Summer Heat
By Elizabeth Lennox
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Copyright 2021
ISBN13: 9781950451388
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Excerpt to “Fall into Love”
Chapter 1
Jumping out of the way, Arik stared uncomprehendingly at the…vacuum cleaner?
Yep! A vacuum cleaner had just flown out the front door.
He stared warily in through the front door, hoping no more household items would follow. Since he didn’t know why anyone would throw a vacuum cleaner, one that appeared to be almost new, out of the house, he was wary of what might come next.
A moment later, the beautiful blonde appeared in the doorway, visibly shaken.
“Is it dead?”
Arik stared down at the vacuum cleaner, then back at the woman. “Um…yes?”
Sage DeSantis huffed as she rolled her eyes. “You don’t sound very sure. Is it dead? Or still kicking?” she demanded, even stomping her foot for emphasis.
That’s when Arik noticed the cutoff shorts, white tee-shirt and…oh hell no! Sage was wearing pink cowgirl boots! That was seriously not fair! He’d had a thing for Sage ever since she’d moved here to Cheyenne, Wyoming a few months ago with her sister, Jade. Now Jade was married to his partner, and the happy pair were off traveling the country.
Her eyes narrowed. “You know, for a homicide detective, you’re not very good at this, are you?”
She frowned at him with her hands fisted on her hips. Arik tried, he really did, but he couldn’t figure out what the hell she was talking about.
“I don’t think that the vacuum cleaner was ever really…alive,” he told her gently.
Sage rolled those beautiful green eyes. She even added a huff of impatience. “The spider!” she demanded, as if he were the one that was nuts.
Arik’s hands moved to his hips and he stared back. “The…spider?”
Sage waved her hand at the vacuum cleaner. She didn’t come any closer, which was probably for the best. Arik had lusted after this woman since the first time he’d laid eyes on her.
Unfortunately, Sage didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Which was fine.
Okay, it definitely wasn’t “fine”, but still, if the woman didn’t want him, then he’d deal with it.
“The spider in the vacuum cleaner!” she said, over enunciating the words as if she were talking to a four year old.
Arik stared at her for a moment, then looked down at the vacuum cleaner, tipping his hat back slightly as he scratched his forehead. “Honey, why would a spider be in the vacuum cleaner?” he asked. He thought that he’d asked gently and patiently. Apparently, he was wrong!
“Because the stupid spider was in my house!” she replied. The “duh!” wasn’t spoken, but it was clearly implied.
Arik rubbed a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his smile. It would only piss her off more and he already had a hard time dealing with Sage. She was just so tiny! And round and soft in all the right…damn it! What the hell was she talking about?
And damn Simon, his partner on the detective squad, for asking him to come out here and check on her! Simon and Jade were off doing something fun and interesting! So, why the hell had Arik agreed to check on Sage? She was fine! More than fine. Especially in those cute cutoff jeans! Holy hell, she was breathtaking in those shorts!
“Stop it, Detective!” Sage grumbled, stomping her foot for emphasis.
“Stop what?”
“Stop laughing at me!”
He glanced at the vacuum cleaner. “Well, here’s the thing. You’re trying to kill a spider by killing the vacuum cleaner?” He shook his head and he couldn’t stop the chuckle this time. “You and your sister have issues with spiders.” He and Simon had originally met the DeSantis sisters when Jade had been shooting at a spider in her bedroom with a bb gun.
Sage shifted on her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. “We do not have issues with spiders, Detective!” she spat. “I have an agreement with nature in general and spiders in particular.”
His eyebrows shot into his hairline. Thankfully, she couldn’t see his reaction because of his cowboy hat, but she probably suspected it.
He let his hand smooth over his mouth again before he asked, “You have an agreement?”
“Yes!”
“An agreement with nature.”
“And spiders.” She added a nod, as if that made it more sensible.
“And what’s this…” he paused, struggling to keep his amusement hidden. “What’s this agreement?”
She shrugged, but that only called his attention to those lovely, round, beautiful breasts that barely fit under her cotton tee shirt. “I don’t bother spiders if they stay outside. If they come inside, then they die!”
Another hand over his mouth. He fought to remain serious as he stared determinedly at the hard-packed ground in front of him. Don’t laugh, he told himself firmly. Don’t laugh! But…an agreement with spiders?!
After a long moment, he had himself under control and was able to look back up at her. Tilting his head slightly, he stared into those mesmerizing, green eyes of hers. “So, how’s that working out for you?” he asked, looking pointedly at the vacuum cleaner.
Once again, Sage stomped her foot, drawing his attention to her soft, luscious thighs. They were the kind of thighs a man
