Carla Cassidy - Born of Passion

“And you’ve never regretted your decision? Never wished you’d gone to work for Ramsey Enterprises?” she asked.

“Never. In fact, in less than a month my current tour of duty is over and I have every intention of reenlisting. Unlike my father, I have no desire to dabble in corporate America. I’m a career military man.”

A career military man. Just as her father had been. Kyle’s life would follow the same path as her father’s had taken. He’d leave at a moment’s notice, drop everything to fight wars in distant lands. And, like her father, his wars would be more important than his family.

His proud words merely confirmed to her what she had instinctively known after that single night with him—that there would never, ever be a future for the two of them. She had been absolutely right to sneak out and leave him sleeping in that hotel room.

Again the waiter interrupted their conversation, this time to deliver their meals. When he had once again left their table, Kyle leaned forward, his metal-flecked eyes gleaming with more than a touch of wickedness. “Was it because I snored?”

“I’m sorry, Eagle One, you’re breaking up and I can’t understand you.”

He leaned back in his chair and laughed. Goodness, but she loved the sound of his laughter. His gaze lingered on her face, then swept slowly down, warming her breasts before returning to her face once again. “You are a piece of work, lady. You definitely intrigue me.”

She forced an easy smile. “I think you wouldn’t be half so intrigued if you awakened that morning and I’d been there asking you when I’d hear from you again, if you were going to call me, when we could get together.” She leaned forward and met his gaze boldly. “I think you’re intrigued simply because I ran out on you before you could run out on me.”

Surprise lit his features, then he grinned once again, that lazy, sexy smile that shot heat through her. “Then we’ll just have to see to it that the next time, neither of us runs.”

“There is never going to be a next time,” she replied.

His grin didn’t waver, but his gaze once again swept the length of her. Hot…and intimate. She felt each and every place his gaze lingered. “Don’t be so sure about that.” He picked up his fork and focused his attention on his food.

Joanna picked up her soda and took a long drink, as if by drinking the cold liquid she could quell the fires he’d set burning inside her. There had been no threat in his words, but rather promise…the promise of being held in his arms once again, the promise of feeling his body intimately against her own.

She’d been worried about the fact that she was so acutely aware of him, but she suddenly realized that wasn’t what she should be worried about.

The danger he posed to her wasn’t so much due to the fact that he was an attractive, virile man, but rather that he made her so vividly aware of herself as a woman…a desirable woman.

All the men at the embassy looked at her as if she was asexual. They knew she was bright, that she could get the job done, that she was efficient and committed, but none of them seemed to see her as a young woman with dreams and needs. She was a machine as far as her co-workers were concerned, and there were times when she longed to be recognized simply as a woman.

Kyle was dangerous because he made her feel utterly feminine, winsomely beautiful and achingly desirable. He was dangerous to her because even though she was certain she did not want him in her life, there was a small part of her that wouldn’t mind having him in her bed one last time.

Kyle was stimulated, both by his hours in the fighter plane and by the woman who sat across from him daintily eating her sandwich.

That she was intelligent was a given. She wouldn’t be working in the embassy as a military attaché if she weren’t extremely bright.

She was also beautiful, with a slender body that was both sexy and feminine. But it wasn’t just her physical appeal that intrigued him, although he had to admit he was strongly attracted to her.

He was also drawn to her wit and surprised at how easily and astutely she’d seen into his thoughts and musings about the night they’d spent together.

And he wondered how right she was. If he’d been the one to disappear that morning, would he be as intrigued with her?

“You mentioned earlier that your mother was from Montebello. Do you still have family here?” he asked as they continued to eat.

She nodded. “A grandmother and an aunt and her children. That’s what brought me back to Montebello when my father passed away. I wanted to be near what was left of my family.” Joanna frowned, a trace of something he thought might be sadness darkening her eyes. Perhaps he was not the only one burdened by family conflicts.

“Where were you living before that?” he asked, wanting to change the subject, remove the shadows from her lovely eyes.

“Washington, D.C. I was working as an assistant to Senator Bolin.”

“Quite a different pace here on Montebello than in Washington,” Kyle observed.

She nodded, her hair a shiny waterfall escaping the plain brown barrette at the nape of her neck. His fingers itched to release the clasp, allow all the strands to fall free. “But I have to say, the pace here has changed. Tensions are much higher now, especially since the recent bombing.”

“Yeah, I heard about the bomb, but haven’t heard all the details.” Kyle frowned, the loveliness of her hair momentarily forgotten.

“It was about a month ago. The bomb exploded in a civilian square. It completely destroyed a restaurant and trapped people inside the rubble. People died in the blast.” Once again her eyes were dark and troubled.

“I read in one of the newspapers that nobody has been found responsible yet for the bombing.”

She shook her head. “That’s true, however King Marcus is certain that Sheik Ahmed is responsible for the bomb. Sheik Ahmed, of course, denies any involvement, but the whole thing has made tensions so much higher. And it has made the people of Montebello afraid.”

“There is nothing more frightening than the threat of a bomb.”

“Bombs are so indiscriminate in taking victims,” she replied. She looked down at her half-eaten sandwich, as if she’d lost her appetite because of the seriousness of their discussion.

“We got a little heavy here, didn’t we,” he said, wanting to see her smile again. She had a smile that warmed him to the pit of his stomach. “How about you tell me what you like to do in your spare time.”

She shrugged and used her fork to toy with the last bit of her sandwich. “I don’t get a lot of spare time. I work pretty long hours, and lately often six or seven days a week. But when I do get a little spare time, I enjoy going to the beach. I like to read and do crossword puzzles and I enjoy watching old movies.” Her sensual lips moved into a wry smile. “I lead a very boring, quiet life, Kyle.”

“Unless you’re dancing in a bar after having indulged in several Tom Collinses,” he teased.

He loved watching her blush, and she didn’t disappoint him. Red stains appeared on her cheeks. “I told you, that night was completely out of character for me. That was the first time I’d been in that club and in that hotel.”

“So, what exactly made you act so out of character that night?” Although he kept his tone light and teasing, he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

She looked down at her plate, a thoughtful frown creasing her forehead. When she looked back up at him, the frown was gone. “Let’s just say I’d had an unusually rough day and decided to kick up my heels a little.”

He had a feeling it was much more than that, that there were a hundred things she was not confiding to him, and his interest in her only increased.