Feeling the Heat

Micah rubbed another hand down his face. “She still hates my guts, if that’s what you want to know. Go ahead and say I told you so.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

No, he wouldn’t. That wasn’t Dillon’s style, although saying so would have been justified.

“So what are you going to do, Micah?”

Micah figured the only reason Dillon was asking was because his brother knew how much Kalina meant to him … even if she didn’t know it. And her not knowing was no one’s fault but his.

“Not sure what I’m going to do because no matter what I say, she won’t believe me. A part of me just wants to say forget it, I don’t need the hassle, but I can’t, Dil. I just can’t walk away from her.”

“Then don’t. You’ve never been a quitter. The Micah Westmoreland I know goes after what he wants and has never let anyone or anything stand in his way. But if you don’t want her enough to fight for her and make her see the truth, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

Then, as if the subject of Kalina was a closed one, Dillon promptly began talking about something else. He told Micah how their sister-in-law, Bella, was coming along in her pregnancy, and that the doctors had verified twins, both girls.

“They’re the first on our side,” he said. Their parents had had all boys. Seven of them.

“I know, and everyone is excited and ready for her to be born,” Dillon replied. “But I don’t think anyone is as ready as Jason,” he said of their brother and the expectant father.

The rest of the conversation was spent with Dillon bringing Micah up to date on what was going down on the home front. His brother Jason had settled into wedded bliss and so had his cousin Derringer. Micah shook his head. He could see Jason with a wife, but for the life of him, considering how Derringer used to play the field and enjoy it immensely, the thought of him settled down with one woman was still taking some getting used to. Dillon also mentioned that Ramsey and Chloe’s son would be born in a few months.

“Do you think you’ll be able to be here for li’l Callum’s christening?”

Micah shook his head. Now, that was another one it was hard to believe had settled down. His cousin Gemma had a husband. She used to be a real pistol where men were concerned, but it seemed that Callum Austell had changed all that. She was now living in Australia with him and their two-month-old son.

“I plan to be there,” Micah heard himself saying. “In a few weeks, I’ll have thirty days to kill. I leave for Bajadad the day after tomorrow and I will be there for two weeks. I’ll fly home from there.” Bajadad was a small and beautiful city in northern India near the Himalayan foothills.

“It will be good seeing you again.”

Micah couldn’t help chuckling. “You make it sound like I haven’t been home in years, Dil. I was just there seven months ago for Jason’s wedding reception.”

“I know, but anytime you come home and we can get everyone together is good.”

Micah nodded. He would agree to that, and for Gemma’s baby’s christening, all the Westmorelands would be there, including their cousins from Atlanta, Texas and Montana.

Moments later, Micah ended his phone conversation with Dillon. He headed for the bedroom to undress and take a shower. The question Dillon asked him rang through his head. What was he going to do about Kalina?

Just like that, he remembered the proposition she’d made to Major Rose. And as he’d told her, he had no intention of letting the man go anywhere with her.

And just how are you going to stop her? His mind taunted. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. Thanks to her daddy’s lie, you lost her. Get over it.

He drew in a deep breath, knowing that was the kicker. He couldn’t get over it. Dillon was right. Micah was not a quitter, and it was about time he made Kalina aware of that very fact.

Micah was pulled from his thoughts when his cell phone rang again. Pulling it from his pants pocket, he saw it was an official call from the Department of Health and Human Services. “Yes, Major Harris?”

“Dr. Westmoreland, first I want to apologize for calling you so late. And secondly, I’m calling to report changes in the assignment to India.”

“And what are the changes, Major?”

“You will leave tomorrow instead of Monday. And Dr. Moore’s wife went into labor earlier today so he has to be pulled off the team. We’re going to have to send in a replacement.”

Micah headed the U.S. epidemic response team consisting of over thirty epidemiologists, so calling to let him know of any changes was the norm. “That’s fine.”

He was about to thank her for calling and hang up when she said, “Now I need to call Dr. Daniels. Unfortunately, her vacation has to be canceled so she can take Dr. Moore’s place.”

Micah’s pulse rate shot up and there was a deep thumping in his chest, close to his heart. “What did you say?” he asked, to make sure he’d heard her correctly.

“I said Dr. Daniels will be Dr. Moore’s replacement since she’s next in line on the on-call list. Unfortunately, her vacation was supposed to start tomorrow.”

“What a pity,” he said, not really feeling such sympathy. What others would see as Kalina’s misfortune, he saw as his blessing. This change couldn’t be any better if he’d planned it himself, and he intended to make sure Kalina’s canceled vacation worked to his advantage.

Of course, when she found out she would automatically think the worst. She would assume the schedule change was his idea and that he was responsible for ruining her vacation. But it wouldn’t be the first time she’d falsely accused him of something.

“Good night, Dr. Westmoreland.”

He couldn’t help smiling, feeling as if he had a new lease on life. “Good night, Major Harris.”

He clicked off the phone thinking someone upstairs had to like him, and he definitely appreciated it. Now he would have to come up with a plan to make sure he didn’t screw things up with Kalina this time.

Kalina paced her hotel room. What was she going to do about Micah?

She came to a stop long enough to touch her lips. She’d known letting him kiss her had been a bad move, but she hadn’t been able to resist the feel of his mouth on hers. She should have been prepared for it. She’d seen the telltale signs in his eyes. He hadn’t taken her off to a secluded place to talk about the weather. She’d been prepared for them to face off, have it out. And they’d done that. Then they’d ended up kissing each other senseless.

As much as she would like to do so, she couldn’t place the blame solely at his feet. She had gone after his mouth just as greedily as he’d gone after hers. A rush of heat had consumed her the moment he’d stuck his tongue inside her mouth. So, okay, they were still attracted to each other. No big deal.

Kalina frowned. It was a big deal, especially when, even now, whirling sensations had taken over her stomach. She knew with absolute certainty that she didn’t want to be attracted to Micah Westmoreland. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him, period.

She glanced over at the clock and saw it was just past midnight. She was still wearing her cocktail dress, since she hadn’t changed out of her clothes. She had begun pacing the moment she’d returned to her hotel room. Why was she letting him do this to her? And why was he lying, claiming he had not been in cahoots with her father when she knew differently?

Moving to the sofa, she sat down, still not ready to get undressed, because once she got in bed all she would do was dream about Micah. She leaned back in her seat, remembering the first time they’d worked together. She had arrived in Sydney, and he had been the one to pick her up from the airport. They had met a year earlier and their attraction to each other had been hot and instantaneous. It had taken less than five minutes in his presence that day to see that the heat hadn’t waned any.

She would give them both credit for trying to ignore it. After all, they’d had an important job to do. And they’d made it through the first week, managing to keep their hands off each other. But the beginning of the next week had been the end of that. It had happened when they’d worked late one night, sorting out samples, dissecting birds, trying to make sure the bird flu didn’t spread to the continent of Australia.

Technically, he had been her boss, since he headed the government’s epidemic response team. But he’d never exerted the power of that position over her or anyone. He had treated everyone as a vital and important part of the team. Micah was a born leader and everyone easily gave him the respect he deserved.

And on that particular night, she’d given him something else. He had walked her to her hotel room, and she had invited him in. It hadn’t been a smart move, but she had gotten tired of playing games. Tired of lusting after him and trying to keep her distance. They were adults and that night she’d figured they deserved to finally let go and do what adults did when they had the hots for each other.

Until that night, she’d thought the whole sex act was overrated. Micah had proven her wrong so many times that first night that she still got a tingling sensation just remembering it. She’d assumed it was a one nightstand, but that hadn’t been the case. He had invited her out to dinner the following night and provided her with the terms of a no-strings affair, if she was interested. She had been more than interested. She was dedicated to her career and hadn’t wanted to get involved in a serious relationship any more than he did.

That night they had reached a mutual agreement, and from then on they’d been exclusively involved during the two months they’d remained in Sydney. She was so content with their affair that when her earlier request for an assignment to Beijing had been denied, it really hadn’t bothered her.

That contentment had lasted until she’d returned to the States and discovered the truth. Not only had her father manipulated her orders, but he’d solicited Micah’s help in doing whatever he had to do to make sure she was kept happy in Sydney. She had been the one left looking like a complete fool, and she doubted she would forgive either of them for what they’d done.

Thinking she’d had enough of strolling down memory lane where the hurt was too much to bear, Kalina got up from the sofa and was headed toward the bedroom to change and finally attempt to sleep, when her cell phone rang. She picked it up off the table and saw it was Major Sally Harris, the administrative coordinator responsible for Kalina’s assignments. She wondered why the woman would be calling her so late at night.

Kalina flipped on the phone. “Yes, Major Harris?”

“Dr. Daniels, I regret calling you so late and I want to apologize, because I have to deliver bad news.”