Burning Hunger

by Tory Richards

  Burning Hunger

  By

  Tory Richards

  Copyright © 2013 Tory Richards

  All Rights Reserved.

  Published by Tory Richards

  Smashwords Edition

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Tory Richards: http://www.toryrichards.com

  Email: tory.richards@yahoo.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Cover Art by Debbie Wallace

  Edited by Alisha Corsi

  Chapter 1

  Val had just arrived at her office when her phone began to ring. She sighed, suspecting it was her dad. She’d been avoiding him since the evening before, when she’d made the mistake of answering the phone and he’d started right in on that nonsense about a bodyguard. Setting her overlarge purse down in her chair, she reached for desk phone.

  “Good morning, dad.” She smiled in spite of herself.

  He got right to the point. “It’s about time! Just get in?”

  “I haven’t even sat down yet,” Val replied, opening the manila folder on her desk. The Rogers case, she’d been going through it the night before. A messy divorce that had turned into one missing spouse and the other charged with murder. No body, but a ton of circumstantial evidence.

  “Do you have a minute?” His sharp tone revealed he didn’t care if she did or not, and Val knew trying to dodge him again would be useless. She may as well face him and get it over with.

  “Do you want me to come to your office?” She knew he would, but asked anyway.

  “Would you mind, dear?”

  His tone had softened a little, now that he knew she was cooperating. He also sounded distracted, which told her he was probably doing the same thing she was doing, thumbing through a file.

  “I’ll be right there.” She opened her door, meeting the eyes of her secretary, Rose. They exchanged knowing smiles. Rose had been with Val for a couple years. “I won’t be long.”

  Her dad’s office was on the second floor, so she took the stairs. It gave Val a chance to contemplate the reason he wanted to see her, knowing it would be about one of two things-either he was still upset with her for calling off her engagement with a man he thought highly of and felt would be a good fit for her, or he was going to bring up the bodyguard thing again.

  She released a tired sigh, briefly reliving the scene she’d witnessed just two days before, the reason her dad thought she needed protection. One didn’t just witness a hit going down and then go their merry way. Especially when it involved the mayor’s nephew. Lord, why did I have to be at the wrong place at the wrong time?

  Knowing her dad’s tenacity, Val had little chance of winning an argument with him. Admittedly she was just as stubborn when it came to facing an opponent in the courtroom. Her father, on the other hand, often played the parent card, and she’d ultimately give up with grudging understanding, and respect for the only man she’d ever loved. God help her if he decided to hit her with both issues at once-she wouldn’t put it past him.

  When she reached his door she took a moment to gather her composure, taking several deep breaths. Then, straightening her backbone, she opened the door. Her gaze zeroed in on him where he sat at his oversized desk. Benjamin Martin was a handsome, middle-aged man without a lick of hair on his head. He did, however, have a full beard. Dressed impeccably, as usual, the dark tan of his suit made the brown of his eyes shine darker.

  She decided to get the first word in, choosing the lesser of two evils. “Dad, if you brought me here to discuss Craig again, I’m turning around and leaving.”

  Craig Benton was a catch, but Val had her reasons for breaking up with him. If she was going to settle down at the ripe old age of thirty-four, it was going to be for more reasons than a shared love of socializing. Craig, a successful realtor who dealt in million dollar properties, had been part of that bar-hopping, party-scene, so it had seemed like a good idea at the time, to accept his proposal. A month ago she’d returned the three-carat-princess-cut diamond.

  “We can discuss Craig another time,” he stated firmly, surprising Val. “Have you seen the morning news?” He sat back in his chair.

  Val stared at him suspiciously. The morning news? “Dad, I don’t have time—”

  “Hal Cramer was released this morning.”

  Val swung in the direction of the deeply masculine voice. She hadn’t even noticed there was someone else was in the room with them. Ohmygod! She knew as soon as she met those serious, dark brown eyes that she was looking at Chaz Evans. He might be a drop-dead handsome identical triplet but he wore his individuality like a shield of armor. He took her breath away, and was the main reason she’d broken off her engagement with Craig.

  Reminding herself that he was a player, she ignored her keen awareness of him and schooled her expression to remain disinterested. Her gaze returned to her dad. “He actually made bail?” That was surprising since there’d been witnesses to the incident, including her. She didn’t know what to make of him making bail.

  He shrugged. “I’m sure as the nephew of the mayor that some strings were pulled, and they can certainly afford to pay for any bail set. At least he’s on house arrest.”

  Val sank down into one of the leather chairs in front of his desk pretending the too-quiet, intensely observing cowboy watching from the window wasn’t there. Why is he here, anyway? Had it only been a month since she’d seen him last? It had been at Marissa’s little gathering at her and Beau’s new ranch. Val had known the moment that they met that he was a flirt and could be trouble if she let him. It was around the same time she’d made some changes in her own life.

  “I guess that means he’s pleading self-defense, or something equally unbelievable?”

  He nodded. “Claims self-defense and that you misinterpreted what you saw. Since he has no priors, and considering his connections, the judge released him to his uncle.”

  “I know what I saw,” Val said. “I’m not going to change my story just because his uncle is the mayor.” How could he claim self-defense when the other person was running away when he shot him? Then she remembered something. “And there was another witness. An elderly woman who—”

  “Has suddenly recanted her story,” her father interrupted, without surprise.

  “She’s frightened,” Val said, more to herself, recalling how shaky and unwilling the woman had been at the police station.

  He shrugged. “Right now you’re the only credible witness willing to talk,” her father said, not telling her anything she didn’t already know. “And that puts you in extreme danger.”

  Val began to understand why Chaz was there. She’d forgotten he and his brothers owned and operated a security business. “Dad—”

  He shook his head, the look on his face cutting her off. She knew that look. He’d made up his mind and he wasn’t going to back down. Val prepared to do battle, wishing Chaz wasn’t sitting the
re, so silent and sexy. She didn’t have to look to know where his gaze was, she could feel it on her like a warm caress. Against her will, her female parts began to tingle.

  “Save your breath. I’m not going to let my only child go about business like everything’s wine and roses. Not when a killer is loose and you’re the only witness that can put him in prison. You know as well as I do what the consequences would be if he decides to come after you.”

  Jamie Moore’s face flashed before Val’s eyes. Being called at two o’clock in the morning to be told her client was dead would forever be etched in her mind. She knew what could happen. Maybe if she’d been a little more insistent about placing Jamie into a safe house until trial, she would still be alive today. Hal Cramer might be on house arrest but he could always hire someone to silence her.

  “Do you honestly think Hal Cramer would come after me? That would be a little obvious, and it would just make him look more guilty.” She crossed her arms, something Val did without thinking when she was getting ready for a fight.

  “There’s a lot of ways Hal Cramer can do you in without being obvious.” Chaz’s deep baritone voice made Val think about warm, smooth chocolate on cold ice cream. “He can have someone tamper with the brakes to your car; you could become the victim of a hit and run. Someone could slip poison in a glass you’re drinking from at a restaurant.”

  The crossing of his arms was a definite challenge. Val knew he was just waiting for her to try and refute his examples. Instead she pulled her gaze away from his imposing presence and looked at her slightly amused father. It was clear that he agreed with what Chaz said. Great, two against one.

  “You can cross your arms, stomp your feet, and talk till you’re blue in the face. I’ve already retained Evans Security.”

  “I don’t stomp my feet,” Val said, struggling to hold on to her temper.

  “You know what I mean. As of now Mr. Evans is your shadow. I took care of everything before you came in this morning. Your case load has been divided between Samson and Bartow.” Val’s jaw dropped, but he kept going. “And you’re going on a much needed vacation. Mr. Evans has some ideas about how to keep you safe and suggested you should get away for a little while.”

  For a moment Val was stunned speechless. The last time she’d had her life planned out for her she was seventeen and going to Florida on spring break with some friends. She shot Chaz a look that could kill. She could feel the heat of anger crawl up her neck and settle on her face. He was half-sitting on the wide window ledge, his arms crossed over his massive chest, and a half-smile on his face she would have liked to slap right off. He was obviously enjoying her reaction.

  Val turned back to her father. “Dad—”

  “Look,” he leaned forward, his expression turning serious again. “I don’t want to worry about you.”

  “I’m thirty-four,” Val, reminded him. Why do I feel like I’m five years old again?

  He brushed her comment aside. “There’s no age limit on when a parent stops worrying about their child, and we don’t know what Cramer is capable of doing to stay out of prison.”

  Oh, God, he’s played the parent card. They only had each other. Her mother had passed away after a long illness a few years earlier, something her dad had never fully recovered from. She uncrossed her arms and relaxed back in her chair, not surprised to see the look of victory gleaming in her dad’s warm gaze. He relaxed back in his chair, too.

  “Someday I’m going to beat you at your own game,” she threatened mildly, relenting against her will.

  “You know I’m right.” His gaze swung to Chaz. “So tell us, what are your plans?”

  “Yes, tell us.” Val didn’t even try to cushion the sharpness of her tone. “What do you have in mind for me?” Ohmygod I didn’t just say that!

  Chaz straightened to his full height and walked toward them, a twinkle of amusement appearing in his eyes from her comment. “I’ve been thinking about that. Since the word is you’re going to be on a vacation,” he cast a glance at her dad and then back at her, “then you’ll take a vacation. You and I, as your new boyfriend, will head down to the Keys for a couple of weeks. But that information doesn’t leave this office.”

  “What?” she frowned. New boyfriend? In his dreams! Her body thought it was a good idea, reminding her in obvious ways that she was attracted to Chaz. She almost crossed her legs to satisfy the itch there.

  “I like it,” Ben said with a satisfied expression. “That will certainly explain why you’re suddenly hanging around my daughter. Good thinking, Mr. Evans.”

  Chaz took a seat next to Val, directing his gaze on her. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

  Sweetheart? Val blinked as if she was just emerging from a trance. Why was she just sitting there? She was staring into the wicked heat of Chaz’s eyes, wondering what they would look like in desire. Then his question to her registered.

  “I think you’re out of your mind, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere with you.” She crossed her arms over her ample breasts. When his interested gaze dropped down, Val groaned silently, imagining what his mouth would feel like there, his tongue swirling around her hard nipples.

  “You’re not going anywhere without me,” he countered, grinning crookedly and mimicking her body language, he crossed his arms.

  Lowering her gaze to the front of his pants, Val decided either he was getting an erection, or he was just that big. Feeling the heat fill her cheeks, she turned her attention to her dad.

  “Don’t look at me, I think Mr. Evans has a good idea. You need to get away from here for a while. Besides, you haven’t taken a real vacation in years; this will be good for you.”

  “Okay, say I do go down to the Keys, just how long do you expect me to be gone? This thing with Hal Cramer isn’t going away overnight, and I doubt this will be brought to trial if it goes to trial for months.”

  “You think I don’t know that? We’ll decide on things as they come up. Mr. Evans is being paid to protect you for as long as it takes.”

  For as long as it takes! Frustration bubbled up inside Val like a volcano ready to erupt. This wasn’t happening. When had she lost control of her life? She looked at her dad, and then at Chaz, too worked up to think straight. Chaz was smiling back at her, and when he topped it off with a wink it was the last straw for Val.

  She glared at him and said as sweetly as she could muster under the circumstances, “I hope you have tough skin, cowboy.” It was a threat. He knew it, and she knew it.

  Chapter 2

  “So, who’s Craig?”

  Val ignored Chaz’s question, sitting stiffly in the passenger side of his truck and staring out the window. It wouldn’t take them long to reach her apartment. Her mind raced with the new current of events, wondering how it was possible that things could change so fast.

  “Stewing about it isn’t going to change anything.”

  “I don’t stew.”

  She clenched her teeth and forced herself to breathe in slowly. She knew why Chaz rubbed her the wrong way-because deep down she was physically attracted to him, and there was nothing wrong with the man. He was a big, tall Texan with enough sexual charisma to fill the Grand Canyon. A month ago it had taken all the will power she could muster to ignore him and pretend he didn’t affect her, something that had been hard to do when sitting right beside him.

  The truth was that Val wanted Chaz, and had wanted him from the moment they looked into each other’s eyes a month ago. It wasn’t with the same mind-set that she usually felt toward the men she met. The countless one-night-stands that took care of her sexual needs and then sent on their way, never to be thought about again. Her intense sexual attraction toward the infuriating Chaz nearly sent her running away in fear. The worst part was that she was certain he knew what she was feeling.

  “You want to talk about it?”

  Why won’t he just leave it alone? And why does his voice have to sound so sexy? “No.” What was there to talk about? Val was extreme
ly independent, and that independence had just been taken away. The turn leading into her apartment complex came up, and before long Chaz was pulling into a vacant spot and switching off the ignition.

  Without a word Val exited the vehicle, forgetting how high she was off the ground and nearly falling. Hearing a light chuckle behind her she slammed the door and began walking toward the glass doors that led to the lobby. She made it halfway before a hand on her arm whipped her around to face a very angry Chaz Evans.

  “Look, lady,” he said in a hard tone. “For some reason you don’t like me. I can live with that. But you will follow my instructions if you want to remain safe.”

  “You didn’t give me any.” She tried to pull her arm away. Being touched by him, even in anger, gave her a little rush.

  He ignored her. “No telling how long we’re going to be forced to endure each other’s company, but if you insist on acting like a child I can certainly treat you like one.”

  The tic in his lean jaw caught her interest. “Really?” Against her will Val found herself intrigued by his subtle threat, wondering what he meant. “Just for the record, Mr. Evans, I don’t feel anything for you. I’m furious that I’ve been forced into this arrangement, and I’m not handling it very well. You just happen to be in the line of fire.”

  “Well, I fire back, sweetheart,” he ground out in a low tone. “So I suggest we make the most of it. I make a damn good living at protecting people, not being part of the problem.”

  Val just stared at Chaz, knowing if she wasn’t careful she’d give away how she really felt about him. Anger was a good cover-up at hiding true emotions, but an intuitive individual would figure out the truth pretty quickly, and Chaz didn’t look like a stupid man. She took in a deep breath hoping, it would calm her down. Big mistake! She’d sucked in a lungful of warm spice and basic man scent that tipped her over the edge of mild arousal and into the abyss of full on wanton lust.