Slowly, she stroked him through the fabric of his trousers, his breath coming in hot gasps, his mouth ravaging hers. With a low growl, he brushed her touch away and pinned her wrists above her head, then fumbled with the buttons of her blouse.

Lily moaned as he tore at her bra, pushing it aside to reveal the soft swell of her breast. And then his mouth left hers and drifted down to her nipple. How could she possibly resist these incredible sensations racing through her body? He made her tremble all over, made her ache for his touch. When she was with him, he made her breathless and weak with longing.

But as quickly as it started, it was over. Brian released her hands and straightened, then carefully began to rearrange her clothes. He drew a ragged breath as he turned his attention to the buttons on her blouse. "We can't do this. I'm in enough hot water here."

"Kiss me again," Lily whispered, caressing his cheek.

He did as he was asked, but this time, some of the desperation was gone. This time, he was gentle and sweet. "We can't keep doing this, Lily," he murmured, his forehead pressed to hers. "I want something more."

"What do you want? Tell me and I'll give it to you."

He stared down at her for a long moment. "I want… a date. Something normal. I pick you up, we go out. We get to know each other better, maybe find out if there's something more going on here than just…"

"Lust?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"I thought we agreed that night in the limo that-"

"I didn't agree to anything," Brian interrupted, his jaw tight. He finished buttoning her blouse, then tucked it into the front of her skirt. "You asked me what I wanted and I told you. I'll call you, we'll go out for dinner."

Lily hesitated. This wasn't part of the plan. She knew the dangers she faced in trying to make a relationship work with Brian. When it was just lust, what they shared was simple. But when it was more, then she risked getting hurt. And Brian Quinn was exactly the kind of man who could shatter her heart into a million pieces.

He changed women almost as often as he changed his socks. She'd read it all in the report. He pursued women for as long as they resisted and then cut another notch in his bedpost and moved on. She'd known his type before. But that didn't mean she wasn't tempted.

"All right," she said, reaching for the door. An instant later, she felt Brian's hands on her waist. He slowly turned her around. His gaze met hers and then he bent close and kissed her again, his hands smoothing over her face as if he couldn't get enough of touching her. And when he was through, he sighed softly. "You go ahead."

"Are you coming?"

Brian chuckled, then glanced down at the front of his trousers. "I think I might need a few minutes-to compose myself."

Lily felt a blush warm her cheeks. "All right. I guess I'll see you then. It's a date."

"I guess you will. I'll call."

Brian pulled up in front of the Eliot Hotel and scanned the sidewalk for Lily. He saw her standing near the door, chatting with a bellman and he watched silently.

She wore a pretty cotton dress with a loose, flowing skirt that moved in the warm summer breeze. Her hair, a riot of curls, was pulled up into a haphazard ponytail and tied with a colorful scarf.

When the sun hit her, he could see the outline of her legs through the fabric of her dress. "God, she's beautiful," Brian muttered.

He'd been thinking about her all week but had deliberately held off calling her until yesterday. He'd hoped that, given time, he'd be able to understand his attraction to her, and thereby control it. But all he'd learned was that his desire for Lily was completely irrational.

He ought to hate her, or at least mistrust her motives. But the furor over the Herald article had died down. He was back on the schedule and according to a station focus group, the article had served to improve his image as a regular guy and a native Bostonian.

So, for now, he and Lily were at a standoff professionally and at a crossroads personally. Maybe after their first date, he'd finally have a clue. Brian beeped his horn and Lily turned to look his way. He stepped out of the car and waved and she came running up. Considering their last encounter in the sound studio, he wasn't sure how it would be between them. But as she came closer, a smile curved her lips.

"Hi," Lily said.

"Hi. Are you ready?"

"I am. But I'm not sure for what."

He circled the car and opened her door for her, grabbing her bag. Before she got inside, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him for a quick kiss. She didn't resist, instead tipped her face up and kissed him back. This was how it was supposed to be, he mused. Easy and familiar. By the time he drew away, Brian felt as if they'd smoothed out the difficulties between them, at least for the day. He tossed her bag in the back seat and jogged around to his side of the car.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked, once they'd pulled into traffic.

"It's a surprise," Brian said. "But we're going to have fun, I promise."

"I'm glad you called," Lily murmured. "I wasn't sure you would. I wanted to tell you again how sorry I was for what happened."

Brian shrugged, then reached over and wove his fingers through the tendrils of hair at her nape. "No talk about work today."

"All right," Lily agreed. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's not worry about that," Brian said. "I'm sure we'll think of something."

The drive passed quickly and as Brian suspected, they didn't have any problem finding something to talk about, though he was much more preoccupied with studying her beautiful face than making conversation. Lily chatted about trying to find something to occupy her free time in Boston and Brian suggested things she might try. He didn't suggest his first choice, that she spend every free minute in bed with him. Although he thought it was probably the most valuable use of her time-and her body-Lily probably wouldn't appreciate such brazen talk on their first date. By the time they crossed the Congress Street bridge, he'd nearly convinced her to try sculling lessons on the Charles.

"Sculling lessons," she murmured. "I could do that. I'm really good on the rowing machine at my health club."

Brian pointed out the window at the Children's Museum and the Boston Tea Party ship. "We're heading into Southie now," he murmured. "This is my neighborhood."

"You live here?"

"Not anymore. I have an apartment close to the station. But I grew up here."

"Can we go see the house where you lived? Is it still there?"

"Did I tell you about Southie?" Brian asked.

"I-I just read the report."

"Maybe I should read the report," he teased. "I wouldn't want to repeat something you already know."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about work," Lily said. "Although it will probably be a moot point before too long anyway."

"Why's that?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm thinking of turning this job over to one of the other people at the agency. I'm not sure I can be as effective as I should be."

"You'd leave Boston?" Brian asked.

She nodded. "I shouldn't have come to the station the other day. It shouldn't have bothered me that that story hit the papers." Lily paused. "But it did."

Brian stared out the street, unable to believe what he was hearing. Then with a soft curse, he pulled the car over the curb. "You don't have to leave," he said. "If that's the worst you're going to dish out, I can handle it."

"But I-"

He stopped her words with his lips, yanking her from across the car into a desperate kiss. The thought of her leaving Boston shouldn't have affected him at all. He shouldn't have cared. But he did-and he wasn't sure why. All he knew was that he needed to keep her close for now.

Brian reached up and smoothed his hand over her face. "You don't have to leave. Not on my account. Do what you have to do for Patterson, Lily. I'll understand. No hard feelings."

"You say that now, but it's still going to affect the way I do my job." She laughed softly. "Wait until you meet Emma Carsten. She'll have no mercy. By the time she's done with you, you'll be recommending Richard Patterson for sainthood."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about work," Brian murmured, his gaze fixed on her mouth as he ran his thumb over her lower lip. This was not how he wanted the day to go, caught in a debate about whether she'd be staying in Boston or walking out of his life for good.

"I'll stop talking about work, if you'll tell me where we're going on our… mystery date."

"Well, it involves food and water."

"That's it?" Lily asked.

Brian glanced over his shoulder and then pulled back into traffic. A quick left took them toward the waterfront. He'd been down to the Fish Pier a million times when he was a kid and knew the area well. Though his father offloaded his swordfish catch in Gloucester, the Mighty Quinn's home port had always been South Boston with most of its regular crew coming from Southie.

"Over there is Commonwealth Pier. That's where all the excursion boats leave from." He found a place to park, then pointed straight ahead. "And that's the Fish Pier. Those buildings are almost a hundred years old. This used to be the center for the fishing industry, but not anymore. Commercial fishing has fallen on hard times. There's a plan to develop this area with luxury apartments and a park. Some folks want to leave it the way it is. For the fishermen and all the history."

"Is this the Wellston project?" Lily asked, sending him a suspicious gaze.

Brian shook his head. "No. But it might as well be. It's the same kind of thing. Developers are snatching up waterfront property all over Boston. To them it's just real estate. To the folks who make their living on the water, it's their life. Pretty soon you won't know there were even fishermen in this town." Brian paused. "And now, I'll get off my soapbox. You should be here early in the morning, about six-thirty. They have the fish auction. It's a lot of fun."

"I'd like to see that," Lily said. "Maybe we could go sometime."

They got out of the car and strolled toward the two long buildings that made up Fish Pier. An arcade ran along the street level and Brian remembered playing there as a kid, racing in and out while he and his brothers played tag. He grabbed Lily's hand and drew her toward the building's arch, pointing up at the carving of Neptune's head.

"Some people say that Boston was built by the codfish aristocracy. But there's not much money to be made in commercial fishing anymore. When my da realized that none of his sons were going to follow in his footsteps, I think he was disappointed. That's when he bought the pub." He paused, searching for a change of subject. "That's the No-Name over there. It's a real popular tourist spot now, but when I was a kid, it was just a place where the dockworkers and fishermen ate. They make really good 'chowdah.'"

"Chowder?"

"No, that's not the way to say it," he said with a chuckle. "If you say it that way, they'll know you don't come from Bahston. You have to make all your vowels very flat. After we pahked our cah we stopped at the bah for a bowl of Bahstan chowdah."

"Chowder," Lily repeated.

Brian grinned. "Not chowderrrr. Chow-dah."

"Chow-dahr."

Brian pinched her cheeks together. "Chowdah. No 'R'."

"Chowdah," she said.

"Very good." He pointed to a line of boats tied up along the pier. "We're going over there."

"We're going on a boat?" Lily asked.

"Not the Mighty Quinn. That's tied up in Gloucester. My brother Brendan just got married and Amy's father bought them a boat for a wedding present. Brendan wanted to take it on a cruise so he asked if we wanted to come along."

When Brendan and Amy had first offered the invitation, Brian had been reluctant to go. But they'd called again and he'd caught himself saying yes, knowing how much he'd enjoy sharing the experience of a warm summer's day on the water with Lily. Though he knew it was a big step introducing her to members of his family, he had his reasons.

Right now, Lily was a fantasy to him, a woman who occupied a secret spot in his life that no one else could touch. They shared an incredible passion. But if he really wanted to understand what was happening between them, then he'd have to look at her in the real world, a world where relationships dissolved and people moved on with life.

As they strolled down the pier, Brian saw Brendan standing on the deck of a shiny new cabin cruiser. He waved, then held Lily's hand as they walked to the boat. "Geez, Bren, this is a step up from the Mighty Quinn."