Hot Target

“Luke,” he corrected. “Call me Luke. I plan to call you Katie.”

Katie kept her expression impassive.

But just barely.

She wasn’t about to get sucked into whatever game this man was trying to play. She started forward again, even as she met Luke’s piercing gaze. There was something intimate about the way he looked at her, his eyes lingering on her features in a slow, thorough inspection.

His scrutiny was keen and far too probing, as if he were seeing well below the surface. It set her on edge, made her feel off center. Each step forward came slowly and took extra effort.

With irritation, she realized she was holding her breath. She immediately forced herself to exhale, slowly allowing the air to trickle through her lips.

Ron was talking, and she tried to focus on what he was saying. Not quite at the bar, she drew to a halt, still struggling to absorb Luke’s words.

“Katie and I go way back,” Ron commented. “I trust her as a person, and her company is considered top-notch. She’s provided security for some big names. People who tend to draw the type of problem you are having. This won’t be her first stalker.”

Katie’s eyes flickered from Ron back to Luke as she settled her hands on the back of the bar stool. Their eyes locked and held, almost squaring off in silent battle.

“No,” she said to Ron, but never took her gaze off Luke. “Is it your first, Mr. Winter?”

Thanks to Ron, Katie already knew Luke didn’t take seriously the recent threats he’d been receiving, and that he didn’t want her or anyone else’s help.

According to Ron, Luke was a very private person. Katie wasn’t sure she bought into that idea. Especially since Ron had also said Luke was a nice guy. Clearly he was mistaken on that point, which meant he could be wrong on others. Luke reeked of arrogance and trouble. Not a hint of niceness.

Luke’s full attention was on her. She could feel it with every ounce of her being. His lips twitched ever so slightly. “It depends on how you define stalker. I’ve had my share of obsessive fans.”

In an effort not to look into his eyes, her gaze slipped down…to his lips. Another strategic mistake. They were full, the bottom bigger than the top, and alluring. Addictive…yes. She could see why a fan or two had become obsessive. He had a vibrant sensuality that demanded a reaction, even by her, despite her resistance.

No way was he a nice guy. He had bad boy, hot nights and great orgasms written all over him. Tempting, spicy, delicious, never nice.

Not that she cared.

She didn’t need sex. Two years of going without had proven that. So why was she feeling all this damn awareness in every inch of her body, for a man she didn’t even like?

One who didn’t even want her here.

She forced her mind to business. “Obsessive enough to send death threats?”

Luke shrugged off the question. “The letters are harmless.”

“They’re getting more aggressive,” Katie told him sternly. “I saw them, and I don’t like the way the tone has changed.”

Luke’s lips thinned. “A letter never killed anyone.”

“But I might,” Ron muttered. “Luke, get on board. There is more to this than letters. What about the hang-up calls on your private line?”

Luke made a frustrated sound. “You’re making too much of this, Ron. I don’t need extra security, and I don’t have a stalker. I have a fan who is a bit over-the-top. That’s all.”

Katie didn’t think Ron was overreacting. How would a fan get his private line? “I think Ron has reason to be concerned.”

Luke narrowed his eyes on her. “And you’re going to keep me snug and safe?”

His words held a hint of challenge. “From the stalker,” she bit out, “but if you keep pushing me, I can’t promise I won’t hurt you.”

His head fell back as he laughed. It was a deep, resonating sound that reached out and warmed her insides in a way that was sexy as hell and impossible to ignore. Damn him.

“That might be fun,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

2

LUKE STARED at Katie Lyons from across the bar, and the corners of his mind flickered with a unique response. What it was, he wasn’t quite sure, but damn if it wasn’t impossible to ignore. His body felt alive with her presence. His heart was beating at a crazy fast pace, and ridiculously, Luke had to force away the urge to put a fist over it. Despite his resolve to dislike Katie, the distinct thunder of attraction jolted his nerve endings.

Somehow, getting her to hate him now seemed far from appealing. But it was too late to turn back. Besides, the last damn thing he needed was a woman to screw him over with her own private agenda. He had no intention of expanding his emotional stamina, though as she smiled, sexy, all pride and defiance, he thought his physical stamina might be worth testing. Damn, he wanted her, and he cursed the irony of finding no one tempting for months, until this woman—the one he was trying to shake loose. Katie was hands-off. Yeah, right. Tell that to his cock. He was rock hard, his zipper stretched, his balls drawn up tight in discomfort.

“Drink?” Luke asked, watching her climb up on a bar stool as he tried to decide what his next action should be. What was it about this woman that did funny things to his insides?

Turned him on.

Beyond that even…

Interested him. No, that still wasn’t a strong enough word. Intrigued him was more like it. When was the last time a woman had gotten his attention the way this one did? He couldn’t remember. At some point they had all become users to him. The thought was so cynical, and so out of character, he made a mental note to revisit exactly what was going on in his head.

Katie’s voice, a sultry sound that wrapped around him like an enticing breeze on a hot day, drew him back into the present. “No, thank you,” she said with obviously forced politeness, which did nothing to douse the sexiness of her tone or the way it rippled along his nerve endings.

Despite the businesslike mask she wore, he could see a softer, and even hotter, Katie beneath. Her eyes were a warm green, like grass, with little specks of yellow. Her brown hair hung down her shoulders in soft waves, and he could just imagine burying his hands in it while he kissed her.

He could tell from the way she shifted slightly that she knew how intense his scrutiny was. She continued, “I’d like to get straight to the point. You have real trouble here.”

Luke leaned an elbow on the bar. “Ron is the one who thinks I have trouble. I don’t. As I have already stated, we are simply dealing with a fan who is a bit more aggressive than others.”

Katie quirked an eyebrow as she leaned forward and rested one palm on the bar. “Then what am I doing here?”

Luke’s eyes flicked to Ron. “Making him happy.”

Katie pushed off the bar as if preparing to leave. “Then I don’t see any point in staying. Unless I have your buy-in, Mr. Winter, my services are useless.”

Ron responded immediately. “Luke will cooperate fully. His coach wants this.”

That got Luke’s attention. “Since when?”

Ron’s voice had a hard edge. “Since the team’s water supply was tampered with.”

“When did this happen?” Katie asked immediately.

Luke spoke to Ron, ignoring her question. “That was a prank and you damn well know it,” he said hotly. “Salt. It was flipping salt.”

Ron’s expression was one of frustration. “It was a sign we need to be more cautious. Think of the rest of your team, Luke. This is serious business.”

“This is crazy, is what it is!” Luke said as he stiffened his spine. “A load of crap if ever I’ve heard one.”