“Oh, no,” she said, backing up, right into a wall. “Not so fast.” She slapped a hand to his chest, his bare chest, which radiated heat. Her fingers started to curl into him, wanting more, so she wrenched it back. “I’m out of here.”

“You going to let a little kiss bother you then?”

She lifted a finger and pointed it at him. “You are not going to goad me into another one.”

“Because that would be…mind-blowing?”

“Because that would be…stupid.” She ducked beneath his arms and moved to the center of his office. “I came here to give you the plans and tell you I’m not attracted to you.”

“Which we’ve proved is a lie.”

“Okay, so I don’t want to be attracted to you,” she amended. “And now I’m gone.”

He waited until she got to the door. “Would it be so bad, Nicole, if we gave in to it?”

Not turning to him, not daring to, because at one look from him, she’d cave. Instead she tipped back her head and studied the ceiling. “Yes.”

“Because…?”

“Because. Just because.”

“We’d heat it up good, darlin’, you know that.”

Since her body was still heated up good, she had no doubt of that. Then his computer beeped again, accompanied by a surprisingly low and vicious oath from Ty. Turning back, she caught his unguarded expression as he reached for the keyboard.

Fury, plain and simple.

Wondering what was wrong, she sidled up behind him almost without realizing it, so that when he whipped around hiding the screen, she would have fallen backwards if he hadn’t grabbed her around the waist.

Fingers gripping her tightly, he lifted a brow. “See anything interesting?”

“No.”

His voice had lost all of its warmth. “You were right to run, Nicole. You should run. Now.” He let go of her, and she stumbled back. By the time she regained her balance, he had turned away, hands fisted on the windowsill as he stared outside.

She stared at his stiff back. “I didn’t see anything.”

“You’ll have to be quicker next time, huh?”

His temper stirred hers. Whirling, she stalked through the door, then down the hallway, and was reaching for the front door when he wrapped his long fingers around her elbow and spun her around. He had both his hands on her arms now, holding her still. He towered over her, her dark-haired, blue-eyed mystery man with the low, gruff voice and the sexy mouth that she was attracted to only every breathing moment she looked at him.

She struggled to free herself, but he wasn’t having it. “I can bring you to your knees with one well-placed kick,” she warned him.

“A moment ago I might have been in the mood for an all-out, drag-down, dirty fight, but not now.” His hands gentled, and he used one to cup her face. “I snapped at you and I’m sorry.”

“Fine.”

He sighed at her unbending, rigid stance. “Look, I was feeling nasty, all right? And I tend to take it out on anyone around me.” He sighed again. “Which is why I don’t often have anyone around me.”

She wanted to stay mad. Mad gave her energy to leave. But with him looking at her in that disarming way, with his hands still on her…it all dissolved.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated softly.

“I said fine.”

“Forgiven?”

She had to shake her head. “I’m usually so nasty when I’m not working, no one wants anything to do with me. My own family would rather I just- Damn it. Damn it.” She slapped her forehead. “I forgot to go to the family dinner my mom planned. There’ll be hell to pay for that.”

“Why?”

“You don’t have a family like mine, I take it,” she said wryly. “Big, bossy, noisy and more demanding than any work schedule I ever face.”

“No, I don’t have a family like that.” His eyes were curiously flat again. “I don’t have one at all.”

No. No, that wouldn’t tug at her either.

“I really am sorry,” he said very quietly, cupping her face, letting his long fingers stroke her skin. “Don’t let me and my foul mood chase you off.”

“I…need to go.”

“You know, I never would have pegged you for a chicken,” he taunted softly, and stopped her in her tracks.

She put her finger to his chest. “Take that back.” No one called her a chicken, and- And his chest…damn! His chest was captivating her all over again.

His smile reached his eyes again, when instead of continuing to poke him she ended up dragging her finger in slow circles from one pec to the other. “I am not going to sleep with you,” she said, but mmm, he had the best body. When her fingernail scraped over his nipple, he made a little hiss through his teeth. The sound shot straight to her good spots. “I’m not.”

“There you go, your mind in the gutter again.” His voice was a little rough around the edges now, even rougher when her finger ran over his nipple again.

“You weren’t thinking it? Not even a little?” she whispered.

“Well, I know you were.”

“I can lust after you and still keep my distance.”

“Can you?”

“Watch me.” She whirled to the door, put her hand on the handle, and…hesitated. “Are you…going to be okay?”

“Okay?”

“After that e-mail.” She glanced at him, but he’d perfectly shuttered his expression.

“Don’t you worry about me, darlin’.”

She had the feeling no one did. He had no one, which was almost beyond her comprehension. Her own family was a regular pain in her ass. But they were also always there for her, no matter what, and always had been. She couldn’t imagine being totally alone.

“I can see those wheels turn, doctor.”

“I was just wondering how it was you came to be all alone. What happened to your family?”

“Personal questions? From you?” His smile seemed a little off. “Tell you what. I get a question for every one of yours. Let’s start with this one. How is it you’re so beautiful and sexy, and yet the fact that we turn each other on makes you nervous as hell?”

Beautiful? Sexy? Those weren’t adjectives she attributed to herself. Brainy, yes. Technically minded, yes.

But sexy? The man needed glasses. Only there didn’t seem to be a thing wrong with those amazing eyes of his. She opened the door to his soft laugh.

“Let me guess…you have work?”

“Right,” she said. “Work.”

All the way home it wasn’t that mocking laugh of his that Nicole thought about, but the flash of a shocking emotion she’d never imagined from Ty Patrick O’Grady.

Vulnerability.


TY WORKED the next few days as if he had a demon on his heels, and he did.

Her name was Dr. Nicole Mann.

But he was a man used to ignoring his emotions, and he could continue to do so through this job.

So why he made more trips to Taylor’s building than was strictly required, he had no idea. Today was no exception. It was late afternoon, three days after The Kiss.

And damn, it had been some kiss. Truth was, he wanted another taste. He wanted her gripping him tightly, wanted her weak for him. He wanted her to care.

Odd, when he didn’t want to care. God, how he needed not to care.


TAYLOR CAUGHT Nicole sneaking up the stairs to her loft apartment after a long day of work. “Hey, come in for a sec.”

“Um…well…” As always, she thought longingly of her bed, and of her plans to be in it within ten minutes. Of the new medical reports in her arms that she was dying to dig into.

“Oh, save the puppy-dog eyes, I’m immune. You can’t just work, read about work and sleep.” Taylor crooked her finger, a gesture she expected to make people come running. “Come on and take your medicine like a woman, Dr. Mann. I’ve got Suzanne inside and she’s so excited it’s almost making me think there’s something to this love crap after all.”

“Then why don’t you go get married?”

“Not in this lifetime. I told you, you and me, single forever. Now get in here. It’s time to try on the dresses I got us for the engagement party.”

Nicole wished she’d taken a double shift. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. You’d have never gone to the store with me to try them on, and I know damn well you don’t have a single dress worth a damn in your closet.”

“Nicole, is that you?” Suzanne stuck her head out Taylor’s door and grinned, her red hair piled on top of her head, her gorgeous lush body zipped into some shimmery black cocktail dress that made her look like a sex goddess. “What do you think?” She spread out her arms and turned in a slow circle. “Is Ryan going to like this?”

Having rarely seen Suzanne in anything other than her usual catering uniform of black bottoms and a white blouse, or her gauzy sundresses, Nicole shook her head in amazement. “Are you kidding? He’s going to attack you on the spot. I’m attracted to you wearing that.”

Suzanne laughed and pulled Nicole inside. “This is so much fun. Now for you…”

Rule number one, never let them take you inside.

“This is going to be good.” Taylor rubbed her hands together and looked Nicole up and down. “Strip.”

Nicole merely laughed at the command, but Taylor just crossed her arms and waited expectantly. Nicole’s smile dissolved. “No. No way.”

“Yes, way.”

“Hey, stop that.” Nicole held on to her shirt as Taylor tugged at it. “Get your paws off me.”

“I got the perfect dress. Don’t worry, it was on terrific sale at a discount outlet, since I know how cheap you are.”

“How do you know that?”

“You live here, don’t you? The dress is emerald green, sparkly and designed to drive men wild.” She held up a shimmery piece of material that was far too small to possibly be a dress. “It’ll show off your great body, though you’re going to need a hell of a push-up bra.”

“Gee, thanks.” Nicole pulled off her shirt.

“You ought to think about buying a set of boobs,” Taylor said, making Suzanne choke on her soda.