Red Hot (8 page)

“I don't think so buddy. That got enough of
a workout last night without you adding your claws to it.” He elbowed the cat
out of the way and got to his feet. Rhian moaned in her sleep and he almost
changed his mind.

He walked out of her bedroom and headed
toward her surgery at the front of the house. Red looked over her reception
desk, plucked a card from the holder and put it in his pocket. A phone call for
a date away from the house was starting to sound like a good idea. Although
having his bones jumped every time he walked in the door wasn't such a bad
thing. Red wanted to know if they were compatible away from the bedroom. Would
she make him laugh and let him forget about work? Did they like the same
things? Did he even know what he liked? He had seriously lived for his work so
in his mind he had some searching to do and he wanted to do it with Rhian.

This biggest risk he took was in trusting
her when he had been burned so many times for giving his heart too soon. She
was the first woman to cook him dinner but that didn't mean anything. He
slipped out the door with his boots in his hands. He pulled them on, pushed the
bike from its stand, and coasted down the hill before he dropped the clutch on
the old bike and the motor kicked into life. His mood was light for a change
and he thought of the woman he had just left, not his latest experiment and
where the tests were headed. That thought alone made him smile. She was getting
under his skin and he liked it.

He parked in his driveway and let himself
into the darkened house. Methodically he put everything away before going to
his bedroom. After he stripped down and dressed for bed he set the alarm and
figured he had about two hours before it would wake him. It was time enough to
recharge his mind for the day ahead.

* * * *

Rhian groaned when small feet started to
knead her belly. “Nero, stop it.” She tried to push him away but he walked up
her chest and settled with his nose on her chin. She turned her head away to
avoid his whiskers but he moved his head to keep the contact between them.

“Pfft, get out of it. I know what you're
thinking but I have to try, alright?” Rhian tried to reason with her familiar.
He sat there with baleful eyes gazing at her. “I want him Nero and I will do
anything I can to get him. You don't have to worry about the spell. I want to
help with his sight, not cast a love spell.” She pushed him off her chest and
threw back the blankets. Her body was pleasantly weary from their lovemaking
and she needed to stand under a hot soaking shower before she started her day.

“You know how much he hates his glasses. I
don't mind them, I think he looks cute but he treats them as if they are the
reason he is a nerdy guy. Chicks don't look at him the same way as they would
if he had good eyesight.” Rhian slid her feet to the floor and picked up the
comb from her nightstand. She smiled at the single strand of dark red hair
caught between the teeth. She chuckled to herself as she placed it in a crystal
bowl on her dresser.

She covered it with a cloth and turned back
to the cat. “This will be my gift to him. And not because I want other girls to
look at him. Oh no siree. I want him to feel good about himself, you
understand. I want him to grow as a person, and I want that person to be the
one who falls in love with me. Is that too hard to comprehend?”

Nero lifted his leg and proceeded to clean
his butt. Rhian walked away from him knowing he still didn't approve of what
she was doing. She ran the shower and while she waited for the water to heat,
she stood in front of the mirror. There were pink blotches on her throat where
he had playfully nipped her skin. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers over
the marks. The touch and the images running through her mind sent hot searing
jolts to her core. She turned and stepped into the shower, intent on getting
through the day so she could plan to work her magic at the next full moon.

* * * *

Red woke to a text from Jake that he could
pick his bike up on the way to work. He drove the old Honda in and parked the
loaner bike inside the workshop. Taking off his helmet, he pulled out his
glasses and put them on before looking around for his friend. “Jake, where are
you?”

A muffled voice came from near the back of
the workshop. Red wandered over and looked under the body of a bright red
Corvette Stingray. He kicked the work boots sticking out from the side of the
car and heard a grunt in reply. The body attached to the boots slid out on a
garage creeper. “Funny man.”

Red leaned down and grabbed Jake’s hand and
helped him to his feet. He also passed the crutch leaning against the wall and
watched as Jake slid his hand in it and hobbled over to the corner of the workshop
where his office was located. Red followed him and dropped into the torn vinyl
chair opposite the desk.

Jake grabbed a set of keys from the board
on the wall beside his filing cabinet and threw them across the desk. Red
grabbed them in mid-air and laughed. He had missed his machine and now he could
feel himself smiling like a kid in a candy shop.

“So, who is she?” Jake leaned back in his
chair, a wicked grin on his face. His cap was turned backward on his head, his
long blond hair tucked under it, out of his eyes. His eyebrows rose as he
waited for Red to spill the beans.

“What makes you think there is anyone? It
was just a date, okay? Why should I suddenly get the urge for more, for God's
sake?” Red twisted his hands together and resisted the urge to chew on his
fingernail. He met Jake's gaze. If the smirk on his face was anything to go by,
the guy obviously loved the discomfort Red felt.

“Spill, I know there is someone special.
You haven't been hassling the shit out of me to fix your baby so that can only
mean one of two things. You’ve hooked up with a chick who is more than a roll
in the hay, which is my guess here or--” he wiggled his eyebrows again “--you
fucking died.”

“Don't go making something out of it,” Red
warned. He coughed and settled in to spill the beans before Jake dragged the
words out of his throat with a pair of pliers. He knew what he was capable of
after being on the sidelines when bullies had tried to get to his mate in high
school.

“She's a vet. It was because of one of her
bloody orphans that I crashed the bike. It ran in front of me when I was up the
coast road. It was either flatten the tiny thing or drop the bike.”

“I know what happened but tell me more
about the chick who has you by the balls.”

“What are you, a voyeur or something? Don't
answer. It was a stupid question.” Red looked down at his fingers and thought
before he spoke. “She's not like anyone I've ever met before.”

“You've had it off with three what I will
call sluts, unworthy women all of them. Of course she wouldn't be anything like
them. She works for a start.” Jake leaned back in his chair and put his feet up
on the desk, rocking slowly. “That can only be classed as a bloody good start.
At least you know she isn’t after you for your money.”

Red could feel the heat racing over his
cheeks and shook his head. There was no bullshit or pulling punches between him
and Jake. Both were lost boys who stood out against everyone else for all the
wrong reasons in high school, they had gravitated to each other and remained best
mates ever since. Both had matured and finally made a few adult friends
although nothing like the close bond they shared with each other.

“She seems genuine.” He rubbed his hand
over his warm cheeks. “Seems to have no problems dragging me into her bed every
time I see her either.”

Jake roared with laughter and slapped his
twisted leg.

“It's not that funny, dude. She's got me
worried, you know? She even thinks I'm pretty cute if you can believe it.” He
watched the tears of laughter running down Jake’s face and grinned. What was
happening to him was pretty surreal.

Almost falling in love with someone.

He shrugged his shoulders and waited for
Jake to say something.

“That is just fucking hilarious, Red. I
gotta meet this girl, oh boy.” He wiped the tears from his face and then held
his stomach. He looked at Red and burst into laughter again.

Red got up and poured them both a coffee,
putting the mugs on the table in front of them and sat down again. “You know me
better than anyone. Am I being paranoid here worrying about being shot down? I
just don't know. I don’t know if I can handle being dumped again. It makes more
sense to stay single than get burned all the bloody time.”

Jake calmed down and took a sip of the hot
coffee after he wiped his eyes again. “Look, this is new for both of us
considering neither of us have been any good on the dating front. But just let
me say up front, if this chick is for real can you find out if she has a sister
or even a distant cousin? I’m not fussy you know.”

“I think you might be a bit old for her
little sister. I haven't met her yet but I think she's only eighteen.”

“I'm young at heart.” Jake laughed again
and sat up, leaning his elbows on the desk. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I was hoping for a bit of advice here
man.”

“I don't know if you've noticed but at
present I am an unattached male living in the back of my shop. Why would you
come to me for advice?”

“You are now but you did have a long term
girlfriend until she got sick of your obsession with motors. There must be something
you remember she liked to do.” Red grimaced. “I asked Rhian on a Valentine’s
Day date but it would be helpful if I could get to know her a bit first, out of
the bedroom if you know what I mean. That’s a pretty big day and I don’t want
her to get too many wrong ideas if we can’t manage to get on out of bed.”

“Man, I would stay in the bedroom if it was
me. Actually, I wouldn't, anywhere would do. If Sally had agreed to sex in the
workshop we would still be together, never did understand why she refused. Take
her for a ride on your bike.” Jake grinned as if something had just raced
through his brain and he couldn't wait to share. “Get her to make a picnic and
take her to the beach. Chicks dig picnics.”

“Hmm, maybe, I might ring her later and
see. Hey, thanks for fixing my bike, I appreciate it.”

“I'll send you the bill. The advice for
your love life is on the house.”

Red drained his coffee and put the mug in
the sink. Walking out to the workshop he stopped at his bike and ran his hands
over the tank. It was smooth and scratch-free, just how he liked it. He put his
glasses in his pocket and pulled the helmet over his head. Raising his leg, he
swung it over the seat, and settled down on the familiar bike feeling the
curves of the seat under his butt.

“Good as new.” Jake stood beside him. His
twisted leg hung loosely as he leaned on the crutch. It was the result of a
motorbike accident when he was in this teens.

“Thanks man, I owe you again.” Red grinned
under the helmet and hit the power switch. Pushing with his feet, he turned the
bike toward the street and headed to the research facility. The ride to the
industrial area was mainly along the highway and the boring drive gave him time
to think. A picnic sounded good. He would give her a call this afternoon during
his coffee break and see if she liked the idea.

He pulled into the facility and parked his
bike. As he strolled through the doors, he glanced quickly at the receptionist
throwing her the usual good morning wave.

“Dr Douglas, there is a phone message for
you.” She handed him a slip of paper and he thanked her before continuing on
toward his laboratory. He read the phone number on the note and shook his head,
it was one he recognized. Red sat his helmet on the shelf beside the door and
donned his white jacket.

He placed the slip of paper on his desk and
stared at the phone number written on it as though it was going to burst into
flames.

Why would Eleanor be calling him now?

They'd parted after an angry war of words
and she had left him wounded and disillusioned. He didn’t want to go there
again, ever. They had dated off and on for a few months and Red had fallen head
over heels in love with her. It wasn't until he told her how he felt that he
found out she was playing him against another guy who had more to offer than he
did.

“Is that all I am to you, someone to
play with while you tease your 'real' boyfriend into giving you what you want?”
Red's body shook, more with heartache than rage.

“You seriously don't think I'm going to
set my sights on you do you? I mean, really you had your chance. You might have
this old house and that ridiculous business your parents left you but Robert
has so much more to offer me. I want to be someone in society.” She flicked him
a scathing glance. “All you do is hide behind your work and I never get to go
anywhere and be seen. I want to mix with people who count, not just the nerds
and 'staff' who work for you. I need more and you can't give it to me.” She
brought a carefully manicured fingernail up to her mouth, tapping her lip with
it before continuing. “I didn't go to finishing school to be the wife of a
scientist who can't even be bothered to blow his own horn. You could have been
someone, Carrick, if only you'd listen to me and my parents. They were more
than happy to introduce you to the right people, but no. That wasn't what you
had planned. 'I want to help the poor people, the average man in the street,'
you said. He’ll never make you rich.” She shot him a furious look. “Or famous.”
She shook her dark, perfectly groomed hair, tucking a strand behind her ear.
“It was fun while it lasted although I could have used my time a lot better
than I have.”