a sensual line, skimming over the swell of her curves once it passed the small of her waist. The line stopped at the walking vent a few inches above the backs of her knees. There was no mistaking the pleasing shape of her body.
“Seeing how you look tonight, Mike might have a different impression.”
“What do you mean? I wear this dress all the time for work. It’s very conservative.”
The dress may have had short sleeves, a high collar, and stopped at her knees, but conservative was not the word any red-blooded man would use to describe it. Kyra turned to him again, offering him a can of cola. She opened a can for herself.
“I’m just saying Mike might think the two of you are out on an actual date. I saw the way he looked at you when you were both standing in my office. Don’t pretend you didn’t notice.”
The annoyed look in her eyes told him she did. “So what? He might have liked how I looked that day. It doesn’t mean anything. If he didn’t get the hint the first time about me only meeting him as a friend, I’ll let him know again tonight. I’m not interested in more.”
Cole set his drink on the counter. “Maybe your method works for men in the big city, but in Misty Mesa, things are simpler. If you’re not clear with Mike, he’ll go by what he sees.”
Kyra plunked her can of cola down next to his. The bubbles inside fizzed and hissed angrily from the force. She looked like she wanted to bubble over, too. “And what do you think Mike will see, since you seem so willing to speak for him?”
“I’m not going to talk about Mike anymore. I’m going to speak for myself. I see a drop-dead gorgeous woman standing before me, and the last thing I want her to do is leave this house to go have dinner with another man.”
Before Cole could talk himself out of it, he reached for Kyra and pulled her to him in a crushing kiss.
***
Kyra was pressed hard against Cole’s chest. His lips pressed even harder on her mouth in a heated gesture of desire and demand. The stubble along his jaw gently scraped her face. She made a single noise, something between a gasp and a moan, as he parted her lips and tasted her. The linoleum was slippery beneath her feet. She would have tripped in her heels if his arms hadn’t encircled her in a tight, claiming embrace.
She regained her footing and pulled away from him. He stared at her, eyes darkening with a need that went unfulfilled. She felt the same need. She’d been experiencing it since she first saw him after a decade of being apart. For days, she denied her feelings to herself. Now they were perfectly clear.
“Kyra.” He said her name quietly, but she heard the beckoning tone in his voice. He wanted her to go into his arms again. Her body wanted her to return there as well, to stay there for a long while, but her will was more powerful than her physical yearnings. At least, she intended to prove it to him and to herself.
She gripped the door handle of the refrigerator until she was able to stand without support. Then she took two steps to get off the linoleum and onto the carpet. “What was that?”
His chest moved up and down as he breathed audibly. “You know exactly what it was.”
“Yes, your attempt to keep me from leaving the house. It doesn’t work like the movies, Cole. I won’t change my mind about going out because you think you can overpower me with a kiss.”
“If you think that was my intention for kissing you, you’re dead wrong.”
“What was it, then, gratitude for helping you with the center’s paperwork? If so, it sure wasn’t a very professional way to thank me. You knew what you were doing.” She remained still as Cole regarded her with a shrewd gaze.
“You look the same, Kyra, but you’ve turned into a new person, one who puts business ahead of everything. Can’t you see how I still feel about you?”
Kyra saw the pain and passion in his face. She heard it in his voice. It surprised her more than the kiss,
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