vague.
“Well, tell them they were right on target.” She laughed again and this time his stomach twisted with regret. Careful research and discreet questions into her background had revealed the blond bombshell was also an intellectual, a Phi Beta Kappa who hit the library most nights after work. Reading was obviously a hobby of hers, one he’d taken advantage of tonight.
The stab of guilt took him by surprise. His job had never bothered him before and it shouldn’t now. As part of his assignment, he could just as easily clear her as convict her. Big deal if he had to dig deep and personal in order to accomplish his goal. But one glance into those trusting eyes turned him inside out. She wouldn’t appreciate the lie. If she was guilty of running a prostitution service, he shouldn’t give a good goddamn. But he did and the guilt stemmed less from sensing she wasn’t involved and more from caring what she thought of him. That in itself was a first and Kane didn’t like it a bit.
After an evening in her company, he’d learned plenty. This was a woman who cared about family, felt things deeply and had put her dreams on hold for her sister’s future and out of respect for her late aunt. The innocence she projected in both her gaze and her gestures told him more than surveillance ever could and that innocence spoke to him. Touched him in ways no one ever had, in places he never allowed anyone to reach.
His gut told him she wasn’t involved in anything more than running an inherited business. One she at times enjoyed, at others resented. Since gut instinct wasn’t admissible in a court of law, he had to rely on his other talents to clear Miss Kayla Luck. Somehow proving her not guilty had taken precedence over making a case against Charmed!’s sensual owner.
“Don’t ask me why, but I had a feeling you would like that place,” he told her.
“You were right.”
“I know.” Because he was a man who prided himself on instinct. Research may have provided the background, but an hour in her company and Kane had discovered even more. All pretense of schooling forgotten, Kayla had opened up to him. He now knew her father’s abandonment had left her hurt and wounded even if she didn’t show it, and the mother she loved had been more a child than a useful, guiding parent.
Kayla had grown up on her own…like him. She had few close ties, apart from her sister…also like him. And by the time dinner ended, he knew how to reach her. He knew when to flatter and when to back off. He even knew how to make her feel beautiful without ogling, because the slightest show of male interest in her looks led to a hasty retreat. He had the sense he knew Kayla Luck. He had connected with her apart from his assignment and the thought made him too damn nervous.
As they rounded the next corner and walked down a street nestled between a double row of buildings, a heavy breeze whipped around them and the temperature seemed to drop even further.
He rubbed his hands together. “I’d kill for a…”
“Cup of hot chocolate covered with whipped cream,” Kayla said, finishing his sentence but not the way he’d intended. Scotch or whiskey was what he’d had in mind. Something that burned like hell and shocked his system into remembering he was on assignment and not out with an intelligent, sexy woman. One he wanted to see again and not behind prison walls. And that wouldn’t be happening.
He needed solid proof to take back to Reid. Time to make his move and get out, Kane thought. They’d both be better off.
He’d gotten nowhere with his subtle questioning earlier, which meant he’d have to take a more direct, a more seductive, approach. He dreaded the idea as much as his overheated body craved it. Not even the sharp wind biting at his face and reaching into his bones numbed the burning heat she aroused inside him.
“I was thinking more along the lines of coffee,” he muttered. “But anything hot will do.”
“No kidding.” She nodded in agreement and clutched at her forearms with her hands. She was obviously cold but had no intention of voicing a complaint. Definitely a woman after his own heart. No, he contradicted himself, not his heart. That he’d walled off years ago. He’d learned early on if he made anything other than his job his priority, he risked losing the edge.
As a self-reliant kid, he’d honed the instincts that kept him alive. His uncle had agreed to take him in on the condition he made himself scarce. Kane had only swallowed his pride and asked for a place to crash in order to avoid social services and foster care. Basic survival was what Kane understood best. Sex fell under that heading, caring did not.
But he had a job to do. Time to stop stalling and find out, he thought. She was cold? The least he could do was warm up the lady. He looked down and her gaze connected with his. Wide-set eyes stared back and golden strands of windblown hair touched her reddened cheeks. Intense need kicked in strong. He had to taste her. That it might make or break his case had nothing to do with the fierce hunger lashing through him. He cupped his hands over hers, feeling the ice-cold of her skin and he drew her back into a hidden alley.
The crowds rushed past them, unconcerned with anything except finding warmth. Kane understood that need. He ran his hands up and down her arms. A tremor shook her and instinctively he knew it had nothing to do with the outside temperature and everything to do with body heat. His and hers.
One step and he’d backed her against a dark brick building. Desire rushed through him the moment his body came into contact with hers. Layers of clothing didn’t matter, nothing mattered.
“Kane?”
He looked into questioning eyes and had no answers. None he could reveal to her and, worse, none he understood himself. Which suited him fine. He didn’t need to understand; he needed to feel. Her lips on his, her body, slick and wet, molding around him, producing friction so intense it was unbearable. Not that he’d compromise his job. He wouldn’t let things get that far, or if the informant was right, Kayla wouldn’t, either, not without payment.
Looking into those trusting eyes, he damn well knew if she called a stop tonight, it would have nothing to do with money. This woman was no prostitute but he needed proof and to get it, he had to carry things through. One sampling of those full lips and he could attempt to close the deal. Once she backed off, he’d make some excuse and take her home. A cold shower waited for him and then he’d file his report and forget all about Miss Kayla Luck.
Plan set, he focused his attention on his so-called date, a woman who intrigued him more with each passing second. His grip on her arms tightened. She didn’t protest, not when he pulled her toward him and not when his lips came down hard on hers. That was the point Kane knew he’d made a mistake. Her mouth was warm and welcoming and a hint of sweet wine still lingered inside. One taste made him hungry for more than a stolen kiss in a back alley. One sampling set his blood on fire and he knew: he wouldn’t be walking away anytime soon.
The brick wall anchored them and he took advantage letting his body thrust hard against hers. She made a sound, half moan, half plea, Kane couldn’t be sure. He only knew it made him want her more. The pulsing, pounding waves wouldn’t be ignored.
Kayla leaned her head back against the wall, drawing deep unsteady breaths. He cupped her chin in his hand and looked into glazed green eyes. He wanted her. There it was. The stark truth, he thought. No lies, no deception, no case hanging between them…unless something she did placed it there. He’d crossed the line and there was no turning back.
He’d never have believed he’d be so tempted to compromise his principles for a woman, never have believed he needed one night so badly. She aroused him beyond sanity, beyond reason and he needed to possess her, all of her. He traced
