Feeling the Heat. Brenda Jackson
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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.”
Kalina frowned. “And what bad news is that?”
“Dr. Moore’s wife went into labor earlier today so he has to be pulled off the epidemic response team headed out for Bajadad. I know your vacation was to start tomorrow, but we need your assistance in India.”
Kalina drew in a deep breath. Although she hadn’t made any definite vacation plans, she had looked forward to taking time off. “How long will I be needed in Bajadad?”
“For two weeks, beginning tomorrow, and then you can resume your vacation.”
She nodded. There was no need to ask if there was someone else they could call since she knew the answer to that already. The epidemic response team had thinned out over the past few years with a war going on. And since the enemy liked to engage in chemical warfare, a number of epidemiologists had been sent to work in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Dr. Daniels?”
Resigned, she said. “Yes, of course.” Not that she had a choice in the matter. She was civilian, but orders from her boss were still meant to be followed, and she couldn’t rightly get mad at Jess Moore because his wife was having a baby. “I’ll be ready to head out tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I’ll