"Okay." The young girl started out of the bedroom, but stopped and turned back around before reaching the door, her magazine hugged to her chest. "By the way, I didn't answer your earlier question, but I wanted to tell you that you look great, Aunt Lora. He's a very lucky guy to be going out with you," she said, then was gone.

Out in the other room, she heard Cassie tell Joel goodbye, then the front door closing as she left.

After one last check in the mirror, Lora gathered up her purse and jacket and went to greet Joel. She found him standing in the middle of the living room, wearing his classic black jeans, boots, and a T-shirt beneath a black leather jacket that was unzipped. His roguishly long hair was a rumpled mess around his head, which accentuated his disarming blue eyes and added to those too-appealing bad boy looks of his.

But instead of gracing her with one of those irresistible, breath-catching smiles that turned her inside out with wanting, his hands were braced on his hips and a deep frown creased his brows instead.

"Hey there," she said, unable to guess at what might have set him off. "Is everything okay?"

"Hi," he said gruffly, then hooked a thumb toward the front door, where Cassie had just exited. "Who was that?"

Good God, had Cassie said or done something to annoy Joel? "That was Sydney's daughter, Cassie. Since we live in the same apartment building, she's here quite often."

If possible, his displeasure increased. "Does she always open the door without asking who's on the other side?"

Lora stared at Joel, surprised at his question. "I knew it was you."

He cocked his head to the side and regarded her with a good measure of male arrogance. "What if it weren't me?"

"Who else would it have been?" she countered as she set her purse on the couch so she could slip into her jacket. "You said you'd pick me up at six, and it was a few minutes past six when you knocked on the door."

Still, he didn't let up. "Do you know how many defenseless women get attacked by opening their door to a stranger?"

"Ummm, no." She would have thought that he was yanking her chain if he didn't look so serious about the subject matter. "But judging by how upset you are, I'm guessing it's a pretty high percentage?"

"Higher than you might think." He dropped his hands back to his sides, but his entire body remained tense. "Just do me a favor. Always ask who it is before opening your door, and don't open it for anyone you don't know or aren't expecting."

She did her best to keep her amused grin from reaching her lips. "Okay."

As Lora straightened the collar of her jacket, she realized the source of his annoyance. The man obviously possessed a protective instinct when it came to women, whether due to having a sister or his time in the military, she wasn't certain. But she'd been on her own for a very long time, and as much as she appreciated his concern, she didn't need someone being her guardian.

As if he sensed her willful thoughts, he narrowed his gaze and added, "Promise?"

She refrained, just barely, from rolling her eyes at his insistence and gave him the reassurance that would hopefully put an end to the conversation. "Sure, I promise."

"Good." He released a breath and finally relaxed.

He looked relieved, but now Lora was slightly miffed by the fact that his interrogation, and that frown of his, had put a damper on the start of their evening together, instead of them leaving her place on a high of excitement and anticipation of the night's events. "Now that you've gotten that off your chest, do you think we might be able to start this date of ours over?"

He blinked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

When it came to romancing a woman, he was obviously a typical, obtuse man who didn't realize the importance of setting the tone for a date. Well, she'd just have to show him what she meant.

Closing the distance between them, she placed a hand on his chest, tilted her head, and brushed her mouth against his in a slow, sweet caress. His lips were soft and warm and slightly damp, and she caught the faintest hint of peppermint on his breath.

After a moment, she pulled back. The chaste kiss wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her desire for him, but it was sufficient to trigger a deeper longing and start their date off with a slow buzz of sexual tension. She figured the evening was still young, and the rest of the night still held a whole lot of promise.

She slowly smoothed her hand down his chest, relishing the heat of his skin radiating through his cotton T-shirt, and the way those well-defined muscles of his flexed beneath her fingertips.

Lifting her lashes, she met Joel's gaze and smiled up at him. "Hi," she said huskily.

"Hi, yourself," he murmured, an odd mixture of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes. "What was that kiss for?"

She shrugged. "I thought I'd get our first kiss out of the way. Now it's done, and you don't have to worry about making the first move, because I just did." Her meaning couldn't have been more clear, or inviting.

An amused smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. "I wasn't worried about making the first move, but I wouldn't want something like that to distract you all evening."

"Yeah, me either." She grinned and picked up her purse. "It was just something I had to do."

"I completely understand. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They left her apartment, and once they were outside the building, they took the walkway toward the parking lot.

"Did you bring your motorcycle?" she asked hopefully.

"Yep. It's right over there." As they turned a corner, he pointed toward the sleek, black bike parked in one of the stalls.

Exhilaration filled her at the thought of riding on such a powerful machine, with the cool, crisp evening air on her face, her arms around Joel, and her thighs tight against his hips. "Remember, I like it fast and fierce," she teased.

"Trust me, sweetheart, that's something a guy's not likely to forget," he said in a low, seductive drawl as he unhooked one of the shiny black helmets from the bike and handed it to her.

"I just want to make sure you're up for the challenge," she said playfully, and slipped the helmet on her head, then buckled the strap beneath her chin. "Wouldn't want you to get performance anxiety, or anything like that."

He arched a brow her way at the double entendre she'd just issued. "You are a very naughty girl."

She laughed and had to admit, she was feeling decidedly naughty.

"Here, put these on, too." He retrieved a set of gloves from a small compartment at the back of the motorcycle and handed them to her. "It can get cold on the ride."

Grateful that he'd thought ahead, she pulled on the insulated gloves, while he did the same with a black pair that molded to his long fingers and strong hands.

"This too," he said, and wrapped a dark, plaid scarf around her neck, then tucked the ends into her jacket.

"Thanks." The soft material was warm, and when she inhaled she caught the arousing scent of Joel's aftershave. "So, where are we going tonight?"

He took her purse and put it into the compartment, then snapped the lid shut. "I thought I'd show you my regular hangout."

"You mean your regular hangout when you're not at The Electric Blue?"

"Yep. It's far more casual and you aren't required to dance on the tabletops." Grinning, he straddled the seat of the Ducati with ease, his long legs enabling him to keep his feet flat on the ground to keep the bike steady. He started the engine, then glanced back at her. "Hop on."

She settled herself behind him, her chest to his back, and braced her boots against the back footrests. He grabbed her hands, pulled her arms around his waist, and pushed her gloved fingers beneath his zipped-up jacket so that her hands were clasped firmly in his lap.

"Hang on tight," he said.

Those were the last words Joel spoke as he navigated the bike onto the street, then proceeded to accelerate and took her on the fast, exhilarating ride that he'd promised.

"JUDGING by those come-and-get-me looks Lora keeps throwing your way, I take it she finally fell for the Wilde Man charm, huh?"

Joel glanced at Ben-a good friend and one of Elite's partners-who was sitting with him at a table at Nick's Sports Bar. His two other partners had joined them for the evening, as well. At the moment Jon was flirting with a petite blond woman across the room, and Kevin had whisked Lora off to play a game of pool with him.

Joel shrugged evasively, refusing to let Ben's observation turn into a more personal discussion about his relationship with Lora. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. It makes keeping an eye on her a whole lot easier if she believes we're dating."

Ben leaned his arms on the table and grinned. "And considering the way you're watching her, like you wouldn't mind mixing a bit of pleasure with business, I'm assuming she's gotten under your skin, too."

Annoyed at Ben's persistence, along with his too-accurate presumption of the situation between him and Lora, Joel clenched his jaw. "I'm watching her because it's my job." His tone was clipped with impatience.

Ben held up both of his hands as if to back off. "Okay, if you say so."

Figuring that was the end of their conversation, Joel finished off the last of his beer and turned his gaze to the gaming area of the bar, where Kevin and Lora were playing their second game of pool-this time with a twenty-dollar wager on the table.

Kevin had made the mistake of assuming that Lora didn't know the specifics of the sport, but the sparkle in her eyes was a dead giveaway that she was playing along with Kevin's assumption. Currently, Lora was bent low over the pool table as she lined up a shot, giving Joel and every other guy in the place a mouth-watering view of her rounded breasts pressing tight against her top. Joel's lips pursed and he narrowed his gaze as Kevin moved beside Lora and leaned way too close for Joel's liking as he oh-so-helpfully gave her advice on attempting a combination. She made the shot, not because of Kevin's guidance, but because of her own skill.