In an effort not to look into his eyes, her gaze slipped down…

…to his lips. Another strategic mistake. Luke’s mouth was surely sweet to the touch. Full round lips…alluringly sensual. Addictive…Yes. Mr. Winter most definitely had an air of sexuality.

No way was he a nice guy. He had bad boy, hot nights and great orgasms written all over him. Tempting, spicy, delicious, but not nice. Never nice. And it was exactly what Katie was looking for….

Suddenly, everything else dropped away and there was only Luke before her. Tension, entwined with attraction, exploded. Heat pooled low in her belly, her heart pounded deeply in her chest. Slowly, their eyes met and it was one of those moments, when the look between a man and a woman is about to mean wild, passionate sex.

Dear Reader,

What can I say? I love a hot baseball player, so it’s no wonder one keeps finding his way into my books! And there is something so extra special and sexy about a pitcher. The way he controls the mound. The way he controls the game. The way he wears those tight pants. You get the picture!

When writing Hot Target, I loved the idea of pitcher Luke Winter having control, but giving it to his heroine, Katie Lyons, to earn her trust despite a past heartbreak. The path to that trust, however, isn’t simple. It’s slow, sexy and yes, dangerous. After all, not only is there a stalker on the loose, there are hearts to mend. Eventually, those hearts know where to run, and it isn’t to first base. It’s all the way home for the biggest score of all: love!

I hope you enjoy the romance. Please visit my Web site at www.lisareneejones.com for updates on my new Blaze trilogy coming in 2011!

Happy reading!

Lisa Renee Jones

Hot Target
Lisa Renee Jones

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa spends her days writing the dreams playing in her head. Before becoming a writer, Lisa lived the life of a corporate executive, often taking the red-eye flight out of town and flying home for the excitement of a Little League baseball game. Visit Lisa at www.lisareneejones.com.

To Matthew and Ronald for giving me so many reasons to enjoy baseball. To Diego for giving me so much encouragement and love. And to Janice for helping me make each book better.

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

Prologue

EVEN SEX HAD lost its appeal.

And damn if he thought he would ever see that day. But the simple fact was—sex now came with too many hidden agendas.

Gone were the days when sex was just sex, two people’s mutual desire to share their bodies, a release that came with pleasure and maybe some sincere emotion if it was with the right person.

He let out a disgusted snort.

Who was the last woman he was with who hadn’t thought he was a score because he was a pitcher in the majors? He couldn’t even remember. The less naive he’d become, the more he had looked back at the past and realized there had been a lot of bull in most of his adult relationships.

Luke Winter stood behind the mahogany wet bar in the far corner of the basement-level den of his Los Angeles home. It was his room of peace, the place he always chose to unwind and embrace being by himself, a sanctuary of sorts.

A place where he pretended to be normal.

But he wasn’t normal or he wouldn’t be getting death threats from a crazy fan. No, he was a pro baseball player, a pitcher even. He had it all.

Or so everyone thought.

An old television hung from the ceiling, just above the bar, even though a massive big-screen sat in the center of the room. Luke never wanted to miss a major sporting moment because he was across the room. He needed to see the action up close and personal.

Leaning his palms against the railing of the bar, he struggled to stay focused on the television. It was April twenty-sixth, and the Texas Rangers were playing their last preseason game, which normally would have held his interest. He had a special fondness for several of their players. After all, he’d played, side by side, with them for years.

He’d never forget the day he’d gotten the call, the day he was told he was going to the big leagues, pitching for the Rockets. Even years after, and two teams later, playing for the California Hawks, he still loved the Rockets.

Yet today, his mind lingered on the upcoming meeting that his manager had arranged with some security specialist. Katie Lyons.

A woman.

Why had he agreed to meet her? He wasn’t even slightly inclined to agree to extra security. What he really wanted was to be left the hell alone.

What was making him so dissatisfied with life in general? Most people would kill for what he had. Of course, very few understood the things that were lost when you were in the public eye.

He stared in the direction of the television without really seeing it, absentmindedly tapping a finger on the bar.

An impending feeling of capriciousness had consumed his thoughts the majority of the day. He hated feeling as if he didn’t have control over his own existence. Feeling out of sorts, he ran one hand roughly through his hair.

He was known as a nice guy. Well, damn it, maybe that was his problem. He was a walking target. Maybe taking back control would put an end to his sense of dissatisfaction.

Katie Lyons would be the first to witness a new Luke. He didn’t want extra security, plain and simple. So he’d make sure this Katie Lyons hated him so much she not only refused the job, but ran all the way home.

1

LEAVE IT to a man to get a woman in trouble.

Katie Lyons gritted her teeth just thinking of the loser husband her sister had once hooked up with and had now dumped.

Just not soon enough.

Kyle Rogers, the low-down, scum-of-the-earth jerk, had hooked her younger sister, Carrie, on gambling to the tune of fifty thousand dollars, which Carrie had proceeded to ask Katie for as flippantly as if it were a cup of sugar.

Though Lyons Security was doing well, it had only opened a year ago when, at thirty, she’d decided it was now or never, and she’d taken the plunge. And financially, it was indeed a plunge. Fifty thousand dollars was like asking for water in a desert.

It wasn’t happening.

Only it had to happen or Carrie’s health and well-being would be in jeopardy. Because some wrestler-looking dude kept showing up at all hours of the night, threatening to use the baseball bat he carried around with him to influence Carrie’s pocketbook.

Katie sighed heavily and shoved a long lock of her straight brunette hair behind her ear as she followed her old friend Ron Mortan through the foyer of Luke Winter’s house.

Ron turned to look at her. “You okay?”

Katie forced a smile. “As fine as I can be, considering I let you talk me into this in the first place. You know how I feel about working for athletes.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to work with an athlete. You dated Joey, you didn’t work for him.” His expression held just a hint of reprimand.

Katie’s lips tightened. “I saw how he treated the people who worked for him, and I don’t want any part of being a doormat for some overinflated ego.”

“Joey Martin was and is a great quarterback, but he’s also a crummy person and a lousy friend. I know this and you know this. I took his abuse professionally—you took it personally. But one bad relationship with an athlete should not make you pass up good business opportunities with another. Replacing Joey with Luke as a client was one of my best decisions ever. He’s the top pitcher in the game of baseball, yet he’s as down-to-earth as they come. Give him a chance, Katie.”

“I have no trouble getting clients,” Katie clarified for him, and it was the truth. She worked mainly on the road, doing security for the music industry, having once been a dancer for one of the it singers of the decade, until she blew out her knee. But with a cop for a father, she’d been drawn to security, and learned all the ins and outs. One day, she and her father had planned to open Lyons Security and cater to high-end clientele…only her father hadn’t lived to see their dream fulfilled. He and her mother had died in a car accident three years before. While Carrie had been a senior in college.

“I’m proud of you and how well your business has done. But how many of those jobs pay what I have offered?”

Katie frowned. “Ron,” she said with an apology in her voice. “I owe you for a lot of moral support in the past. I don’t want you to think the money is the only reason I’m here.”

He smiled, his expression softening. He had always been like a second father to her. It’s why she had even told him about Carrie. If it had been anyone else, she would have kept it private.

“I don’t think that,” he reassured her. “But I do know you need the money, so it helped me get you here. Now, let’s proceed with the introductions, shall we?”

“A file and a rundown on his security system would be nice.”

“Tomorrow,” he said. “It’s late. You just got here. The introduction is the most important thing tonight.”

Katie nodded and followed Ron into a large, dimly lit room with a full bar against one wall. She caught her first glimpse of Luke as he stood behind the bar.

And damn if her stomach didn’t flip-flop. Even her mouth went dry. Her reaction was over-the-top, and not at all expected.

He was sexy as hell and exactly the kind of guy Katie had sworn off years before. With determination, she pushed her instant attraction to him out of her mind. One run-in with a professional athlete was enough to last a lifetime, thank you very much.

Even taller than she had pictured, he was a dominating figure, towering well over the top of the bar. His broad, dark good looks were far more devastating to the female senses, at least hers, in person than they were on television or in magazines.

Ron, a black man who looked more like a linebacker than like Luke’s manager, walked toward the bar, smiling at Luke as he did.

He positioned himself on a bar stool and motioned Katie forward. “Come meet Luke.”

“Yes,” Luke said in a voice that almost seemed to taunt. Then he added, “Come meet Luke.”

Okay. That, most definitely, was a taunt.

At least his personality wasn’t going to draw her the way his features did. “Don’t have to,” she mumbled to herself. “Met one arrogant athlete, met ’em all.”

“What?” Ron asked.

Katie smiled at Ron, her lips tight, her muscles tense. “Nothing.”

“Nothing she wants to repeat,” Luke said, drawing her attention. Then he winked at her.

Katie frowned, still standing just inside the doorway, her feet seemingly cemented to the floor. For some reason she was reluctant to move forward, as if she were entering the lion’s den. Had the lion himself heard her from clear across the room?

Surely not. Yet…the look on Luke’s face said yes. Not that she cared. Let him hear. They needed to establish right up front that she wasn’t a rug to be walked on.

When she spoke again, she made sure he heard her. “Smarter than the average athlete. Point for you.”

He laughed. “Good. I like being on top.”

Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. Was there a double meaning to his words? His eyebrow inched up as if he knew what she was thinking and dared her to say it out loud. Which made her wonder if her mind was that dirty, and she’d taken his words out of context…or was he trying to get her to second-guess herself?

“Luke is a lot of things, but average isn’t one of them,” Ron said to Katie, drawing her attention as he patted the bar stool. “Come join us.”

Katie didn’t look at Luke. Didn’t have to. She could feel him gloating across the room. His attitude, even from a distance, was a prime example of why she didn’t like working with athletes. They were all jerks.

Already she knew Luke Winter had an exceptional knack for pushing her buttons. No, she most definitely did not like working with athletes.

And no way was she going to be attracted to Luke Winter. So her body reacting like this made no sense. No way was she getting involved with another athlete. She would do this job and then be gone. Luke Winter could not get to her. It was impossible. Squaring her shoulders, a look of determination in her eyes, she stepped forward.

She advanced toward the offered seat. “Good,” she said to Ron, and despite the fact that she was talking about Luke, she didn’t look at him. “Average athletes don’t know how to follow directions. I’ll need Mr. Winter to do as I say.”

Luke laughed. “Oh, now, darlin’, I’m sure we can work something out. If you ask me just right, I’ll do about anything.”

That stopped her in her tracks. Slowly, her gaze moved to his. “Mr. Winter…”

“Luke,” he corrected. “Call me Luke. I plan to call you Katie.”

Katie kept her expression impassive.

But just barely.

She wasn’t about to get sucked into whatever game this man was trying to play. She started forward again, even as she met Luke’s piercing gaze. There was something intimate about the way he looked at her, his eyes lingering on her features in a slow, thorough inspection.

His scrutiny was keen and far too probing, as if he were seeing well below the surface. It set her on edge, made her feel off center. Each step forward came slowly and took extra effort.

With irritation, she realized she was holding her breath. She immediately forced herself to exhale, slowly allowing the air to trickle through her lips.

Ron was talking, and she tried to focus on what he was saying. Not quite at the bar, she drew to a halt, still struggling to absorb Luke’s words.

“Katie and I go way back,” Ron commented. “I trust her as a person, and her company is considered top-notch. She’s provided security for some big names. People who tend to draw the type of problem you are having. This won’t be her first stalker.”

Katie’s eyes flickered from Ron back to Luke as she settled her hands on the back of the bar stool. Their eyes locked and held, almost squaring off in silent battle.

“No,” she said to Ron, but never took her gaze off Luke. “Is it your first, Mr. Winter?”

Thanks to Ron, Katie already knew Luke didn’t take seriously the recent threats he’d been receiving, and that he didn’t want her or anyone else’s help.

According to Ron, Luke was a very private person. Katie wasn’t sure she bought into that idea. Especially since Ron had also said Luke was a nice guy. Clearly he was mistaken on that point, which meant he could be wrong on others. Luke reeked of arrogance and trouble. Not a hint of niceness.

Luke’s full attention was on her. She could feel it with every ounce of her being. His lips twitched ever so slightly. “It depends on how you define stalker. I’ve had my share of obsessive fans.”

In an effort not to look into his eyes, her gaze slipped down…to his lips. Another strategic mistake. They were full, the bottom bigger than the top, and alluring. Addictive…yes. She could see why a fan or two had become obsessive. He had a vibrant sensuality that demanded a reaction, even by her, despite her resistance.

No way was he a nice guy. He had bad boy, hot nights and great orgasms written all over him. Tempting, spicy, delicious, never nice.

Not that she cared.

She didn’t need sex. Two years of going without had proven that. So why was she feeling all this damn awareness in every inch of her body, for a man she didn’t even like?

One who didn’t even want her here.

She forced her mind to business. “Obsessive enough to send death threats?”

Luke shrugged off the question. “The letters are harmless.”

“They’re getting more aggressive,” Katie told him sternly. “I saw them, and I don’t like the way the tone has changed.”

Luke’s lips thinned. “A letter never killed anyone.”

“But I might,” Ron muttered. “Luke, get on board. There is more to this than letters. What about the hang-up calls on your private line?”

Luke made a frustrated sound. “You’re making too much of this, Ron. I don’t need extra security, and I don’t have a stalker. I have a fan who is a bit over-the-top. That’s all.”

Katie didn’t think Ron was overreacting. How would a fan get his private line? “I think Ron has reason to be concerned.”

Luke narrowed his eyes on her. “And you’re going to keep me snug and safe?”

His words held a hint of challenge. “From the stalker,” she bit out, “but if you keep pushing me, I can’t promise I won’t hurt you.”

His head fell back as he laughed. It was a deep, resonating sound that reached out and warmed her insides in a way that was sexy as hell and impossible to ignore. Damn him.

“That might be fun,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

2

LUKE STARED at Katie Lyons from across the bar, and the corners of his mind flickered with a unique response. What it was, he wasn’t quite sure, but damn if it wasn’t impossible to ignore. His body felt alive with her presence. His heart was beating at a crazy fast pace, and ridiculously, Luke had to force away the urge to put a fist over it. Despite his resolve to dislike Katie, the distinct thunder of attraction jolted his nerve endings.

Somehow, getting her to hate him now seemed far from appealing. But it was too late to turn back. Besides, the last damn thing he needed was a woman to screw him over with her own private agenda. He had no intention of expanding his emotional stamina, though as she smiled, sexy, all pride and defiance, he thought his physical stamina might be worth testing. Damn, he wanted her, and he cursed the irony of finding no one tempting for months, until this woman—the one he was trying to shake loose. Katie was hands-off. Yeah, right. Tell that to his cock. He was rock hard, his zipper stretched, his balls drawn up tight in discomfort.

“Drink?” Luke asked, watching her climb up on a bar stool as he tried to decide what his next action should be. What was it about this woman that did funny things to his insides?

Turned him on.

Beyond that even…

Interested him. No, that still wasn’t a strong enough word. Intrigued him was more like it. When was the last time a woman had gotten his attention the way this one did? He couldn’t remember. At some point they had all become users to him. The thought was so cynical, and so out of character, he made a mental note to revisit exactly what was going on in his head.

Katie’s voice, a sultry sound that wrapped around him like an enticing breeze on a hot day, drew him back into the present. “No, thank you,” she said with obviously forced politeness, which did nothing to douse the sexiness of her tone or the way it rippled along his nerve endings.

Despite the businesslike mask she wore, he could see a softer, and even hotter, Katie beneath. Her eyes were a warm green, like grass, with little specks of yellow. Her brown hair hung down her shoulders in soft waves, and he could just imagine burying his hands in it while he kissed her.

He could tell from the way she shifted slightly that she knew how intense his scrutiny was. She continued, “I’d like to get straight to the point. You have real trouble here.”

Luke leaned an elbow on the bar. “Ron is the one who thinks I have trouble. I don’t. As I have already stated, we are simply dealing with a fan who is a bit more aggressive than others.”

Katie quirked an eyebrow as she leaned forward and rested one palm on the bar. “Then what am I doing here?”

Luke’s eyes flicked to Ron. “Making him happy.”

Katie pushed off the bar as if preparing to leave. “Then I don’t see any point in staying. Unless I have your buy-in, Mr. Winter, my services are useless.”

Ron responded immediately. “Luke will cooperate fully. His coach wants this.”

That got Luke’s attention. “Since when?”

Ron’s voice had a hard edge. “Since the team’s water supply was tampered with.”

“When did this happen?” Katie asked immediately.

Luke spoke to Ron, ignoring her question. “That was a prank and you damn well know it,” he said hotly. “Salt. It was flipping salt.”

Ron’s expression was one of frustration. “It was a sign we need to be more cautious. Think of the rest of your team, Luke. This is serious business.”

“This is crazy, is what it is!” Luke said as he stiffened his spine. “A load of crap if ever I’ve heard one.”

Ron stood up. “You’ve had a great preseason, Luke. You’re good—you’re damn good—and you’d be a loss to the team. But both management and the league feel there’ve been too many incidents to let you go into the regular season without extra security. They won’t risk the liability of endangering players, fans and staff.”

Luke scoffed. “This isn’t about me, Ron, and we both know it. It’s about the guy who beat up an umpire last season, and the fight that broke out in the stands and the two players who got killed. Management is worried about liability over things I had nothing to do with.”

“If you weren’t being targeted,” Ron argued, “you wouldn’t be a focal point. And it’s neither here nor there because bottom-lining it here, Luke, without proper precautions, your season is over before it starts. And Katie has the credentials to make management confident we’ve taken those precautions.”

Tension climbed a path up Luke’s spine. Everything was going wrong. He didn’t need this right now. Not when he was trying to stay focused on his game, and come back from scandal with a strong season. Inhaling, he tried to calm himself, to think logically. Then, unintentionally, Luke’s gaze collided with Katie’s. To his surprise, her eyes softened, seemed to reflect understanding.

He liked her, he thought. Damn it to hell, he liked her. He didn’t want to, but he did. Instinctively trusted her even, and based on his recent judgments, that should be enough to send him running to the hills. He’d learned the hard way with past relationships about how dangerous trust could be.

People wanted things from him. They didn’t just want to be his friend. Not without a reason.

“I know this is difficult, Mr. Winter,” she said in a gentle, almost comforting voice, as if she actually cared how he felt.

She still wouldn’t call him by his first name and for some reason that really set him off. “Luke. My name is Luke.” The woman was driving him insane, and he had known her mere minutes. The last thing he wanted was for her to get close enough to know what really got to him—he needed her gone. Lashing back at her incredible ability to get under his skin, trying to upset her, Luke gave her a quick, intimate, up-and-down perusal meant to stir her anger. It was a look that held an intentionally blatant message—you’d be a great piece of ass. Of course he would never confirm that assessment. She didn’t like him, nor did he want her to like him. He’d chosen a plan and he was sticking to it—she had to hate him.

KATIE CAST Ron a pleading look, silently asking for guidance. In reply, Ron quietly repeated, “He’ll be reason able.”

But in the flash of a second that Katie had looked away from Luke, he’d advanced on her, and she had a feeling it wasn’t because he intended to “behave.” Suddenly, he was standing beside her, the spicy male scent of arrogant, pain-in-the-backside man, invading her nostrils and her space. Trying to regain the composure she rarely lost but that Luke was managing to rattle, Katie remained facing the bar, both palms flattened on the wooden surface. Tilting her chin to the side, she cut him a suspicious look—wondering what he was up to, and he was up to something, of that she was certain.

Covertly, she took in his appearance—she simply couldn’t help herself. It was her first time to see his entire body. And what a body it was. He was dressed casually in snug-fitting jeans and an equally snug black tee, both of which molded ever so nicely to the rippling length of his powerful body. Physically the man was nothing shy of outright impressive. Even his foul mood didn’t take away from the pure maleness of his presence, and the perfection of his athletic body.

With a facade of control that defied her racing heart and the funny fluttery thing in her stomach, Katie dared to give Ron her back as she turned to face her challenger. It was unsettling that she wasn’t as capable of dismissing Luke Winter as she was the rest of the bigger-than-Texas egos she’d encountered in the wild world of professional sports.

She and Luke now stood face-to-face, each with an elbow propped on the bar, neither blinking, a standoff of sorts, one she feared she was losing. His nearness washed over her in a wave of warm, tingling sensations that tested her cool exterior and threatened her mask of aloofness. She was certain she was the one who would break, when something unexpected happened. For an instant, a tiny instant, the arrogance of the big, bad baseball pitcher melted into vulnerability. Taken off guard, Katie blinked and it was gone, replaced by something much different, more tense, almost angry.

He laughed, but there wasn’t any hint of humor in the deeply resonating sound. “I don’t see how you are going to stop anyone from hurting me.” Again he was taunting, and Katie couldn’t help but wonder if he was punishing her for seeing something in him that he hadn’t wanted exposed. He continued his verbal assault, “I believe a large woman could overpower you. A man would easily control you.”

His eyes made a slow, lazy tour down her body and then back up again, blatantly pausing at her breasts. When his eyes met hers again, she wanted to reach over and smack his face. The hand that hung by her side balled into a fist as she willed herself to calm, glaring at him with what she hoped was fire. Not once now, but twice, he had taken the liberty of undressing her with his eyes.

“Ron,” he said in a slow drawl, his eyes remaining on Katie. “Really, now. Let’s be realistic here. She looks more like one of my groupies than a security expert.” His lips twisted. “Then again, she is a beauty. She might be entertaining.”

Ron grunted. Loudly. “You’re out of line, Luke. Enough. You are not only insulting Katie, you’re underestimating her.” Suddenly, Katie was aware of Ron standing to her left, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off Luke. They remained facing each other, glaring at each other. Katie felt Ron’s attention land heavily on Luke. “You really are being difficult, my man. What’s come over you?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Ron.” Luke never took his eyes off Katie. “Why don’t we see what she really can do?”

Suddenly, Katie found herself trapped, her back against the bar, imprisoned by one of Luke’s strong arms on either side of her.

“Luke!” Ron’s angry voice rumbled as if in a tunnel.

Unwilling to be manhandled, Katie considered pulling the gun in her boot and teaching Luke a real lesson but thought better of it. Instead, she pressed her hands to that warm, hard chest and raised a knee, stopping the instant before she made contact. To her satisfaction, Luke’s eyes went wide with the near impact.

“The way to satisfy a man might not always be in his pants,” she said, slowly easing her leg down, her hand staying on that hard wall of muscle, keeping him at a distance. “But right now, it darn sure is mine.”

“So you like to play dirty, do you?” His breath teased as it trickled along her cheek.

His fast, unaffected comment drew a glare from Katie. “You, Luke Winter,” she muttered between her teeth, trying not to think about the way his thighs were suddenly pressed to hers, “are way too full of yourself.” And his lips were way too close, as well. Sensual lips. Full lips. She snapped her attention away from his mouth, irritated at her distraction. “I’m not a groupie or even a fan. Frankly, I think you pitchers ruin the game. It’s boring. Nobody hits the ball.”

“Wait. You think baseball is boring?”

She smiled even before she got the words out. “Just pitchers.” Her hands slid from his chest and she crossed her arms in front of her, silently dismissing him.

“But you think I’m a good pitcher.”

She blinked at the odd comment. “I didn’t say that.”

“I think you did.”

She almost threw her hands in the air. “The point is—I don’t care about your pitching. I’ve dated my pro athlete.”

“Who?”

“Joey Martin.”

“The quarterback?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. I know Joey. Arrogant guy. It’s a quarterback thing. Pitchers are better. But I can see why you’re bitter.”

Exasperated, she exclaimed, “I am not bitter. And back to my point that I never quite made. I’ve dated my athlete. Got the T-shirt and don’t want another. You have nothing I want or need.” Ron groaned in frustration, though neither Luke nor Katie paid him any mind.

With a sizzling, heavy-lidded stare, Luke leaned in close. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, and maybe you’ll believe it.” A shiver raced down her spine at the intense look that followed. “In my experience, people scream the loudest about the very things they are running from.”

She laughed in disbelief at the implication. “You think I’m running from you?”

His damnable silver-gray eyes overflowed with challenge. “Aren’t you?”

“If anyone is running,” she countered, poking his chest, “it’s you.”

His gaze dropped to his chest where she’d touched him and so did hers. Something happened in that split second. Tension entwined with attraction and exploded. Heat pooled low in her belly, awareness charging a path along her limbs, tightening her nipples, heart pounding in her ears. Slowly, their eyes lifted at the same instant, colliding in an electric charge of pure, red-hot attraction. It was one of those moments, one of those liquid fire moments between a man and a woman, that could turn animosity into wild, passionate sex.

“That’s enough!” Ron’s voice snapped through the air, and Katie all but jumped at the reminder of why she couldn’t have passionate anything with Luke. He was a job, a duty, a pain-in-the-backside, arrogant jerk. But still neither she nor Luke moved. They just kept staring at each other.

Ron’s hands closed down on one of each of their arms. “I said—that’s enough.”

Luke backed away, a smile tilting his way-too-hot mouth upward—the mouth Katie couldn’t stop staring at, wondering what it would feel like pressed to hers. Oh, God, she was thinking about kissing Luke Winter. Was she insane? Shaken to the core, she jerked her attention from Luke’s face, ran her hand along the edge of her hair and made her decision.

“Obviously, this isn’t going to work.” A second later, she was making fast tracks toward the door. She’d been crazy to come here, and she knew it. Ron should have known, too.

Luke’s voice mocked her from behind. “She gives up easily,” he said, evidently talking to Ron. “Why exactly did you recommend her? You thought she might actually have some balls? Guess you were wrong.”

Katie abruptly turned around, anger flashing in her brown eyes. “I cannot work effectively when it’s clear I will not have your cooperation. We can’t work together. We can’t even have a conversation together.”

Luke laughed loudly, leaving a trail of arrogant satisfaction ringing in the air. “Like I said, you give up easily.”

Katie fought for composure, enduring his mocking laughter with an internal cringe.

“Katie,” Ron said, his own exasperation apparent in the tension-etched way he said her name. “I don’t know what the hell has come over Luke, but we need you. He needs you. I need you. The entire team needs you.” He gave Luke a biting look. “Luke will behave himself. I’ll make sure of it.” He returned his attention to Katie. “Take the job.” With a pointed meaning, he added, “We both know you need it.”

Luke’s eyebrows arched sharply. Katie, in turn, shot Ron an angry look of reproach. Her financial picture was none of Luke Winter’s business, and that was exactly where this was leading.

Ron ignored her silent reprimand and spoke to Luke. “Management wants this to happen. I suggest you make it work.”

Then he waved his hand between the two of them, pointing at each. “So, to both of you, listen carefully to what I have to say. Katie, you need this job. Luke, you can take Katie or be left behind. There are plenty of young bucks dying to get your starting spot in the lineup. You might think you aren’t replaceable, but so has every other pitcher who’s ever been replaced. Both of you decide now. Are we going to make this work or not?”

Katie and Luke stared at each other, neither in a happy mood. Neither gloating any longer.

Ron continued, “I take that as acceptance from both of you. Now,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his brawny chest, “we need to sort out the logistics. No one can know who Katie really is.” Ron turned to Katie. “Luke is single, and so are you. I say you go undercover as his girlfriend.”

Her rejection was instant. “Forget it,” she spat at Ron. “That’s a deal breaker. I’m not going to pretend to be this man’s girlfriend!” She narrowed her gaze, accusation in her voice. “You planned this from the beginning. I know you, Ron. You knew I wouldn’t agree to this kind of setup, so you waited until I was here. That is low. I expected more from you.”

“Management wants this problem to appear to disappear,” Ron explained. “That means they want Luke’s extra security to be invisible. And let’s face it, our stalker doesn’t need to be alerted that someone is watching or that person might pull back before we catch them. This plan solves all of these issues.” Ron set his jaw, unaffected by her words, apparently prepared for them. “I’ll throw in an extra five thousand a week. That should cover any discomfort.”

Katie opened her mouth to reject the offer, indignant about Ron’s behavior, but forced herself to shut it again. She needed the money to get her sister out of trouble, but damn it, she didn’t want to be bought.

Then, suddenly, she realized Luke hadn’t said a word. Not one objection, not one complaint, nothing. She looked at him, a question in her mind that was most assuredly on her face.

Why wasn’t he complaining? Why was he leaning lazily against the bar, one long leg crossed in front of the other. “Why aren’t you objecting?” she asked suspiciously.

He shrugged a broad shoulder. “I want to play ball, thus I accept my circumstances. Seems you’re the one who still has issues.”

“I have issues?” she asked in disbelief. How had this gotten turned around to her? She turned businesslike, her voice softer now by design. “I just don’t think this is the best approach.”

“I’m open to hearing a better one,” Ron said, leaning on the bar beside Luke. “You got one?”

Katie swallowed. Ron’s idea was a good one. She just didn’t like it. “Well, no, not yet.”

“So this is our best option for now?” Ron asked, with an expectant look on his face.

Damn. She was trapped. If her sister didn’t have this gambling debt, she’d refuse altogether. But what option did she have? Carrie had sharks after her. “I, um, suppose so.”

Luke challenged her then. “Then what’s the problem?”

LUKE HAD already figured out it was not in Katie’s nature to walk away from a challenge, exactly why he’d pushed her, egging her on. And for some unknown, crazy reason, the thought of her leaving kicked his ass. His plan to scare her off had only served to make him want her more.

And when she’d pulled that knee on him…the fire in her eyes, well…it had sent heat straight through his veins and right to the vicinity of her target.

It was like a white-hot rocket had settled between his thighs. He had stood before her, completely hard and wanting. Katie Lyons might be a problem, but she was a delicious one.

So now he found himself baiting her, and she was letting him. “Is there a problem, Katie?”

He watched her force a smile. And damn if she wasn’t cute as hell trying to act all tough when he could tell she really wanted to bolt. Sexy and cute? Had he ever found a woman he would call both?

Even as he was acting on his attraction to her, and challenging her to stay around, in the far corners of his mind he knew he was setting himself up to get burned again. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted to find out what made Katie tick. What made her laugh? What made her sigh?

Several tension-filled seconds passed where he could almost see her trying to form words, before she finally managed to actually do so. “No problem,” she finally said. “We’ll do it Ron’s way.” It was a weak concession, at best, but one Luke reveled in nonetheless.

Ron smiled his approval. “Good. It’s settled, then.” He glanced at Luke. “Katie will go undercover as your girlfriend. We have a week before you leave for the first series. That’ll give her time to get her crew here and in place.” Ron looked at Katie. “Luke has plenty of room for you to stay here.”

Katie had opened her mouth to voice what Luke was certain would be an objection, when Ron turned to Luke. “Katie is known for solving problems fast. She gets up close and personal with the client and smokes out the problem, like fire in a chimney. It’s amazing.”

Luke studied Ron, and then let his focus shift back to Katie. “Is that so?” To Luke’s surprise, she started blushing, and he found himself gently adding, “Good thing I have a guest bedroom next door to mine.”

She wet her lips, choosing to divert the conversation away from the bedroom next to his. “I have two of my staff members joining us tomorrow. We’ll have to discuss their cover stories rather quickly after they arrive.” She paused. “They’ll need rooms, as well.”

Luke inclined his head, forcing himself not to smile at her, diverting the conversation away from their sleeping arrangements. She had just agreed to stay around. And for some unidentifiable reason, he felt the best he had in months.

“Not a problem,” Luke told her. “Why don’t I show you to your room?”

She bit her bottom lip. “I know it’s late, but I’d like to go down a list of questions with you tonight so I can start formulating a plan of attack.” She glanced at Ron. “I’m empty-handed. I have no file. No real data to work with.”

“I’ll bring it by tomorrow,” Ron promised.

Luke wanted nothing more than to start getting to know Katie tonight, but she looked tired and more than a little uncomfortable, despite her grand efforts to appear unscathed. “Your flight was late,” he said. “And the trip from New York to Los Angeles is a long one. Why don’t we start bright and early in the morning?”

“I’d…” She seemed to reconsider what she was going to say. “That works.”

He smiled at her, a sincere, heartfelt smile. Now that she’d agreed to take the case, he needed to stop with the games. It was time to show her he wasn’t such a bad guy.

“I’ll carry your bags up for you.” Luke faced Ron. “I’d like to talk to you before you leave.”

“If you have something to say about me, say it to my face.”

Katie’s heated words drew his attention. He narrowed his gaze on her—his intention had been to question Ron about Katie. But maybe that was best done directly.

“Then let’s make a deal,” Luke said to her.

Her eyes darkened. “What kind of deal?”

Ron answered before Luke could. “You two deal,” he said. “I need to get going anyway. Unlike the two of you, age isn’t on my side. It’s eleven o’clock, and I have a meeting at seven in the morning.”

“I’ll walk out with you,” Katie said quickly.

Luke laughed.

Katie fixed him in a hard stare. “What?” she demanded.

He shook his finger at her. “You don’t play by the rules.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, but her expression said she knew.

“I’m out of here,” Ron said, moving toward the door. “And for the record,” he called over his shoulder, turning back to them for a quick moment, “I won’t be the referee. Play nice together and catch a bad guy. Then we all win.”

He opened the door and disappeared.

Luke and Katie were suddenly alone, staring at each other, the air crackling with awareness. Ah, but Luke was not blind. There was a heavy dose of discomfort on Katie’s part, as well. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to want him. Whatever Joey Martin had done to her, he’d done it well.

Okay, admittedly, Luke playing the asshole on deck hadn’t helped. He’d taken a preexisting wall and inched it higher. Which really sucked because he liked her. She was real. He sensed it as surely as he did a batter about to hike a ball out of the park, sensed this with such certainty that he wouldn’t bother second-guessing himself, even though his recent track record with women was pretty flipping pathetic. If Katie hated him, it would be openly, not behind his back. If she desired him, her passion would be bold and flaming hot.

“So, Katie Lyons,” he said softly as he took a step toward her. “Let’s make that deal I mentioned.”

Her eyes went wide, suspicion flickering in their depths. “What kind of deal?”

“The way I see it,” he said as he closed the distance between them, “we have two options for dealing with our situation.”

She swallowed and then tilted her chin up defiantly. “Okay, I’ll bite. What two options are those?”

He took another step. She didn’t move. She stood her ground with that tough facade, but he knew she was wavering by the flash of nervousness in her eyes.

“We could fight all day and all night,” he said. He stopped in front of her, close. So close all he had to do was lift his arms to touch her. Damn, he loved her scent, a soft floral something. He wasn’t much of a flower guy, but he thought maybe honeysuckle. Sweet. A contradiction from her tough exterior, a detail that ripened his assessment of her to downright delicious.

“Or?” she prodded, refusing to back away. Damn, she had spunk. That made him hot.

“Or we can get right to the root of the problem and be done with it.” He shifted closer to her, his lips lingering above hers. “Now would be a good time for that knee if you don’t want to be kissed.” He reached for her, pulling her close, molding her sexy, taut body to his. He didn’t give her time to object. His mouth closed down on hers.

He kissed her, prodding her into a response. She started to resist, her palms pressed against his chest, her spine stiff. But when his tongue dipped into her mouth and brushed hers, she whimpered. Her lips softened, her body warmed. She melted and gave him what he really wanted. Her surrender.

3

KATIE COULD NOT stop kissing Luke Winter. The man deserved that well-placed knee for daring to kiss her, on top of being a complete, utter ass. And she’d give him that knee. Soon. Very soon. Right after she finished kissing him. And, oh, God, was she kissing him. The kind of kissing that screamed Strip me naked and have your way with me. Worse, no matter how hard she willed herself to pull away from such abandon, Katie couldn’t do it. She was drowning in sexy male seduction and couldn’t find the desire to escape. Which led her to one conclusion—Luke Winter had a magic tongue. It was the only explanation for the drugging effect of his kiss, the only explanation for the dull, wonderful ache that spread through her limbs and coiled in her stomach. When was the last time a man had accomplished such a feat? A year? Almost two?

So when he said, “Tell me this feels as good to you as it does to me,” with his lips lingering above hers, a whisper from another caress, Katie tried to say no, but she was afraid he would stop kissing her.

Instead, she whispered, “Yes.” And it was breathless. Hungry.

Bingo. He kissed her again.

She knew she should be pushing him away, but…he tasted and felt so darn good. She was human after all, and he was…well, he was a damn good kisser.

And try as she might to ignore the reaction her body was having to him, she couldn’t. She wanted him. Bad.

But this was just a kiss. No harm, no foul. At least, in her desire-stricken state, that was the logic she decided to cling to. Later she would chastise herself. Not now.

Besides, it had been an eternity, or so it seemed, since she had been thoroughly kissed. His tongue played along the sides of hers, and Katie moaned without any possible hope of restraining the sound.

There was something so warm, so alluringly perfect about his kisses. Perhaps the way he used his lips to caress hers, or maybe it was the way his tongue did this slow, seductive dance along hers.

Or was there more?

Some kind of unique chemistry between them perhaps?

Slowly, he pulled away from her, coming back for a brief nibble, before staring down at her with a probing, heated gaze.

Without thought, a sigh of pure female satisfaction slipped from her mouth.

He smiled in return—clearly proud of making her act in such a way—but Katie didn’t find the smile offensive, surprisingly. She knew he had enjoyed kissing her, as well.

His hand slid beneath her hair, his callused fingers caressing her neck with delicious friction. “Katie—”

Someone cleared their throat at the doorway, a distinctly feminine sound, drawing their attention. Shocked at someone else’s presence, Katie instantly moved to take a step backward. Luke quickly settled his hands around her waist, holding her there against him. Katie cast him a disbelieving look and had opened her mouth to complain when he whispered, “Remember your cover. We’re dating.”

“I think we’re about to have our first fight,” she ground out, giving him her best evil glare, intended for perps under arrest but quite effective with low-life athletes who couldn’t keep it in their pants. Her attention shifted to the visitor, a woman—no, girl—not more than nineteen. Distress etched her youthful features, a frown on her heart-shaped face. Her faded, ripped jeans and pretty yellow lace blouse were as youthful as the highlights streaking her long, dark hair. A sick feeling gathered in Katie’s stomach. Apparently, Luke Winter liked them young, and he didn’t care if he had more than one woman in his house at once. She visualized the pleasure she’d get from a well-placed knee, something she should have already given him. Pig!

“Hi, Jessica,” Luke said. “Katie, this—”

Jessica rambled over the top of him. “I should have known better than to let myself—” Her hands twisted together, her voice trailing off.

“Let yourself what?” Luke said, actually having the gall to sound both concerned and confused.

Katie would have told him where to stick that stupid act of his, too, but the girl spoke up first. “My mother wanted me to let you know the guest room is ready.” Her hate-filled gaze shifted to Katie. “She said you’d need it.”

Katie blinked and turned to Luke. “Who’s her mother?” What the heck did the man have going on here?

“I am,” came a voice etched with accent. A gentle-looking older woman stepped up beside Jessica, her thick, dark hair streaked with gray and pinned in a bun. “I’m Maria Rodriguez, Luke’s housekeeper.” She paused and smiled at Luke. “But he’s more like a son to me.” Her friendly attention, so unlike her daughter’s, shifted to Katie. “You must be the someone special Ron told me Luke had arriving this evening. We let ourselves in. To make sure you had everything you needed.”

“Someone special?” Katie repeated. She swallowed, biting back anger—and not at Luke this time. She and Ron were going to have words. He had clearly planned the dating thing from the start and thrown her to the wolves—no plan, no story in the mix. And now she and Luke were flying by the seat of their pants. Lacing her arm with Luke’s, she forced a smile in his direction. “Is that what I’m being called these days? Should I tell you what my special name for you is?”

Luke slid his hand over hers. “Why don’t we save that for when we’re alone, sweetheart.” He pulled her a bit closer, their hips aligned, and the message clear—he was more than happy to play boyfriend. No doubt because he thought he was going to be getting more of that kiss-kiss action.

They’d be clearing up that misconception sooner rather than later. It was time to recover from this unexpected meeting and get her ducks in a row. This was business, not pleasure, which she should never have forgotten.

Speaking to Maria, Luke added, “The ‘someone special’ comment is Ron’s way of being discreet about Katie and I dating. You know how I dislike the media delving into my personal life.”

“Hound dogs, those reporters,” Maria said with a huff. “I get sick of them snooping around, and I’m not the one they are trying to snap photos of.” She pursed her lips toward Katie. “Hope they don’t run you off.”

“If anyone runs me off,” Katie said, squeezing Luke’s arm meaningfully, “I can assure you, it will be Luke.” She glanced at him, their eyes clashing in a strained connection before she forced a smile in Maria’s direction. “And it’s nice to meet you, by the way.”

Katie’s attention flickered to Jessica, whom she’d concluded either a) had a big-time crush on Luke, or b) was sleeping with him, or maybe even c) had slept with him at one point and hoped to again. Whatever the case, she was going on the suspect list. “Nice to meet you, as well, Jessica.”

Jessica gave her a barely there nod and then eyed Luke, speaking to him, not Katie. “She’s in the room next to yours.” There was a message there—I know she isn’t sleeping with you.

Maria quickly responded, as if she sensed her daughter’s agitation and inference, and was trying to cover it up. “It’s a beautiful room,” she said. “Let me know if I can do anything for you while you’re here, Katie.”

Jessica remained focused on Luke. “Should I show her to her room?”

Katie grimaced, disliking the way Jessica spoke as if she was not there.

A slow, intimate smile slipped onto Luke’s lips as he glanced down at her. “I’ll show Katie to her room myself.” Okay. So if Jessica thought the separate rooms meant they were not sleeping together, Luke’s stare, at that moment, must have rattled her. Because even Katie was almost convinced she was sleeping with Luke based on that hot, steamy look.

Maria cleared her throat, her cheeks red. “We’ll leave you for the night and head home. Oh, and Katie, your bag is in your room.”

“Thank you,” Kate said quickly. At the same moment, Luke slid his arm back over Katie’s shoulder, another intimate, overly friendly gesture. She wanted to shove him away, especially when little ripples of awareness began spraying along her nerve endings. She had so many reasons to dislike this man, yet her body couldn’t seem to get in agreement with that rationale. Nor did she have time to dart away when Maria and Jessica finally departed.

The instant she and Luke were alone, Luke turned to face her, pulling her to him, hands still around her waist. “You thought Jessica and I were together.”

Denial seemed futile. “Are you?” she challenged, her fingers melded to those damn, far-too-appealing muscular arms.

“She’s my housekeeper’s daughter, Katie,” he said, his voice laced with disbelief. “I was at her sweet-sixteen party. She’s a kid. I have not, nor would I ever, sleep with Jessica. You really want to hate me, don’t you?”

Yes! And it would be easier if he would let her go and stop touching her. “You’ve not exactly given me reason to do anything but hate you.”

She got her wish. He dropped his hands from her waist and stared at her. “Because I was trying to get rid of you, and for the record, I know I was a jerk and I’m sorry. But you have to admit you were an easy target, with all kinds of preconceived notions about me.”

Her eyes went wide. “You admit you were a jerk?”

“Yes,” he said pointedly, hands on his hips. “And I said I’m sorry, in case you missed that part. Now it’s your turn. Do you admit you judged me before meeting me?”

She sighed, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her foot tapping with nervous energy. It was true, she had prejudged him. “Okay, yes, I did, but I’m not apologizing. You were a jerk. I have no reason to believe it was an act.”

“Do you make a habit of kissing jerks?”

“Apparently, I do,” she replied shortly.

His expression darkened, eyes flashed. “I’m not him, you know.”

She knew who he meant. Her ex. The one who had said he was different from all the others but wasn’t. She chose to play dumb. “Who might that be?”

He nodded decisively. “Got it. You don’t want to talk about the past, and that appears to be the root of all my evil.”

“You learn fast,” she said. “But you seem to create your own evil quite nicely. You don’t need anyone from my past to do it for you.”

His jaw tensed, heat firing from his eyes, a mixture of anger and arousal. He wanted to kiss her into submission—she could see it in his eyes, and she barely contained the urge to back away.

“I’ll drop it.” Then he added with emphasis, “For now.” He considered her a moment. “I’ll show you to your room.”

“Oh, no,” Katie said with a nervous laugh. “I don’t need you to escort me to my bedroom.” She’d kissed him. She didn’t want to do something crazy, like undress him, and considering she kept thinking about it, a solo trip to her room seemed smarter. “Just point me in the right direction.”

His anger slid away with the appearance of a twinkle in his eyes. “Tucking tail and running?”

Yeah, she was, but she wasn’t admitting that. She was running, and doing so fast and hard. Ripping his clothes off would get her nowhere but in trouble, yet she wanted to. Oh, boy, did she want to. That she was even thinking about it spoke volumes about where her head was right now, and it wasn’t a place that allowed her to do her job. Luke was in danger. She was here to protect him, not get naked with him. It was time to get it together.

And yet, with that grand plan in mind, she still responded to his challenge, still could not resist saying, “I do not tuck tail and hide.”

“I said run, not hide.”

She shrugged. “Same thing.”

“If you say so,” he said, obviously unconvinced, but he didn’t push. “I’m hungry. You like Chinese food? There’s a spot up the road that delivers.”

She shook her head, trying to clear the skid marks from the sudden change of topic. “What game are you playing, Luke Winter?”

“No game. I’m hungry. I figured you might be, too.”

He was trying to get her to let down her guard again. She wasn’t a fool. This man and this situation were turning her upside down. “You’re my client.”

“Right,” he said, reaching for a cordless phone on the bar and sitting down. “And that means what exactly?”

Her chin inched up. She wanted the parameters set. The line drawn in the sand. Directness seemed her best option. “I can’t do this, Luke,” she said.

“Eat with me or sleep with me?”

“I can’t sleep with you.”

He arched that damnably sexy eyebrow and said, “Chinese food is okay, though, right?”

She inhaled, suddenly feeling really not so good about her directness—embarrassed, in fact. Maybe he’d already played his game and won the kiss. Maybe he’d moved on, and she was making something big out of nothing. He was a jerk, and she’d become some passing notch on his belt.

“I’m not hungry, after all,” she said. “I’d really prefer that you direct me to my room, and we can try starting fresh in the morning.”

“Tell me,” he said, resting his elbows on the bar, his dark tee stretching over well-honed muscle. “How are you going to play the role of my girlfriend when you’re running away from me?”

Damn the man. “I’m not running.”

“Prove it,” he dared with a gleam in his eye that told her she should keep her mouth shut. “Stay here and eat with me.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to eat together on the road,” she said. “And I have nothing to prove. I simply want to get some rest.”

He considered her a moment. “First door on the right at the top of the stairs.”

That was all she had to hear. Katie turned in flight, rushing toward the door, ready for escape. Running. Oh, yeah, she was running. “Katie.”

Something in his tone, in the softly spoken word, drew her to a pause at the door. She half turned, ready to complete her escape. “Yes?”

“I’m going to try to change your mind,” he said. He wasn’t talking about Chinese food. He was talking about sex.

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t try.” But as she stepped into the hall, departing before he could say more, she knew she wanted him to try. Because she wanted him. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t hide. Not when she was sleeping in the man’s house.

4

IT WAS almost midnight, a good forty-five minutes after Katie left Luke in his den. She’d showered in the private bathroom attached to her bedroom and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, her stomach growling with the absence of that Chinese food.

Katie sat cross-legged on top of a massive sleigh bed that was draped in a fluffy, navy-blue comforter, talking with her best friend and outrageously outspoken business partner, Donna Montgomery.

“Sleeping with Luke Winter could be the best thing you ever did,” Donna said in the normal brazen fashion with which she approached life that somehow fit her fiery red hair and curves galore. “And since you’re play dating him, you might as well get the benefits.”

Leaning back against the array of throw pillows and pulling her knees to her chest, Katie rolled her eyes and embraced the levelheaded control she considered critical to her success, despite having shown none of it with Luke thus far. “That’s insane. You’re insane. No. Sleeping with Luke Winter would be insane.”

“Some people would say not sleeping with a man like that would be insane,” Donna insisted. “I’m one of those people, by the way.”

“Really?” Katie said in mock disbelief. “I would never have guessed that.”

“You know what they say,” she added. “If you fall off a bike, get back on and ride again. Ride another athlete, sweetheart. Then maybe you can finally move on from Joey.”

“Oh, good grief,” Katie said. “I do not need an athlete to ride. I moved past Joey Martin a long time ago. I never loved that man to start with.”

“Oh, I know that,” she said. “Joey’s power over you had nothing to do with Joey. It was about your knee being blown out and your dancing career with it. But it left you guarded. You have to move on, not from Joey, but from yourself.” She hesitated and then softened her voice. “It’s been years, Katie. Do what you need to do to put the past to rest, but put it to rest.”

“It’s resting,” she said. “I’ve simply been too busy to date. If the right guy comes around, I will. But Luke Winter isn’t that guy. He’s a client.” Which was why the molten attraction to him could go nowhere.

“You mean he’s a ballplayer,” Donna said.

“That’s irrelevant,” Katie reminded her.

“Actually it’s quite relevant,” Donna countered. “It’s a chance to be empowered. Have a hot fling and move on, and do so with a smile on your face. As Nike says—Just do it! Besides, you said he doesn’t take these threats seriously. Sometimes the woman in a man’s bed has the most influence on him.”

Or the least, Katie thought drily. Which might be exactly what Luke hoped for. Sex with Luke might not keep her from doing her job, but it would keep him from taking her seriously. And sex complicating her relationship with Luke might well send her packing, and her sister was too important to risk this job going wrong.

“Luke is the one paying our salaries right now,” Katie said. “Seriously, woman, where is your professionalism?”

“Oh, all right,” Donna reluctantly acknowledged. “I guess you have a point.”

“Finally,” Katie announced. “Which brings us to the reason I took this job in the first place. How is my sister?”

“Carrie is a royal pain in the backside, as always, but she’s safe. The girl couldn’t find good sense if it was chasing her. How you two are related, I’ll never understand. Are you sure your mom didn’t cheat on your dad, and she’s the product of an affair?”

“You ask me that all the time, so I’ll ignore the question and move on.”

“You always do, and I never get my answer. Funny that. Makes me wonder more.” Then, as if Donna read her mind, which she often did, she added, “I delivered the first payment to those damn, bloodsucking sharks. Sorry bastards.”

Katie laughed, embracing her friend’s boisterous, opinionated and impossible-to-ignore personality to lighten the dark situation. Thank God for her.

“What?” Donna asked innocently—there was nothing innocent about Donna.

“Just loving that loud mouth of yours right about now,” Katie admitted. “Get some sleep, woman.” Katie sighed, but then remembered something. “Oh, wait. What time—”

“Ten o’clock on American Flight 202, but not until Saturday. They had a few bumps wrapping up their present assignment.” And today was Wednesday. Damn. “They” referred to Noah and Josh, Katie’s two most trusted security experts.

“What kind of bumps?” She pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.” She knew that they knew what they were doing. If they needed more time, they needed more time. She simply wanted company guarding Luke so she wasn’t alone with him. “Just tell them to try and get here sooner. Thanks for always being on top of things, Donna,” Katie said appreciatively. “Oh, and FYI, I should have a full file on Luke, and the threats he’s received, early tomorrow. At least, that’s what Ron promised me at the airport.”

“I certainly would hope so,” Donna said. “He rushed you to take this job as it is. If it’s urgent so is the data for us to do our jobs.”

“Agreed,” Katie said. “But right now, we should both get some rest.”

“Night-night, Katie dear. Dream sweet. May I suggest a theme? How about a little true undercover action with a certain sexy baseball player? A pitcher maybe?”

Katie laughed despite herself. “The only way you could know he’s sexy is if you did an online search. And you did, didn’t you?”

Donna snorted. “I watch television.”

“You hate sports.”

“But not the players,” she said. “I’d love some baseball player in nice tight pants. Oh, yes. I keep up with the highlights. Luke’s a hottie. Admit it.”

“Professionalism, Donna,” Katie said, pretending ample indignation. “I’m hanging up.”

“Meaning you think he’s sexy.”

“Hanging up now, Donna.” And she did. Katie hit the end button on the phone and tossed it to the bed. The phone immediately rang again. She rolled her eyes and answered. “Donna. Good night already.” Silence.

“Donna?”

A strange feeling inched its way up her spine. This wasn’t Donna or anyone else she called a friend. The line was so silent, it was eerie. But someone was on the line. Someone who had her private phone number.

Apparently the hoodlums who were after her sister knew people. Damn. She took a deep, calming breath. “I told you the money was coming. You’ll get it.” Silence.

“You’ll get your money.”

The line went dead. Katie dialed Donna to warn her. By the time she hung up the phone again, she was ready to pace the floor. No way was she sleeping.

NEAR EIGHT the next morning, dressed in black jeans and a matching black ruffled blouse, Katie sat at Luke’s island kitchen bar. With only a few hours of sleep under her belt, Katie had, nevertheless, woken up more determined than ever to keep things between her and Luke all business and, in fact, to get down to business. She placed a steamy cup of coffee beside her; she needed the caffeine and had helped herself to the coffeepot.

Those gambling sharks had to get out of her sister’s life, and this job allowed Katie the financial means to make it happen. That advantage deserved grateful hard work, not the bitter resistance she’d come here with, which, if she were honest with herself, was immature and out of character.

She was here to keep the man safe, and she intended to do so. That she wanted him, that he clearly and totally rocked her body to a steamy sizzle, complicated things. But she wasn’t going to allow it to get in the way of protecting him. And truth be told, playing the girlfriend put her front and center with those closest to him—and those people had to be considered suspects.

So with all that logic recapped in her mind about a million times and with her laptop fired up in front of her, Katie searched media blitzes involving Luke that might offer leads on his stalker. She tabbed through a recent story on Luke regarding the thieving, low-life manager he’d endured before Ron took over. Luke had been through some real bad stuff lately, enough to make her sit up and take notice. No wonder he didn’t want Katie around, she thought, lifting her coffee cup to sip. A sudden prickling of heat tingled along her skin.

Katie’s gaze lifted and settled on Luke, who was standing in the entryway, looking good enough to eat for breakfast in faded jeans, a team T-shirt that hugged his oh-so-yummy broad chest, and a pair of scuffed cowboy boots. His light brown hair, thick and a bit mussed up, screamed for well-placed female fingers—not hers, she told herself. Okay. Maybe hers.

“You’re up early,” he said, crossing to the coffeepot and grabbing a cup from the shiny walnut cabinet.

“So are you,” she said, quickly minimizing the computer screen to hide the story she was reading so Luke wouldn’t see it.

“I’m an early riser,” he said from behind and to her right. “It’s a curse. No matter how late I go to sleep, I wake up by eight in the morning.”

She rotated around to bring him into view, resting her arm on the high back of the bar stool. “I wish I had that curse. It would make getting up easier.”

“You don’t want this curse. It leaves you sleep deprived more times than not.” He filled his cup. “I see you found the coffee.”

“Hope you don’t mind,” she said, but somehow she knew he didn’t. “I kind of made myself at home.”

He joined her at the corner of the bar, directly beside her, and reached for the creamer sitting next to her computer. “Not at all,” he commented, dumping the creamer in his cup. “Nice to wake up to it already made.” He snagged her spoon where it rested on a paper towel and stirred. Her spoon. He knew it was hers. It was an intimate gesture of sharing that people in relationships did and it sent a silly little flutter through Katie’s stomach.

“That’s what they make automatic-timer coffeepots for,” she said.

He sipped his coffee. “I never seem to remember to put the coffee in the night before.”

“I’m surprised Maria doesn’t set it up for you,” she commented.

He shrugged. “She only comes three times a week,” he said. “She keeps the dust from building up while I’m gone, and it’s nice to have a home-cooked meal when I’ve been on the road for months on end.”

“Where are your parents?” Katie asked. “Are you close to them?”

“They’re in Austin, Texas, where I played college ball. Still my biggest fans and the best people I have ever known in this lifetime despite being my parents.”

Katie smiled softly, took a sip of her coffee. It said a lot about a man when he was not only close to his parents, but spoke openly about how close he was to them. “Any siblings?”

He took a drink and then set his cup down. “None,” he said, resting his hands on the end of the island bar. “What about you? Parents? Siblings?”

She considered dodging the question, but Luke deserved to know who he was working with, especially after all she’d read about him and his past manager. “My parents died in a car crash a few years back,” she said. “And yes, one sibling. A younger sister by five years who was a senior in college when it happened. And in her own words, I’m ridiculously protective of her.”

He studied her a moment, and thankfully skipped the obligatory I’m so sorry remark that people seemed to feel the need to say and that Katie had grown to hate.

“Ron told me you’d traveled with a few high-profile musicians. Is that why you stopped? To be closer to her?”

“No,” she said. “I didn’t immediately come home. Nor did I see how shaken my sister was by the loss of our parents.” She’d been too busy hiding from the loss herself, trying to pretend they were at home, still alive. Until she’d found Joey with another woman and realized how much she needed a change.

Then she’d come home to discover her sister’s seemingly amazing husband was a low-life user who’d gambled away Carrie’s life insurance and then some.

Katie shook off the memory and continued, “My father was a retired police detective. We’d been talking about opening a private security firm together. I finally did it last year.”

“You were a dancer turned security staff on tour right?”

She nodded. “Yes. And I know. It’s a stretch unless you know about my father.” She hesitated. “Luke. I took this job at the very last minute, and I was unprepared for our first meeting. I hadn’t seen a file on your case. I still haven’t, and there is no excuse for that. The truth is, I took this case as a favor to Ron, and as he, much to my embarrassment, already indicated, for financial reasons. But I want you to know, I’m good at what I do, and I understand the unique position of being in the spotlight.” She inhaled and let it out, treading difficult water, uncertain how he’d respond. “This morning, I started reading through your press coverage, trying to find things that might point to your stalker. I didn’t know about your manager and your ex-girlfriend trying to embezzle money from you until I read the many stories written about it. Ron should have told me. I mean—he’s your manager, and he’s brought this female into your life in a very intimate role. There is an uncomfortable parallel there I didn’t know about. I can see why you didn’t want me here. It feels unprofessional on our part, both Ron’s and mine, not to address this up front. I’m prepared to make this work, but are you? I have a couple of excellent men I can recommend—”

“I want you, Katie,” he said, his voice low but firm, his gray eyes warm. The room seemed to shrink around them, the intimacy expanding in the same breath. “No one else.”

Something about the way he spoke had her body quivering. They weren’t talking about security and they both knew it. “You are aware that I’m not the least bit enamored by your star-ballplayer status, right? That I won’t sleep with you because you’re some famous pitcher.”

“I wouldn’t want you if you would,” he replied, his eyes holding hers, his expression unwaveringly intense.

Understanding swept through Katie as she put two and two together thanks to those articles she’d read. Luke was feeling used and abused because of his stardom. He was drawn to her for the very reasons she was nervous about him. Yet, he seemed to trust her more easily than she did him. “How do you know I’m not manipulating you?” she asked. “Maybe I’m pretending to hate athletes because that’s what you want to hear?”

He stepped to her side of the bar, his big body towering over hers, her body angled toward his, her knees all that separated the two of them. He smelled fresh, of soap and shaving cream. “Because I saw how much you hated me when you thought I was like Joey last night, how much you resented Ron for bringing you here.”

“And you still trust me to protect you?”

“Ron sent me your credentials, and after meeting you, I reread them. You come well qualified.”

Katie believed in being direct and honest. She liked that Luke was direct, as well. And she was beginning to think she liked him, too.

Feeling more than a little mesmerized by his gray eyes and nearness, she said, “All right, then. We should start working on our cover story. You know. The entire dating thing. How we met. Where we met. We should learn a few things about each other so we display convincing intimacy. Your season starts in less than a week, which thankfully is a home game. I’ll want to be in the bleachers, and getting close to those close to you, so I can look for trouble.”

“First things first,” he said. “How do you like your eggs?” His eyes twinkled, his voice taking on a sensual play on words as he added, “Because I don’t know about you, but something about all this being close stuff has me starving.”

Katie’s thighs clenched on that final word, and the implication that he was starving for more than eggs. He was starving for her. And damn it, she was starving for him. He moved to the refrigerator, and a breath escaped her lips.

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