Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

evening of the month we hold an artist’s walk. The various shops participate. We have wine tastings and it’s a good draw for a crowd. Usually I open the gallery for the event, but I actually hosted the event in my own shop this evening, which is why I was a little late. Fortunately my sister locked up for me. Ordinarily it’s very quiet here at night.”
    “Just what I’m looking for,” he assured her, just as charming right back. He could match her play for play. He was the pro. As smooth as she was, she was still an amateur. He found himself looking forward to the exchange.
    She sent him another look from over her shoulder, her silky black hair cascading like a waterfall, adding to the already painful ache in his groin. She looked like an exotic flower, exquisite and rare. And damn it all, it wasn’t safe for a woman like her to be showing strange men around an empty gallery at night. She was temptation personified. As much as he didn’t want to explore the possibility of her being an agent for another country, the thought still crossed his mind. She was just too seductive without even trying. Her walk. Her dark eyes looking at him over her shoulder through all that smooth, silky hair. She was made for fantasy. For long nights.
    Her manner didn’t appear affected—in fact, just the opposite. She seemed naturally sensual—something all good agents were trained to be. He’d been uncharacteristic by not calling too much attention to her, not asking for more background, more checks. He cursed himself for falling into the inevitable trap some women seemed to bait so easily. His initial reaction to her—that terrible need to be the one to change that look in her eyes, to be the man she relied on—made no sense. He was a cynical man. He’d seen it all. He didn’t believe in love and he sure didn’t believe he would be pulled into a trap by a woman. He’d thought himself immune, but he recognized danger when he saw it.
    “The gallery was closed for a time and lost a bit of ground, but since reopening, it’s recovering nicely, at a very steady rate.” She flipped on the lights in the office.
    The room was spacious, but private, with a door leading to a bathroom and another that led outside. The entire front of the gallery was tinted glass to protect paintings from the sun while allowing a sweeping view of the ocean across the street.
    “Frank actually owns this building outright. The price includes the building and surrounding lot as well as the gallery name and inventory. If you’re really interested, he owns the block beside the building as well and I believe he’d consider selling that also.”
    For the first time, he actually wished he was an American businessman and could settle there in the little village by the sea, this woman at his side. He wouldn’t mind owning his own art gallery. He frowned and pressed his fingers to his temple, the beginnings of a headache slipping up on him unnoticed. What was he thinking? Men like him didn’t settle down. They hunted, and then they were hunted.
    “Are you all right?”
    His gaze found and captured hers. He gave her another lopsided smile. Charming her. He caught the rise and fall of her breasts beneath that slim jacket at her sudden intake of breath. “Long flight and then a good four-hour drive. The scenery was beautiful though.”
    “Did you fly into San Francisco, or Oakland?”
    The question should have been conversational, but there was something in the way her eyes tried to move from his but couldn’t. His heart accelerated. As a game of chess, he wasn’t certain who actually was ahead in moves. She didn’t seem to have to do much of anything—that sensual caress in her voice endangered his sanity as nothing else could. She had to be innocent, no one could be that good. He’d come across some of the best agents in the business and none had ever waged such a brutal, vicious attack on his body and his self-control.
    “San Francisco.” Deliberately he glanced away from her, a shy businessman a little outclassed by a beautiful woman. “I was looking at a gallery there as well, but I could tell I would be trading one big city for another. A different way of life, perhaps, but still not what I’m looking for. Sea Haven appeals to me.”
    He stepped close to her, crowding her a little on the pretense of looking into the safe she had crouched down to open. The thought of her head level with his aching groin made his cock jerk and thicken