“So do I.” He stood, and while he waited for her to follow suit, he folded her check and put it into the front pocket of his pants. He still wasn’t sure what to do with the money, but he’d already decided that Saturday night was going to be his treat. It would be his pleasure to be Teddy’s lover. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

They left the bar together with the stares of the patrons following them out the etched-glass door. Outside, the air was December chilled, and the parking lot was barely illuminated by two streetlights. He followed her to a sedate white Honda Accord, parked in a shadowed area of the lot.

Standing by the driver’s side, she turned to face him. “I guess I’ll see you Saturday night.” She thrust out her hand. “Thanks again.”

She was so polite, and so determined to keep their agreement on a business level. He had other ideas. Slipping his hand into hers, he tugged her closer. The unexpected movement caused her to waver off balance. She put her hand out to catch herself, and her palm landed on his chest. She gasped, a sexy little intake of breath that warmed his blood and told him her attempt at formality had just slipped a serious notch.

Her luminous brown eyes were wide and searching. “Austin?”

Her voice trembled, not with protest, but with the thrum of desire. Slipping his fingers around her wrist, he stroked his thumb over the wild pulse beating at the base of her palm. Her skin was soft and warm, and when he took a deep breath, he inhaled a subtle, floral fragrance that awakened something hot and primitive within him: The need to make her his.

“You know,” he murmured, his tone vibrating with low, husky nuances. “Since we’ll be pretending to be lovers, there’s something we should get out of the way before Saturday.”

“What’s that?” she asked, her voice a whisper of anticipation.

“Our first kiss.” He lowered his head, and experienced a heady rush of excitement when she automatically tipped hers up to meet him halfway. Inches away from claiming her mouth, he hesitated, drawing out the moment to marvel at her acquiescence. He hadn’t even touched his lips to hers, but they were parted and ready. Her breathing was eager and expectant, turning him on and making him think of the needy, purring sounds she’d make if he ever had the pleasure of making love to her.

She didn’t play coy, didn’t shy away from the blatant sexual energy between them. She didn’t try to suppress something as basic and natural as desire and he liked that about her. The awareness had been building all evening, in subtle ways, and both of them were ready for the culmination of all that smoldering tension.

Closing the breath of space separating them, he dropped his mouth over hers, and didn’t even have to cajole his way past her incredibly soft lips. His tongue glided deeply, sought and found hers, and tangled playfully. The kiss was slow and silky, soulful and honey-sweet. He took his time exploring, tasting and seducing, until leisurely sweeps of his tongue were no longer enough to satisfy the deep, vital hunger gripping him.

He needed…more.

She gave a soft, frustrated moan that echoed his own growing impatience, and the hand on his chest curled into a tight fist. Heat coiled low in his belly and spread outward, ruthlessly reminding him just how long he’d gone without the softness of a woman’s body to ease his more baser needs.

He didn’t want any woman but Teddy. Teddy with her soft, sexy sighs and incredibly generous mouth…

In a flash he was hard and hungry and feeling more than a little wild. And reckless enough to take their encounter one level higher.

Keeping his mouth slanted across hers, he maneuvered her a step back so she was crushed between her car and his body. A gasp caught in her throat, then rolled into a seductive moan when he released her wrist and gripped her hips in his hands, pulling her intimately closer, if that was at all possible considering their bodies were fitted as tightly as a man and woman could get…from breast, to belly, to thighs.

Blood pounded in his ears and rushed along his nerve endings. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, then her fingers delved into his thick hair, urging him to give more. His mouth opened wider over hers, and that’s when the tenure of the kiss changed, turning demanding, erotic, and so wet and hot he knew if they didn’t stop he was going to spontaneously combust.

He broke the kiss, and she whimpered in protest.

“Damn,” he muttered, trying to regain his composure. He hadn’t meant for things to get so out of control, never expected her to be so soft and giving. Taking a deep, calming breath that did nothing to ease the racing of his heart, or diminish how much he wanted her, he glanced down at Teddy.

She looked stunned, a little disoriented and completely aroused.

Tenderly, he ran his knuckles down her soft cheek and traced the line of her jaw with a finger, slowly drawing her out of her sensual trance. “At least no one at the Christmas party will doubt the chemistry between us.” He couldn’t help the masculine satisfaction in his voice, or the pleased grin curving his lips.

She visibly swallowed and gave him a shaky smile. “That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”

4

“I CAN’T BELIEVE you let him kiss you.” Teddy frowned sternly at her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she chastised herself for surrendering to Austin’s kiss three days ago outside of the Frisco Bay. The fact that she’d thoroughly enjoyed Austin’s advances and openly participated in that sensual embrace was another issue she’d lectured herself on, all to no avail.

“Well it wasn’t me who instigated that kiss,” she argued with her twin image as she dusted blush lightly across her cheekbones.

A mocking smile curved her evil twin’s mouth. “You certainly didn’t do anything to stop him, now, did you? In fact, I distinctly remember you kissing him back with shameless abandon. You didn’t even try to resist him.”

“Fine!” Teddy’s cheeks heated, making the blush she’d just applied unnecessary. Tossing her cosmetics into the bathroom drawer, she lifted her chin, meeting her own gaze defiantly. “I wanted that kiss, okay?” She’d wanted much more than just his lips on hers, but she wasn’t about to admit that out loud.

Drawing a deep, steady breath, she swept her hair into an elegant chignon, allowing a few wispy curls to escape around her neck and face. “Tonight, you’re going to behave yourself, Teddy.”

She rolled her eyes at herself. “Of course I’m going to behave myself! This is a business deal, nothing more.” She pushed rhinestone-studded pins into the mass of hair at the nape of her neck to hold it in place. With a decisive nod of her head, she ended the absurd discussion and headed into the adjoining bedroom.

Her reflection followed, appearing in her dresser mirror, taunting her.

Glaring, she slipped out of her robe, leaving her scantily clad in black lace panties. Ignoring her image, she retrieved a pair of smoke-hued, thigh-high stockings from her lingerie drawer, lifted a slender leg onto the edge of the bed and rolled the hose up her calf to her thigh. She snuck a peek at her alter ego in the mirror and experienced a prick of annoyance at the perception glimmering in her eyes.

“What?” Teddy demanded haughtily, securing the other stocking.

“Business deal, hmm?” her reflection murmured. “What about Austin posing as your lover? He’s going to touch you, pretend intimacy…”

Teddy’s breasts swelled and tightened at the thought of enduring Austin’s amorous advances. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she grabbed her black slip dress from where she’d laid it on the bed, carefully shimmied it over her head and wriggled the clingy fabric over her hips. She adjusted the rhinestone straps holding up the snug bodice and crisscrossed along her bare back.

Reaching for her diamond stud earrings, she slipped them into her lobes, then backed up to get a full-length view of how she looked for the Christmas party. Elegant, yet sophisticated and confident. Precisely the self-assured look she wanted to achieve.

She gave herself an approving nod. “Just keep your mind on that promotion, Teddy, and off your gorgeous date, and you’ll be fine.”

“Good luck,” her twin smirked. “Considering you melt when the guy just looks at you, you’re gonna need it.”

She jammed her hands on her hips and scowled. Before she could issue an argument, a knock sounded at the door, and her stomach rolled…with nerves, anticipation and a bubbling excitement that didn’t bode well for her peace of mind. Squelching the flurry of butterflies taking flight in her belly, she hurried out of the bedroom to the condo’s front door. One glance through the peephole at the gorgeous man standing in the hallway and her heart rate skyrocketed while her knees turned to mush.

Willing a calm composure, she opened the door, momentarily dizzied by the enticing spice cologne drifting her way. Her gaze took in his tailored tuxedo, deriving immense pleasure from the way the suit complimented a body she knew to be virile and incredibly honed. The dark color accentuated his chiseled good looks and gave him a mysterious air. She dabbed her tongue along her dry lips, fantasies aplenty leaping to mind. It wasn’t hard to imagine him stripping off that jacket for some woman, releasing the black bow tie, ripping off his shirt…

An amused smile curved his mouth, reaching his warm, moss-green eyes. “Hi,” he murmured, pulling her from her inappropriate thoughts.

“Hi,” she replied, unable to help the husky quality of her voice. The man simply made her feel breathless, reckless and too aware of herself as a woman. The sensation unnerved her, because she couldn’t afford that kind of distraction.