She tipped her head, meeting Noah's striking blue eyes. He was one of the few men who actually looked at her face instead of her chest or body, but she found his stare equally unnerving. And too damn arousing. "Would you like anything else?"

A disarming grin slid into place. "Now, Natalie," he chided in a lazy drawl that did crazy, delightful things to her insides, "you should know better than to ask me a question like that. You know exactly what I'd like, but I don't think a date is on the menu."

She laughed lightly. "No, it's not." The man was an outrageous flirt, and because he'd never made an improper advance toward her, she let herself enjoy his charm while she worked. He made her feel feminine and desired, and while a part of her instinctively curbed those reactions, she couldn't deny that those sensual feelings were still there beneath the surface, struggling to overpower their restraints.

Lord help her if those provocative cravings ever broke free with this man.

Noah chalked his cue stick for the opening break shot, his movements slow, sure, too sexy. "Then I guess there's nothing else I want tonight."

Which left every other night ahead wide open, she read in his gaze.

She had to admire his determination. Most men would have given up on her the first time she'd turned down a date. Noah was made of stronger stuff than most.

Noah bent over the pool table to line up his shot and cocked his hip for a better position and leverage. His stance drew her gaze to the muscles along his shoulders and down his back, which flexed with his every movement. The tips of her fingers tingled at the thought of touching all that virile strength, of smoothing her hand down the slope of his spine and testing the heat and texture of his skin.

God, it had been so, so long-

Her throat grew dry and she swallowed hard. A change in subject was definitely in order. "Where's Cole been lately?" she asked, clearing off a nearby table that had been recently vacated.

A loud, solid crack rent the air as the cue ball made contact, sending the rest of the colored balls scattering across the table. Three made it into pockets-two solids and a stripe.

"Solids," Noah called to Bobby, then said to Natalie, "Cole's got something better to do with his evenings than hang out here with us confirmed bachelors."

"Oh, and what's that?" she asked, curious.

He moved around the table, and spying a straight shot into the corner pocket, he lined up his cue. "Spending it with his fiancee, Melodie." He scored another point.

She crumpled up damp cocktail napkins and stuffed them into the empty glasses on her tray. "That's right. Aren't they getting married soon?"

"Next Saturday, actually." He glanced up before making his next shot, his expression heated and hopeful. "Care to accompany me to the wedding?"

There was that temptation again, and she steeled herself against his sensual allure. "Sorry, but I have to work that night."

He hit the cue ball, which barely grazed a solid. He sighed, the sound tinged with the barest hint of defeat. "Can't blame a guy for asking." He moved away from the table to give Bobby his turn, and strolled slowly over to join her where she stood in the corner of the room. "One of these days I might get lucky and you'll say yes."

"Gina would be happy to go with you," she suggested without thinking, and nearly bit off her tongue. While she knew she'd never accept a date with Noah, she hated the idea of him getting close and intimate with anyone else. God, she was pathetic! She had no claim to him, other than her nightly erotic dreams.

He stopped inches away, so close she could feel the warmth of his big body, could smell the scent of his woodsy after-shave. It struck her just how big he was, how tall. How overwhelmingly male in every way. And if he so much as inhaled a deep breath his chest would graze her full breasts and taut nipples.

She held her own breath.

He bent his knees until they were face-to-face, his mouth a kiss away. His dark blue gaze locked with hers, and in a low, rumbling voice he said, "Sweetheart, it's not Gina I'm interested in."

Her legs turned to rubber, and her heart thumped hard and fast, pumping with a need that was almost painful. He hadn't touched her physically, so why did she feel as though he'd caressed her intimately with his hands, from breasts to thighs?

She managed a smile, along with a stubborn tip of her chin. "Then it looks like you'll be attending the affair solo."

He lifted a brow at the subtle challenge in her tone, but before he could say anything more, or seduce her completely senseless with his eyes and voice, she slipped past him. Shaken, she made her way back to the bar, asked Gina to deliver Bobby's bottle of beer, and received the okay from Murphy to leave for the evening.

She headed to the storeroom to get her jacket and purse, grateful that her shift was over. And so very disappointed that she couldn't bring herself to say yes to Noah.


"Better luck next time, buddy," Bobby said, and slapped Noah's back in a show of sympathetic male camaraderie.

"I wouldn't count on it." Noah pulled his gaze from where Natalie had disappeared down a short hallway to the storeroom, certain his luck wasn't going to improve anytime soon where she was concerned. "Melodie put a curse on me, and I'm beginning to think she's a true witch." His tone was wry, but the words his soon-to-be sister-in-law had spoken to him months ago haunted him now.

Bobby chuckled and continued their game of pool, sinking a striped ball into the side pocket. "Why do you say that?"

Thrusting his fingers through his thick hair, Noah alternated his gaze from his friend to the back hall, waiting for Natalie to reappear. "One day a while back when Melodie was trying to get my brother's attention, she took her frustration out on me. Not only did she call me a rake, but she also said she hoped I'd find a woman I absolutely had to have, and that woman makes me work for her affection." Some woman who'll reform you and your playboy ways, she'd added.

His stomach knotted at the recollection. At the time he'd been amused with Melodie's comment and had responded with a teasing,"It's a novel thought, isn't it?" But now that he was in that exact situation, trying to get the attention of a woman who aroused and intrigued him beyond his normal span of interest, his predicament wasn't so funny.

Natalie had gotten under his skin and kept him coming back to Murphy's on a regular basis. For months now he'd flirted with her, trying to coax her into a date, but she always turned down his invitations, despite the subtle longing he'd seen shimmering in her eyes. Initially, he'd been baffled because no woman had ever resisted his advances for so long, and admittedly his male ego had taken a direct hit. Then she became a challenge to him, and now an obsession.

One he couldn't seem to shake.

And at the moment, his randy body was making that fixation known. Just standing near enough to touch and kiss her had made his blood run hot and his groin tighten in awareness. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to taste her parted lips, and judging by the desire he'd seen flash across her features, he knew she hadn't been immune to their close proximity, either.

Undoubtedly, he was highly attracted to her, but it was more than just her incredible body and their sizzling chemistry that drew him. While she was outwardly intelligent, gorgeous and sweet, there was more to her than met his trained eye, a vulnerability he'd glimpsed a time or two. She was very private, very reserved. And there were emotional barriers she erected that gave him the impression she was hiding something deeper than feigned disinterest.

"My game."

Noah turned around and frowned at Bobby, who was grinning triumphantly. "Huh?"

"The game's over. I won." His friend leaned a hip against the pool table and shook his head. "Man, you really do have it bad for her if you can't concentrate on a game of pool."

It would be ridiculous to deny the obvious, so Noah didn't even try.

Bobby jutted his chin toward the front of the establishment. "She's on her way out, Romeo. Here's your chance to impress her with your chivalrous charm and open the door for her-which in turn might open the door for you, if you know what I mean."

Noah certainly did. "Thank you, Dr. Ruth," he joked, and made his way to the front of the bar, beating Natalie to the entrance by three paces. He opened the door for her, and she glanced up at him in startled surprise.

She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and smoothed her hand along the jacket draped over her arm. "Are you leaving, too?"

"Sure am." He waved his hand for her to precede him, then followed, falling into step beside her on the sidewalk, welcoming the cool evening breeze on his too-warm skin. "Actually, leaving the same time as you is a shameless ploy to walk you to your car."

Abruptly, she stopped, a frown marring her brow, though there was no denying the awareness in the depths of her eyes. "I can make it to my vehicle on my own just fine. I don't need an escort, Noah."

"I didn't say you did," he replied gently, trying to put her at ease and lighten the moment between them. "This is solely for my pleasure."

Her tense shoulders loosened up, and the corner of her mouth twitched with a hint of a smile. Still, she hesitated, seemingly divided between letting him accompany her or telling him to get lost.

Not wanting to lose the ground he'd just gained, he opted for a bit of humor. "You know, if it makes you feel any better, I don't bite."

She visibly shivered and slipped into her lightweight jacket. "Oh, yeah? How can I be so certain of that?"

She was eyeing him in a way that was more playful than suspicious, and he took his cue from her. "Because if I did bite, I would have taken a nibble or two out of you by now." Without thinking of the consequences, he reached out and lifted her shoulder-length blond hair from under the collar of her jacket.

Her breath caught as his fingers delved through the warm, silky mass at the nape of her neck and his thumbs grazed the soft skin beneath her jaw. Time seemed suspended as their gazes met, hers reflecting a flare of heat that burned through his veins. People walked past them, but he was oblivious to anything but her.

It was the first time he'd touched her in any way, and the connection was inherently intimate and wholly sensual. Her lips were parted, and he ached to pull her into his arms, lower his mouth to hers and claim the kiss he'd forfeited earlier in the bar.

As if sensing his intent, she stepped back, and he automatically dropped his hands away and cleared his throat. Before she could flat-out turn him down again, he lightly grasped her elbow and ushered her toward the parking lot, which was located across the street from Murphy's. "Come on, I'm walking you to your car, and I'm not taking no for an answer so don't waste your breath arguing."

She relaxed and smiled, and they walked by the other storefronts along the street to the intersection.

"You know, we could consider this nice, casual stroll to your car a first date," he suggested, only half joking. He'd take a date with her any way he could get one.

She thrust her hands deep into her jacket pockets and slanted him a sly look. "Ah, so you do have an ulterior motive other than seeing me safely to my car."

"A very harmless motive, I swear." He held up his hands and attempted to look innocent. "We could head over to Starbucks and get a coffee and just talk about the weather if you'd like."

An incredulous burst of laughter escaped her. "The weather? Are you serious?"

He shrugged and winked at her. "I wouldn't want our first date to be too personal."

She chewed on her full bottom lip, looking torn, then said, "Noah, I can't."

The light at the intersection was red, and Noah pushed the button to give them the right of way, unwilling to give up on her so easily this time. "Not even one coffee? I promise no hand-holding or kissing."

That made her smile again, but her next words shot down his hopes. "I'm sorry, but I've got a big test on Monday I need to study for."

"We could have a study date," he suggested. "There are a few things I'm really good at teaching."

"I'm not going to touch that one," she murmured huskily. Hearing someone approach from behind, she glanced over her shoulder briefly, then back at Noah. "You don't give up, do you?"

Something in her expression had changed in those few seconds, and there was now a troubled glint in her eyes that snagged his attention, but he didn't understand its source. Wanting to soothe her sudden anxiety, he picked up her hand and drew a lazy pattern on her palm with his index finger. "I'd give up if you told me to get lost and meant it."