Free White Heat by Brenda Novak

spot, and if Paradise was anything like Portal, he’d certainly chosen well.
    â€œYou coming?” The door of the trailer hung open as Nate waited on the landing.
    â€œI’m coming,” she called back, and got out.
    Â 
    Nate hadn’t told Rachel that only one bedroom was furnished. There weren’t many rental options in Portal; he’d had to take what he could find. He’d figured he could always sleep on the couch. But as he studied the short, lumpy sofa in what passed for a living room, he decided he’d rather lie awake night after night suffering from sexual frustration at Rachel’s side.
    She stood in the hallway, gazing into one bedroom and then the second, which was empty. Eventually, she turned to glare at him.
    â€œWhat?” He spread his hands in mock innocence.
    â€œYou know what.”
    â€œDon’t worry. I’ll let you bunk with me, at least until we can get a mattress for the other room.”
    â€œYou’re going to let me sleep with you.”
    He wondered if she was remembering the last time she’d been in his bed. “Just until we can get you a mattress. That won’t be any problem, will it?”
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    â€œI know you’re on a sexual hiatus and all, but you said yourself that I’m no temptation. And even if we get a little hot and bothered, what’s one more hurrah after entertaining all those beach bums?” He chuckled at her stricken expression as he went out to collect the rest of their supplies. But he’d underestimated her resistance. When he returned, he met her going in the opposite direction, carrying the cheap secondhand suitcase they’d bought for her in Phoenix.
    â€œI’m finding my own place to stay,” she announced. “Consider us estranged and on the brink of divorce.”
    He put down the groceries in his arms and moved to cut her off. She had the keys. “There’s no need to over-react,” he said, sobering in an effort to calm her. “We can’t be estranged when we approach the Covenanters. And there’s nothing else around here. Do you think I would’ve picked this place if I’d had any other choice?”
    â€œI think you feel it’s a big joke that I’m going to be without any personal space—but I’m not laughing.”
    â€œIt’s not a joke. I—I’ll sleep on the floor, okay? It’s a job, Rachel, like any other. You can’t tell me you haven’t been in compromising situations before. What makes this one any different?”
    That wasn’t hard to answer. He knew working with him was what made it different. But he also knew she’d never admit it.
    â€œI just don’t understand why I couldn’t have handled this alone,” she said. “I work better that way.”
    â€œSo you’ve said. But sometimes you have to adjust.”
    â€œThat doesn’t include sleeping with my manager!”
    He could’ve mentioned that it was a little late to worry about that. After all, she was the one who’d let herself into his condo, removed her clothing and offered him everything she had, including her heart. But he knew the reminder wouldn’t help. It was the fact that they’d been together before that was causing all the trouble now. “Hey, this isn’t about us,” he said. “Our work never is. It’s about doing what we have to. Period. You know that.”
    She remained stiff, resistant, so he tried another tack.“Look, I didn’t set you up, okay? You’ve seen what’s available in Portal. This place was all I could get, unless you’d rather camp out under the stars. I figured we’d make improvements when we could—and we will. Until then, I’ll sleep in a bag in the spare room. Nothing’s changed. There’s no problem.”
    Her forehead rumpled as she kicked at the dirt, but it wasn’t long before