Free Night Smoke by Nora Roberts Page A

question.”
    “No, I didn’t. And no.” She waited until the table was cleared, the coffee order given. “Despite a certain elemental attraction, I think it would be unwise to pursue this any further. We’re both committed to our careers, diametrically opposed in personality and lifestyle. Even though our relationship has been brief and abrasive, I think it’s clear we have nothing in common. We are, as we might say in my business, a bad risk.”
    He said nothing for a minute, only studied her, as if considering. “That makes sense.”
    Her stomach muscles relaxed. She even smiled at him as she picked up her coffee. “Good, then we’re agreed—”
    “I didn’t say I agreed,” he pointed out. “I said it made sense.” He lit a cigarette, his eyes on hers over the flame. “I’ve been thinking about you, Natalie. And I’ve got to tell you, I don’t much like the way you make me feel. It’s distracting, annoying and inconvenient.”
    Her chin angled. “I’m so glad we cleared this up,” she said coolly.
    “God knows it gets me right in the gut when you talk to me like that. Duchess to serf.” He shook his head, drew in smoke. “I must be perverse. Anyway, I don’t like it. I’m not altogether sure I like you.” His eyes narrowed, the light in them stopping the pithy comment before it could slip through her lips. “But I’ve never wanted anyone so damn much in my whole life. That’s a problem.”
    “
Your
problem,” she managed.
    “Our problem. I’ve got a rep for being tenacious.”
    She set her cup down, carefully, before it could slip from her limp fingers. “I’d think a simple no would do, Ry.”
    “So would I.” He shrugged. “Go figure. I haven’t been able to clear you out of my head since I saw you standing there freezing at the fire scene. I made a mistake when I kissed you this afternoon. I figured once I had, that would be it. Case closed.”
    He moved quickly, and so smoothly she barely had time to blink before his mouth was hot and hard on hers. Dazed, she lifted a hand to his shoulder, but her fingers only dug in, held on, as she was buffeted with fresh excitement.
    “I was wrong.” He drew back. “Case isn’t closed, and that’s
our
problem.”
    “Yeah.” She let out a shaky breath. No amount of common sense could outweigh her instant and primitive response to him. He touched, she wanted. It was as simple and as terrifying as that. But common sense was her only defense. “This isn’t going to work. It’s ridiculous to think that it could. I’m not prepared to jump into an affair simply because of some basic animal lust.”
    “See? We do have something in common.” Despite the fact that the kiss had stirred him to aching, he smiled at her. “The lust part.”
    Laughing, she dragged her hair back from her face. “Oh, I need to get away from you for a while and consider the options.”
    “This isn’t a business deal, Ms. Fletcher.”
    She looked at him again and wished she could have some distance, just a little distance, so that she could think clearly. “I never make a decision without considering the bottom line.”
    “Profit and loss?”
    Wary, she inclined her head. “In a manner of speaking. You could call it risk and reward. Intimate relationships haven’t been my strong suit. That’s been my choice. If I’m going to have one with you, however brief, that will be my choice, as well.”
    “That’s fair. Do you want me to work up a prospectus?”
    “Don’t be snide, Ry.” Then, because it soothed some of the tension to realize she’d annoyed him, she smiled. “But I’d certainly give it my full attention.” Playing it up, she cupped her chin on her hands, leaning closer, skimming her gaze over his face. “You are very attractive, in a rough-edged, not-quite-tamed sort of way.”
    He shifted, drew hard on his cigarette. “Thanks a lot.”
    “No, really.” So, she thought, he could be embarrassed. “The faint cleft in the chin, the sharp