“I’m glad,” Mel said, grinning up at him. “I love hearing you talk.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Why? You listen to people talk all day.”
Mel reached out and poked him in the chest. “Maybe, but those people aren’t you. I don’t want to listen to them. I want to listen to you. I don’t want them. I want you, only you.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And right now, I want you to kiss me.”
He growled, taking her lips with his. It was a good thing she had told him she wanted it, because after what she’d said, he hadn’t been sure that he would be able to hold back.
She wanted him? Only him?
He’d never thought that someone could desire him like that, but now that he knew she did, it felt like anything was possible.
They kissed long and passionately, the sun watching as it fell over the horizon, casting scarlet glints across the trailer and their faces.
When they broke apart, she grinned and nodded down at the RV. “Shall we continue this somewhere a little more private?”
He nodded, helped her down, then followed her into the trailer, ready to show her just how much he wanted her in return.
15
The next day found Mel and Dallas in the hotel parking lot, moving things in and out of her news van.
If there was another basilisk sighting, she would need to be ready, and since she was staying in Dallas’s trailer, that meant having as much equipment on hand as possible.
Dallas’s trailer.
She stopped for a second, blissfully reminiscing about the night she’d had with him. He had finally opened up to her, told her about his family, his past, and it had felt so good, so right being there with him.
And it hadn’t hurt that the sex afterward had been just as mind-blowing as ever.
Realizing she was blushing, she shook her head and busied herself, trying to figure out what she would need and what she could leave. A spare high-quality camera would be nice, but she probably wouldn’t need to lug around any of the high-tech ones.
Just as she was pulling one of the black bags from the back of the van, she saw Trent come out of the hotel doors and approach her, hands deep in khaki pockets.
“I need to talk to you. In my room,” he said, wobbling a bit as he stepped down from the curb.
Is he drunk?
She nodded slowly. “Okay…”
But Trent didn’t wait for her. Instead, he stepped back up and headed into the hotel just as Dallas came around the corner holding a cardboard box.
He cocked an eyebrow as if asking if she wanted him to come along, but she shook her head. “It’s just Trent. I can handle it.”
Dallas narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded and shrugged and took the camera bag from her, slinging it over his shoulder as Mel turned and headed for the hotel doors.
What on earth could Trent want to talk about?
He’d been incredibly flaky this trip, barely reaching out except for yesterday. Since then, she hadn’t been able to get ahold of him.
When she got to his room, the door was open, so she stepped in, wrinkling her nose as she did. The place was a mess, clothes and garbage littered the floor, and everything reeked of beer and days-old pizza.
Between her room getting trashed and this, there was no way that the company was going to handle the bill.
Wonderful.
Trent was sitting on the floor against the couch, beer can in hand. He looked up when she came in.
“I got a call from the main office,” he said, downing the rest of the can and throwing it aside. “They said that we’re to head back early. Tonight.”
“What?” Mel asked, aghast. “But we’re nearly there. And it hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“Either way, I’m taking the van and heading back.”
She shook her head. “How can you just give up on this? I always knew you weren’t excited about this like I was, but I never thought you were so negligent as to back out in the middle of a story.”
“Wasn’t my call,” he replied, shrugging as he swayed to the side, slightly intoxicated. “These orders came from the top.”
The top?
So her boss or her boss’ bosses? If so, why hadn’t she been informed about it? Technically, Trent was just a cameraman. He reported to her, so why hadn’t she heard about this yet?
Also, why would they care about this one story about a small town out in the boonies? It all felt so sudden and strange to give her the time to investigate this story and then pull the rug out from under her.
What is going on here?
“I’m not leaving yet, not until the week’s up,” Mel replied adamantly. “That was the assignment, and I intend to finish it.”
Trent stood up. “They said you’d say that, and they told me to persuade you, do whatever it took to make sure you came back to Houston with me tonight.”
Whatever it took?
Mel didn’t like the sound of that, and she took a step back as Trent advanced on her. Even from a few feet away, she could smell his breath, rank with alcohol.
“Persuade? What exactly did they mean by that?”
“I figured it was up to me to interpret it how I wanted,” Trent said, reaching out for her hand, but she smacked it away.
“Stay away from me,” she retorted. “I’m calling my boss to confirm this.”
“Go ahead. They’ll tell you the same thing.” He took a step closer, a nasty, lustful gleam in his eyes. “I don’t usually go for women like you, but I think we have a little something. Something we should explore when we get back to Houston.”
Mel fought back the urge to gag. “Us? That will never happen, Trent, and I’ve never been interested in you.” She turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him, eyes flaring with anger
