Slow Burn (11 page)

“My middle name, babe,” he said as the
doorbell rang, again. When she looked at the clock and frowned.
“Your date? I ought to sue the bastard for ruining a perfect
moment.”

“Perfect?” She sucked her teeth in
exasperation, then jerked her thumb toward the counter, where he’d
left his keys. “Take your keys and leave before I say something
that’s inappropriate.”

He thought she sounded thoroughly disgusted
with him, until he saw the corner of her mouth lift before she
turned and started for the door. He sauntered to the counter,
picked up his keys and approached her. She still hadn’t opened the
door, just stood there with her hand on the knob.

“Are you saying you weren’t even a little bit
enthralled by my moves?” he asked.

She laughed. “Not even close. Better luck
next time, pal.”

“Hmm, next time. I like the sound of
that.”

“I didn’t mean…I meant to say…” A sigh
escaped her. “You know what I meant.”

He grinned, loving the vulnerable look in her
eyes. A confused Ashley was as riveting as one in a full-blown
temper. How would she look when fully aroused? He only caught a
glimpse of how responsive she could be during that brief caress,
and he loved it.

“I do know what you meant. You want me to do
a better job next time.” He winked. “And I plan not to disappoint
you.”

She shook her head. “You are, without a
doubt, the most arrogant man I’ve ever met. You’re a pain in the
a…in the you-know-where and I want you gone.” She jerked the door
open.

“Babe, if I were anywhere near your
delectable
you-know-where
, pain is the last thing you’d be
feeling.” His gaze ran down her curvaceous body, lingered around
her rounded ass. Hmm, he loved some meat on a woman, something to
hold and bite. Their gazes met. Her eyes were wide, as though he’d
shocked her. He grinned. She hadn’t heard anything yet.

“Ah-hmm, excuse me?” a male voice interrupted
them from the doorway.

Ron turned his attention to the tall man
wearing an expensive black suit and an amused smile. His gut
tightened with envy. Lucky bastard.

Her senses still thrumming from the hot look
she’d seen in Ron’s eyes, Ashley stammered through, “Baron. What
brings you upstairs?”

“Thought I’d stop by and see how the
paintings are coming along,” Baron said, then threw Ron a glance.
“Didn’t know you had company.”

She took a sideways step so she wasn’t
between the two men. How much of the conversation had her cousin
heard? She glanced at Ron, remembering the feel of his breath
against her skin, his words, the look in his eyes. Heat crawled up
her neck. Okay, just because he was yummy and was obviously
attracted to her, it didn’t mean she should lose it.

She straightened her spine. “Ron, my cousin
Baron Fitzgerald. Baron, Ron Noble.”

Baron’s expression hardened.

“Le Baron Gallery downstairs, right?” Ron
asked but didn’t offer Baron his hand.

“That’s me,” Baron answered, his tone cold.
Then his gaze shifted to Ashley. “Ash, give me a buzz when you get
time. I need your opinion on something.”

Ashley scowled. The coolness puzzled her. Her
cousin was usually very amiable. “Why don’t you come in now?” Her
glance collided with Ron’s. “Ron was just leaving.”

There was a moment of tense silence. Baron’s
gaze bounced between her and Ron, then he murmured ‘excuse me’ and
walked past them.

Ron stepped out of her loft and turned to
face her. “About—”

She shook her head. “I’ll think about it.”
She didn’t want to discuss hypnosis in front of her cousin.

Ron appeared to understand and nodded. “Okay.
I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Hey, Noble,” Baron called out. “You forgot
something.”

Ashley turned to look at her cousin and
froze. Oh, no. He was standing by the counter, the pictures Ron had
brought in one hand and the envelope and letter in the other. He
was studying the top photograph with a scowl. Why hadn’t Ron taken
them? She shot him a look from the corner of her eye and hurried
toward her cousin. “Those are mine, Baron.”

Baron’s brows shot up, then he glanced at the
cover of the envelope. “Ron Noble? I don’t think so. What’s going
on, Ash?”

“Nothing.” Ashley reached for the
photographs, but he moved them out of her reach. She glared at him.
“This isn’t funny. Give me the pictures.”

“The envelope and the letter, too,” Ron added
coldly from behind her.

Baron ignored him, his gaze locked on Ashley.
“Were these taken the night your parents, uh, the night of the
fire?”

“Yes.” She extended her hand, palm up. “Give
them to me, please.”

He ignored her request. “What are you doing
with them?”

Ashley’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me? I have a
right to look at my pictures without asking you for permission,
Baron Fitzgerald. And you shouldn’t look at things that don’t
belong to you.” Once again, she reached for them.

“They were spread on the damn counter, Ash. I
had to be blind not to notice them.” He gave them to her, then
jerked his head toward Ron. “Is he responsible for this?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She took the envelope
and the letter from his other hand and shoved them in Ron’s, then
mouthed ‘go please.’

“No.” Ron cut her an unreadable glance, then
his gaze shifted to Baron.

She smothered a growl. She had no idea what
macho nonsense was behind the animosity between these two, and
frankly, she didn’t care.

“Suit yourself.” She turned to Baron and said
the first thing that popped into her head. “I have these pictures
out because I’m thinking of seeing a hypnotist to recover my lost
memories.” She felt Ron move behind her. He probably thought she
was an airhead, one minute vowing to never agree to hypnosis, the
next consenting. He had no idea what a mistress of contradictions
she’d become since meeting him.

“Why?” Baron frowned. “Last I heard you were
dead set against the idea.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Don’t you mean
he
changed it for
you?” Baron retorted then shot Ron a disdainful look.

A cold smirk touched Ron’s lips. “I don’t
know you, man, yet you seem to have a problem with me.”

“You bet I do,” Baron snapped. “Stay away
from my cousin.”

“Hey,” Ashley protested.

“Your family has done enough to hurt her,”
Baron continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

A lethal expression settled on Ron’s
expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean. Leave.” Baron jabbed a
finger toward the door. “If you ever come anywhere near her
again….”

“You’ll what?” Ron didn’t move, yet Ashley
had a distinct impression he was primed for action.

“Stop,” she yelled, and got their attention.
“Enough. Both of you.” She grabbed Ron’s arm and tugged. He scowled
down at her. “You’re leaving.” He didn’t budge, but his muscles
flexed underneath her hands. If it weren’t for her cousin and their
tiresome exchange, she would have savored the feel of him. “Now,
Noble.”

Amusement flickered in the depth of his eyes,
then disappeared. “We need to talk.”

“Saturday.” He still hesitated. What was
wrong with him? “Please go.”

He gave Baron one last heated glance, then
allowed her to lead him to the door. Once there, he lifted her chin
with his finger and said, “Until Saturday.”

“Good bye.”

His finger lingered on her chin, shifting
into a brief caress before he dropped his hand and walked away.

Ashley watched him, the imprint of his finger
on her chin still tingling. When he reached the elevator doors, she
nudged the door closed with her hip and turned to face her cousin.
“What was that about? I have never seen you treat anyone with so
much disrespect and—”

“Mother is going to have a fit when she finds
out you’re associating with a Noble. As for recovering your memory,
she’ll think you’ve lost your mind.”

She approached him, her anger increasing with
each step. “Why are you bringing Aunt Estelle into this? She
wouldn’t care one way or the other whether I recover my memory or
not. No, I take that back. She’d encourage me to go for it.”

Baron raised his hands in surrender. “Okay.
Forget about Mother. Tell me why you’d want to recover what your
mind chose to block. Have you forgotten the nightmares?”

She hadn’t forgotten waking up sweating,
heart pounding and echoes of her screams still in the air. The
worst part was always never remembering why. It was time she
stopped letting the fear cripple her. If that meant bearing her
darkest moments, so be it.

Ashley plopped on a stool beside Baron’s,
propped her elbow on the counter and rested her chin in her palm.
She eyed her cousin and sighed. “It’s time I faced what I saw that
night, Baron. I can’t stay afraid all my life.”

“What did that bastard tell you?” Baron
snapped.

“Whoa.” Ashley leaned back, her eyes
widening. “Enough already. What’s with you and the Nobles? Are you
forgetting I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Ron’s father?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then what’s wrong with you? What did you
mean his family had hurt me enough?”

Baron studied her guardedly, hesitated as if
weighing his response. “There was a rumor that the fire was the
work of an arsonist.”

“I know that.” When he looked surprised, she
added, “Ron told me. He’s trying to find out the truth about what
happened. That’s why he was here.”

His lips curled derisively. “Did he tell you
the suspect was one of his relatives?”

Ashley eyes widened. “What? Who?” Why hadn’t
Ron mentioned it?

“I don’t know. We…Chase and I overheard our
parents discussing it. They even hired some guy, a private
detective, to look into it.”

“I know. I asked Aunt Estelle about it. She
said the man found nothing.”

Baron shrugged. “That doesn’t mean you can
trust a Noble. One of their own started that fire.”

“Rumored to have started it,” she corrected
him. “You can’t base your hatred on a rumor, Baron. I mean, do you
really think Ron would come to me for help if someone in his family
was guilty of starting a fire that killed my parents?” She shook
her head. “I don’t think so. Anyway, I’d rather deal with facts.
His father saved my life. I owe him something for that.” She went
around the counter, opened the refrigerator door and retrieved a
bottle of water. “So, I’ll go through hypnosis and share with him
what I remember.”

“As long as that’s all he wants.”

The seduction Ron had pulled flitted in her
mind. It had been perfect, darn it, felt right too. No time to
think about that now.

Ashley planted a hand on her hip and jabbed
the water bottle in her cousin’s direction. “You have it in for
this guy, don’t you?”

“He has a reputation. A new woman on his arm
every week. He’s supposed to run the L.A. branch of Neumann
Security, but the man’s rarely in his office.” When Ashley raised
her eyebrows, he added sheepishly, “I dated a woman who works for
him. He’s always out. Probably chasing women.”

Or fighting fires, she wanted to correct
Baron. Although why she would want to defend Ron was beyond her.
The man packed too much sensuality to be faithful. Based on his
looks alone, she should have factored in player status. Lucky
women.

Not liking the direction of her thoughts,
Ashley opened the bottle and took a gulp of pristine spring water.
“I don’t care what Ron does or with whom.”
Oh, the lies we
weave.
“But you’d better hide your feelings because you’ll be
seeing him again.”

Baron’s brow shot up. “Meaning?”

Oh, she and her big mouth. She couldn’t dare
mention the investigation. An idea popped into her head. “He’s
going to be the model for my next series,” she fibbed without
batting an eye.

Baron burst out laughing. “You’re
kidding.”

Ashley scowled at him, irked by his reaction.
She rather liked the idea now that she’d voiced it. “Why would I be
kidding?”

“The man is old,” Baron answered.

“Seasoned.”

“Over the hill.” He still didn’t bother to
mask his amusement.

Ashley pressed her lips together in
annoyance. “He’s about your age, Baron. I don’t see you shuffling
around with a cane. Beside, he’s a beefcake.”

“Yeah, you’d think so. You don’t see men
unless they’re on a canvas or through your lenses. You need to get
out more.”

“From what you said earlier, Mr. Smarty
Pants, I’m not the only woman who thinks Ron Noble is hot. A
different woman on his arm every week, remember?”

Baron dismissed her comment with a shrug.
“The man is the heir to Neumann Security. Fill in the blanks.”

Ashley dropped her chin on the counter and
gave her cousin a condescending look. Ron could be dirt poor, but
he’d still be a magnet for women. The dreamy eyes, the world-class
buns, the rippling muscles… She got heated just thinking about him.
Baron, being a man, couldn’t see those attributes.

“I’m the artist, and I say he’s just what I
need.” She caught Baron’s amused expression and quickly added, “For
the series.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “If you
think he’s marketable, then who am I to question you.”

That’s right.
She never had to discuss
the subjects for her paintings and wasn’t about to start now. Baron
sold her pieces in his gallery and made a tidy sum for the both of
them.

Ashley took another gulp of her water and
capped the bottle. “Now that’s settled, what really brought you
upstairs?”

“A cup of coffee.”

She noted the way he avoided making eye
contact. Baron had never been good at lying. “You must think I was
born yesterday.” She got up to pour his coffee, brought it back to
the counter and set it before him.

“Thanks.” He accepted the mug and stood
up.