, no one had traveled the globe as much as she had. But he was handsome enough, and looked so darn dashing in his formal military attire, he was keeping her a little bit interested.

Of course, she knew that wherever Micah was standing he would look even more breathtaking than Major Rose. The women in attendance had probably all held their breath when he’d walked into the room. As far as she was concerned, there wasn’t any man alive who could hold a candle to him, in or out of clothes. That conclusion reminded her of when they’d met, almost three years ago, at a D.C. event similar to this one.

Her father had been honored that night as a commissioned officer. She’d had her own reason to celebrate in the nation’s capital. She had finally finished medical school and accepted an assignment to work as a civilian for the federal government’s infectious-disease research team.

It hadn’t taken her long to hear the whispers about the drop-dead-gorgeous and handsome-as-sin Dr. Micah Westmoreland, who had graduated from Harvard Medical School before coming to work for the government as an infectious-disease specialist. But nothing could have prepared her for coming face-to-face with him.

She had been rendered speechless. Gathering the absolute last of her feminine dignity, she had picked up her jaw, which had fallen to the floor, and regained her common sense by the time her father had finished the introductions.

When Micah had acknowledged her presence, in a voice that had been too sexy to belong to a real man, she’d known she was a goner. And when he had taken her smaller hand in his in a handshake, it had been the most sensuous gesture she’d ever experienced. His touch alone had sent shivers up and down her spine and put her entire body in a tailspin. She had found it simply embarrassing to know any man could get her so aroused, and without even putting forth much effort.

“So, Dr. Daniels, where is your next assignment taking you?”

She was jerked out of her thoughts by the major’s question. Was that mockery she’d heard in his voice? She was well aware of the rumor floating around that her father pretty much used his position to control her destinations and would do anything within his power to keep her out of harm’s way. That meant she would never be able to go anyplace where there was some real action.

She’d been trying to get to Afghanistan for two years and her request was always denied, saying she was needed elsewhere. Although her father swore up and down he had nothing to do with it, she knew better. Losing her mother had been hard on him, and he was determined not to lose his only child, as well. Hadn’t he proven just how far he would go when he’d gotten Micah to have that affair with her just to keep her out of Beijing during the bird-flu epidemic?

“I haven’t been given an assignment yet. In fact, I’ve decided to take some time off, an entire month, starting tomorrow.”

The man’s smile widened. “Really, now, isn’t that a coincidence. I’ve decided to take some time off, too, but I have only fourteen days. Anywhere in particular that you’re going? Maybe we can go there together.”

The man definitely didn’t believe in wasting time, Kalina thought. She was just about to tell the major, in no uncertain terms, that they wouldn’t be spending any time together, not even if her life depended on it, when Brian glanced beyond her shoulder and frowned. Suddenly, her heart kicked up several beats. She didn’t have to imagine why. Other men saw Micah as a threat to their playerhood since women usually drooled when he was around. She had drooled the first time she’d seen him.

Kalina refused to turn around, but couldn’t stop her body’s response when Micah stepped into her line of vision, all but capsizing it like a turbulent wave on a blast of sensual air.

“Good evening, Major Rose,” he said with a hard edge to his voice, one that Kalina immediately picked up on. The two men exchanged strained greetings, and she watched how Micah eyed Major Rose with cool appraisal before turning his full attention to her. The hard lines on his face softened when he asked, “And how have you been, Kalina?”

She doubted that he really cared. She wasn’t surprised he was at this function, but she was surprised he had deliberately sought her out, and there was no doubt in her mind he’d done so. Any other man who’d done what he had done would be avoiding her like the plague. But not Dr. Micah Westmoreland. The man had courage of steel, but in this case he had just used it foolishly. He was depending on her cultured upbringing to stop her from making a scene, and he was right about her. She had too much pride and dignity to cause a commotion tonight, although she’d gone off on him the last time they had seen each other. She still intended to let him know exactly how she felt by cutting him to the core, letting it be obvious that he was the last person she wanted to be around.

“I’m fine, and now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I’ll continue to make my rounds. I just arrived, and there are a number of others I want to say hello to.”

She needed to get away from Micah, and quick. He looked stunning in his tux, which was probably why so many women in the room were straining their necks to get a glimpse of him. Even her legs were shaky from being this close to him. She suddenly felt hot, and the cold champagne she’d taken a sip of wasn’t relieving the slow burn gathering in her throat.

“I plan to mingle, myself,” Micah said, reaching out and taking her arm. “I might as well join you since there’s a matter we need to discuss.”

She fought the urge to glare up at him and tell him they had nothing to discuss. She didn’t want to snatch her arm away from him because they were already getting attention, probably from those who’d heard what happened between them two years ago. Unfortunately, the gossip mill was alive and well, especially when it came to Micah Westmoreland. She had heard about him long before she’d met him. It wasn’t that he’d been the type of man who’d gone around hitting on women. The problem was that women just tended to place him on their wish list.

“Fine, let’s talk,” she said, deciding that if Micah thought he was up to such a thing with her, then she was ready.

Fighting her intense desire to smack that grin right off his face, she glanced over at Major Rose and smiled apologetically. “If you will excuse me, it seems Dr. Westmoreland and I have a few things to discuss. And I haven’t decided just where I’ll be going on vacation, but I’ll let you know. I think it would be fun if you were to join me.” She ignored the feel of Micah’s hand tightening on her arm.

Major Rose nodded and gave her a rakish look. “Wonderful. I will await word on your plans, Kalina.”

Before she could respond, Micah’s hand tightened on her arm even more as he led her away.

“Don’t count on Major Rose joining you anywhere,” Micah all but growled, leaning close to Kalina’s ear while leading her across the ballroom floor toward an exit. He had checked earlier and the French doors opened onto the outside garden. It was massive and far away from the ball, so no one could hear the dressing-down he was certain Kalina was about to give him.

She glared at him. “And don’t count on him doing otherwise. You don’t own me, Micah. Last I looked, there’s nothing of yours on my body.”

“Then look again, sweetheart. Everything of mine is written all over that body of yours. I branded you. Nothing has changed.”

They came to a stop in front of what was the hotel’s replica of the White House’s prized rose garden. He was glad no one was around. No prying eyes or overeager ears. The last time she’d had her say he hadn’t managed to get in a single word for dodging all the insults and accusations she’d been throwing at him. That wouldn’t be the case this time. He had a lot to say and he intended for her to hear all of it.

“Nothing’s changed? How dare you impose your presence on me after what you did,” she snarled, transforming from a sophisticated lady to a roaring lioness. He liked seeing her shed all that formality and cultural adeptness and get downright nasty. He especially liked that alteration in the bedroom.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what exactly did I do, other than to spend two months of what I consider the best time of my life with you, Kalina?”

He watched her stiffen her spine when she said, “And I’m supposed to believe that? Are you going to stand here and lie to my face, Micah? Deny that you weren’t in cahoots with my father to keep me away from Beijing, using any means necessary? I wasn’t needed in Sydney.”

“I don’t deny that I fully agreed with your father that Beijing was the last place you needed to be, but I never agreed to keep you out of China.”

He could tell she didn’t want to hear the truth. She’d heard it all before but still refused to listen. Or to believe it. “And it wasn’t that you weren’t needed in Sydney,” he added, remembering how they’d been sent there to combat the possible outbreak of a deadly virus. “You and I worked hard to keep the bird-flu epidemic from spreading to Australia, so it wasn’t just sex, sex and more sex for us, Kalina. We worked our asses off, or have you forgotten?”

He knew his statement threw her for a second, made her remember. Yes, they might have shared a bed every night for those two months, but their daytime hours weren’t all fun and games. No one except certain members of the Australian government had been aware that their presence in the country had been for anything other than pleasure.

And regardless of what she’d thought, she had been needed there. He had needed her. They had worked well together and had combated a contagious disease. He had already spent a year in Beijing and had needed to leave when his time was up. Depression had started to set in with the sight of people dying right before his eyes, mostly children. It had been so frustrating to work nonstop trying unsuccessfully to find a cure before things could get worse.

Kalina had wanted to go to Beijing and get right in the thick of things. He could just imagine how she would have operated. She was not only a great epidemiologist, she was also a compassionate one, especially when there was any type of outbreak. He could see her getting attached to the people—especially the children—to the point where she would have put their well-being before her own.

That, and that alone, was the reason he had agreed with her father, but at no time had he plotted to have an affair with her to keep her in Sydney. He was well aware that all her hostility was because she believed otherwise. And for two years he had let her think the worst, mainly because she had refused to listen to anything he had to say. It was apparent now that she was still refusing to listen.