Double the Heat by Deirdre Martin, Lori Foster, Elizabeth Bevarly, Christie Ridgway Page A

needed to know.
    Lowering her head, she mumbled, “You . . . distracted me from my original intent.”
    Never before had a grumbled accusation made him semihard, but that confession did. “I won’t say I’m sorry, Lisa. Not when I still want you.”
    Heat warmed her cheeks, and her expression turned chiding. “You’re too bold.”
    The weight of her breast rested over the back of his hand, but he didn’t dare cop a feel, not here, damn near in the street, where anyone could see . . .
    A thought occurred to him, and he asked her, “Are my cousin and brother watching us through the restaurant window?”
    Looking beyond him, she scowled. “Yes, they are.” And with that, she shoved him away.
    Hart sighed. “Let me pick you up tonight. It’ll give us a chance to sort this out.”
    “There shouldn’t be a ‘this’ to sort out.”
    Maybe not, but that didn’t change the facts. “Let’s face it—there is still something between us.”
    She surprised him by looking resigned. “Fine.”
    Now it was his heart thumping. He couldn’t help but press his luck. Tentatively, he broached possibilities. “Given that we’re both mature, reasonable people, maybe after we leave the bar, we could pick up where we left off?”
    Her chest swelled with a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
    “Yes, you do.” He leaned down to put a light kiss on her mouth. “You want me, Lisa. God knows I want you. In a couple more weeks I’m going to have to leave for a training camp, and I won’t be back until after the fight.”
    “When is the fight?”
    “Not for a few months yet, and while I stay in shape, fighting shape is something altogether different. I’ll put in at least six weeks of specialized training. There won’t be much time for anything else.”
    “Ah, and you’re going to be celibate again?”
    So much skepticism. He grinned at her. “Unless you want to travel with me.” Actually, that teasing comment had merit. Could a dentist get that kind of time off? He didn’t know. But he fingered that frothy bow at her neck and said, “If you find time to visit, I promise to be available.”
    “And other than me?”
    “Celibacy it is.” Without Lisa, the thought of doing without wasn’t all that repugnant. “You might not believe it, but the only woman I want right now is you.”
    “Right now,” she acknowledged.
    Her gaze holding his, she reached behind herself, shifted, and opened the car door. She slipped away from him and got behind the wheel. For several seconds she just sat there, appearing to be in deep thought.
    Finally she closed the door, rolled down the window, and said, “All right.”
    Heat washed over him, tightening the coil of tension and lust. “Yeah?”
    She nodded. “As you said, we’re both adults. And truthfully, I haven’t gotten my fill either.”
    Damn, the things she did to him should be illegal. He nodded with ripening anticipation. “Sounds great.”
    “But one thing, Hart.”
    Caution edged in. “What is it?”
    “This time the lights stay on.”
     
     
    Hart moved uneasily in his seat, his gaze glued to Lisa at the bar. He’d been watching her for hours now. She spoke with everyone, flirted, and damn, she looked great. He almost regretted bringing her here. When she’d answered her door, the thought of taking her straight to bed, and to hell with their plan, had almost sidetracked him.
    In fact, if it hadn’t been for Lisa and her no-n onsense manner of business first, pleasure later, that was exactly what he would have done.
    He hated seeing other guys come on to her. He especially hated seeing her encourage them.
    Joe’s elbow gouged his ribs. “Stop staring at her, will you? She’s going to catch fire, you look so hot under the collar.”
    Dex, in typical brotherly fashion, said, “But she does look sexy as hell, Joe. How can he resist? Especially with every other guy in the bar ogling her.”
    Hart rubbed his chin. “She’s a damned chameleon, always changing on