Free Midnight Heat by Donna Kauffman

pushed. “But if I’m going to fall off the good-girl wagon, then you have to give too. I want to see you smile.”
    “I smile,” he said in his defense, still rebelling against the idea that he’d become that rigid.
    “Yeah, I can see that.”
    He bared his tightly clenched teeth. “How’s that?” he asked.
    “Oh, much better,” she said with mock solemnity, then giggled.
    At the delicious sound, he finally broke into a true grin. She choked, then gasped.
    His smile disappeared. “What?” He’d been caught off guard by the depth of pleasure their teasing brought him. Now he suddenly felt horribly self-conscious.
    “I was right,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
    Feeling more awkward by the moment and really not liking it, he battled his curiosity.And lost. “About what?” he asked warily, certain he was going to like her answer even less.
    “Your smile. Oh my God, Dane,” she said, “do you have any idea what it does to your face?”
    Right now he was pretty damn sure his face was burning red. “No,” he said.
    “Good. Then do me a favor, okay?”
    “Anything if it means we can stop this ridiculous conversation.”
    The trace of vulnerability that entered her blue eyes tugged at him. “Smile only for me.” He was surprised by the almost shy request, but before he could comment, she pulled his head down close to hers and whispered heatedly, “And only when we’re alone.”
    Her hoarse plea twisted the ache in his groin into an even tighter knot. It was as if she held his emotions on marionette strings and yanked them at will. But instead of angering him, it made him want to—
    Dane slowly tested his grin out on her again.
    Her response was a deep, appreciative sigh that ended on a soft moan. “Yeah, just like that.”
    He wondered who was getting more pleasure out of this, knowing it couldn’t possibly be her. “Any other requests?”
    “Yeah. Shut up and kiss me.”
    With pleasure, he thought, his lips alreadyon hers. She let her tongue slide languidly into his mouth. With
great
pleasure, he amended.
    The trilling of his beeper startled both of them. He couldn’t have said who moved more quickly out of the other’s embrace. They’d both reacted like guilty schoolchildren caught kissing under the bleachers. It spoke volumes about how little a role reality had just played in their little interlude. It was obvious they’d both been a little carried away, that neither of them was prepared to deal with the consequences of getting involved.
    Adria rushed back to the sink and began wiping down the basin and counter. Both of which were already spotless.
    Cursing under his breath, he glared down at the number flashing on his pager. “Who the hell is calling me now?”
    Adria stepped toward the door. “There’s a phone on the wall over the counter.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “I thought you might like some privacy.”
    What he would like was very private. And it had nothing to do with the phone. But all he told Adria was “Thank you.”
    She nodded and was gone.
    Because he wanted to rip the phone from the wall and send it flying, he purposely lifted the receiver gently and punched each number with controlled precision.
    Barely ten minutes had passed since he’dgiven in to his personal wants, his own desires. Something he hadn’t done since … Hell. He couldn’t recall a single time.
    He simply wasn’t cut out for mixing personal with professional. But when he was with Adria, he couldn’t keep the two separated.
    Dane raked his hand through his hair as the phone on the other end rang repeatedly in his ear. “You’d better pick up,” he said.
    The ringing stopped as the call was answered. “Eliot.”
    “Colbourne.”
    “Good, glad I caught you,” Eliot said. “You left instructions to be notified immediately if we got anything.”
    “And?” Adrenaline kicked in, the sweet rush bringing relief at being back in familiar territory.
    “We got a call from some guy