Page 57 of Live a Little!

Her shoulders would have slumped forward in failure if she didn’t fear her breasts would be impaled on all that underwire. She must have hooked it up too tight. Now that her heart was pounding, she could barelybreathe.

This time when her tongue came out to wet her lips it was pure nerves. “Something important cameup.”

His hands tightened on her wrists. “If I hadn’t smelled chocolate, I might have hurt you first and asked later. I don’t want that to happen, Cyn. Not toyou.”

“I’m sorry.” It was the true worry she saw in his face that made her apologize. He cared about her. She wasn’t sure how deep it ran, but on some level she knew he cared. She should have realized he might feel differently about secret callers than she did. Next time she’d definitely phonefirst.

“What’s theemergency?”

Now that it came right down to it, she didn’t want to tell him. She should have stayed at Mrs. Lawrence’s to watchJeopardy!Stayed home and scrubbed out the fridge. Anything but meet Agent Scary on his own turf. She tried to chew her thumb, then realized her wrists were still caught in his grip. And ooh, it was hot. Kind of like the handcuffs again, only made of moltensteel.

“What?” he repeated moresharply.

“Neville Percivald asked me for a date,” she blurted, not at all the way she’d planned to tellhim.

“You broke into my house to tell me some dweeb asked youout?”

“He’s not a dweeb! I meanhe’s—”

“You blew him off, right?” heinterrupted.

“No. Notexactly.”

His expression was not happy. “Tell me you turned himdown.”

“I said yes,” she told him defiantly. “He’s a suspect. I can wear awire.”

A flicker of amusement twinkled deep in those blue, blue eyes. “And what would you do with awire?”

Stick it in your eyeballdidn’t seem like the best response, although it was the first thing that came to mind. “I’d get him relaxed and incriminating himself, then you’d arresthim.”

“Right after jumping out of the laundry van conveniently parked outfront?”

She stuck her chin up and narrowed her eyes. “That’s how they do it in themovies.”

The atmosphere began to change. His hands loosened and his fingers caressed her wrists. “If you collect incriminating evidence while wearing a wire, then I’d have to debrief you.” He elongated each syllable of “de-brief” and a picture popped into her mind of him slipping off herbriefs.

She glanced up to see that the humor had disappeared and a far more disturbing twinkle had replaced it. Her heart was poundingagain.

“I’m very good at debriefing my volunteeragents.”

“You are?” Her voice was as thin and wispy as asigh.

“First, I’d need the wire back.” He ran a single finger across the lace edging of her bodice, hovering at the shadowy cleft between herbreasts.

“I could go to the bathroom and take itoff.”

He shook his head. “Wouldn’t stand up in court. Someone could tamper with the evidence. No, I couldn’t let you out of my sight until I had removed the wire, debriefed and strip-searchedyou.”

“Strip-searched?” Her voicebounced.

He nodded again, serious but for that disturbing twinkle that acted like the ignition switch on her sex drive. “They usually don’t show that part onTV.”

“No.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve never seenit.”

“I do a very thorough strip search. I’m a bit of a workaholic that way. Stickler fordetail.”

“What exactly would you be searchingfor?”

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