Free Winds of Fortune by Radclyffe Page B

hall, she said, “Two weeks for suture removal.”
    She was almost to her office door when she felt a hand on her arm. She slowed, knowing who it was and silently chastising herself for the sudden swell of anticipation. Slowly she turned and met Deo’s eyes, knowing what she would see. Deep set eyes, liquid and dark. So dark. She could imagine how they would look when Deo was aroused, when that sultry shimmer turned to fire. When Sylvia orgasmed, her glacial blue eyes sharpened until Nita feared she’d bleed on their edges. Deo’s eyes…Deo’s eyes would be molten, hot enough to scorch the flesh from her bones.
    “What is it?” Nita asked, her voice sounding breathy to her own ears. It’s only chemistry. Mindless attraction. Ignore it. Haven’t you learned?
    Deo was entranced by the rapid flurry of expression on Nita’s face. Annoyance, appreciation, intensity…desire. Even though the break in Nita’s careful façade had been fleeting, she hadn’t been wrong. She knew what desire looked like in another woman’s eyes. What she hadn’t expected was the quick surge of heat in the pit of her stomach. Taken off guard, she fumbled for words.
    “I…uh…I wanted to thank you for taking care of Joey.”
    “That’s not necessary.” Nita backed up a step, aware of her open office door just a few feet away. Sanctuary awaited. Being near Deo made her feel as if she were Daniel cast into the lion’s den. Her common sense told her to flee, but what she really wanted to do was reach out and sink her fingers into the thick black hair and thrill to the power of feline muscles rippling under her fingertips. Lions kill, she reminded herself. “It’s my job.”
    “I know.” Deo took a step closer, wondering what it would take to stir that fire in Nita’s warily shuttered gaze again. Unused to women hiding their desire, she found the situation challenging. “How late are you working?”
    Confused, almost certain she could feel heat pouring off Deo’s body, Nita said, “What? Why?”
    “I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight.”
    “No.”
    “Why not?” Deo grinned, but she didn’t feel her usual confident self. Nita confused her. She couldn’t get a read on her—one second Nita looked at her as if she wanted to put her hands all over her, and in the next instant, her expression vacillated between fear and fury. Deo never chased after women, because she didn’t want to spend time with anyone who wasn’t interested in exactly what she was interested in—pleasant company and shared pleasure. Women came to her for that and that was the way she liked it. So why the hell had she just asked Nita out for a…date?
    Nita considered making an excuse, but then realized that she wasn’t the one pushing the issue. She had already told Deo the night before that she wasn’t interested, regardless of how her traitorous body might respond, and she didn’t appreciate being forced to do it again. “You’re not my type.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Why?” Deo snapped. “Because I’m a construction worker? Or because I don’t have a college education?”
    “No,” Nita said, trying unsuccessfully to curb her anger. She pressed her fingertip to the side of Deo’s neck. “Because you’ve got a lovely bite from whoever you took home last night. If you happen to remember.”
    “I just asked you to dinner, not to go to bed with me.”
    “When’s the last time you had dinner with a woman you didn’t take to bed?”
    Deo hesitated.
    “That’s what I thought. Like I said, I’m not interested.”
    Deo caught Nita’s hand as she started to turn away. “That’s not what your eyes tell me.”
    “You’re mistaken.”
    “No I’m not,” Deo whispered, rubbing her thumb over the top of Nita’s hand. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip and Nita snatched her hand away. “Sooner or later, you’re going to admit that.”
    “That is never going to happen.”
    “I’m going to change your