"Good." He released a breath and finally relaxed.

He looked relieved, but now Lora was slightly miffed by the fact that his interrogation, and that frown of his, had put a damper on the start of their evening together, instead of them leaving her place on a high of excitement and anticipation of the night's events. "Now that you've gotten that off your chest, do you think we might be able to start this date of ours over?"

He blinked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

When it came to romancing a woman, he was obviously a typical, obtuse man who didn't realize the importance of setting the tone for a date. Well, she'd just have to show him what she meant.

Closing the distance between them, she placed a hand on his chest, tilted her head, and brushed her mouth against his in a slow, sweet caress. His lips were soft and warm and slightly damp, and she caught the faintest hint of peppermint on his breath.

After a moment, she pulled back. The chaste kiss wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her desire for him, but it was sufficient to trigger a deeper longing and start their date off with a slow buzz of sexual tension. She figured the evening was still young, and the rest of the night still held a whole lot of promise.

She slowly smoothed her hand down his chest, relishing the heat of his skin radiating through his cotton T-shirt, and the way those well-defined muscles of his flexed beneath her fingertips.

Lifting her lashes, she met Joel's gaze and smiled up at him. "Hi," she said huskily.

"Hi, yourself," he murmured, an odd mixture of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes. "What was that kiss for?"

She shrugged. "I thought I'd get our first kiss out of the way. Now it's done, and you don't have to worry about making the first move, because I just did." Her meaning couldn't have been more clear, or inviting.

An amused smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. "I wasn't worried about making the first move, but I wouldn't want something like that to distract you all evening."

"Yeah, me either." She grinned and picked up her purse. "It was just something I had to do."

"I completely understand. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They left her apartment, and once they were outside the building, they took the walkway toward the parking lot.

"Did you bring your motorcycle?" she asked hopefully.

"Yep. It's right over there." As they turned a corner, he pointed toward the sleek, black bike parked in one of the stalls.

Exhilaration filled her at the thought of riding on such a powerful machine, with the cool, crisp evening air on her face, her arms around Joel, and her thighs tight against his hips. "Remember, I like it fast and fierce," she teased.

"Trust me, sweetheart, that's something a guy's not likely to forget," he said in a low, seductive drawl as he unhooked one of the shiny black helmets from the bike and handed it to her.

"I just want to make sure you're up for the challenge," she said playfully, and slipped the helmet on her head, then buckled the strap beneath her chin. "Wouldn't want you to get performance anxiety, or anything like that."

He arched a brow her way at the double entendre she'd just issued. "You are a very naughty girl."

She laughed and had to admit, she was feeling decidedly naughty.

"Here, put these on, too." He retrieved a set of gloves from a small compartment at the back of the motorcycle and handed them to her. "It can get cold on the ride."

Grateful that he'd thought ahead, she pulled on the insulated gloves, while he did the same with a black pair that molded to his long fingers and strong hands.

"This too," he said, and wrapped a dark, plaid scarf around her neck, then tucked the ends into her jacket.

"Thanks." The soft material was warm, and when she inhaled she caught the arousing scent of Joel's aftershave. "So, where are we going tonight?"

He took her purse and put it into the compartment, then snapped the lid shut. "I thought I'd show you my regular hangout."

"You mean your regular hangout when you're not at The Electric Blue?"

"Yep. It's far more casual and you aren't required to dance on the tabletops." Grinning, he straddled the seat of the Ducati with ease, his long legs enabling him to keep his feet flat on the ground to keep the bike steady. He started the engine, then glanced back at her. "Hop on."

She settled herself behind him, her chest to his back, and braced her boots against the back footrests. He grabbed her hands, pulled her arms around his waist, and pushed her gloved fingers beneath his zipped-up jacket so that her hands were clasped firmly in his lap.

"Hang on tight," he said.

Those were the last words Joel spoke as he navigated the bike onto the street, then proceeded to accelerate and took her on the fast, exhilarating ride that he'd promised.

"JUDGING by those come-and-get-me looks Lora keeps throwing your way, I take it she finally fell for the Wilde Man charm, huh?"

Joel glanced at Ben-a good friend and one of Elite's partners-who was sitting with him at a table at Nick's Sports Bar. His two other partners had joined them for the evening, as well. At the moment Jon was flirting with a petite blond woman across the room, and Kevin had whisked Lora off to play a game of pool with him.

Joel shrugged evasively, refusing to let Ben's observation turn into a more personal discussion about his relationship with Lora. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. It makes keeping an eye on her a whole lot easier if she believes we're dating."

Ben leaned his arms on the table and grinned. "And considering the way you're watching her, like you wouldn't mind mixing a bit of pleasure with business, I'm assuming she's gotten under your skin, too."

Annoyed at Ben's persistence, along with his too-accurate presumption of the situation between him and Lora, Joel clenched his jaw. "I'm watching her because it's my job." His tone was clipped with impatience.

Ben held up both of his hands as if to back off. "Okay, if you say so."

Figuring that was the end of their conversation, Joel finished off the last of his beer and turned his gaze to the gaming area of the bar, where Kevin and Lora were playing their second game of pool-this time with a twenty-dollar wager on the table.

Kevin had made the mistake of assuming that Lora didn't know the specifics of the sport, but the sparkle in her eyes was a dead giveaway that she was playing along with Kevin's assumption. Currently, Lora was bent low over the pool table as she lined up a shot, giving Joel and every other guy in the place a mouth-watering view of her rounded breasts pressing tight against her top. Joel's lips pursed and he narrowed his gaze as Kevin moved beside Lora and leaned way too close for Joel's liking as he oh-so-helpfully gave her advice on attempting a combination. She made the shot, not because of Kevin's guidance, but because of her own skill.

"You know, you really don't need to glare at Kevin," Ben said in amusement. "He's just teaching Lora a few shots. He's no threat at all to whatever is going on between the two of you."

Joel had had enough of Ben's ribbing and transferred that dark scowl to his friend. "Shut the fuck up, will you?"

Ben laughed heartily, not the least bit offended by Joel's brusque and rude comment, which was a dead giveaway of just how on edge Joel was over Lora. Instead, Ben picked up a potato skin from the appetizer platter they'd all munched on earlier and took a big bite.

Thankful that Ben's mouth was full, which meant Joel had a few minutes of peace, he redirected his attention to something more productive than the unaccustomed jealousy making itself known. Instead, he gave the filled-to-capacity establishment a quick look around to make sure that there wasn't anyone in the bar that looked suspicious or out of place. This was his turf, a place he was familiar with when it came to the patrons and layout of the bar, and that made him feel far more comfortable and in control than he did at The Electric Blue. And, here he had three other guys keeping an eye on Lora, too.

Joel's gaze slid past Ben, who smirked at him knowingly but didn't say a thing. Joel felt himself bristle all over again. He hated that Ben was able to peg his attraction to Lora when he was trying so damn hard to keep his desire for the woman under wraps.

This entire pretense with Lora was a double-edged sword as far as his libido was concerned, and it had gotten a whole lot sharper and more dangerous with that kiss she'd planted on him in her apartment. Despite how sweet and platonic it had been, he hadn't missed the underlying hunger in the way her lips had pressed against his, and the overwhelming temptation that beckoned him to take the kiss to a hotter, deeper connection. The kind that included open mouths, mating tongues, and wandering hands over warm, smooth flesh.

So far, he'd managed to maintain his physical distance with Lora and hadn't so much as encroached on the hands-off policy he'd sworn himself to when he'd agreed to this favor for Zach. Not only was protecting Lora a job for him, there were other issues that made any kind of affair between them impossible. Without her even knowing it, their relationship was a complex one, based more on deceit than honesty, and he wasn't about to add to his guilt by succumbing to his own lust and the undeniable need to lose himself in her soft, lush body. No matter how much he might wish otherwise.

Lora deserved more than a few nights of sex with him that weren't even grounded in complete honesty. He'd deliberately entrenched himself into her life because he'd promised to keep her safe from her brother's thugs, and carnal pleasure was all he had to offer any woman, because he just didn't do long-term commitments.

Unlike his brothers and cousins, who were all enjoying marital bliss, Joel had come to the conclusion that he wasn't the home and hearth type. After the death of his mother, with Scott and Alex taking over the family responsibilities and making their main focus raising their baby sister, Mia, Joel felt as though he'd gotten lost in the shuffle. He didn't have an important role in the family, as his older brothers did, which had given him the feeling of not quite fitting in.

As a young boy, it had been easier to keep his emotions bottled up inside and just do his own thing, and that rebellious streak had led to a thirst for risk and adventure and the kind of adrenaline rush that kept him on a natural high. He'd become the black sheep of the family, the one who wasn't cut out to be a part of his father's construction business like Scott and Alex. The one who'd always kept women at a distance because he'd rather be on an exciting assignment than tied down.

That's why he'd joined the military, because his only obligation had been to Uncle Sam. And now, with Elite Security Specialists, he was able to take on jobs that satisfied his restless need for something different, yet were temporary and didn't demand anything more than he had to give.

Those were the facts, his lifestyle, and his reality.

The story was rock solid, but it didn't diminish the fact that Lora Marshall tested his honorable intentions in so many ways, with her seductive overtures, flirtatious touches, and bewitching, come-hither eyes, which she'd been using to her advantage all evening long. The woman was determined to drive him to the brink of sexual frustration, and while he'd managed thus far to maintain control of his own aching need to get horizontal with her, he had to admit that his restraint was stretched nearly to the limit.

"What are you doing back here so soon?" Ben asked as Jon returned to the table sooner than any of them would have expected. "Did you strike out with the blonde?"

Jon shook his head as he sat down. "She was definitely a sure thing, but when she started talking about how her biological clock was ticking, then started looking at me as a potential sperm donor, I was so outta there." He shuddered for effect. "The last thing I need to do is hook up with a woman who has me in mind to father her baby. Jeez, an uncomplicated fling is hard to find these days."

Ben chuckled. "Maybe we've just become more discriminating," he suggested philosophically, then sent Joel a sly glance. "Not all of us are lucky enough to find a smart, sexy woman like Lora."

Joel's fingers tightened around the neck of his empty beer bottle, making him wish it was Ben's neck instead. He chose not to reply, knowing that the guys were just giving him shit, as they always did.

"Watch out, guys, this one's a hustler," Kevin said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward Lora as they rejoined the table after their game.