Free Hot and Bothered by Linda Cajio Page A

couldn’t look away. Her face was bathed in candlelight and the waning sunset. Her skin tone was flawless and her lips rosy and extremely kissable. He wanted to do nothing more than that, then took the notion back. He wanted to
start
with a kiss. God, but he wanted her. And she wanted him. He could feel it in her stilled body and see it in her intense gaze.
    “I’ll have some harvesting to do after dinner,” Ina said.
    The spell snapped. Paul turned quickly to his soup. The salty spiced broth and the bite of the beans tasted like straw in his mouth. He wanted to take Judith out of there and really settle this between them.
    “Oh, you mean the birds’ feathers,” Judith said to Ina. Her voice sounded far too calm for Paul’s ears. His would be a croak right now. She continued. “When you first showed me around, I thought you plucked the feathers right out of the poor things. I have to say I was feeling very sorry for them.”
    Ina laughed. “Oh, no. I couldn’t do that. I wait until the feathers drop before I take them for my fans.”
    “From a practical standpoint, the birds wouldn’t grow back feathers well if they wereplucked,” Vincent said. “This is a natural process that ensures renewal.…”
    Judith looked fascinated.
    From Paul’s standpoint, the dinner was endless.

FIVE
    The moon had set by the time they reached the cove.
    Judith fumbled while inserting her key in the trailer lock. Paul took over, smoothly opening the door. He stepped inside and flipped on the lights. She stayed where she was. “I thought you said it was late.”
    “When?” he asked.
    “Before dinner.”
    “I said we would be getting back late. You said that was fine. Besides, I thought I should make sure everything’s okay here.”
    “Thank you,” she said dryly, realizing that more protest wouldn’t get him out.
    “Welcome.”
    She walked inside. He glanced around her narrow quarters of bunk bed, sink, two-burner stove, three cabinets, built-in table and chairs.
    “A mouse has more room,” she commented.
    “There used to be a family of six in here.”
    She gaped at him. “That’s impossible! There’s no room for me.”
    He laughed. “I don’t know how they did it, but they didn’t last long. Neither will you.”
    A cooling breeze wafted through the windows, taking the temperature down several degrees. She smiled. “It’s been worse.”
    “I bet. Got any coffee?”
    He wanted coffee, she thought. She wanted to say no, but she wasn’t sure how without him thinking she was shunning him. She might be wary of any more intimacy with him, but the last thing she wanted to do was make him think she believed he was a horrible person because of that tragic shooting.
    “I just have those single-bag things,” she said. “I don’t cook much.”
    “Good enough.”
    He sat at the table, then looked at her expectantly.
    The need to assert herself with this man broke through her drifting-along demeanor. “Paul, what’s going on?”
    He frowned. “What do you mean, what’s going on? Do you want me to leave?”
    What could she say? That she had had a lovely time with his friends, but yes? Somehow that course was repugnant, yet she sensed he had a purpose beyond late-night coffee.
    “No,” she said finally, not wanting a true confrontation. “It’s just that you seem to have something in mind.”
    He grinned. “Don’t tempt me.”
    “I won’t.”
    “Too late.”
    The words reached deep down inside her.
    He chuckled. “Judith, you’re fun to tease. I can’t help myself.”
    “Not tonight anyway,” she muttered, filling the teakettle. She flicked on the automatic pilot light until she heard the tic-tic-tic. The flame came up and she set the kettle on the burner before backing the flame down.
    “Who says you can’t cook?” he commented. “You got the burner on.”
    “I couldn’t at first. Pedro came in and put something in.”
    Paul was out of his chair in an instant, pushing her to one side. “Let me