“I took two things, actually, Kirk.” She savored his name, testing. Okay, maybe he was all right as a Kirk. Kirk Anthony. How sexy was that?
He frowned and leaned closer. “You took the papers. What. Else?”
She winked. “Not going to tell you.”
He was so close now she could lift her head and bite his chin. He smelled just the way she remembered, a masculine, woodsy scent, with a hint of vanilla, which went straight to her senses. Damn, why did the man smell so good? She sniffed appreciatively.
His frown deepened. “I don’t stink that bad,” he said, “so you can quit pretending. I can’t think of what you could have stolen besides my papers.” He paused, his eyes searching hers, then he said her name softly and slowly. “Surya.”
The tone in his voice made her shiver. She’d always liked his voice, a deep, velvety timbre. She could sit enthralled, listening to him read the phone book. And that was one of the reasons she’d hightailed out of there six months ago. This man was dangerous to her.
“Surya,” he repeated.
“Thatismy name…Kirk,” she said. “I did try to find you, you know, but your fake identity made it difficult to discern which address to send the papers back to.”
That jerked him back up. “Send the papers… You mean you were going to mail them back? Are you fucking insane? Those papers were worth a fortune!”
“You don’t have to go all postal on me,” she said, remembering now she’d wanted to see the look on his face when he received the item in the mail. She added in her best bored voice, “I’d have made sure the package was properly insured.”
“Properly…” He groaned, then shook his head. “I need to go somewhere and think this through.”
“You need to let me go so we can get to work,” she pointed out.
“I need to put a hole in my head to work with you again,” he gritted back.
She grinned up at the exasperated expression inches from her own. “How about a kiss first? I really, really prefer you giving me a kiss than putting a hole in your head and messing up those pretty lips.”
His blue eyes became laser intense and she felt that tingly feeling again. Her heartbeat, which had slowed down during their conversation, sped back up.
“A kiss?” he rumbled. “I’ve been looking for you for six months and you expect a kiss?”
He’d been looking for her? Her toes curled.
“It’s not like you didn’t know where to look,” she told him. “You knew I was with GEM.”
“Since I couldn’t give them your real ID, your handlers were clearly a bit more protective. But never mind. I got you now.”
And he kissed her.
* * * *
Kirk knew he shouldn’t have kissed her. The woman was bad news. One night with her six months ago had cost him major headaches with an assignment. Worse, he was angry for weeks because he’d thought—
No. The trouble had been he hadn’t been thinking. His dick was. Every time “Salome” was nearby, all he’d wanted to do was spend time with her. She’d been upfront and told him she was a GEM agent, translating the documents to make sure they were the real thing. Her story had checked out. He hadn’t known the real Salome Winger was tall, blonde, and forty-five years old.
Kissing her. He wanted to do more than that.
She tasted so damn familiar. A hint of mint. The sweet taste of warm woman. The promise of slow sex. He’d looked for her and promised himself that the next vacation he took, he would go after her and make her sorry she’d handcuffed him to the bed and left him. The memory of that made him lean down and kiss her harder. Her response was just as fierce and he felt her hands in his hair, pulling his head down even more.
He broke off the kiss and lay his forehead on hers. His breathing was ragged.
“Minx. I have no time for this. I have to freshen up and we need to get to work.”
“Am I forgiven then?”
He lifted his head and glared down at that gorgeous, passionate face. “Of course not. Retribution will come later,” he promised.
Her answering smile was wicked, and he wanted to kiss her some more. Giving her another dark look, he shifted his weight, freeing her. He sat up on the bed, regretting that work must come first. His cock was feeling more than regretful. She looked absolutely sinful, lying there on “his” bed, bare arms and legs, her skirt pulled up to show a hint of hot pink panties. Her dark hair, which had been knotted up, had come undone, the thick waves fanning out against the white sheets. Her dark eyes were slumberous and inviting, daring him. He shook his head. She was driving him crazy and it’d only been fifteen minutes since he’d laid eyes on her again.
