Kate Stevenson - Witness… And Wife?

A second bark from Duffy broke the spell. Quickly she withdrew her hand from the jar and held the biscuit a few inches over Duffy’s head. He caught it midair and settled to the floor, crunching happily.

“I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.”

“Some old dogs,” Cassie muttered, then looked up in surprise when Luke chuckled.

No one, seeing Luke at this moment, would imagine him other than the most easygoing of men. He’d shrugged off his anger easier than a dog shook water from wet fur, but Cassie didn’t buy it. She studied the lazy smile playing across his lips and wondered what he was up to.

“We won’t solve anything by losing our tempers,” Luke said as though responding to her unspoken thoughts.

Cassie stiffened. “I was explaining my position. You lost your temper.”

Although a nerve twitched along his jaw—an obvious sign he wanted to throttle her—he merely shook his head in resignation. “Have it your way.” He even managed a halfhearted grin as he held up his hands in exaggerated surrender. “Truce?”

She eyed him with suspicion. Luke never gave in unless he’d already come up with an alternate strategy. She wondered what new surprise he had up his sleeve.

“Hell, Cassie,” he growled, his patience snapping. “I’m not the enemy.”

“Trying the ‘catch more flies with honey’ approach?” she asked in saccharine tones.

Even before he bridged the short distance between them, she knew she’d finally pushed him too far.

“Would it do any good?”

His husky whisper raised hairs on her neck. Cursing her runaway tongue, she took a hasty step backward and ran into the counter. Her retreat cut off, she took the only available course of action—she tensed and stood her ground.

Calmly, deliberately, he moved closer. Close enough for her to feel the heat of him. Close enough to read intent in his dark eyes.

Anticipation skittered up her spine. Surely he wouldn’t—

His fingers curled around her upper arms.

Sensation jolted through her, making a mockery of her efforts to remain indifferent. As her pulse leaped, she realized she’d been deluding herself. She was as susceptible to his charm as she’d been the first time they met.

Her mouth turned to parchment when he drew her to him, but she could no more break free of the gentle pressure he exerted than stop her heart from beating. His palms cupped her face, and she shut her eyes, feeling the soft caress of his breath as he dipped his head.

An alarm sounded in her mind.

She couldn’t respond to it.

Didn’t want to.

The touch of his mouth, coaxing and featherlight, took her breath away, and when he brushed her lips with his moist tongue, she thought she’d melt from pleasure.

It was insanity. Sheer madness. Yet Cassie was powerless to halt the swell of emotions that blossomed within her. As she surrendered to them, inhaling his familiar, masculine scent, the long years of separation vanished as though they’d never been.

His kiss transported her back to the beginning, when their relationship was fresh and new and full of wonder. Power radiated from his lean body; tenderness, from his stroking fingers. Her pulse leaped in an erratic dance of desire.

And then his hands dropped away, releasing her. Cool air slipped between them. She opened her eyes.

Luke’s face was expressionless, his gaze assessing.

“Enough honey?”

As his meaning penetrated, her stomach clenched and a bitter taste filled her mouth. It was a game to him, a cold-blooded experiment. She doused the pain in her heart with a surge of anger. Clenching her hands into fists, she opened her mouth to deliver a scathing put-down.

The phone rang.

No fighter, down for the count, could have felt more relieved than Luke did when Cassie whirled to grab the telephone. Her flashing eyes and thin-lipped glare had informed him she was furious.

Not that he blamed her. He was a fool to have pulled such a stunt, especially when he was trying to be reasonable. If she hadn’t thrown his good intentions in his face, he might have been able to carry it off, but her challenge had pushed him over the edge. There was only so much a man could take before setting the record straight.

Crouching, he scratched behind Duffy’s ears and tried not to eavesdrop. Unfortunately that left him replaying his colossal blunder. The instant she’d melted in his arms, he’d seen his error. Trouble was she’d felt so good, tasted so sweet he didn’t care. Tearing himself away was the hardest thing he’d done in a long time.

He glanced across the kitchen, noting Cassie’s still-angry posture. So much for teaching her a lesson. All he’d proved was their libidos were as healthy as ever, and he’d better make damn sure he never got that close again.

“What do you want?”

In spite of Cassie’s attempt to keep her conversation private, Luke caught a sharp edge in her voice. His senses sprang to red alert.

“What things?” she snapped. Then, as though sensing Luke’s interest, she lowered her voice and repeated the question in calmer tones.

Luke wasn’t fooled. Her white knuckles and stiff spine betrayed her. Rising swiftly, he crossed the tiles on silent feet and peered over Cassie’s shoulder, noting the caller ID display on the phone. Out of Area.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said with a swell of bravado, “but if you’re threatening me—”

Intuition told Luke the person on the other end was no ordinary crank caller; instinct warned him to tread with care. Cautiously he touched her shoulder to attract her attention. She shrugged from beneath his hand, then went rigid in response to whatever the caller was saying.

With sudden clarity Luke realized he would never win Cassie’s cooperation if they continued to fight. If he didn’t give in to her demands—or at least give the appearance of doing so—she was apt to bolt and ruin any chance he had of protecting her. Gritting his teeth, he resisted an urge to wrestle the phone from her grip and tell the creep what he thought of him in no uncertain terms.

Cassie slammed the receiver down so hard it rang in protest.

“What did he say?”

“He’s watching,” she replied without turning.

Reacting to the thread of fear weaving through her anger, Luke reached out to touch her but was deterred by her rigid stance. Frustrated, he punched in the numbers that would set in motion a trace of the call, by the phone company, when what he really wanted to do was wrap his fingers around the caller’s neck.

She faced him. “It’s the murderer, isn’t it?”

“Possibly,” Luke hedged.

“Probably,” she corrected. She rubbed at her upper arms, as though warding off a chill. “He described the house. The rooms. Duffy. He said he hoped I was a good girl who kept her opinions to herself.”

Though the quaver in her voice wrenched at his gut, Luke knew better than to offer assurances. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“Do? I already went back over my notes like you asked. No likely suspects. The people Wainright mentioned by name are either dead or in prison.”

“You said you intended to continue digging so you could wrap up your story. Have you changed your mind?”

Indecision clouded her eyes for the merest fraction of an instant. Then, just as he expected, defiance replaced it.

“No.”

It was time. Time to convince her he was on her side. Time to secure her cooperation and make sure she didn’t go off half-cocked. “Okay. Where do we start?”

“We?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “But you said—”

“I’ve changed my mind.” When her expression conveyed disbelief, he motioned toward the phone. “The caller changed my mind.” Infusing his voice with what he hoped sounded like resignation, he continued. “Besides, what’s the point in working at cross purposes?”