Hot Target

Covertly, she took in his appearance—she simply couldn’t help herself. It was her first time to see his entire body. And what a body it was. He was dressed casually in snug-fitting jeans and an equally snug black tee, both of which molded ever so nicely to the rippling length of his powerful body. Physically the man was nothing shy of outright impressive. Even his foul mood didn’t take away from the pure maleness of his presence, and the perfection of his athletic body.

With a facade of control that defied her racing heart and the funny fluttery thing in her stomach, Katie dared to give Ron her back as she turned to face her challenger. It was unsettling that she wasn’t as capable of dismissing Luke Winter as she was the rest of the bigger-than-Texas egos she’d encountered in the wild world of professional sports.

She and Luke now stood face-to-face, each with an elbow propped on the bar, neither blinking, a standoff of sorts, one she feared she was losing. His nearness washed over her in a wave of warm, tingling sensations that tested her cool exterior and threatened her mask of aloofness. She was certain she was the one who would break, when something unexpected happened. For an instant, a tiny instant, the arrogance of the big, bad baseball pitcher melted into vulnerability. Taken off guard, Katie blinked and it was gone, replaced by something much different, more tense, almost angry.

He laughed, but there wasn’t any hint of humor in the deeply resonating sound. “I don’t see how you are going to stop anyone from hurting me.” Again he was taunting, and Katie couldn’t help but wonder if he was punishing her for seeing something in him that he hadn’t wanted exposed. He continued his verbal assault, “I believe a large woman could overpower you. A man would easily control you.”

His eyes made a slow, lazy tour down her body and then back up again, blatantly pausing at her breasts. When his eyes met hers again, she wanted to reach over and smack his face. The hand that hung by her side balled into a fist as she willed herself to calm, glaring at him with what she hoped was fire. Not once now, but twice, he had taken the liberty of undressing her with his eyes.

“Ron,” he said in a slow drawl, his eyes remaining on Katie. “Really, now. Let’s be realistic here. She looks more like one of my groupies than a security expert.” His lips twisted. “Then again, she is a beauty. She might be entertaining.”

Ron grunted. Loudly. “You’re out of line, Luke. Enough. You are not only insulting Katie, you’re underestimating her.” Suddenly, Katie was aware of Ron standing to her left, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off Luke. They remained facing each other, glaring at each other. Katie felt Ron’s attention land heavily on Luke. “You really are being difficult, my man. What’s come over you?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Ron.” Luke never took his eyes off Katie. “Why don’t we see what she really can do?”

Suddenly, Katie found herself trapped, her back against the bar, imprisoned by one of Luke’s strong arms on either side of her.

“Luke!” Ron’s angry voice rumbled as if in a tunnel.

Unwilling to be manhandled, Katie considered pulling the gun in her boot and teaching Luke a real lesson but thought better of it. Instead, she pressed her hands to that warm, hard chest and raised a knee, stopping the instant before she made contact. To her satisfaction, Luke’s eyes went wide with the near impact.

“The way to satisfy a man might not always be in his pants,” she said, slowly easing her leg down, her hand staying on that hard wall of muscle, keeping him at a distance. “But right now, it darn sure is mine.”

“So you like to play dirty, do you?” His breath teased as it trickled along her cheek.

His fast, unaffected comment drew a glare from Katie. “You, Luke Winter,” she muttered between her teeth, trying not to think about the way his thighs were suddenly pressed to hers, “are way too full of yourself.” And his lips were way too close, as well. Sensual lips. Full lips. She snapped her attention away from his mouth, irritated at her distraction. “I’m not a groupie or even a fan. Frankly, I think you pitchers ruin the game. It’s boring. Nobody hits the ball.”

“Wait. You think baseball is boring?”

She smiled even before she got the words out. “Just pitchers.” Her hands slid from his chest and she crossed her arms in front of her, silently dismissing him.

“But you think I’m a good pitcher.”

She blinked at the odd comment. “I didn’t say that.”

“I think you did.”

She almost threw her hands in the air. “The point is—I don’t care about your pitching. I’ve dated my pro athlete.”

“Who?”

“Joey Martin.”

“The quarterback?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. I know Joey. Arrogant guy. It’s a quarterback thing. Pitchers are better. But I can see why you’re bitter.”

Exasperated, she exclaimed, “I am not bitter. And back to my point that I never quite made. I’ve dated my athlete. Got the T-shirt and don’t want another. You have nothing I want or need.” Ron groaned in frustration, though neither Luke nor Katie paid him any mind.

With a sizzling, heavy-lidded stare, Luke leaned in close. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, and maybe you’ll believe it.” A shiver raced down her spine at the intense look that followed. “In my experience, people scream the loudest about the very things they are running from.”

She laughed in disbelief at the implication. “You think I’m running from you?”

His damnable silver-gray eyes overflowed with challenge. “Aren’t you?”

“If anyone is running,” she countered, poking his chest, “it’s you.”

His gaze dropped to his chest where she’d touched him and so did hers. Something happened in that split second. Tension entwined with attraction and exploded. Heat pooled low in her belly, awareness charging a path along her limbs, tightening her nipples, heart pounding in her ears. Slowly, their eyes lifted at the same instant, colliding in an electric charge of pure, red-hot attraction. It was one of those moments, one of those liquid fire moments between a man and a woman, that could turn animosity into wild, passionate sex.

“That’s enough!” Ron’s voice snapped through the air, and Katie all but jumped at the reminder of why she couldn’t have passionate anything with Luke. He was a job, a duty, a pain-in-the-backside, arrogant jerk. But still neither she nor Luke moved. They just kept staring at each other.

Ron’s hands closed down on one of each of their arms. “I said—that’s enough.”

Luke backed away, a smile tilting his way-too-hot mouth upward—the mouth Katie couldn’t stop staring at, wondering what it would feel like pressed to hers. Oh, God, she was thinking about kissing Luke Winter. Was she insane? Shaken to the core, she jerked her attention from Luke’s face, ran her hand along the edge of her hair and made her decision.

“Obviously, this isn’t going to work.” A second later, she was making fast tracks toward the door. She’d been crazy to come here, and she knew it. Ron should have known, too.

Luke’s voice mocked her from behind. “She gives up easily,” he said, evidently talking to Ron. “Why exactly did you recommend her? You thought she might actually have some balls? Guess you were wrong.”

Katie abruptly turned around, anger flashing in her brown eyes. “I cannot work effectively when it’s clear I will not have your cooperation. We can’t work together. We can’t even have a conversation together.”

Luke laughed loudly, leaving a trail of arrogant satisfaction ringing in the air. “Like I said, you give up easily.”

Katie fought for composure, enduring his mocking laughter with an internal cringe.

“Katie,” Ron said, his own exasperation apparent in the tension-etched way he said her name. “I don’t know what the hell has come over Luke, but we need you. He needs you. I need you. The entire team needs you.” He gave Luke a biting look. “Luke will behave himself. I’ll make sure of it.” He returned his attention to Katie. “Take the job.” With a pointed meaning, he added, “We both know you need it.”

Luke’s eyebrows arched sharply. Katie, in turn, shot Ron an angry look of reproach. Her financial picture was none of Luke Winter’s business, and that was exactly where this was leading.

Ron ignored her silent reprimand and spoke to Luke. “Management wants this to happen. I suggest you make it work.”

Then he waved his hand between the two of them, pointing at each. “So, to both of you, listen carefully to what I have to say. Katie, you need this job. Luke, you can take Katie or be left behind. There are plenty of young bucks dying to get your starting spot in the lineup. You might think you aren’t replaceable, but so has every other pitcher who’s ever been replaced. Both of you decide now. Are we going to make this work or not?”

Katie and Luke stared at each other, neither in a happy mood. Neither gloating any longer.

Ron continued, “I take that as acceptance from both of you. Now,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his brawny chest, “we need to sort out the logistics. No one can know who Katie really is.” Ron turned to Katie. “Luke is single, and so are you. I say you go undercover as his girlfriend.”

Her rejection was instant. “Forget it,” she spat at Ron. “That’s a deal breaker. I’m not going to pretend to be this man’s girlfriend!” She narrowed her gaze, accusation in her voice. “You planned this from the beginning. I know you, Ron. You knew I wouldn’t agree to this kind of setup, so you waited until I was here. That is low. I expected more from you.”

“Management wants this problem to appear to disappear,” Ron explained. “That means they want Luke’s extra security to be invisible. And let’s face it, our stalker doesn’t need to be alerted that someone is watching or that person might pull back before we catch them. This plan solves all of these issues.” Ron set his jaw, unaffected by her words, apparently prepared for them. “I’ll throw in an extra five thousand a week. That should cover any discomfort.”

Katie opened her mouth to reject the offer, indignant about Ron’s behavior, but forced herself to shut it again. She needed the money to get her sister out of trouble, but damn it, she didn’t want to be bought.

Then, suddenly, she realized Luke hadn’t said a word. Not one objection, not one complaint, nothing. She looked at him, a question in her mind that was most assuredly on her face.

Why wasn’t he complaining? Why was he leaning lazily against the bar, one long leg crossed in front of the other. “Why aren’t you objecting?” she asked suspiciously.

He shrugged a broad shoulder. “I want to play ball, thus I accept my circumstances. Seems you’re the one who still has issues.”

“I have issues?” she asked in disbelief. How had this gotten turned around to her? She turned businesslike, her voice softer now by design. “I just don’t think this is the best approach.”

“I’m open to hearing a better one,” Ron said, leaning on the bar beside Luke. “You got one?”

Katie swallowed. Ron’s idea was a good one. She just didn’t like it. “Well, no, not yet.”

“So this is our best option for now?” Ron asked, with an expectant look on his face.

Damn. She was trapped. If her sister didn’t have this gambling debt, she’d refuse altogether. But what option did she have? Carrie had sharks after her. “I, um, suppose so.”

Luke challenged her then. “Then what’s the problem?”

LUKE HAD already figured out it was not in Katie’s nature to walk away from a challenge, exactly why he’d pushed her, egging her on. And for some unknown, crazy reason, the thought of her leaving kicked his ass. His plan to scare her off had only served to make him want her more.

And when she’d pulled that knee on him…the fire in her eyes, well…it had sent heat straight through his veins and right to the vicinity of her target.

It was like a white-hot rocket had settled between his thighs. He had stood before her, completely hard and wanting. Katie Lyons might be a problem, but she was a delicious one.

So now he found himself baiting her, and she was letting him. “Is there a problem, Katie?”

He watched her force a smile. And damn if she wasn’t cute as hell trying to act all tough when he could tell she really wanted to bolt. Sexy and cute? Had he ever found a woman he would call both?

Even as he was acting on his attraction to her, and challenging her to stay around, in the far corners of his mind he knew he was setting himself up to get burned again. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted to find out what made Katie tick. What made her laugh? What made her sigh?

Several tension-filled seconds passed where he could almost see her trying to form words, before she finally managed to actually do so. “No problem,” she finally said. “We’ll do it Ron’s way.” It was a weak concession, at best, but one Luke reveled in nonetheless.

Ron smiled his approval. “Good. It’s settled, then.” He glanced at Luke. “Katie will go undercover as your girlfriend. We have a week before you leave for the first series. That’ll give her time to get her crew here and in place.” Ron looked at Katie. “Luke has plenty of room for you to stay here.”

Katie had opened her mouth to voice what Luke was certain would be an objection, when Ron turned to Luke. “Katie is known for solving problems fast. She gets up close and personal with the client and smokes out the problem, like fire in a chimney. It’s amazing.”

Luke studied Ron, and then let his focus shift back to Katie. “Is that so?” To Luke’s surprise, she started blushing, and he found himself gently adding, “Good thing I have a guest bedroom next door to mine.”

She wet her lips, choosing to divert the conversation away from the bedroom next to his. “I have two of my staff members joining us tomorrow. We’ll have to discuss their cover stories rather quickly after they arrive.” She paused. “They’ll need rooms, as well.”

Luke inclined his head, forcing himself not to smile at her, diverting the conversation away from their sleeping arrangements. She had just agreed to stay around. And for some unidentifiable reason, he felt the best he had in months.

“Not a problem,” Luke told her. “Why don’t I show you to your room?”

She bit her bottom lip. “I know it’s late, but I’d like to go down a list of questions with you tonight so I can start formulating a plan of attack.” She glanced at Ron. “I’m empty-handed. I have no file. No real data to work with.”

“I’ll bring it by tomorrow,” Ron promised.

Luke wanted nothing more than to start getting to know Katie tonight, but she looked tired and more than a little uncomfortable, despite her grand efforts to appear unscathed. “Your flight was late,” he said. “And the trip from New York to Los Angeles is a long one. Why don’t we start bright and early in the morning?”

“I’d…” She seemed to reconsider what she was going to say. “That works.”

He smiled at her, a sincere, heartfelt smile. Now that she’d agreed to take the case, he needed to stop with the games. It was time to show her he wasn’t such a bad guy.

“I’ll carry your bags up for you.” Luke faced Ron. “I’d like to talk to you before you leave.”

“If you have something to say about me, say it to my face.”

Katie’s heated words drew his attention. He narrowed his gaze on her—his intention had been to question Ron about Katie. But maybe that was best done directly.

“Then let’s make a deal,” Luke said to her.

Her eyes darkened. “What kind of deal?”

Ron answered before Luke could. “You two deal,” he said. “I need to get going anyway. Unlike the two of you, age isn’t on my side. It’s eleven o’clock, and I have a meeting at seven in the morning.”

“I’ll walk out with you,” Katie said quickly.

Luke laughed.

Katie fixed him in a hard stare. “What?” she demanded.

He shook his finger at her. “You don’t play by the rules.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, but her expression said she knew.

“I’m out of here,” Ron said, moving toward the door. “And for the record,” he called over his shoulder, turning back to them for a quick moment, “I won’t be the referee. Play nice together and catch a bad guy. Then we all win.”

He opened the door and disappeared.

Luke and Katie were suddenly alone, staring at each other, the air crackling with awareness. Ah, but Luke was not blind. There was a heavy dose of discomfort on Katie’s part, as well. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to want him. Whatever Joey Martin had done to her, he’d done it well.

Okay, admittedly, Luke playing the asshole on deck hadn’t helped. He’d taken a preexisting wall and inched it higher. Which really sucked because he liked her. She was real. He sensed it as surely as he did a batter about to hike a ball out of the park, sensed this with such certainty that he wouldn’t bother second-guessing himself, even though his recent track record with women was pretty flipping pathetic. If Katie hated him, it would be openly, not behind his back. If she desired him, her passion would be bold and flaming hot.

“So, Katie Lyons,” he said softly as he took a step toward her. “Let’s make that deal I mentioned.”

Her eyes went wide, suspicion flickering in their depths. “What kind of deal?”

“The way I see it,” he said as he closed the distance between them, “we have two options for dealing with our situation.”

She swallowed and then tilted her chin up defiantly. “Okay, I’ll bite. What two options are those?”

He took another step. She didn’t move. She stood her ground with that tough facade, but he knew she was wavering by the flash of nervousness in her eyes.

“We could fight all day and all night,” he said. He stopped in front of her, close. So close all he had to do was lift his arms to touch her. Damn, he loved her scent, a soft floral something. He wasn’t much of a flower guy, but he thought maybe honeysuckle. Sweet. A contradiction from her tough exterior, a detail that ripened his assessment of her to downright delicious.

“Or?” she prodded, refusing to back away. Damn, she had spunk. That made him hot.

“Or we can get right to the root of the problem and be done with it.” He shifted closer to her, his lips lingering above hers. “Now would be a good time for that knee if you don’t want to be kissed.” He reached for her, pulling her close, molding her sexy, taut body to his. He didn’t give her time to object. His mouth closed down on hers.

He kissed her, prodding her into a response. She started to resist, her palms pressed against his chest, her spine stiff. But when his tongue dipped into her mouth and brushed hers, she whimpered. Her lips softened, her body warmed. She melted and gave him what he really wanted. Her surrender.

3

KATIE COULD NOT stop kissing Luke Winter. The man deserved that well-placed knee for daring to kiss her, on top of being a complete, utter ass. And she’d give him that knee. Soon. Very soon. Right after she finished kissing him. And, oh, God, was she kissing him. The kind of kissing that screamed Strip me naked and have your way with me. Worse, no matter how hard she willed herself to pull away from such abandon, Katie couldn’t do it. She was drowning in sexy male seduction and couldn’t find the desire to escape. Which led her to one conclusion—Luke Winter had a magic tongue. It was the only explanation for the drugging effect of his kiss, the only explanation for the dull, wonderful ache that spread through her limbs and coiled in her stomach. When was the last time a man had accomplished such a feat? A year? Almost two?

So when he said, “Tell me this feels as good to you as it does to me,” with his lips lingering above hers, a whisper from another caress, Katie tried to say no, but she was afraid he would stop kissing her.

Instead, she whispered, “Yes.” And it was breathless. Hungry.

Bingo. He kissed her again.

She knew she should be pushing him away, but…he tasted and felt so darn good. She was human after all, and he was…well, he was a damn good kisser.

And try as she might to ignore the reaction her body was having to him, she couldn’t. She wanted him. Bad.

But this was just a kiss. No harm, no foul. At least, in her desire-stricken state, that was the logic she decided to cling to. Later she would chastise herself. Not now.

Besides, it had been an eternity, or so it seemed, since she had been thoroughly kissed. His tongue played along the sides of hers, and Katie moaned without any possible hope of restraining the sound.

There was something so warm, so alluringly perfect about his kisses. Perhaps the way he used his lips to caress hers, or maybe it was the way his tongue did this slow, seductive dance along hers.

Or was there more?

Some kind of unique chemistry between them perhaps?

Slowly, he pulled away from her, coming back for a brief nibble, before staring down at her with a probing, heated gaze.

Without thought, a sigh of pure female satisfaction slipped from her mouth.

He smiled in return—clearly proud of making her act in such a way—but Katie didn’t find the smile offensive, surprisingly. She knew he had enjoyed kissing her, as well.

His hand slid beneath her hair, his callused fingers caressing her neck with delicious friction. “Katie—”

Someone cleared their throat at the doorway, a distinctly feminine sound, drawing their attention. Shocked at someone else’s presence, Katie instantly moved to take a step backward. Luke quickly settled his hands around her waist, holding her there against him. Katie cast him a disbelieving look and had opened her mouth to complain when he whispered, “Remember your cover. We’re dating.”

“I think we’re about to have our first fight,” she ground out, giving him her best evil glare, intended for perps under arrest but quite effective with low-life athletes who couldn’t keep it in their pants. Her attention shifted to the visitor, a woman—no, girl—not more than nineteen. Distress etched her youthful features, a frown on her heart-shaped face. Her faded, ripped jeans and pretty yellow lace blouse were as youthful as the highlights streaking her long, dark hair. A sick feeling gathered in Katie’s stomach. Apparently, Luke Winter liked them young, and he didn’t care if he had more than one woman in his house at once. She visualized the pleasure she’d get from a well-placed knee, something she should have already given him. Pig!

“Hi, Jessica,” Luke said. “Katie, this—”

Jessica rambled over the top of him. “I should have known better than to let myself—” Her hands twisted together, her voice trailing off.

“Let yourself what?” Luke said, actually having the gall to sound both concerned and confused.

Katie would have told him where to stick that stupid act of his, too, but the girl spoke up first. “My mother wanted me to let you know the guest room is ready.” Her hate-filled gaze shifted to Katie. “She said you’d need it.”

Katie blinked and turned to Luke. “Who’s her mother?” What the heck did the man have going on here?

“I am,” came a voice etched with accent. A gentle-looking older woman stepped up beside Jessica, her thick, dark hair streaked with gray and pinned in a bun. “I’m Maria Rodriguez, Luke’s housekeeper.” She paused and smiled at Luke. “But he’s more like a son to me.” Her friendly attention, so unlike her daughter’s, shifted to Katie. “You must be the someone special Ron told me Luke had arriving this evening. We let ourselves in. To make sure you had everything you needed.”

“Someone special?” Katie repeated. She swallowed, biting back anger—and not at Luke this time. She and Ron were going to have words. He had clearly planned the dating thing from the start and thrown her to the wolves—no plan, no story in the mix. And now she and Luke were flying by the seat of their pants. Lacing her arm with Luke’s, she forced a smile in his direction. “Is that what I’m being called these days? Should I tell you what my special name for you is?”

Luke slid his hand over hers. “Why don’t we save that for when we’re alone, sweetheart.” He pulled her a bit closer, their hips aligned, and the message clear—he was more than happy to play boyfriend. No doubt because he thought he was going to be getting more of that kiss-kiss action.