Glutton for punishment and well-mannered Texas girl that she was, she slipped her palm against his.

Oh, yeah.

Still amazing.

Electric and warm. Supercharged and bristling with promise.

And that was just her hand.

“Thank you again for the dinner. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it all the same.” Hating the breathiness in her voice, she tried to release her hand.

Kir held it tight, the pad of his thumb subtly moving over the tender spot between her thumb and her forefinger. As if he were remembering other, more intimate places he’d touched her. “I assure you. The pleasure was all mine.”

He gently released her, turned without the least amount of hesitation, and strolled toward the parking lot like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Watching him was something to relish. An indulgence she didn’t even realize she’d taken until he stepped off the sidewalk and turned to open the door to his car.

Great. And now he’s busted you ogling him.

She swung one of the double glass doors open and strode into the arctic reception area.

“Girl, that dude was hot,” Bonnie said before Cassie’s eyes could adjust from the blinding sunshine outside. “He your boyfriend?”

“Oh, no.” She set the paper bag on the counter and shook her head. “Just a contact that helped me out on a few stories a while back.”

And ruined me for other men, but why quibble over details?

Bonnie took the bag and opened it, but the look on her face and her answering chuckle said she didn’t buy a word Cassie’d said. “Uh-huh. Looked to me like he was plotting how to peel you out of your professional getup.”

Yeah, it’d felt like that, too. But she wasn’t going to think about that now. Or ever, if she could help it. “Nope. Just talking business.” She waved toward the bag and headed back toward the newsroom.

“Good business, or bad business?”

Cassie swung the door to the hallway open and cast Bonnie one last look. “I haven’t decided yet. Could have been the lottery, or the biggest wrong turn of my life.”

Chapter Five

The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.

It’d been two days since Roman had uttered those words to Kir. Two days, one murdered soldier and two perplexing encounters with Cassie to be precise, and Kir still couldn’t shake them.

At close to eight on a Sunday, the streets around Cassie’s neighborhood weren’t nearly as busy as they would be on a weekend. A fact Kir appreciated given his drifting thoughts. Less foot traffic meant less need for concentration as he navigated Marigny’s neighborhood and more time to cement his plan of attack.

He wasn’t lying to himself. He accepted his attraction to Cassie. Could allow himself to appreciate once more the exceptional chemistry between them now that he understood what had driven her to ignore his calls. It was also apparent her attraction to him hadn’t dimmed either.

But that attraction wouldn’t rule him.