Temperature's Rising Read Free

textured words scraped across her skin, leaving a heated flush in its wake.
    Her thighs trembled. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
    “We both know what I want.”
    “Wouldn’t you like to see it first?” Did he turn a little red? She mentally shook her head. It was probably just the way the sun had hit his face.
    He cleared his throat. “Why not get the trivial details out of the way? Then we can . . . concentrate on other things.”
    His rich, southern drawl wrapped around her, causing a small earthquake inside her body. Three leisurely steps and he stood in front of her. Slowly, his gaze slid over her, lingering, touching, caressing.
    At least six feet four inches of raw male magnetism invaded her space. She inhaled and caught the scent of his musky aftershave. Much nicer than car fumes.
    Pull yourself together. Business before pleasure. Yeah, right, at this rate she’d give him the damn property and take the payment out in trade. Okay, deep breath. Jeez, what brand of aftershave was that? Pheromones for Men ?
    She couldn’t think with him this close. Turning away, she walked a short distance down the sidewalk to clear her muddled brain.
    Think about the property.
    The building was nice. Not too large. Taxes were low.

    16
    Karen Kelley
    Only single-story, but it would make a great travel agency, which is what Troy said his brother wanted.
    White stone pillars gave the small, commercial building a more prestigious appearance. She bit her bottom lip.
    Some of the ceiling tiles needed to be changed—water damage, but the owner had replaced the roof. A couple of the interior walls had rather large, gaping holes, though.
    In fact, the inside of the building needed a major over-haul. Personally, she thought the asking price a little steep, but the facts remained: it was in a prime location, the Texas town was growing, and this district had the fastest rate of improvement.
    Only one teensy-tiny problem.
    The eyesore across the street. Triple X’s flashed on the marquee of what used to be an old movie theater. If that wasn’t bad enough, three scantily clad ladies had arrived a few minutes ago to stand on the corner. She grimaced.
    That wasn’t good.
    At least there were only three this evening. Two blondes, and she wasn’t positive, but the third hooker’s hair color looked deep purple. The one in question raised her hand and waved.
    As unobtrusively as possible, Jessica motioned for them to leave. One cast her a grin and flashed a little leg.
    Great. She could see her sale gurgling as it choked its way down the drain.
    Oh lord, he was probably staring at them right now.
    Maybe she could redirect his attention away from the women of the night , and focus it on the property once again.
    She wheeled around.
    His gaze riveted on her chest.
    Well, her boobs practically thrown in his face had certainly drawn his attention.
    Her hand automatically fluttered toward the next but-TEMPERATURE’S RISING
    17
    ton before she stopped the nervous habit from making her more exposed. She pointedly cleared her throat. He didn’t seem in any hurry to raise his head or appear a bit embarrassed at being caught staring.
    “Two hundred,” she stated, ignoring the little flare of desire that swept through her, and concentrated on the matter at hand. She wanted this sale. And actually, two hundred thousand wasn’t a bad asking price for the land and building. She bit her bottom lip and waited for his reply.
    Damn, he was cute. Why did he have to be such a distraction? Maybe they could get together after the deal was final. She inwardly smiled as naughty thoughts filled her head. She could easily picture them naked in bed, bodies pressed against each other. She sighed, wondering what he thought of her.
    Conor Richmond thought the woman in front of him looked a little desperate. He wondered why she worked the streets. He figured her more for a high-priced call girl than a street hooker.
    New in town, maybe? Like him?
    Except she