Here at work, she couldn't afford to be thinking of someone else, grieving over what could never be. Concentration was required. Time to put everything else aside and get on with her scheduled team meeting.

No problem. Putting everything else aside had always come easy for Corrine.

Until now.

Mike didn't answer or return her greeting, didn't even acknowledge it. He looked tall, dark and royally pissed off, not to mention so beautiful he took her breath away.

"Um…coffee?" she asked, gesturing toward the pot. The few sips she'd already taken were making her jittery.

Or maybe that was Mike.

"No, thanks."

She busied herself adding sugar and cream to her coffee, though she preferred it black. But she needed in the worst way to not look at him.

"Corrine."

He was going to want to talk about it. She should have known.

"Corrine." His eyes glittered with attitude and knowledge, knowledge that she'd run from him. Which really was proof positive that he could never understand her. His dark hair was still wet from what must have been a very recent shower, one in which he hadn't shaved, as witnessed by the dark, day-old stubble on his jaw.

She knew that stubble, knew it intimately, knew how it felt gliding over her skin, the raspy sound it made when he lingered, and the citrusy scent of it.

"Don't, he said in a gruff, almost harsh voice, and she was thankful they were the only ones in the room, because that voice made her blood start singing.

"Don't what?" she asked as lightly as she could.

"Don't look at me as if you can't take your eyes off me, because we both know that's not true."

It was true, but she wasn't about to admit that. "I'm only looking at you because you're early. I'm surprised, is all."

"I'm early," he said, stalking toward her with his long-gaited, very confident stride. "Because I woke up early. With a raging hard-on, as a matter of fact."

She bit her lip and held her ground, forcing her chin up so she would look fearless. Which she absolutely was. Fearless. Nothing got to her, nothing… except for maybe, just maybe, this man. "I thought all men woke up that way."

"Yes, but I woke up expecting to be wrapped around a warm, sleepy woman." He was nearly upon her now. "One whom I could slowly caress and kiss and taste until she was wide awake and writhing beneath me, making those soft, desperate sounds, which, by the way, are the sexiest I've ever heard."

"Mike-"

"And then when I had her that way," he continued in a soft, silky voice, "I was going to slowly sink inside her, one inch at a time, until-"

"Stop," she whispered desperately, weakly, glancing at the open doorway. But no one else had arrived yet. She was shaking, damp from perspiration, just at his words!

Did she really sound soft and desperate when he was buried deep inside her?

And did he really think she was sexy? No one had ever told her such things. No one had ever even thought them of her, she was quite certain. "We can't do this here."

"Oh, yes, we can." His eyes were flashing, and despite his unbearably sensuous words and soft tone, his mouth was grim. "We can do this here, because you're not going to let me do it anywhere else. I might be a little slow on the uptake, Corrine, but I'm not stupid."

No, no he wasn't. And he really was furious. She supposed he had a right, but she had a right, too. And damn it, hadn't she told him nothing could come of this…this thing between them? It wasn't as if she'd led him on, or purposely set out to hurt anyone's feelings. Besides, if anyone was going to get hurt here, it was going to be her. Because she couldn't fool herself any longer; he was magnificent. And he wouldn't stay single for long. Some other woman would come along and snag him.

But she…she would forever pine over what might have been. "I realize you're upset-"

"Upset," he repeated in a quiet, reasonable voice. He even nodded. But he didn't stop coming toward her. "Yes, you're right about that, Corrine. I'm upset."

"I know." Not allowing herself to back up, she reached behind her and gripped the conference table for support. "I do know. But-"

"No, I don't think you do." He stopped a breath away from her, so close she had to tip her head back to see into his face, but no way was she going to retreat.

She retreated for no one.

"I'm beginning to realize you know nothing about me or my feelings," he said. "Nothing at all. In fact…" He tipped his head and studied her for a long, squirmy moment. "Maybe you really are the Ice Queen everyone says you are."

She couldn't even open her mouth, his words cut such a deep wound. Her hand came up to rub at the sudden ache in her chest and she was half surprised to find no sign of blood. "You…you think I'm an Ice Queen."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you're not. Tell me you're not frozen to the emotions running wild within me. Do it," he begged softly, reaching out, trying to make her look at him. But she was done. Done with this, and done with him, because damn it, he didn't understand at all, and she wasn't about to try to make him.

Not when all her life she'd had to explain herself, except with her family. They'd always accepted her just as she was, and she'd always believed that someday, somewhere, she'd find that same acceptance elsewhere. And when she did, she'd always promised herself, that would be the man she'd marry.

It had never happened, not yet anyway, and she was beginning to believe it never would. Another bitter disappointment, knowing love, true love, always eluded her.

"Corrine."

His voice was so soft, so urgent, so utterly gripping. She lifted her head, but Stephen entered the room just then, followed by Frank.

"Ready to rock and roll?" Frank asked, rubbing his hands together with glee. Nothing made Frank happier than a SIM, which was what they were going to be doing directly after their team meeting.

"Let's get to it," Stephen said, the two of them oblivious to the tension in the room.

Jimmy came in next, his eyes suddenly measured and assessing as he looked back and forth between the commander and pilot. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Corrine said quickly. Too quickly, damn it. She felt herself starting to crumble. They could see something, some crack in her control, and she knew it would be beyond awful if she didn't get it together right here, right now. "We're just getting ready for the meeting, going over some notes."

Jimmy's eyebrows came together as he studied her. And now Frank and Stephen were more closely assessing her as well.

"Did we miss something?"

"Yeah. The doughnuts," Mike said, shocking

Corrine with his rescue, especially since she'd jumped all over him the last time he'd done that.

"There were doughnuts and you ate them all?" Stephen sighed. "You owe me, Wright."

"Two kinds of people on this team," Mike said, still looking at Corrine. "The quick and the hungry.

Frank laughed. "Well, color me hungry then."

"Damn," Jimmy said, pulling out a chair.

Stephen waggled a finger beneath Mike's nose. "You're buying lunch, pal. With dessert."

Corrine managed a smile as she grabbed her clipboard. "Lunch is on me. We'll be needing to calorie up for this afternoon's SIM."

Among the pretend groans and eye rolling, she dared a glance at Mike. He looked back at her steadily, and utterly without expression.

Not once since they'd first met had the heat and even basic affection been gone from his gaze. Not once.

It was gone now. Good. Just as she'd wanted.

But her throat burned and her chest felt tight as a drum. And for the first time, she had to wonder what she'd sacrificed in the name of success and her job.

For the next month Corrine didn't have time to so much as breathe, nor did anyone else associated with the mission.

Still, Mike was everywhere-in her SIM, in her meetings, at her side… and in her dreams.

At work they did nothing but simulation after simulation. Everything from this point on would be a run-through of the upcoming mission, only a month away now. Everything they did, they did as a team.

So she was constantly with Mike.

Her frozen heart, along with all its complicated, newly defrosted emotions, left her with no defenses. During one particularly grueling afternoon, when things weren't going right, her first instinct was to bark out orders and get the team back on track. But two words stopped her.

Ice Queen.

Walking the length of the hangar, consulting her clipboard and trying to smooth out a dozen things at once, she happened to catch sight of herself, reflected in a shiny control panel.

Her hair was clipped back, not a strand out of place. She wore little makeup and no smile, making her appear… stern.

The Ice Queen.

Around her was controlled chaos as her team prepared for yet another simulated flight, but she went stock-still. Was she really as stern as she looked? She didn't want to think so. She was as fun-loving and full of joy as anyone else.

So why did she look so hard? Pulling her lips back, she attempted a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Standing there, she tried to think of something funny, something that would evoke a genuine smile. Leaning closer to her reflection, she racked her brain and-

"Need a mirror, Commander?"

The half-ass smile froze in place. Moving her eyes from her reflection to the one that had appeared right next to her, she groaned.

Mike, of course.

"What are you doing?" She straightened up as if she hadn't just been practicing ridiculous smiles at herself in the reflective panel of a space shuttle.

"Watching you watch yourself." He leaned back, making himself comfortable. He was always comfortable, damn him. "That's some smile you've got there, Commander."