Hitting the Mark
Jill Monroe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is dedicated to my husband. • Thanks for always believing in me!

A special thanks to Gena Showalter.

The sun and moon don’t lie. Thanks also go to

Kassia Krozser, who knows all my dirt and

therefore gets in every dedication.

Plus you’re an awesome friend.

I’d also like to thank Sheila Fields, Linda Rooks,

Betty, Donnell, Tami and Amanda. To OKP,

whenever I imagined all the bad things

happening to Dirk, I pictured your face.

Many thanks to Kathryn Lye. I’m looking

forward to the next one!

To my family, who are so patient and supportive—

I love you.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Coming Next Month

Prologue

MAYBE SHE SHOULD just fake it.

Danni Flynn closed her eyes and willed herself to get into the mood. She concentrated on the sensual play of the hard muscles of her lover’s back as he moved his tongue along her body. She loved running her fingers over his hips. Loved to feel him push against her when she found his ultra-sensitive spots.

Except this time, all she felt was betrayed.

Danni tried to shut off her mind, made herself slow down to enjoy the delicious heat of his breath on her neck as he whispered, “Danni, you’re so incredible.”

When his fingers found her nipple and gently caressed, her toes curled, actually curled into the mattress.

Okay, maybe she wouldn’t have to fake it. Maybe she could let this go on a little longer. She could get back into it. After all, Eric Reynolds, if that were really his name, owed her the mother of all orgasms considering what he’d done to her.

Thinking of his treachery caused her muscles to tense.

“Something wrong?” he asked. He looked so good. All messed up from their lovemaking and concerned about her. Jerk.

“Everything’s…wonderful,” she lied.

But she’d lost it again. There had to be some way to keep her brain from drifting to the lying, manipulating and using jerk Eric was. Rather than the orgasm-inducing God of Sex that he’d proven to be in the past.

He continued to caress and behave in ways that never failed to get a response from her. Never failed until now. From the determination on his face, Eric wasn’t going to stop until she came. That was what made him a great lover. Made being the operative word there. Past tense. This was the last time she’d allow him to touch her.

“You feel so good, Danni,” he said, his voice nothing but a sexy ragged whisper.

Yeah, she just bet she did. A wave of anger killed the last of her pleasure buzz. Would it feel good when she duct taped his mouth?

Yep, fake it. She sighed and made a moan deep in her throat to speed things along.

He now moved inside her more purposefully, his breathing becoming more strained. She almost grinned. He’d bought it. This faking business wasn’t going to be so difficult. Who’d ever invented it sure had the right idea. Add a moan here and there and he’d be done.

Now wait a minute. Why should the lying bastard be having any fun? If she didn’t get to come, he shouldn’t, either. In fact, she’d never planned to let him enjoy this one last marathon of sex. Honestly, as long as he was screwing her outside of bed, she should at least get one last good screw from him in bed.

And now that wasn’t even working. Might as well jump to phase two of her plan.

Determined, she gripped his strong shoulders. Danni pushed him away, their bodies still joined.

“I have a game I want to play,” she said, dropping her voice to a provocative level.

A wicked glint sparked to life in his brown eyes. “You and your games.”

“I want to tie you up and then do naughty things to your body,” she told him as she traced a teasing line across his chest.

“Next time,” he said, his voice a promise.

She shook her head, turning her smile devilish. “No, it will be more fun this way. Our bodies will ache for completion, but we won’t let them have it until we turn up the heat even more. It will be almost tantric.”

Eric groaned deep in his throat. “I can never say no to you.”

Yeah, it was dealing with the truth he had a problem with. Double dealing with the truth.

Eric wrapped his arms around her, and for a moment she closed her eyes. Remembering. Remembering what it felt like to wake up in his arms this very morning thinking he loved her. Knowing she loved him. The solid strength of him. The promise of a future in his eyes. That sexy, sleepy smile on his face only for her.

He rolled so she straddled him. She gasped in pleasure as he delved deeper into her. Okay, the man had skills in bed. Her last boyfriend had never mastered the roll-over-and-still-stay-joined maneuver. Although that boyfriend had been upfront about his loserness and lack of ambition.

“I’m all yours,” he said.

“You just bet you will be.”

“What?” he asked, his eyes dark and lusty.

How’d he do it? Just how in the hell was he able to look so sincere, almost loving while all the time he was also happy to send her on a train ride to hell?

Danni shook her head and forced a smile. “Nothing. I have the rope in my bag,” she told him.

His gaze left her breasts and he met her eyes. His brows lifted. “You came prepared.”

He didn’t know the half of it.

He groaned again as she shimmied off his body. She fought back the wave of sadness, already missing the intimate closeness of being joined. She’d use an extra piece of duct tape on his mouth just for that feeling alone.

His gaze followed her as she padded along the carpet to her bag. Originally, she was going to tie him up after he’d given her a great time. Gripping the handle of the bag hard in frustration, she tossed it on the bedside table. Returning to the bed, she schooled her features to look seductive. Her eyes promised the naughty game-playing he liked so much. With a snap, Danni pulled out the rope. Thick, tight and knotted.

He blinked in surprise. “You’re serious. I expected a scarf or something,” he said, excitement lacing his words.

She’d like to hog-tie him. That is, if she actually knew how to do such a thing. Hog-tie him and beat him with a stick like he had her heart.

She sucked in the side of her lip. Now that was being a bit overdramatic. Even for her.

She winked then reached over and drew out a few delicate scarves. “The scarf I’ll put against your skin.” Jerk. “That way you won’t get chafed.” Rot in hell. “Wouldn’t want you showing up to work with burn marks.” And may it fall off.

Oh, no, she couldn’t let him show up for work looking less than corporate. Especially since she knew now just how important that job of his was to him. He could lie and cheat and then sleep like a baby. That’s a skill even she didn’t possess.

A hint of uncertainty lit in his eyes. “Trust me,” she urged, throwing back the same words he used on her half a dozen times.

Eric lifted his hand, and she forced her expression to stay sensual rather than triumphant. Yes. It was working.

Danni pressed a quick kiss on the warm skin of his wrist then slid the scarf in place. He even had sexy wrists, masculine and flexible with the right amount of hair. Oh, it was so unfair. With a quick twist, she secured his arm to the bedpost and used the same routine to bind his other arm and both his legs. Sitting back on her heels on Eric’s large bed, she admired her work.

Despite being such a jerk, Eric Reynolds was the best looking man she’d ever seen. Sprawled against the king-sized bed, his arms and legs tied up, he exuded power and force. Only a man utterly confident in his own strength and had trust in his woman would allow himself to be tied up. That’s what she’d counted on.

There’d be hell to pay if she didn’t work this one right.

Locks of his dark hair fell across his forehead, and she allowed herself one more time to touch the strands, stroke the hair away from his face. She trailed one finger along his sexy cheekbone and the harsh outline of his jaw. His lips, he had such beautiful lips. Wicked lips that made her want to do erotic things. Wicked lips because they told such wicked lies.

Eric sucked in a breath as she leisurely traced a path along his broad chest, and the flatness of his stomach. She smiled as she saw his penis rise, then harden even more. The only place he didn’t lie. But that was because he couldn’t. She tore her gaze from his body, focused once more on his lips.

One last kiss. She needed one more kiss to remind her what betrayal tasted like. Danni bent over and slid her tongue on his bottom lip. Despite being restrained, he moved his mouth so he kissed her fully. Her heartbeat quickened, and she felt her nipples tingle and tighten. He made her feel things. Want things.

And that’s why she had to do this. Why she couldn’t congratulate him on his great con and walk away. Because for a few short days he made her dreams come true, but then snatched them away.

The sounds of their ragged breathing filled his bedroom. She quickly broke contact and scrambled off him.

Frantic, Danni searched for her panties. Damn, that was one part of her plan she hadn’t fully thought through. But then, neither had she made allowances for ditching her clothes in such a hurry, and leaving them all over his suite.

“What are you doing?” Eric asked, his voice curious and oh, so trusting.

Forget her panties. Grabbing her jeans, she swiftly stepped into them and zipped them up. She didn’t look at him. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m getting dressed.”

“What?” Eric managed to sit up higher, his expression growing serious. She’d given too much slack in the legs. Oh, well. Hindsight.

After donning her bra and hastily buttoning her shirt, Danni slipped into her shoes. “I’m leaving.”

“What the hell…? Danni, this isn’t funny.” Eric tugged furiously at his bonds. They held. Good.

She finally met his gaze. “I’m not meaning it to be a joke,” she told him, her voice steady and sure.

Eric struggled against the rope. He must have realized she wasn’t playing.

“I wasn’t lying about being a Scout,” she said. “I really do know how to make good knots. Don’t worry, despite the Do Not Disturb sign I placed on the knob, I’ll call room service to come get you. After a few hours. That should give you plenty of time to reflect on your crimes.”

Cold, controlled anger replaced confusion in his eyes. A wave of unease made her shiver. She had to get out of there. Now. But she couldn’t have him yelling the place down. It was time to tape his mouth shut. Reaching for the roll, she made her way back to the bed. With every step she took, tension filled her.

“What are you planning to do with that?” he asked. He smelled of arousal, and now, unforgiving male. She knew he couldn’t get away, but that didn’t make the man’s intimidating presence any less daunting.

She unrolled a long strip of duct tape.

“Danni, stop this. You’re making a mistake,” he blurted.

Danni shook her head. “I doubt it. You picked the wrong mark, ace.”

“Mark? What are you talking about?”

“Someone has to save my father.”

“Danni, whatever it is you think you know, you’re wrong. Let me expl—”

“Save your explanation. It will all just be more lies.”

His eyes widened in surprise, and she grabbed at the opportunity to secure his mouth.

“What is it you once told me, Eric? You didn’t believe in chance. Well, you made a convert. I don’t believe in chance either. Only making my own opportunities. And I’m making one now. You seduced me to get to my father, and now you’re going to pay.”

1

Two Weeks Earlier

DANNI BALANCED the laundry basket on her hip as she stepped out of the dry Nevada heat, and into the humidity of the Save ’n’ Wash. No one did their laundry on a Wednesday afternoon, so it was the perfect time to study. For some reason, just starting school when most people her age would have been finishing made her feel a twinge unsure. Funny how going straight could do that to a person. She’d always felt cool and in control while on the grift.

She’d been born to play the game. Or so her father had always told her. And taught her.

Not worth thinking about now. Danni blinked to allow her eyes to adjust to the inside light, and set her basket down on an empty table. Her textbook lay on top of her dirty clothes. She had more than two years ahead of her, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She’d carefully pushed her change into the slot, when a shadow fell across her arm.

“Do you have any dryer sheets? I must have left mine back at the hotel.”

Danni glanced up to match the sexy voice to the shadow. She had heard some pickup lines before, in fact, she’d heard that exact pickup line in the Laundromat, but never from someone like this. Someone who didn’t need cheesy words because his very presence was an open invitation.

Tall and dark and rugged.

Her breath hitched. She’d always gone for the rebels. Long hair, no job and an air of total irresponsibility. Bonus points for lack of sensitivity, except for something useless like his bad music or his dirty poetry. Those were the kind of guys who rocked her world.

But this wasn’t a guy. This was a man.

Despite the corporate cut to his dark hair, he exuded a jagged undercurrent of danger. No rebellion…just promise. She swallowed. This man was gulp worthy. A snug, navy T-shirt molded his proud chest and shoulders. Danni kept a tight rein on her eyes. Do not lower.

She met his gaze. She found humor in the darkness of his brown eyes. And expectation. Oh yeah, he was waiting on her to answer. Dryer sheet. That was it.

Time to work it.

“For a dollar,” she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “You want a dollar for one dryer sheet?”

Danni shrugged. “You’re welcome to go to the store.”

A touch of frustration mixed with the humor already in his eyes. He stuffed his fingers into the front pocket of his well-worn jeans. And they fit him well. Nice flat stomach, narrow hips. Fine-looking package. Okay, so she looked lower. Big deal. He pulled out a five.

“I can even make you change,” she said with a smile.

She could imagine it right now. Slide him three bucks and a dryer sheet, pocket the extra. Daddy had taught her well.

But she wouldn’t. Because damn it, she was determined to be an honest person.

Also, a very rude one. Rudeness kept people away, and that’s how she liked it. It was the way it had to be. When people got close to you, they began expecting things. Wanting to know personal, private details.

He pushed the money into her hand. His long, lean fingers warm and strong as he folded her fingers around the cash. “If you need it that badly, keep the whole five.” The man took one of her sheets, turned his back and tossed it into one of the oversized dryers in the corner.

He looked just as good from the back as he did from the front.

Shoving the bill into her pocket, Danni was at a loss. She’d come out on top in this little encounter. Hadn’t she?

Danni grabbed her book and sat. Freeing her mind to the wide-open world of court reporting, she tried to forget the man. She should be memorizing the abbreviation for parenthesis. She had a mock deposition to study for. Uh-huh, that was irony there.

Her gaze strayed to the man folding his socks. What if he started folding his underwear? What if he didn’t?

Despite the thinness of her T-shirt, she broke out in a light sweat. This was a man who deserved underwear speculation. He also took the fun out of it by giving her all five bucks.

And yet that made him even sexier.

Maybe she hadn’t needed to be that rude. But the man stirred up every instinct not to talk to him. Perhaps that was a good thing—her track record with men was awful. And she always went with her gut. So should she go against it for once, and go for him instead? The last of his clothes were already dry, there wouldn’t be much more of an opportunity.

Grabbing a dryer sheet, she walked to the table where he stood shaking out another pair of well-worn jeans. He didn’t react as she approached. She waved the dryer sheet in his field of vision. The flowery scent of a summer day wafted between them. At least that was the scent mentioned on the package.

Mr. Gorgeous turned toward her and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m waving the dryer sheet white flag of peace. Maybe I was a little rude back there.”

“A little?” he asked, his voice low and rumbly. And very, very sexy.

“It should be two dryer sheets for a dollar. I misquoted the price earlier.” Okay, if he could work “dryer sheets” into a cheesy pickup line, so could she.

Without touching her, he tugged the sheet from her fingers.

In spite of the white flag, she refused to give up. “Actually, the going rate for five dollars is two dryer sheets and a cup of coffee.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out his bill. “And I just happen to have five dollars.”

“I just happen to be thirsty.” The humor reappeared in his dark eyes.

“There’s a coffee shop at the end of this block. Why don’t I meet you there in about thirty minutes? My clothes should be dry by then.”

“Thirty minutes it is,” he told her.

But she knew the truth. He wouldn’t show up. Sure, he’d accepted, but then who wouldn’t in order to get the crazy person at the Laundromat away from them? Besides, he was definitely corporate. Corporate never went for her.

TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, Danni slid her laundry basket with clean clothes into the trunk of her car and slammed the lid. She turned and faced the street. Five minutes to go. She couldn’t seem too eager. She dug out her cell phone and dialed Cassie’s number.

“I’ve asked someone out for coffee,” Danni said as soon as her best friend answered.

“It’s snowing outside, right?”

Danni checked the sunny blue sky. “What are you talking about? It’s way past snowing in Reno.”

“That was sort of my point. You never get my jokes. How did this come about?”

“I insulted him, took his money, then apologized without really apologizing.”

“That’s like my last three relationships,” Cassie said, her teasing voice making Danni grin.

“He won’t show,” Danni said.

“Whew, that’s better. For a minute there I was afraid you were nervous. But then, your normal cynicism reappeared.”

“Nerves give men the upper hand on a date.” Was this a date? Meeting? Whatever. Nerves were never good. “You can never show them that you like them.”

“Absolutely. Dating suicide.”

“Do I detect a bit of facetiousness in your voice?”

“If you only detect a bit, then you need your hearing tested. Listen, Danni, since you’ve asked this guy out and that’s a first for you, why don’t you make this a date of firsts. Here’s a guy who knows nothing of your past. He’s not going to be judging you. You’re just a woman, he’s just a man. Enjoy each other’s company. Enjoy the moment. Why are you talking to me when there’s a man waiting for you? I’m hanging up now.” Click.

She smiled as she closed her cell. Cassie was probably right. Danni hadn’t consciously decided to treat this new guy differently than every other man who’d stumbled into her life. But she had, and that was a valid reason to be nervous.

After putting her phone back into her purse, Danni locked her car and headed to the coffee shop, leisurely passing by others on the sidewalk. Actually, the coffee shop was more like a bistro, with a selection of breads, teas and coffees. An electronic chime sounded as she strolled through the door.

Normally her glance would head straight for the refrigerated display cabinet, then she’d stop and look at the specials written on the chalkboard, or take a sample of the bread of the week. Not today. Instead, her gaze went directly to the seating area filled with fashionable glass-topped wrought-iron tables and matching chairs.

He was there.

He’d waited for her. Her steps slowed for a moment as she approached him lounging against one of the high-backed barstools. Her knees turned wobbly all of a sudden and she hadn’t expected that.

So, how should she play this? Classic vamp? No, that wouldn’t work—she wasn’t wearing the right shoes. Girl next door? No, she’d already blown her chance at innocence back at the Laundromat. She paused and that’s when he looked directly at her. He smiled. A slow, open smile that moved across those sexy, sensuous lips of his and every nerve ending in her body fired up.

She’d been right to be cynical. She’d been right to push him away at the beginning because this man was dangerous. This was the kind of man who made logical women say, “Sure, I’ll invest everything I own in your pyramid scheme.”

She had no clue how to angle her behavior. Cassie had suggested that Danni should just be a woman. Could it ever be that simple? Just be yourself. Whoever that was.

Danni realized she was smiling back. I’m an idiot. She slid into the stool beside him, and the waitress came by and asked for their order.

“You took my money and I don’t even know your name,” he said after a moment of silence.

“Danielle, but everyone calls me Danni.”

“I’m Eric.”

She shook his hand, his fingers feeling softly calloused. “So, Eric, do you usually pick up women while doing your laundry?”

A moment passed before he answered, his body relaxed. “Only on Wednesdays. Thursdays it’s the grocery store. Besides, that wasn’t a pickup.”

“It wasn’t?” Her feet began to tap under the table. Had he spotted something in her the way she had in him?

“You were the only person in the place using dryer sheets. Everyone else had the liquid stuff.”

She glanced up quickly, her gaze meeting his. Humor danced along the brown of his eyes.

“I was the only person in the place, period. You’re messing with me,” she said.

“A little. Besides, you clearly picked me up.”

Surprisingly, she liked him teasing her. Previous guys either took themselves way too seriously—rebels searching for clues—or they, like her father, took nothing seriously. Life was one big day at an amusement park. No waiting in line, only fun. Nothing subtle like bantering.

“Technically, you made the first move, so I’ll have to award the pickup to you.” Who knew what the ultimate prize would be for the winner.

He inclined his head as if to accept. Her heartbeat quickened. He wasn’t denying his making a move. Just a man meeting a woman. It could happen. It could work.

The waitress brought Eric his coffee and her a soft drink. “We have fresh chocolate cheesecake.”

Danni sucked in a breath. Cheesecake was one thing she could barely resist. But to enrich it with chocolate…that was almost too low a blow. Could anything be more decadent? Maybe Eric feeding it to her off his fork…

Her mouth began to water.

“Unfortunately, I’m flush out of cash. Just spent my last five dollars,” he said.

She glanced his way. His lips were twisting in a smile. “Bring us a slice,” she told the waitress. “Put it on my bill. Do you like cheesecake, Eric?” she asked when the waitress hurried away. His name tasted delectable in her mouth.

“I’m not one for sweet things.”

That was a point in her favor because she was a lot of things, but sweet wasn’t one of them.

“You’re a student?” he asked. “I noticed your book.”

“I’m going to court reporting school at night. I wait tables during the day. Wednesday is my free day.”

“You work at one of the casinos?”

Danni almost coughed. As if she wouldn’t immediately be “escorted” out of any casino. “No, a diner. What about you? You mentioned a hotel?”

“I only recently moved to Reno. The company’s putting me up in a hotel until I can find my own place.”

That explained the corporate haircut. That explained a lot of things.

“What is it that you—” The waitress interrupted her question when she placed the cheesecake on the table.

How could anyone talk with this tasty bit of heaven between them? Chocolate cookie crust, a scrumptious white chocolate ganache with a dark chocolate spiderweb design. With eager anticipation, Danni took a bite. She immediately closed her eyes and moaned. Ahhh, those spiders were always offering something bad for you. It was the ultimate in chocolate indulgence. The creaminess of the cheesecake melted in her mouth.

“That good, huh?” he asked, his voice tight.

Danni opened her eyes and met his gaze. Oh, yeah, there was fire and heat in his eyes. The only thing that could take her mind off the best tasting thing on the planet was sitting right in front of her. Had she ever been this attracted to a guy this quickly?

“Want a bite?” she asked, her voice turning low and husky.

“Sure.”

“I thought you weren’t one for sweet things.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

She cut off a portion of her cheesecake and reached across the table. His brown eyes never left hers as his mouth took the chocolate from her fork, his lips touching where hers had been. His gaze became intense as he savored the mouthful. “I could really get used to that,” he said.

A shiver ran down her spine. They weren’t talking about dessert.

“How is it?” their waitress asked, returning to slide the check facedown on the table toward Danni.

“It’s excellent,” Danni replied. “Why don’t you bring us another piece?”

Eric shook his head, glancing down at his watch. “Actually, I have to go.”

Disappointment made the cheesecake lose its flavor. She looked at the waitress. “Bring it to go.”

Eric shook his head as if to clear it. An odd tenseness seemed to enter his body. His back seemed more rigid, his hands falling to his sides. “You don’t have to do that,” he told her. This was no polite I-really-want-you-to kind of refusal.

“No, I want to.”

“Thanks,” he said, reclining in his seat, the warmth and humor is his eyes gone. What had she done?

So here it was. The brush-off. His body language couldn’t be more evident if he’d crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Eric shifted in his chair. And yes, there was the arm cross. Maybe that hot chemistry she felt wasn’t mutual at all.

“How about you give me your phone number. I’ll call you,” Eric said.

His lips were moving, but his actions didn’t fit with the words. He made no move to whip out a pen or a piece of paper. She was putting an end to this here and now. In fact, she would take the to-go cheesecake, too.

“Listen, I know ‘I’ll call you’ is the male equivalent of ‘let’s be friends.’ We don’t have to go through that scenario.”

Eric uncrossed his arms and leaned into the table. There it was again. That sense of danger. That zip of attraction she felt between them. His eyes grew hooded. “I want your number, Danni.”

If he’d said I want you naked, on this table, it couldn’t have been any less heated than how he’d said he wanted her number. She could feel goose bumps along her arms. And her legs. And even on her ears. He was better than cheesecake.

Against her instinct, she opened her purse and took out a pen and a piece of paper. She also slid Eric’s five dollars and enough extra cash to cover the bill, plus tip, onto the table.

“You know what?” he began. “In any other circumstance, I’d hand back a woman’s money and use my card. But I’m willing to bet you’d instantly consider me just like every other guy you’ve met, wouldn’t you? Traditional. Boring. So, all right. I’ll let you pay for my coffee, and I’m gonna enjoy it.”

This man so did it for her. After scribbling her name and number onto the paper, she handed it to Eric.

His fingers brushed against hers. She ignored the tingles he gave her with such a simple touch. “That telephone number expires after two days. No waiting to call me to whet my appetite. No game playing. If you want to see me again, you just say so.”

Eric took the paper from her and pocketed the number in his shirt. Not a hint of his thoughts registered on his face. How frustrating. With a nod, she got up and left, walking quickly to her car.

As she slammed the key into the ignition, she realized she’d left the cheesecake behind.

WITH HER LAUNDRY DONE, Danni steered her car toward the highway ready to take the forty-minute drive to Carson City. Wednesday afternoons were reserved for her dad. She owed him that much. Or so he kept reminding her.

The halfway house was a lot better than the visiting rooms courtesy of Nevada’s prison system, but since most of her teachers predicted she’d wind up as one of Nevada’s “guests” herself, it was no wonder she felt uncomfortable there. That and the fact that any lawenforcement official automatically made her uneasy. Dad said it was in the genes. And some days she believed him.

She found her father tending one of the small gardens at the back of the house. If anyone had bet her a thousand dollars that Daniel Flynn would enjoy getting his hands dirty, she would have upped the ante and called them a sucker.

But she’d be the one paying because her dear old dad had taken a keen interest in horticulture, and she did have to admit, the deep purple flowers he’d coaxed to bloom under the hot Nevada sun thrived. He’d even sent her home with a sack of fresh snap peas once. Yeah, there was another ironic observation there, but it was too hot outside to make it right now.

She dumped her backpack on the ground next to her father. “Hi, Dad. I got the book on plants in dry soils you wanted.”

Her father looked up, squinting in the sunlight. “Danielle, my love. That’s the first thing you say to me? No, I missed you? Come give your da a kiss.”

“Ah, so we’re Irish today,” she said, good-naturedly.

“Never discount the importance of an authentic-sounding accent. Those of the British Isles are especially good about not sounding cheap. Let’s hear your Scottish.”

Danni merely shook her head. Growing up, there were Irish Days. Russian Days. Australian Days. All great fun when a person is eight and before men in uniforms with real cop accents knock on the door.

She unfolded the pamphlet she’d stuffed in her back pocket and placed a kiss on his cheek. “This is the information about the horticulture classes at the community college. There’s still time to enroll.”

“Ahhh, like your dear old ma, trying to set my feet on the straight and narrow path.” Her dad’s eyes twinkled. After her mother died, those blue eyes of his had led many a woman on the wavy and broad path to sin.

“Just humor me and take the pamphlet.”

Her dad took the flyer and stored it in his gardener’s bucket. He nodded sadly. “I may have to find legitimate work. With the Internet now, it makes it harder to run a good con. Everybody’s a cynic.”

“Yeah, that’s a real bummer, Dad.”

Humor entered her father’s famous blue eyes. “Now that I think about it, something on the Internet might be the ticket.”

Danni frowned. “Dad, you’re in this halfway house for a reason. It’s not supposed to be halfway between jail and crime. It’s halfway between you and making straight with your life.”

The lightness between them vanished, and a thoughtful look passed across her father’s face. “Don’t worry about me, Danni-bear. I won’t put you through that again.”

Silence stretched between them. Seven years they’d been caught by circumstances determined to crush them. The night that had sent each of them on their current course.

Her father stood and clutched her hand. “Come and sit with me under the tree. It’s cooler. Tell me what you did today.”

He led her to the picnic table some ex-con had thought would be funny to paint in black and white stripes. “Actually, I’ve met someone.”

“You did?”

“His name is Eric Reynolds.”

“That name sounds made up,” he said, waving his hand.

“Daddy, not everyone’s like us. I met him at the laundry. He needed to borrow a dryer sheet.”

Daniel Flynn rolled his eyes. “That’s weak. Dump him. If a man isn’t willing to go to more trouble to impress you, you don’t need him.”

“I thought so, too. So I charged him a buck.”

“There’s my girl.” Pride laced her father’s voice.

“But all he had was a five, so I took all of it. I felt bad about it later, and I ended up buying him a cup of coffee and some cheesecake.”

Her father’s lips twisted. “Let me get this straight. He got you to buy him a drink, some cheesecake, which by the way I’m surprised you didn’t wrestle him for, and dryer sheets?”

“He did pay me for those.” And she came close to wrestling him for the cheesecake.

“Did you spend more than five dollars on him?” her father asked, frowning.

“Yes.”

“I take it back, it’s not weak. He’s brilliant.”

Danni couldn’t help it, she grinned. “Dad, he’s not a con man. Not everyone looks at things the way you do.”

Daniel sat on the bench. “I don’t know why I bother giving you advice. I taught you skills, which you turn your back on, and now you’re studying. Studying is bad enough, but what’re you studying? Law…It’s too painful for me to even finish the thought. Now you’re getting taken by a man. Maybe you’re more like your mother than I thought.”

“And you love me for it,” she told him as she gave him a hug.

“More than you’ll ever know.”

THE PHONE WAS NOT RINGING as she keyed into her apartment. Not a good sign. Had Danni been expecting it to? Hmm, yes, she had.

Hoping, at least.

Dropping her purse by the door, and hooking her keys on the bulletin board, she made a big production of setting the laundry basket on the kitchen table while not taking the trouble to see if the red light on her answering machine was flashing. She was not the kind of woman who waited around to see if a man called her.

Still, in the end, she looked at the machine anyway.

The red light was flashing. The muscles between her shoulders tightened. Might not be him. Could be a telemarketer. Could be a charity looking for a donation.

Two messages. Surely one of them was Eric.

“Hi, Danni, it’s Cassie. Wanted to see how the coff—”

Skip.

She smiled as the voice of her second caller filled her tiny kitchen. Six words. Six words she replayed at least three times. “I want to see you again.”

2

TO BE HONEST, Danni wasn’t one for dating. From seventeen until twenty the only one-on-one time she’d spent with a male had been with her lawyer. So when other girls her age were learning the rules of dating, refining their flirtation skills, honing their allurement proficiency, she was left alone on her bunk with her notebook.

She’d write for hours in that notebook. Things she wanted to do. Places she wanted to go. She’d developed lists. Lots and lots of lists. The list she reviewed most often was her dodge list. Men she planned to avoid. Ranking near the top of the list were men like her father. That ruled out anyone with charm and a glint in his eyes. Charisma times sexy eyes always equaled a girl in trouble.

Falling right below sweet talkers were the nice boys. First, what in the world could she possibly have in common with them? Nice boys usually came with nice moms, and she’d never pass that test. Plus, they held an aura of boredom.

Next—obviously no one with a criminal past. They’d probably wind up with some kind of one-upmanship thing going on, and that would just be weird.

Anyone wanting to “save” her was also out. Savers usually had more problems than she did, and that was a lot of dysfunction.

Around her nineteenth birthday, Danni realized her list of “not wants” left her with a negative vibe. So she restarted her list to catalog the qualities she wanted. To her surprise, she found she required only three.

Must have a job. Yes, very good start. Very unlike her dad.

Must be driven. Ambition never hurt anyone. Also very unlike her dad.

And be a decent person. That was where Danni always got stuck. Aside from the robbing and stealing, her father was fairly decent. It’s not as if he’d go and kick a dog or anything. He did have a code—his code—by which he lived. But she wanted someone, who at his core, had principles. Principles that didn’t come with a string of option-out clauses.

So, who did that leave her with? Corporate men and musicians.

She’d struck out royally with the musicians. On the face of it, they seemed to be her ideal. Driven, sort of had a job, and they were sometimes decent, even sensitive. But in the end, their life was all about their music. Their next gig. And could she spot them some money to buy a new amp?

Since the corporate men weren’t clamoring at her door to get the girl with a past and a rap sheet, her dating experience had ended there.

Despite him allowing her to pay, Eric seemed corporate. She almost hated to go out with him since this would be her last shot of keeping the corporate fantasy alive. Maybe it would be better to not ever know. If this date failed, where would she be? Did she have the stomach to start her lists all over again? Or never date? Both sounded okay and terrifying at the same time.

Her doorbell rang, and she moved slowly, her fingers stilled on the doorknob. This was it. Her chance to see if corporate worked for her.

She’d told Eric no game-playing, so she opted to be ready on time. He’d told her nice casual. And thank goodness because all the designer stuff was at the dry cleaners. So she greeted him on Sunday evening in black capris and a beaded green tank with a black half-jacket for her shoulders. And she had the shoes right for this play. Sandals, low heel so as not to be too provocative, but strappy to draw attention to her ankles, which for some reason men, be they loser or lawyer, seemed to like.

Her hair had been the problem. She wanted flirtatious and serious. Finally, Danni opted to leave her blond hair down her back with a few strands pulled up in clips.

Appreciation lit his dark eyes, and she let out a relieved breath. She hadn’t even realized she’d been nervous. Okay, lie. She just didn’t want to admit how very anxious she was. What she needed to do was to openly check him out. Put her focus on Eric.

Actually, he looked a lot better than she remembered. And she remembered him gorgeous. Navy pants, relaxed enough to be casual, tight enough to let her know he was a man. He didn’t appear nervous. Damn.

“You ready?” he asked. She’d forgotten how sexy his voice was, too. Deep and rich and husky.

She nodded, slipping the strap of her spangly purse over her shoulder. “So, where are you taking me?”

He pulled the door shut behind her, turning the handle to make sure it was locked. Then his hand fell to the small of her back. Warmth from his fingers seeped through the thin cotton of her tank.

“One of my coworkers recommended a dinner club. The singer there is amazing.”

Was liking music a bad sign? “Did you ever want to be a musician?”

He shook his head, and gave her a strange sidelong glance. “No. Why do you ask?”

Danni laughed. “No reason. Never mind.” Corporate. Definitely corporate.

Fifteen minutes later they were seated and facing one another as they had at the coffee shop. She sized up the restaurant in moments. Moderate to upper level in price range. Couples mainly. Management probably dealt more in credit cards, not a lot of cash in the till. The real money was probably in the register at the bar. And there was a delicious smell of cheese and artichoke dip in the air.

Hmm, probably assessing where the cash was kept did not indicate ideal first-date behavior. Danni grew ill at ease.

Feeling awkward was a new one for her. As the roper in her father’s schemes, she’d always been highly familiar with her mark, prepared for every situation. Should she approach Eric like that, see him as the mark? Except she hadn’t put in the practice time or the research to really know him.

The only advice she had came from Cassie. Her friend’s few choice words of wisdom had been to stay with neutral topics. Keep the conversation going. Avoid long silences.

The silence between them now was stretching to near Olympic proportion. She shifted in her seat.

“So tell me, Danni, have you dated much?”

Good Lord, could he tell she was a rookie? Was she that bad at first dates? She’d almost choked on her water.

Eric continued. “You didn’t leave me waiting on the couch in your apartment. You haven’t asked one hypothetical question, and no coy hair flip.”

“Coy hair flip?” she asked, very curious.

“You sort of toss your hair over your shoulder and look at me from the corner of your eye.”

As long as he was passing out pointers, she’d give it a try. Danni rotated her shoulders and tossed her hair, never breaking eye contact. “Like this?”

The smile had left his face. “Uh. Exactly like that.”

His words were slow, deeper than before. Serious heat burned in his brown eyes.

Maybe corporate was the ticket. No musician had ever looked at her this way. Like he wouldn’t mind completely crashing the table between them. And yes, right on schedule, there were the nerves.

Get it together. She couldn’t let him get the upper hand. Playing it light should work. Don’t make it mean much.

“I have to admit, I haven’t dated a lot,” she told him, her finger tracing the rim of her glass. She met his gaze. “So tell me more of what I should be doing.”

Eric glanced at his watch. “Well, right about now, you’re telling me what big muscles I have.”

Danni laughed. “So that’s what girls normally do then, huh?”

“Yes. Along with wondering how quickly you can get me out of my pants.”

Hmm, there was charm. That was bad. Sweet talkers, aka charmers were off her list. But they were so…charming. She’d never associated corporate with charming before. They were supposed to be solid, not whimsical, certainly not witty.

“I thought it was the man who was supposed to be wondering how to get me out of my pants.”

But Eric just smiled, as if he had it all figured out.

The rest of their meal followed a predictable pattern of weather, sports and stuff. She never grew bored though. Her dad had always insisted suits were dull. He believed the nine-to-five life was a drag, and that Flynns were not cut out for the ordinary.

Too soon they’d paid the check and were strolling to the parking lot, toward his car for him to take her home.

Although Danni had limited experience with first dates, she could figure out that him wanting to take her home immediately was not a good sign.

“So that’s how first dates go,” she said.

“They can,” he replied, his voice filled with promise.

“What does that mean?” she asked glancing up. Man, oh man, he was great to look at. She’d kind of avoided it for most of the evening because she knew her eyes would probably want to eat him up like she had that chocolate cheesecake.

“Well, a first date can end here. Or maybe I can say something like, ‘Danni, since I’m new in town and don’t know what I can do in Reno for fun, do you have any ideas?’”

Danni laughed at his suddenly formal and stiff tone. Yes, that’s how she pictured a first date with a corporate suit kind of guy.

“And then you can say…” he prompted.

Fine, Danni understood now how this game worked. She wasn’t usually so slow on the uptake, but she chalked it up to her being distracted by his broad shoulders. Or the amazing way he smelled. Or the considerate way he adjusted his longer stride to her shorter steps.

She cleared her throat. “I can say, ‘Eric, you haven’t lived in Reno if you haven’t bowled.’”

The stiffness in Eric’s formal posture vanished and he laughed. “Bowling? Are you serious?”

“Hey, in Reno we take our bowling very seriously. And you’re no one in Reno if you haven’t bowled at least a frame in the Taj Majal of Tenpin.”

“And that would be here…in Reno?”

“Right. The National Bowling Stadium.”

At the car, Eric held the door open for her, but blocked her entrance. She turned to face him. His smile was so sexy it hurt to look at. “This I have to see.”

If she hadn’t been truly aware of the broadness of his shoulders or the strength that simply oozed from him before, she was conscious of it now. Bigness was an angle some con men used to intimidate a mark, so usually she was immune and it certainly never impressed.

But Eric’s imposing size made her want to be enfolded in his arms. Feel the strength of him as he pulled her close. Run her fingers along the hard lines of his chest.

He stepped back, his hand seeking hers as he helped her into the front seat, his fingers lightly caressing her hand, arm, shoulder as she slipped into the seat. There was one of those shivers again. Danni had to refrain from fanning her face after Eric shut the passenger door.

The bright lights and the silver plated bowling ball of the National Bowling Stadium soon greeted them. “Never thought I’d see a bowling alley lit up like a casino,” Eric said as he angled into a space.

“I told you we take our bowling seriously. Wait until you get inside. You have your choice. You can take the escalator or the glass elevator to the fourth floor.”

“By all means, we should take the elevator.”

As they stepped off the elevator, Eric let out a low whistle. “You were right. It’s impressive.”

Over seventy lanes stretched before them. “It’s longer than a football field.”

Large video screens displaying scores and graphics stood out predominantly. The smell of oil and the sound of pins hitting the wood surrounded them as they rented some shoes and chose a lane.

“Are you a good bowler?” he asked as they each picked up a ball and checked for the appropriate weight.

“My dad always took an interest in bowling. One of his first jobs was to manually set up pins and send the balls back. The ball returns here over thirty miles an hour.”

“Your dad live in Reno?”

Grrr. Why had she mentioned her father? She immediately felt a tension between her and Eric at the mere reference to him. All on her part of course, but surely he could feel it, too.

She shook her head. “No, he never visits here. Stop stalling, you ready?” she asked, infusing breeziness into her voice.

Eric selected a black ball, the first one he’d tried. “Not sure how good I’ll do, but I’m ready.”

“Remember, the trick is not to try to knock all the pins down on the first roll. Otherwise, the machine cheats you out of your second ball.”

He groaned. “And here I’ve been doing it all wrong. Thanks for the tip.”

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile.

In fact, Eric turned out to be a pretty decent bowler. While he didn’t make any strikes, he managed to clean up with a few spares. Her own approach was lousy, and she sent her ball to the gutter more times than she would have liked. But it wasn’t all bad. Every time she bent to retrieve her ball, she felt Eric’s brown gaze on her body. He was checking her out. So she put an extra wiggle in her step. That’s when he began missing his spares.

They finished their first game fairly quickly.

“For someone who claims to know a lot about bowling, you don’t bowl all that well,” Eric teased.

Danni looked up at the screen above their heads. She hadn’t even broken a hundred. Pathetic.

“Are you up for another round?” he asked.

“You know, Eric, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were egging me on just so you could beat me again.”

“No, it has everything to do with form.”

“Can’t tear your eyes off my backside, can you? Okay, I’ll give you another game…care to make it interesting?”

Now where had that come from? Had she actually suggested they bet on a bowling game? Old patterns. If he had the chance, her dad bet on which way the wind would blow. And he was always right.

“How about the winner chooses the next outing? And believe me, I won’t be choosing bowling,” he said, his voice lowered to a provocative timbre.

Next outing? Her stomach got all fluttery. Eric wanted to see her again. She wasn’t being a total dud on this date.

Eric stuck out his hand for a shake.

She stood and wrapped her fingers around his strong hand. “It’s a deal,” she told him. And she wouldn’t let the warmth of his hand, or the fact that it took him forever to let go distract her. No she wouldn’t. Because she was a professional.

Turning, Danni picked up her ball, blew into the finger holes and lined up her feet to the left of center. Her ball slammed into the pocket.

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

“I’m being hustled, aren’t I?” Eric asked on the fifth frame.

“Being? Honey, past tense. You were hustled.” Yeah, old patterns. She hadn’t even realized until the sixth frame of their first game that she was deliberately throwing it. It had just been so ingrained.

“We’ll see,” he vowed. A gleam entered Eric’s gorgeous brown eyes. He stepped up and rolled his ball down the lane. All the pins fell on his first ball. Brooklyn style. But a strike was a strike. And he hit two more.

So it seemed she wasn’t the only one holding back. It was kind of sweet. It had become fairly obvious in the first few frames of their first game that she was lousy, so Eric had adjusted his own play so he wouldn’t blow her out of the water.

Awe. It almost made her feel guilty for what she was about to do. Almost.

Eric was on his approach to get the spare in the ninth frame when the gate suddenly closed and the sweep pushed the remaining two pins away. Eric turned to face her, glaring.

She quickly took a step away from the ball return. She raised her eyebrows in innocence. “Oh, was that me? I guess I accidentally pressed the reset button.” She added the coy hair flip for emphasis. “Sorry.”

His eyes narrowed farther, but his lips were lifting into a wry grin. “Yeah. I can see how that could happen.”

Danni finished the tenth frame in a series of three strikes, handily beating Eric. And not a sign of nerves.

He didn’t look mad that she’d hustled him. Instead, he seemed almost intrigued. Oh, yes, the theory on nice boys. They liked naughty girls.

“I guess I owe you,” he said.

“You can pay your debt with…ice cream.”

He sighed heavily. “More time with you. I guess I have to honor my word.”

A SHORT WHILE LATER they drove to an ice cream parlor close to many of Reno’s casinos, making what she assumed was normal first-date chitchat.

A woman could tell if a man would be a good lover by the kind of ice cream he ordered. Danni actually didn’t have an opinion on this, but a theory was forming in her mind.

If Eric chose standard-issue fair—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry—not a lot of adventure between the sheets. Oh, it wouldn’t be bad, not as if he ordered something with pineapple topping. That’s just yuck. She could never sleep with a man who ordered that. But if a man mixed two flavors she knew a little something more would be happening in the sex department.

Eric ordered mega-chocolate peanut butter swirl with nuts and marshmallows. Her nipples got all tingly.

Danni ordered her usual chocolate chip cookie dough and they sat down in one of the booths.

An excited girl in a princess crown danced around her parents’ table with her ice cream cone.

Eric laughed. “How long before that scoop of ice cream hits the floor?”

“It won’t. She’s going to eat the whole thing.”

Eric shook his head. “I think you’re wrong on this one, ace.”

“Care to make it interesting?” she asked. Great. Here she was at it again. She tried to hide her frustration with a smile.

“You’re on.”

She and Eric watched as the child continued to dance and eat her cone until the very last bite.

Eric turned to Danni. “How did you know?” he asked.

“Because she’s a girl and it’s ice cream. Dancing in your sparkly tiara is fun and all, but there’s a seriousness about dessert that all girls understand.”

“Ahhh. So basically you’re saying I lost that bet because I’m a man.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It must be hard to be a step behind all the time. And hey, you didn’t tell me the terms of the bet.”

“You’re right.”

She gave him a playful swat on the arm. After they were finished, he helped her to her feet. It was getting late. Just how long could she stretch out this first date? She still wasn’t ready for it to end.

“Have you seen the arch yet?” she asked. Reno was famous for the arch proclaiming it to be the Biggest Little City In The World.

“Only by day.”

“Well then, you have to see it by night. There’s no other way to view it.”

Eric drove into one of the casino parking lots and then they walked toward the arch.

“I’ve heard that if you kiss under the arch you’ll have good luck at the tables,” she told him. Okay, actually she just made that up, but she was done playing around to see if Eric liked her or not. And if he missed that wide-open invitation, then he was either an idiot or not attracted to her. Which also made him an idiot.

“I don’t believe in luck,” he said, his tone flat.

She was about to put him in the idiot column, because if anything stuck that her father had taught her, it was that life was a series of luck. Some of it good, a lot of it bad. But most of it luck. Then she realized he was teasing. Despite the darkness, the lights on the strip showed the heat in his eyes. Eric wanted to kiss her. Badly.

“Do you believe in missed opportunities?” she asked, her voice becoming breathless. Because hello, opportunity was knocking.

His stare pinned her in place. “I believe in making my own opportunities.”

“Really,” she said, her gaze never leaving his. “Well, I wouldn’t let you kiss me anyway.”

His eyes said liar. “I wouldn’t want to kiss you. I don’t kiss on the first date. What kind of man do you think I am?” he asked as he leaned toward her.

And then suddenly she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. This was no awkward, first-date-where-do-you-put-your-nose kind of kiss. Eric knew where to put his nose. And his hands. And everything else.

His lips moved along hers slowly. Softly. She’d expected hard, but this, this lightness was amazing. It was driving her crazy.

Her breath caught. His fingers sank into her hair, drawing her closer. His lips firmed, the kiss deepened. His fingers drifted, fanning against her cheek, caressing her.

If she didn’t believe in a kiss bringing good luck, she surely would now. She planned to get lucky very soon. Her skin turned sensitive, her nipples tight and aching and every cell in her body chanted more, more, more.

All this, and he hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. And she sensed Eric had a lot of the good stuff. Mega-chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-with-nuts-and-marshmallows good stuff.

“You’re right, Danni. That arch is something else,” he said, his lips lightly tracing along her forehead.

She smiled, not so much from his words, but from the rugged sensuality in Eric’s voice that told her he wanted her.

And that’s when she got nervous.

Damn. Now he had the power again. She’d never felt so interested in anyone before. That was bad. Very bad.

She could throw caution to the wind. After all, for generations people had gambled in this city whether in the silver mining fields, or the casino. One thing she’d learned was to always go after the sure thing, and Eric Reynolds was not that. The odds were against they’d even make it past date two. They were totally different. They probably wanted totally different things.

It would never work out.

That’s when she reached for his chin, drew his lips down to hers and kissed him hard. In the end, she was a gambler.

Although she’d initiated the kiss, Eric quickly took over, backing her into one of the shadowed areas. His tongue swept into her mouth, and she met him kiss for kiss. He tasted faintly of chocolate and peanut butter, and yummy, yummy man. He pulled her to him, his strong arms holding her against the hardness of his chest. His fingers stroked down her arms, finding her hands and placing them around his neck.

He wanted her to touch him. Triumph made her fingers bold. He’d been checking out her backside as they bowled. She hadn’t been the only one. Her hands made a winding trail down his shoulders, under his arms and along his spine.

Then she grabbed his ass. There was that gambler side of her again.

With a groan, he broke off the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, his breathing harsh. “You know, I thought it was bad luck when I forgot my dryer sheets.”

“And then you had to deal with me.”

“That’s when my luck changed.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

“Guess that arch made me a believer. I haven’t made out in public since I was in high school,” he said, his voice traced with humor and disbelief.

“Glad to see I have a naughty influence on you.” Leading someone to a life of sex beat a life of crime any day.

“You wouldn’t believe.” He paused for a moment, as if deciding what to do next. Taking a deep, almost resigned sounding breath, he reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s see how our luck holds out in the casino.”

The smile left her face. “No, that’s okay. We don’t have to go in there.”

“I know for a fact you’re great with a bet. I’m a wizard with the comps in this place. Let’s go.”

If it weren’t for that mind-numbing kiss, she’d be able to come up with a much better excuse much quicker. But she couldn’t step one foot onto that casino floor. It would be all over then. He’d know about her past, and she wasn’t ready for that. “No, you shouldn’t waste your comps on me.”

“I’m teasing. This is where I work.”

She stopped. “You work here? At the casino?”

A confused line appeared between his brows as he nodded. “I just started. Is that a problem?”

“I guess I thought it was computers or something.”

“I’m head of security.”

And that’s when Danni hightailed it right out of there.

3

“SO I LEFT HIM on the street. He was there calling my name. Can you believe it?”

If Cassie thought it strange to have Danni knocking on her door after midnight, she didn’t show it. Now the two of them sat on the couch waiting for the coffee to percolate. Cassie didn’t believe in instant. Or the microwave.

“He almost caught up with me, too, until that cab stopped. Eric even tried to open the door. I never realized how hard it is to flag down a taxi. It was the third one I found.”

“Has it occurred to you that being concerned about the person is the normal reaction when that someone you’ve just lip-locked with flees into the night?”

Danni gave a shudder. Security. The word had actually come out of his mouth. “You know, I should have figured it out. He dropped so many clues. He even checked my door to make sure it was locked. How creepy is that?”

Cassie pushed her reading glasses up higher on her nose. “Maybe he wanted to make sure you wouldn’t get robbed. Some women might call it thoughtful. Gallant.”

“You should have heard him say security. Like he was proud of it.”

Cassie shook her head. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s proud of it. Most people don’t have a deep-seated distrust of law enforcement the way you do.”

“Boy, I sure know how to pick ’em. Head of security, no less.”

“Wow, you didn’t mention that part. He must be pretty good to be head of security at a major casino.”

Eric Reynolds was pretty good at kissing, too. And at touching.

The coffee on the stove began to bubble, so Cassie hopped off the couch. After pulling down two mugs out of the cabinet, she poured Danni and herself a cup each. Cassie was the only person, other than law enforcement and her father, who knew Danni’s whole story.

For some reason her best friend seemed to be defending Eric. “He should have admitted he worked in security right from the beginning.”

“Danni, would you listen to yourself? You’re not even rational. I guarantee you that Eric probably never put ‘his job’ and ‘admitting’ in the same category. They don’t go together.”

Danni just shrugged.

“You like this guy. A lot. What’s more, it seems he likes you a lot, too. The only thing that’s holding you up is your past. Have you thought that maybe you’re using the past as some sort of artificial barrier between you, so you can maintain your feeling of security?”

Danni made the “T” sign with her hands. “Whoa, time out, sister. I hate it when you get all counsely on me. And can we stop saying the word security?”

“Then try you’re a woman, he’s a man. You both want to hook up. Forget everything else and hook up.”

“It’s not that easy. Nothing can happen between us.” And yeah, it blew because she liked him, he turned her on like no other. That kiss…

“Something can happen between you. You’ve paid your debt to society. You’re not breaking the law. In fact, you’re a tax-paying citizen working to make a contribution to the world.”

She did pay her taxes now. Weird but true.

Could Cassie be right? Hope surfaced, and Danni had a hard time batting it away. She wouldn’t admit to being irrational, but she was quick to make assumptions.

“You told him at the coffee shop that you wouldn’t stand for any game playing. I think you should stick to your own rule. Call him tomorrow and tell him the truth.”

“I hate the truth,” Danni said in a grumble.

“Tomorrow you can come over after you talk to him and we can chat about it all night.”

“Who says I’m calling him?”

Cassie sighed. “Let me put this in terms you understand. You’re really in a win-win situation. You tell him about your past, he accepts it and you go on to have great sex. You win.”

“What’s the other win?”

“If he can’t get past what happened with your dad, then he’s a jerk and you’re better off without him. You win.”

Danni sat back against the cushion of the couch. “So, is this what it’s like to have grown-up conversations with typical parents?”

“What do you mean?”

“The whole ‘You’re better off without him. There’s other fish in the sea’—all those platitudes come out of people who grew up with a semblance of normalcy. I always wondered who believed that kind of thing.”

Cassie laughed, tucking her blond hair behind her ears. “My parents even told me with a straight face.”

“Yeah? So did you. Okay, I’ll do it. But tomorrow night be prepared for us to trash-talk him because he will care. How can someone who enforces law not think about someone who broke it? Repeatedly.”

“Always the cynic. How can someone who enforces the law not appreciate someone trying to go straight?”

Danni had no answer for that one.

“See? I’m right and you know it. Come on, you can crash here for the night. I’ll drop you off at your apartment in the morning.”

Later than evening, Danni fluffed up the pillow on the couch for the twelfth time. Cassie had gone to bed long ago. She’d called her a cynic. What else was new? Although it wasn’t so much that she was a cynic, but that she lived in the real world.

Men liked relationships with simple, uncomplicated, low-maintenance women.

And Danni was none of those things.

She closed her eyes and stretched, remembering how good it felt to be with him. For a few hours tonight, she had exactly that with Eric. Uncomplicated, low-maintenance, everything was easy.

What P.T. Barnum had said all those years ago was definitely true. There was a sucker born every minute. And right now she was it.

She hadn’t thought she could get suckered anymore. That’s why it bothered her so much now. Because she wanted something. She wanted something, someone, for the first time.

And cynics knew that as soon as you wanted something, that’s the precise moment when lady luck vanished, and you were a goner.

ERIC HIKED UP THE STAIRS two at a time to Danni’s apartment, and knocked. No answer. As he’d expected. He’d already done this once tonight.

A woman running down the street away from him was not the usual reaction to his kisses. What the hell had happened?

He’d really thought they’d hit it off. The conversation always flowed. They’d laughed, and that kiss under the arch…it sizzled.

Eric moved away from her apartment door. He saw no light coming from any of the windows or around the doorframe. Her place looked exactly the way they’d left it earlier tonight. Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed her number again.

“I don’t know what happened to you tonight, Danni, but I wanted to make sure you got home safely. I’m sorry if I said anything that upset you. Bye.”

That would be his last call to her. He could only try so many times. He’d have a strange story to tell his coworkers when they asked how the date went. He’d have to improvise.

CASSIE WAS THE KIND of person who obviously thought mornings were a time of renewal and happiness that ought to be greeted with a spring in her step and a song on her lips. She also apparently thought mornings began at six, when Danni really knew they should begin closer to ten.

If she looked hard enough she might see small birds chirping gleefully around Cassie’s head, reminiscent of Snow White.

Danni pulled the pillow closer. For more than three years while in detention, Danni woke up according to a schedule, to a gong and an abrupt turning on of the lights. The first thing she did after reaching twenty was sleep in.

Cassie, along with her humming, apparently had other ideas.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” Cassie said as she plopped herself down beside Danni on the couch.

“Please, no,” Danni grumbled.

“Get up, I made you coffee. You have a busy day. You have a phone call to make.”

And that’s how Danni found herself four hours later, waiting for Eric. He’d sounded both irritated and relieved when he heard her voice on the phone. When she offered to give him an explanation in person, he reluctantly agreed to meet her.

Reno’s Riverwalk stretched across the downtown area, and wasn’t too far from where Eric worked. She could offer to buy him a hot dog from one of the sidewalk vendors. Wasn’t there a saying about softening up a man through his stomach?

The Riverwalk area was one of her favorite places in Reno. Something about the trees lining the sidewalk and the sound of the water below made her feel calm. After her years in juvie, she appreciated every chance she had to be in wide-open spaces.

Why had she decided to show up early? Every time a shadow crossed her face, she glanced up to see if it were Eric. Every time it wasn’t him, she slumped farther into the chair.

This was a dumb idea. She should have filed this experience under “lost opportunities” and forgotten all about him. Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was ten on the dot. She’d give him five more minutes. No more. No less. She had to study.

A few minutes after ten, Eric walked up to her, appearing tired around the eyes, but oh, so good. The flutters in her stomach returned, and then she remembered that feeling was why she’d sucked up her pride and called him.

Because this was one of the greatest sensations in the world. This mix of anticipation and excitement, with a touch of dread all rolled into one.

Eric appeared very corporate today. Black slacks that hugged his thighs, cotton shirt that only hinted at the muscles of his chest, and a tie. She’d never dated a man with a tie before. And if she didn’t angle her play correctly, she might not ever date this man with a tie again.

She also noticed the badge he wore on a black lanyard around his neck. He hadn’t been wearing it the first time they’d met.

“Hi,” she started. “Would you like to take a walk?” she asked, striving for cheerful.

He nodded, but looked none too permanent.

Danni gave a nervous laugh. She could manage the smooth approach. After all, she’d worked on it with her dad since she was a kid. But one glance at the rigid set of Eric’s features and she figured he wouldn’t be buying smooth. Or any other hustle for that matter.

She’d have to fall back on the truth. Always a last resort.

She led him along the river’s path. The large blooming pots of flowers always made her feel welcome in the past. Maybe bringing Eric here had been a mistake. If things didn’t work out, her memories of this place would be infected. “You’re probably wondering why I ran off like that,” she said, sliding her hands along the metal chain lining the walk.

Eric raised a brow. “Not the reaction I’d expect from a woman I’ve just kissed.”

She dropped the chain and reached for his hand. “Oh, Eric, it’s not you. You’re a great kisser. Totally off the scale. It’s me. I panicked when you suggested we go into the casino.”

She’d hoped he’d have joined more in the conversation right about then. That would have made this whole groveling scenario a lot easier. Instead, he stood there…expectant and sexy. Would now be a good time for the coy hair flip?

No. Give it to him straight. She cleared her throat. “Have you heard of a thief named Daniel Flynn?”

Eric shook his head.

“Well, he’s been out of the game for a while, so he probably hasn’t crossed your radar. He’s my father, and he scammed quite a few casinos.”

Understanding lit in his brown eyes.

“And I did it with him,” she told him slowly.

At that, Eric sat on a nearby bench. His face was still neutral, but his shoulders appeared less tense.

“I’ve gone straight,” she rushed out. “But I wouldn’t be welcome in your casino. In fact, I wouldn’t be welcome in any casino in any city.”

“You out on parole?”

He asked the question in the kind of tone a man would get when his date told him she was in the business of cheating people. Kind of a surreal incredulousness.

Danni stared out across the water. “My dad cut a deal. He did extra time, so I was classified as a youthful offender and stayed in juvie until I was twenty.”

“Why live in Reno? In Nevada? Seems like temptation would always be in your way.”

“That’s actually one of the reasons I stayed here. I wanted to prove to myself I could go straight. Also, the judge in my case took a special interest in me. She’s the one who suggested I become a court reporter. I found the proceedings of the court so interesting. If I make the grades, and stay out of trouble, she’ll help me find a job.”

The tenseness returned to his shoulders. He sat up straighter, and she spotted his pulse beating in his neck. “Have you kept out of trouble?” he asked.

She met his gaze for the first time. She didn’t see understanding in his eyes, but maybe the expression of someone wanting to believe her. There was hope again. “Absolutely,” she told him quickly. “Listen, I’ve never spoken to anyone about this before. It’s my bad luck you turned out to be in casino security. I’ll understand if you can’t trust me.”

Moments passed. Long, agonizingly silent moments. Danni hadn’t known Eric long, but she knew he was envisioning every possible scenario in his mind. She should make it easy on him. They barely knew each other. He didn’t owe her anything.

Danni liked him enough to walk away. She dropped his fingers, ready to go.

But Eric wouldn’t let her drop his hand. “Come with me,” he said.

She was unable to make out his meaning, but he’d extended his hand to her. Another tiny flicker of hope flared. “Where?”

“It’s a surprise. Do you trust me?” he asked.

She swallowed and squeezed his hand. “I do.” It was strange trusting someone other than her father and Cassie. But she did, and she felt lighter, freer for it.

“Then come with me.”

She followed Eric, shielding her eyes against the harshness of the late-morning sun. In a few turns, she realized they were on a direct path to the casino where he worked.

“What’s going on?”

“You say you are around the temptation because you want to prove to yourself you can go straight. The fact that you ran last night tells me you still don’t completely trust yourself.” He faced her point-blank. “Since you called me today and told me everything says to me that I can trust you. It’s you who’s unsure. You don’t know whether you can trust yourself. Well, now’s your chance.”

She glanced at the doors of the casino. Greeters always smiled, but Danni knew they were the first line of any casino’s security. “They’ll stop me before I take five steps in the place. Those people at the door memorize photos.”

“Danni, I know what kind of security measures are in place. Two more days working here, and I would have memorized your photo.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re with me. It will be fine. Stop stalling. Come inside and prove to yourself you can do it.”

“Why? Why are you doing this?” She couldn’t keep the wonder out of her voice. No one, no one except maybe Cassie and the judge had ever tried to help her this way.

His brown eyes grew heated. “Maybe I want to see how far I can tip the scale kissing you.”

She smiled. A tingle of excitement rushed through her. Now was the time for the coy hair flip.

He handed her a twenty-dollar bill. “Come on, prove yourself right.”

She glanced at the money, hesitated a moment before she took the bill from his hand. “Thanks for trusting me.”

Who’d have thought that having someone’s trust was such a turn-on?

They walked together into the casino—loud and filled with activity, even on a Monday. Bells dinged, lights flickered, people alternately cheered and groaned. At one time, this had been home. Not legally, since she wasn’t of age then, but of course that hadn’t mattered to her father.

“What’s your pleasure?” Eric asked. Sure enough, no one had stopped them.

“Poker,” she said. “And not Texas Hold ’Em.”

“Follow me.” He set her up in a chair at a table with quite a bit of action. All amateurs. The loud man who’d already had too much to drink. The retired ladies who were dropped off at the door by a bus. The serious engineer type who’d probably watched the “how to gamble” video up in his hotel room a dozen times.

Easy pickin’s.

But not today. In thirty minutes she was done. Sliding off the chair, she found Eric hanging back a few feet away.

“I lost all your money,” she admitted.

His eyes burned dark. “I don’t care,” he replied, staring at her lips.

Her skin burned sensitive and hot. It felt good not even having the urge to cheat. It felt better knowing Eric wanted her.

He nodded toward a hallway that looked as if it led to the administrative offices, and she fell into step beside him.

“So tell me, how would you have cheated back then?” he asked.

Danni scanned the table again. “Easy. Small conservative bets. Just enough to keep the cards flowing and my money going. When I hit a face card, I mark it with my fingernail, or bend the card ever so slightly. Enough times through, I’ll have a good idea who has what and bet accordingly. Most people think cheating at cards is all about the right card, and yes, for the most part it is. But don’t discount the importance of bet management.”

Eric chuckled deep in his throat and the sound shot a thrill to her. “Who’d have thought hearing how you could rob me would be so hot.”

“Aha. I’ve been waiting for that,” she told him with a smile. Yes. It was exactly the confirmation she needed to hear. Eric wanted her, like she wanted him.

“You have a problem with men only wanting you for prowess at theft?” he asked, his voice teasing.

“Only from the good boys.”

“I’m not so good,” he said, his eyes becoming darker.

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