Smoke in Mirrors

the boss of this operation. I’m willingto discuss things with you, but in the end, we’re equal partners. I make my own decisions.”
    “Listen up,” he said, his voice low and rough. “The last woman who had a connection with me and who later went out with Alex Rhodes is dead. Remember?”
    Icy fingers slithered down her spine. “Meredith.”
    “Yeah. Meredith. No offense, but we both know that she was a lot more capable of dealing with a guy like Rhodes than you will ever be.”
    For some reason, probably because she was already tense and on edge, that observation did offend her. A lot. The worst part was that she knew that he was right. Meredith had been much more qualified to handle dangerous men. She knew it, but she didn’t like it and she was not going to admit it.
    She whirled around and strode toward the kitchen. “I’ll get dinner going. That fog will probably lift soon and I’m sure you’ll want to get home to Wrench as soon as possible.”
    “Hell.” He came after her, halting in the doorway of the kitchen. “You’re mad, aren’t you?”
    “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
    “And they say men are the ones who don’t do a good job of communicating.”
    She jerked open the freezer drawer and removed the package of frozen soybeans. “There’s no need to reduce this to the personal.”
    He was very still in the doorway. “In case you haven’t noticed, this thing between us has already become personal. Real personal. At least on my side.”
    “No, I hadn’t noticed.”
    He left the doorway without warning. Before she realized his intentions, he was only inches away, looming over her, enveloping her in an invisible force field.

    “Thomas?”
    He slammed his half-empty wineglass down on the counter beside her so hard she wondered that it didn’t shatter. He caught her face between his hands. She could feel the work-roughened skin of his palms against her throat.
    “This is what I mean by personal,” he said into her mouth.
    He kissed her before she could catch her breath. Her fully charged nerve endings exploded on contact. The resulting flash of lightning was so hot she was amazed it didn’t fry the frozen soybeans she held in her left hand.
    Definitely personal, she thought. More personal than anything she could remember experiencing in a very long time. Maybe in her entire life.
    He pushed her back until the edge of the counter pressed against her spine. He moved one leg between hers. His mouth shifted, deepening the kiss. She was melting faster than the contents of the open freezer drawer.
    All she cared about was heat. Lots of it. She lived for heat. She needed it. Craved it. She wanted to go up in flames. She had been so cold for so long she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to get enough of the red-hot energy Thomas was generating.
    She heard a soft plop and was vaguely aware that she had dropped the package of soybeans back into the freezer. She wrapped her arms around Thomas, seeking escape from the cold draft.
    He muttered something unintelligible and kicked the freezer drawer shut with one booted foot. Then he put a strong, muscular arm around her lower back just above her hips and cradled her head in his other hand. Hismouth slid down her throat. She shoved her fingers into his hair. She shivered, but not because she was still cold.
    His hands shifted again, closing snugly around her waist. He gripped. Lifted. And then her feet were no longer touching the floor. She thought that he intended to carry her back out into the front room. Instead, he set her on the edge of the counter and moved between her thighs. His mouth never left her body.
    He was making love to her right there in the kitchen. As if he just couldn’t wait to get her to a bed. No one had ever been in this much of a hurry before. She had never been so eager, either. It was unbelievable. It was also almost unbearably erotic.
    Recklessly, she tightened her thighs around him. He got his hands under her sweater. And then they were on her bare breasts. What had happened to her bra? Somehow he had gotten it unfastened without her even being aware of it.
    The man really was very good with his hands. She couldn’t wait to see what else he could do with them.
    Her blood beat more heavily in her veins and the fire got hotter.
    Without warning, it all came to a crashing halt.
    Thomas went very still, as if he had hit a wall. Bemused, she opened her eyes and found him watching her with grim