Free Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil by Barbara Monajem

and leaned on the jamb, eyeing Gideon with what she hoped looked like lighthearted disdain and not naked, hopeless lust. For a second the detective appeared mesmerized. Then his gaze cleared and his lips twitched.
    "Ophelia. What are you doing here?"
    "Landscaping." She turned up the allure, but the answering heat in his eyes almost knocked her to her knees. She tore her eyes from his. "Nice dog." She extended a hand under the animal's nose.
    "Meet Gretchen," Gideon said. "Landscaping. Inside the house?"
    "I take care of all Mrs. Dukas's plants when she's away." Ophelia slipped out onto the porch and shut the door behind her. "And the Dukases are out of town. Sorry." She scratched behind Gretchen's ears.
    "Really." A touch of annoyance crept into Gideon's voice.
    "Yep." Ophelia busied herself with Gretchen's soft blonde curls, which sorely needed scissors and a comb. "You have business with them?" She steeled herself to glance up again.
    "My sister will do just as well."
    Ophelia tried a puzzled expression.
    Gideon chuckled. "I'll talk to Art instead." He reached for the door handle, but Ophelia blocked him--getting way too close in the process. "Or not." He leaned closer without hesitation, nose to her nose, his hot breath bathing her lips. She closed her eyes and breathed him in, and her lips parted of their own volition. As his mouth brushed hers, a shudder ran over her. If she hadn't had that taste of blood, her fangs would have come down by now.
    She shrank against the door. "No."
    "No?" He was only a millimeter away. "Why not?"
    "It's not a good idea." She slid to one side. "Don't go in the house. That's not a good idea, either."
    "Why the hell not?" Gideon drew back, finally looking confused. Worried, too. "What's wrong with Art? Is she okay?"
    "She's all right, but she doesn't want to talk to you." She could see that hurt him, so she added, "Let's sit down and discuss things."
    Ophelia crossed the porch and sat on the top step next to a pillar. She tickled Gretchen toward her side, hemming herself safely in and away from Gideon's heat, and removed the secateurs from her belt. "This poor dog is covered with mats." She held a clump of Gretchen's fur between two fingers and clipped it off.
    Gideon frowned down at her. "What do you want to discuss--dog grooming, which is irrelevant, my lousy relationship with my sister, which is none of your business, or that you're not attracted to me, which is a load of crap? I know you want me." He lowered himself beside Gretchen's other flank. "Go ahead, get it over with. Tell me I'm arrogant and obnoxious."
    "Of course you're confident." Ophelia ran her eyes over him without a tremor, back in control. She clipped off more matted fur. "You're nicely built, pretty good-looking, have plenty of attitude...Women go for those things."
    "Including you."
    "I'm not immune, but that doesn't mean I'll hop into bed with you." Snip. "Therefore, I suggest you back off."
    "Nope." He grinned. "I can wait out your little game."
    "It's not a game," Ophelia retorted. Gretchen panted companionably beside her. "I can't believe I thought for a few short minutes this afternoon that you might be an okay guy. I suppose all your moves are about getting women into bed. After that, it doesn't matter how they feel. I bet you're a major disappointment." Reaching for a clump that was too close to Gideon's arm, she thought better of it.
    "Not so," Gideon said. A laugh lurked in his voice. "I know what women want."
    "You have no idea what I want." She grabbed the damned mat and sawed away at it. "Which is fine, because you wouldn't have the guts to deliver."
    "Try me," Gideon said. "It's a win-win situation for you. Either complete and utter sexual satisfaction...or the satisfaction of being right."
    "I don't get off on being right," Ophelia snapped.
    "You won't be right," Gideon said. "You will get off, though. How about it?"
    Snip. "You don't know the first thing about the female mind," Ophelia went on, determined