Fatal Intent (Desert Heat Book 3) (4 page)

The mood of the crowd was festive, which was a little surprising to Alex. She hadn’t considered a protest march as a festive occasion, but maybe it was actually just an excuse for a party. She’d have to talk with Dawn about it, rather than interviewing the participants. They didn’t seem to be taking it very seriously.

SIX

April had passed and May followed, as Alex grew more comfortable in the larger city and in her roles as student, stringer for the student newspaper and freelancer for her dad’s paper. He’d been willing to pay her as usual, but Alex knew she wouldn’t be earning it now that she wasn’t doing ad calls anymore. Besides, thanks to the scholarship money, she had plenty to live on for the couple of months she planned to be in Casa Grande.

She hadn’t yet found the opportunity to get to the beach with her housemates, because Dylan was there almost every other weekend, and some of the weekends he didn’t travel to her, she went home to see her dad. The danger and intrigue she’d shared with Dylan last year seemed like distant memories except when she was in Dodge. It was another reason not to be there any more often than she had to be.

She’d covered one more ‘protest march’, even though she was now convinced it was just an excuse to party, and she’d made no progress in infiltrating the Patriots. She didn’t even know how to start, and she didn’t know who to ask. Most everyone she knew would discourage her from doing it. Alex couldn’t let it go, though, especially after receiving hate mail on her blog—ugly comments about the rallies with Dawn’s activist group. Naturally, she moderated comments to the blog, so these never saw the light of day.

On Memorial Day weekend, Alex went home for the three-day holiday, and went with Dylan and the boys to take flowers to their mother’s grave. Her dad had long since stopped visiting his own father’s grave, but she wandered over to place one rose on the headstone while Dylan told his brothers some yarn about when they were little and their mom wasn’t sick. She knew it to be a lie, because Maria had been an alcoholic even before Juan and Davi’s father had left the family. She remembered Dylan’s embarrassment over her when they were in high school.

Alex understood he told the stories because he wanted the little boys to remember her fondly, but at those times, she usually left to avoid giving away his lies. It was her only way to support him, because she despised a lie more than almost anything. Still, she understood his reasons.

Afterward, they went back to his house for a traditional holiday lunch, though it was too hot by far to picnic anywhere outdoors. She dropped back by her dad’s house to say goodbye before heading back to Casa Grande and tomorrow’s classes, an anticlimax to a long weekend. Inside, she rejoiced it was over while at the same time looking forward to next weekend, when she’d have Dylan all to herself. They were going to celebrate his birthday early, since it was on a Tuesday.

She spent all week planning a special weekend for Dylan. Even though he was a park ranger and it would hardly be new and exciting for him, she thought he’d enjoy a visit to the nearby Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, for which the city was named. Lisa and Natalie were going to Rocky Point overnight, so they’d have the house to themselves on Saturday. The other girls would be back with fresh shrimp for a celebration on Sunday. Alex was going to bake a cake. It promised to be a wonderful weekend, especially Saturday night.

Saturday was perfect, if hot. Dylan arrived in a good mood at around ten in the morning, and she greeted him in the same mood.

“What do you have planned?” he asked. He’d been asking all week, when they talked or by text, but she’d wanted to surprise him. When she answered, his only response was to laugh and tease her about taking a park ranger to a national park for a special outing.

“Would you rather go to the casino?” she asked, teasing him back. He’d told her he didn’t really enjoy slot machines, and table games were too rich for his blood.

“Nah, let’s go to the ruins,” he answered. “We’ll get all hot and dusty, and when we get home, we’ll need showers. But, we should save water and shower together.”

He leered at her so comically that she broke out laughing. It actually sounded like a pretty good idea to her. As soon as she’d had that thought, she blushed, the curse of her redhead’s skin, and Dylan’s eyes turned from twinkling to smoldering in half a second.

“Maybe we could actually just skip the ruins and go straight to the shower,” she murmured.

“We should get sweaty first, so we won’t be wasting water,” he answered.

Alex wasn’t sure whether he was serious. They’d never made love in the daytime, except for the times they’d woken together and done it in the early morning, before getting out of bed. It seemed wanton, wrong somehow, but at the same time exciting, to get in bed for sex in the middle of the day. Before she’d made up her mind whether he meant it, Dylan laughed, breaking the spell.

“I believe you’d have actually taken me up on that,” he said.

Now she knew he was teasing, and her course was clear. “Any time, any place,” she teased back.

It was his turn to look uncertain. Before it got uncomfortable again, she linked her arm through his. “Come on, let’s go to the deli and get a picnic lunch to take to the ruins with us. Surely we can find some shade there, even at noon.”

Dylan gave her another uncertain look, but let her lead him out to his pickup, where he helped her up on the running board and into the passenger seat. “Rain check?” he said, as he leaned in to kiss her.

“I’m pretty sure the forecast calls for rain tonight,” she answered, murmuring against his lips.

The ruins turned out to be interesting, but not as extensive as other parks Dylan had worked in. They did find a nice covered picnic area that wasn’t too crowded due to the heat. Walking along with a guided tour, they did get hot, sandy and sweaty, and the sight of Dylan’s glistening brown skin had Alex’s eyes constantly shifting to watch him, imagining what his shirt covered and more. She didn’t know about him, but she couldn’t wait for the moment they found themselves alone again, in the cool of her house.

That moment came after he maddeningly insisted on driving to the casino after all, only to declare himself not interested in it and driving back to Casa Grande. They had dinner at a Mexican restaurant where Alex tried to order a margarita only to be rebuffed by a server, who was clearly immune to the college students’ attempts to be served while underage. Dylan laughed at her and refused to order one she could taste.

“You’ll pay for that,” she threatened.

At last, the sun went down and Alex insisted they go home. She didn’t say it to Dylan, but she thought they probably should have followed through on their teasing earlier in the day. It was all she could think of, even though the sweat of the afternoon had dried and they’d brushed the sand off their skin before going into the restaurant. Maybe it was the anticipation, or maybe she was growing up. She didn’t know for sure, but tonight she felt adventurous and more forward than she’d felt with him before. She proved it the moment they closed the door behind them and she turned into his arms.

“I can’t wait another minute, Dylan,” she said. “Make love to me now.”

Dylan stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, looking deeply into her eyes. “How about that shower?” he asked.

“As long as we’re together,” she said. This was something new, too. Except in bed, he’d never seen her nude, nor she him. In fact, she usually had her eyes closed tightly, and she didn’t know why. Maybe, like an ostrich, she thought if she couldn’t see him, then he couldn’t see her either, and she wouldn’t need to be embarrassed by her nudity. How silly it seemed now! She
wanted
him to see her. Wanted him to tell her she was beautiful and know he meant every part of her. Something was different about them being together tonight, and she couldn’t pin it down.

Alex firmly turned off her analytical side and gave herself to the moment. Dylan bent his head to kiss her, slowly and thoroughly, slipping his tongue between her lips to dance with hers. When she swayed toward him, he caught her around the waist and shoulders with his muscular arms and bent her back, trailing kisses down her jaw to the hollow of her throat, licking the salty skin with a growl.

Alex’s insides turned to molten lava then, and her fingers curled into his arms, digging into his skin. Dylan picked her up as if she were weightless and carried her into her bedroom. He set her down on the bed and gave her another look that curled her toes, before taking the few steps into her bathroom and turning on the shower.

When he returned for her, he was naked. She’d shed her clothes too, and his eyes burned her skin as they roamed over every inch of it. Then, still without a word, he took her hand and pulled her up, then led her into the bath and helped her over the rim of the tub into the shower. Alex found her voice as Dylan turned her back to him and pulled her close.

“Wait, no fair!”

“You’ll get your turn.” Dylan’s husky voice betrayed his feelings as his soapy hands came around the front of her and began to stroke her.

Alex closed her eyes and leaned back against him. The evidence of his arousal settled in the curve of her ass and made her hyper-aware of every sensuous stroke of his hands. When one hand cupped a full breast and the other dipped between her legs, she almost lost the ability to stand, but his arms held her firm. It took only moments to reduce her to a quivering blob of jelly. Dylan turned her again and snuggled her close.

“Shall we go to bed?”

“No!” she managed. “You promised me a turn!”

He chuckled softly. “I thought that was your turn.”

In answer, she reached blindly for the soap and began stroking him from shoulders to thighs, coming close but teasing him by not touching that part of him that was waving for her attention.

“Woman,” he warned. “That’s a loaded weapon.”

He managed to persuade her to get out of the shower before she was through teasing him, but once in bed, they resumed their foreplay until they came together like never before. Alex figured out the difference then. Her reservations were gone. She loved him, deeply, irrevocably. She was his, and if she believed her heart, she always had been. She just hadn’t told him yet.

~~~

Dylan woke up in Alex’s bed, with his arms wrapped around her and no one else in the house. He wouldn’t have moved from there for the rest of the day, but she insisted on getting up and going out for coffee and a pastry for breakfast, then on to the grocery store for some things to bake a cake. Dylan groaned when he realized the roommates were going to join the two of them for an actual birthday party.

“Alex, I’m too old for a birthday party.”

“You are not. Quit complaining, this is my gift to you,” she said. He considered reminding her of the gift of the previous night, but decided discretion would be better when he noticed how close the other tables were. Instead, he gave her a knowing smile that made her blush. He loved that about her. As smart, independent and self-sufficient as she was, she still blushed like a little girl when she was flustered. To have her flustered over him was the best part. His smile broadened and she rolled her eyes at him.

They lingered over their coffee, talking idly about what mischief Davi had gotten into lately, and whether he should try to get Juan interested in a baseball or soccer city league. Before he was ready to move, Dylan noticed Alex glancing at her watch.

“Do you want to go?” He smiled again, to let her know he didn’t mind.

“Not really, but we should, if your cake is going to have any frosting on it. It has to cool first.” She began listing ingredients she needed and he could see they had at least a twenty-minute shopping trip to get through as well.

“Okay, let’s go.”

As they stood, a voice called out from somewhere in the restaurant. “Well, no wonder. She’s got one of them for a lover.”

Neither Alex nor Dylan looked around, until the voice made it clear its owner was addressing them. “You’re the girl writes that beaner-lovin’ blog. What’s your boyfriend’s name, beaner-lover? Bet he’s one-a them illegal border-hoppers. What’s your name, wetback?”

Alex froze mid-stride, and then turned around to look for the speaker, her face a thundercloud. Dylan put his hands on her shoulders, and said in a low voice, “Ignore him. Come on, let’s just leave.”

Alex stiffened at his touch, then relaxed. “You’re right. Come on. Ignorant redneck, anyway.”

“Don’t stoop to his level. Calling names never solved anything.”

Dylan would have been amused at the misunderstanding if it hadn’t been so unpleasant for Alex. He was Tohono O’odham, not Latino or Mexican, though the difference was academic along the border, as he’d learned from his aunt Wanda a few months ago. He guided Alex out with his hand on the small of her back.

As soon as they were outside, she whirled and threw her arms around him. “Dylan, I’m so sorry!”

Surprised, Dylan peeled her away from him to look her in the face. “Why, baby? You think I feel bad about myself because some asshole is prejudiced? I don’t.”

“But what he said was so ugly!” Alex’s face was a mask of sorrow. Dylan had never wondered whether she considered him second-class, or beneath her notice. She’d never made him feel that way. In a way, having the thought intrude into their existence was like a flaw on an otherwise beautiful flower, and it saddened him, too.

“Baby, sticks and stones. You know? Words can’t hurt us if we don’t let them. But I don’t like that kind of hatred aimed at you. Please, please take your picture down from your blog. At least do that for me.”

“Okay, Dylan, I guess you were right about that. I’ll do it tonight.”