Praise for
JENNIFER MOREY

“Jennifer Morey puts in motion an interesting maze of mystery.”

—RT Book Reviews on The Secret Soldier

“An adventurous ride filled with suspense and excitement.”

—Cataromance.com on The Secret Soldier

JENNIFER MOREY

has been creating stories since she fell in love with The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. She has a BS in geology from Colorado State University and is now program specialist for the spacecraft systems segment of a satellite imagery and information company. Jennie has received several awards for her writing, one of which led to the publication of her debut novel, The Secret Soldier. She lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her yellow Lab and golden retriever.

JENNIFER MOREY

Kiss Me On Christmass

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Dear Reader,

What better way to keep warm on these brisk November nights than with this month’s adrenaline-pumping romances from Silhouette Romantic Suspense?

What would you do if the lights went out at Christmas? Three stellar authors—Beth Cornelison, Sharron McClellan and Jennifer Morey—contribute heartwarming stories to our Blackout at Christmas (#1583) anthology, which features three couples as they fall in love during a Seattle blackout. Also available this month, you won’t want to miss the second book in the author-led miniseries TOP SECRET DELIVERIES, The Cowboy’s Secret Twins (#1584), by Carla Cassidy. Here, a single mom unwittingly finds herself at the home of her babies’ father, who then has to keep them out of harm’s way.

Popular author Linda Turner begins her new family-themed miniseries THE O’REILLY BROTHERS with His Wanted Woman (#1585), which involves danger and romance in our nation’s capital. You’ll love Sheri WhiteFeather’s sexy beginning to her miniseries WARRIOR SOCIETY, Imminent Affair (#1586), where a noble hero with amnesia protects the woman he loves from a deadly threat.

These romances will definitely keep you toasty this month. As always, we deliver on our promise of breathtaking romance set against a backdrop of suspense. Have a wonderful November and happy reading!

Sincerely,

Patience Smith
Senior Editor

To my dogs for keeping me sane as a single woman.
To my critique partners for catching all those logic errors.
Laura Leonard and Susan LeDoux, thanks for all the reads. To Patience Smith for letting me write this story and loving it. And to all those guys I dated who will remain nameless—thanks for the inspiration.

Chapter 1

T here that guy’s date went again, with that head toss and ear-ringing laugh. She sounded like SpongeBob on pot. Shanna Toole pretended to straighten a rack of herbal teas as she covertly watched the couple sitting at a window table for two. She didn’t want to be so mesmerized by them, but the weather had turned nasty and they were the only ones in her coffee shop right now.

She hoped they didn’t stay long. The last news report said the airport had shut down at two. She was starting to worry about the drive home. She checked the clock on the slate-green wall behind her. Almost six. As soon as the couple left, she was going to close early.

“What do you do for a living?” Shanna heard Kane Ramsey ask. She only knew his name because he always paid with his debit card. He brought so many women into her coffee shop that she got dizzy trying to keep track. Blond. Brunette. Short hair. Long hair. Jeans. Dresses. Big boobs. Little boobs…

“I’m into real estate,” the woman answered.

They came in all different professions, too. Real estate. Engineering. Business. You name it. All of them were fit and attractive. He was attractive. Tall. Thick, dark, blond hair that was always messy, but in a good way. Muscular, but not the Mr. Olympia type. His eyes were light green with a darker rim that accentuated them, really nice. And he had this masculine look about him. Stubble shadowed his face, and although his eyes were gorgeous, there always seemed to be a hardness about them.

“Commercial or residential?” he asked his date.

“Residential. And you’re a developer? I liked your profile on Soulmate.”

Shanna saw him grin. If she hadn’t seen him bestow so many women that smile, she’d think it was sexy.

“I liked yours, too.” He reached over and put his hand over hers, and Shanna watched the woman melt a little, like so many Soulmates before her. And he’d trolled a lot on that online dating site.

He never talked much about what he did, so it didn’t surprise her that he’d maneuvered the subject away from that. He was a commercial developer who’d done several complexes in Seattle, that’s really all she’d heard him say. Was he rich and didn’t want the women going only for that?

She looked down from the woman’s beaming face to his hand. Did he practice his timing? Maybe next time she’d clock him to see how long it took before he touched his date. Never mind that she’d imagined him touching her like that more than once.

Shanna averted her face, not feeling particularly amenable. She was going to blame her mood on her bad run of dates. And Kane, for never ceasing to remind her of them, especially the last one.

What about your family? she mouthed, keeping her head turned so the couple wouldn’t see.

“What about your family?” she heard Kane ask. “Do they live around here?”

Shanna rolled her eyes. Did the man have no imagination? How could he expect to find his soul mate when he was so perfectly rehearsed? He had to be getting confused by now. After a man was with so many women, did he forget what he was looking for in the first place? Maybe men like him never knew, and that’s why they had to bloat their calendars with so many dates.

“I’ll find her somewhere, Auntie Em,” Shanna mumbled under the sound of Frank Sinatra singing “Luck Be a Lady” from her overhead speakers, “even in this tornado of women.”

Maybe that’s why he always met them at the same place. That way he wouldn’t have to remember where he told them to meet. Figures it would have to be her coffee shop. Bean Me was unique and in a great location close to the Seaside Market, but really, could he just spare her the misery of having to witness his total lack of appreciation for women everywhere?

While Kane’s umpteenth date rambled on about her sibling, an elderly couple came through the front door. Shanna caught another glimpse of the weather. It was getting worse. Dark now that the sun had set, but streetlights illuminated falling snow, covering thick layers of ice on poles and buildings and parked cars. Not to mention the road.

“Brrr.” The old woman shivered, stomping her snow-crusted boots and keeping her pink scarf wrapped around her neck. Her husband rubbed her back as they made their way toward the counter.

“What can I get for you?” Shanna asked.

“Two large mocha skinny-dipper decafs.”

Shanna turned to prepare her trademark low-calorie coffee.

“We haven’t seen weather like this in years,” the elderly woman marveled.

“It’s really icy out there,” her husband added. “There were three accidents on the walk here and we just live up the street.”

“Yeah, Seattle doesn’t get many of these storms.” She brought the coffees to the counter and the elderly man paid.

Shanna gave him his change and caught a glimpse of Kane’s thumb moving over his date’s hand. It gave her an unexpected pang right in the middle of her chest. The last man she’d been with had done that. She’d met him online, and he’d wound up running her heart through a shredder.

“Thank you, dear,” the elderly woman said.

“Good night,” her husband added.

Shanna nodded with a smile. “Be careful out there.”

They left through the front door, the husband’s hand on the woman’s back as they walked along the snowy sidewalk.

“Your profile said you didn’t have any kids,” the woman with Kane said.

Shanna pretended to be busy wiping the countertop.

“I don’t,” he replied.

“I have two, a seven-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old son.”

“I like kids.”

“Do you want any of your own?”

Shanna subdued a smirk as Kane all but squirmed in his seat. “Er…sure, if it works out that way.”

He probably had a condom in his back pocket. Wouldn’t want to trap himself into anything lasting when he was still so busy trolling. Yet, how many times had she imagined him using one of them on her? Her body never listened to her brain when it came to the physical with him. He was like a forbidden fantasy she couldn’t resist.

“How many times have you been married?” the woman asked.

“Once. I’ve been divorced for three years.”

“What happened?”

“She left me for another man.”

“That must have been hard on you.”

Shanna stopped wiping the countertop. She could only see his profile, but she wondered why he hesitated.

“I wasn’t expecting it. But maybe I should have.”

“Were you faithful to her?”

“Yes.”

He was probably lying. Her experience convinced her most onliners lied when it came to all the fidelity questions.

“What about you?” he asked.

“How many women have you dated on Soulmate?” she asked by return.

He paused as though he had to think. Did he want her to answer his question or had he lost track of how many women he’d seen?

“Around fifty.”

The woman’s eyes widened beneath her lifting brow. She was speechless for a moment. So was Shanna. That was more than even she’d have guessed. She fiddled with a stack of napkins, trying to appear inconspicuous.

“How long have you been looking?” his date asked.

“Four months.”

“Four months? Boy, you’ve been busy!”

Shanna could vouch for that. He brought a new one in about two or three times a week. She abandoned the napkins and plucked a coffee bean from the freebie bowl by the cash register, popping it into her mouth. Good thing none of her fantasies would have a chance to come true.

The woman laughed, sounding a little unsteady. Or was that excitement? She sobered as she contemplated him. “What are you looking for?”

Was she worried or curious?

“What do you mean?” Kane asked. “In a woman or a relationship?”

“Both.” The blonde leaned back in her chair, her big boobs jutting forward as she moved her shoulders back.

Shanna saw Kane notice and also didn’t miss the extra seconds it took him to respond.

“I’m looking for a long-term relationship.”

“Long-term?” Was the woman being cautious? Shanna sure would be. “But not marriage?”

“Depends if the relationship leads to that. And how I feel about the woman.”

“What kind of woman would make you feel that way?”

“A strong one. Independent. Confident. Takes care of herself both financially and physically. I suppose I want what most men want.”

“I want the same thing.”

He smiled and she smiled back. Maybe they really were hitting it off. Shanna straightened a rack of gift cards, wavering between envy and pity for the woman.

That’s how it had started with Mr. Inadequate. He’d smiled as if he really liked her. Touched her hand. Opened doors for her. And then that had progressed into holding hands. Kissing. Calling every day and taking her to interesting places. He even told her she was beautiful and talked about future things that included her. Then, just when she was beginning to believe they were in a real relationship, he’d dropped his bombshell.

He felt inadequate with her and he’d met someone else online. Inadequate was a new one for her. She had to hand it to him for ingenuity.

After all the men she’d gone through, all the experiences, the one she’d thought had half a chance of sticking around long enough to mean something was giving up before they’d barely started. She’d gone from feeling happy and secure, looking forward to weekend plans with a man she really liked, to being alone with an uncertain future again, struggling to understand why it was so hard for her to find a boyfriend that lasted longer than a few weeks.

Kane Ramsey was probably no different. After a few weeks, he’d get bored or scared of an impending relationship and want to find someone new. He’d keep searching for a woman who didn’t exist. None were perfect enough for him, or he’d lost touch with what was.

He said something to his date and she tipped her head back with a laugh, all bleached teeth and makeup.

Would somebody just shoot her if she ever looked like that on a date? She felt embarrassed for the woman.

The lights in her coffee shop went dark. The hum of her undercounter refrigerator went silent and Frank was cut off in the middle of “Fly Me to the Moon.” Shanna froze for a second, her breath hitching as she turned and looked around. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the plunging darkness.

“What happened?” Kane’s date asked.

Shanna waited for the electricity to come back on. It didn’t. She could barely make out the outline of Kane and his date.

He stood from his chair and walked to the front window. His date stood, too, but stayed by the table.

“The whole street is out,” he said.

Shanna joined him at the front window. Snow was accumulating on the icy road and all the parked cars. More ice hung from buildings like stalactites. A loud cracking sound penetrated the glass and then a huge tree limb crashed to the frozen road, taking out a light pole with it.

“Wow,” she said. It was almost surreal.

“This isn’t good,” Kane said.

She shared an incredulous glance with him, catching the gleam of his amazing green eyes. Turning, she went to a display shelf and felt the items until she found the candles she had for sale there. Bringing them to the counter, she put them down. Kane went to stand near his date.

“Either of you have a light?” Shanna asked. She might have matches in the back but it would be hell trying to find them in the dark.

“I do,” the woman said. She dug into her purse. Something fell to the floor and Kane bent to pick it up. A pack of cigarettes.

“You smoke?” He handed the pack to her.

“Just a little.” She gave Shanna a lighter.

She took it.

“Your profile said you didn’t,” Kane said.

Uh-oh…

“I don’t smoke all the time.”

He didn’t argue anymore, but Shanna wondered if it was irritation she’d heard in his tone. Was he finally getting frustrated? She lit the candles. They wouldn’t put off much light, but it was better than nothing.

She hoped the electricity wouldn’t be out long. She couldn’t afford to lose any perishables. Especially now that the company managing her building had raised the rent. She was going to have a hard time getting by as it was.

“I’m just going to go get my radio,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

Lifting one of the candles, she went around the counter and into the back office. She found the small radio and pressed the power button. Nothing happened. She didn’t have any batteries.

A sound up front made her abandon a futile search. She returned to the counter in time to see Gayle from the salon across the street hurry in from the blustery weather. She clutched her faux fur-trimmed jacket about her and approached the counter, eyes full of restless concern.

“I came over to see if you were all right,” she said, coming to a stop at the counter. The hood of her jacket hid curly gray hair that she kept coiffed atop her head. Without coloring it, she looked every bit of her fifty-three years.

“Fine. Just waiting for the lights to come back on,” Shanna said.

“They aren’t going to,” Gayle replied, looking taken aback that Shanna didn’t know. “Not for a long time.”

Shanna felt a spark of apprehension chase some of her confidence away.

Gayle must have seen it. “Haven’t you heard the news?”

“Only that the airport closed.”

“Power lines are going down everywhere. There are roads closing because of all the tree limbs breaking and dangerous power lines on the ground. They’re advising everyone to find shelter.”

Kane’s date gasped and put a hand adorned with long, red fingernails to her mouth.

Gayle glanced at the woman and returned her attention to Shanna. “You should lock up and go home. Looters are bound to start roaming the streets tonight. You don’t want to be here if they do.”

Shanna moved her gaze to the dark window. That’s all she needed. Looters.

“The weather will keep most of them indoors,” Kane said, his deep, gruff voice reassuring. “If the power is out too long the city will have patrols. National Guard will probably show up, if they aren’t already on the way.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Gayle said with an appreciative smile at Kane.

Shanna cocked her head at him, resisting the impression that he might actually be a nice guy. That was another thing she didn’t need…a physical and intellectual attraction with him.

“I have to go home,” Kane’s date interrupted. She sounded anxious.

“I’ll take you,” Kane said, looking from her to Gayle. “I’ll take you all wherever you need to go. I drive a Hummer.”

Figures he’d have to brag about his Hummer.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” Gayle said.

“Me, too,” his date chimed in. “But it was good to meet you. Maybe you could give me a call sometime.”

“What if something happens on your way? It’s bad out there and you’ll be alone.”

“I have to go pick up my daughter.”

“I can drive you.”

“No, really, I’ll be all right.”

Shanna followed the back-and-forth conversation and wondered why the woman was so agitated.

“Then I’ll follow you. Just to make sure you get home all right.”

“My daughter is at a friend’s, and my husband is a firefighter. I should have realized he’d be tied up—” Her eyes popped wide and her mouth O’d.

Kane stood there a moment. “Your husband?”

The woman’s chest lifted and fell in the shadows of candlelight.

Shanna shared a look with Gayle, who raised her eyebrows speculatively.

“You left that out in your profile.” Kane sounded injured.

“I’m sorry. I—I thought you were…you know…” She waved her hands in small circles.

“No. What?”

The woman’s hands stilled and she looked up at him. “Looking for…you know…sex.”

“You just wanted sex.” It was a flat statement.

Shanna tried to shake herself from being so riveted.

Beside her, Gayle stifled a laugh into a nasally grunt.

Kane’s date turned to look at them the same time he did. Her expression had a deer-in-headlights look, his crunched into bridled anger. But he faced his date again and held it all in check.

“I’ll still take you home,” he surprised Shanna by saying. She’d have thought a guy like him would just let the woman walk right out of his life so he could move on to date number fifty-one.

“No.” The woman turned and went to the door, going outside and into the blustery weather. Kane followed.

Shanna looked at Gayle, who looked back. A couple of seconds later, Gayle scurried to the front door and Shanna followed, where they watched through spitting snow as Kane helped his date chisel ice off her windows while her car warmed up. The amount of ice on the windows gave Shanna’s worry a nudge. It was going to be a scary ride home.

Kane finished clearing the windows and stood in the snow as the woman drove away. When the car vanished from sight, he turned and headed back toward the shop.

Gayle and Shanna stepped back as he reentered Bean Me. He stopped just inside, facing them. “We should go find somewhere else to stay. I have a room at the Warwick Hotel tonight. Maybe you should do the same. They have a generator. You could both come with me if you have nowhere else to go.”

“I have a husband, one I can admit to having. And a fireplace. A real one,” Gayle said, smiling. “So don’t worry about me. It’s her you should worry about.” She swung her gaze toward Shanna and then winked her subliminal meaning Kane’s way.

He looked at Shanna, unaffected. “What do you think?”

She had to stop herself from visibly flinching. “What?” He wanted her to go with him? Temptation and appall clashed inside her.

“The hotel will have power. Food.”

He was only trying to be a Good Samaritan. He wasn’t hitting on her. The fact that some part of her had considered it helped make up her mind.

“I have a car. And I have a dog who needs me,” she said.

“All right. Where’s your car? I’ll help you clear the windows and make sure you make it home all right.”

He seemed awfully conscientious, not wanting to leave anyone alone in the storm. Surely it was a temporary affliction. “You don’t have to. Just go. I need to close up anyway.”

“You should go with him,” Gayle said.

Shanna sent her a silent warning.

“I’ll wait for you,” Kane said.

She turned back to him, unable to stop herself from looking into those dark-rimmed green eyes. She ought to know by now not to trust gazes like that—kinder than they actually were.

“Well…I better get back and close myself.” Gayle started for the door, there she paused with a look over her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be alone, Shanna. I came over to bring you with me, but I can see you’re in capable hands.” She smiled at Kane.

Shanna wanted to bop her one over the head. The woman left, her form swallowed in snow and darkness as she made her way across the street.

“Let me at least make sure you’re on your way,” Kane said.

Reluctantly, Shanna met his eyes again. What harm would there be in that? If she let him help her dig out her car, he’d leave and she’d be rid of him. Besides, the weather did have her spooked. And she was worried about Scotch. She could not leave her sweet little dog in a cold house, all alone and scared.

Without acknowledging him, she went to lock the front door and then returned to the counter. She opened the cash register and removed the money. Bending for a money bag, she stuffed it in and zipped it shut. With a final glance at the dark front windows, hoping no one would break them during the blackout, she blew out the candles.

Kane followed her into the back office. Tucking the bank bag into her tote, she slipped into her jacket and looped the tote over her shoulder. Outside, Shanna caught her breath against a blast of cold air.

Kane took the keys from her hand in her distraction. She decided to let him. It wasn’t often she had the luxury of having someone to take care of her. He opened her car door and sat inside with one long leg still outside. Nothing happened. No headlights. No sound from the engine.

Shanna gripped her jacket tighter, snow flecking her face in the freezing breeze, making her blink. She backed up, so the building sheltered her as Kane got out and peered under the hood. After a few minutes, he slammed the hood shut and strode over to her.

“Battery’s dead.”

“What?” she almost shouted.

“Dead. And I don’t have any cables. But don’t worry. I’ll take you home.”

Was it really dead? She looked at her car, then him. He was an onliner. Habitual. Could she trust him?

“I’m only trying to help,” he said, reading her too well.

Helpful was not a word she’d have used to describe him before the lights went out…unless it involved an orgasm. She had to remind herself not to fall for these crumbs of kindness. It was only the storm making him offer. Beyond that, some men were just good at fooling women to get what they wanted.

He put his hand on her arm and guided her toward the side of her coffee shop. Not knowing what else she could do, Shanna walked with him to the front where he’d parked his dark green Hummer H2.

There, she stopped as he opened the passenger door. She’d taken care of herself on her own for years. Did she really need this man to help her? Were his good looks making her weak? Was a secret part of her wishing a man like him would be interested in her?

No.

“I changed my mind. I don’t want to go anywhere with you. I can find my own way home.” She stepped back.

“Really?” He scanned the deserted, ice-caked street. “How?”

She stopped, looking one way and then the other. A single car crossed the street at a crawl a few blocks away. But then it vanished, leaving everything in darkness. Emptiness pooled in her stomach. She didn’t like having to depend on him.

“Come on. You can’t stay here. I’ll make sure you get home. Will you be okay there?”

She turned to look at him. Would she? She wasn’t even sure if she had a flashlight. She didn’t have a fireplace, either. Only a few candles.

“I have a room at the Warwick. You could stay there if there aren’t any others available,” he said.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. A few things crossed her mind to say, but it took her a moment to choose one. “What…you mean with you?”

“It’s a suite. You can have the bedroom.”

“Don’t you live here?”

“I live outside of the city. When I heard the weather was going to get bad, I reserved a room for the night. Better than driving in Seattle traffic on icy roads.” He looked around. “I had no idea it was going to be like this, though.”

Wow. A suite with a bedroom. He must be loaded. Pieces of his conversations sprinkled into her mind. Developer.

“What do you do?” she asked.

“I’m a commercial developer.” He nodded his head toward Bean Me. “This is one of my buildings.”

Kane Ramsey. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought of it before? He was KR Development.

“You’re my landlord.” She was too stunned to say anything else.

He smiled. “I thought you already knew that.”

“No. I didn’t know that.” She stared at him while emotion coiled and churned inside her, building to anger. Then she pointed at him. “You raised my rent!”

Chapter 2

K ane took in the slender woman holding her bony wrist up and aiming a finger at him. In the darkness, her eyes looked brown, but he knew when the light hit them they turned the most intriguing shade of blue-green. The first few times he’d come to Bean Me he’d noticed her beauty and the way she laughed, so full of life and self-confidence. He’d noticed other things, too, like the way she kept interesting trinkets for sale—ornaments from all over the world and rare collectible dolls that matched the holiday season. She played a wide array of music and what little he’d heard her reveal about herself to patrons always struck him as sweet. He’d also noticed her standoffish body language. She rarely looked him right in the eye but he never missed her circumspection.

“Let’s get in the truck.” He opened the passenger door for her.

Folding her arms, she stuck her chin up. Snow dropped onto her creamy skin and strands of reddish-auburn hair that sprawled in layered disarray over the shoulders of her jacket. She was probably around five-five and was fine-boned. Anything but intimidating. Yet, as little as she was, she sure packed some dynamite.

He couldn’t stop a grin.

“Something’s funny?”

“Get in and we’ll talk.”

“I don’t want to go with you to your hotel room.”

“Then I’ll take you home, where you can freeze with your dog.”

Her gaze threw darts at him in her hesitation, but finally she climbed up onto the tan leather seat and he shut the door. Walking around the front of the Hummer, he got behind the wheel and started the engine.

“Now what’s this about your rent?” he asked. He’d get out and chisel all the ice off the windows in a minute.

“One of your project managers backed me into a corner.”

“I’m sure he was just doing his job.”

More darts flew at him from across the truck. “I argued with him for two hours but he wouldn’t listen. He refused to lower his figure.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with your contract. I work at a higher level than that.”

“Do you pay your managers on commission? Is it your policy to hire greedy jerks?”

He’d just avoid that. Arguing would only agitate her more. “Have you already signed the contract?”

“What was I supposed to do? Not sign it and move? I have established patrons. If I moved, I’d have to start all over. Do you know how risky that would be? I’ve only been open a year. And now because of your company’s lack of ethics, I might be driven out of business.”

“I’ll take a look at your contract as soon as I can.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself, gouging people the way you do.”

“Hey. Wait a minute. I don’t gouge people. It’s standard practice to raise rents yearly or when a contract is expiring. We have guidelines about that, with set percentages on increases. It’s like a cost-of-living raise. Everyone needs them, including my employees, who wouldn’t get pay increases if I didn’t make the money in the first place.”

“You could spell out the increases in your contracts. Instead of waiting until the established ones are about to expire so you can pounce.”

“I’m not the one who negotiated your terms. And it doesn’t sound like you did a very good job of negotiating yours.”

She grunted her distain. “That wasn’t negotiating. That was harassment.”

“Why did you sign the contract, then?”

“I didn’t have a choice!”

“You could have brought it to someone else’s attention.”

“Like who? You?”

He tried to read her face along with the way she said you. What did she have against him? It was more than just her rent.

Seeming to catch herself, she turned to face the window. “I’m sorry.”

“Not a problem.”

She looked over at him, her eyes softer now. “It’s just that it came at a bad time and the increase was more excessive than I thought was appropriate.”

“I’ll personally look into it, I promise.”

“That would be nice. If you do it.” She looked straight ahead.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

She just shrugged.

As the founder of KR Development, he could do something if he really wanted to, surely she knew that. He’d just told her he’d look into it. He’d even promised. Why didn’t she believe him? Was it past experience with men? That had to be it. Was she so sweet that she was easily hurt? A spark of temptation struck him to find out, without hurting her. He didn’t want that. But the possibility that she was as sweet as he thought started a burn inside him. He wanted to get to know her better. And despite her attempts to ward him off, he could tell she wanted the same with him.

Wait a minute. Sweet? Sweet didn’t fit a busy lifestyle. He needed a tough, independent woman who had her own life and didn’t need him to constantly woo her.

He climbed out of the Hummer and started scraping ice, glancing through the glass on the windshield he’d just exposed. She was watching him. Damn if the thought of wooing her didn’t toy with him. He had to get a grip. He’d be setting himself up for another failure for sure if he got mixed up with this one!

If it wasn’t for Scotch, Shanna would have told Kane to fend for himself. She could have gone with Gayle and slept by a nice warm fire, away from this online dating addict. She didn’t like the way he’d looked at her through the windshield, wary of the hothead coffee shop girl. But also curious. She stole a glance across the truck. He drove slowly along the deserted, darkened street, both hands on the wheel, thighs slightly parted, eyes watching ahead. Relaxed as could be.

That same spark of interest that sometimes caught her off guard whenever he came into Bean Me crept into her now. And like all the other times, confusion followed. He was exactly the kind of man she was tired of meeting. What about him was different?

He slowed the Hummer even more. She looked through the snow-splattered windshield. A car that had slid off the road was just ahead. Its lights were still on. She felt the antilock brakes work as Kane stopped the Hummer beside the stranded car.

Leaving the engine running, he turned to her as he opened his door. “Wait here.”

Was he being protective because he didn’t want her to slip on ice? Not knowing whether to be offended or flattered, she decided to let it pass.

He approached the car and tested the driver’s door. It didn’t budge. He leaned close to the window, trying to peer inside through a thick layer of ice. He pounded his knuckles on the window.

Apparently no one stirred, because he moved to the rear passenger window and peered through the ice covering it. He must have noticed something, because he started yanking on the door. It must be frozen shut. He kept pulling until ice cracked and pieces fell to the ground and he opened the back door. A crying old woman bundled in a winter coat and a hat and gloves inched her way toward the edge of the seat.

Kane leaned in to help her, his strong arm going under one of hers and easily bringing her to her feet. She leaned against him, weakened from cold and fear. Her husband climbed out of the car after her, bundled like his wife, moving slow but not needing assistance from Kane.

How long would they have sat in that car?

She watched as Kane put his arm around the woman and the man gripped his other one. As they started toward Kane’s truck, Shanna got out and opened the back door, her feet slipping. She used the handle to keep from falling.

She reached for the elderly man, whose breathing was as taxed as his wife’s. He took her hand as Kane helped the woman into the back. She scooted over and her husband climbed in beside her.

Shanna watched them huddle close, shivering, white-skinned, lips a bluish hue. Kane stood right behind her and shut the door. Her feet slipped again but his body steadied her and he held her arm as she got back into the front seat.

A little too aware of that contact, she covertly watched him get back behind the wheel. She couldn’t stop herself from observing the way his body moved as he slammed his door shut and switched the heat to high.

Then he twisted to look in the backseat. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

The woman shakily nodded. “God bless you for stopping.”

Kane smiled in response. “I’m Kane and this is Shanna.”

“Carl and Leona Ray. It’s our pleasure, I assure you.” Carl smiled back, his shivering easing with the blasting heat in the Hummer. Hugging his wife closer against him, he told Kane where they lived. It was a few blocks from Shanna’s house.

“We were on our way home from the hospital,” Leona said. “Our daughter just had a baby girl.” Her face beamed love and Shanna envied the years of family life the couple must have enjoyed so far.

“Do you two have any kids?” Carl asked.

Startled by the question, Shanna looked at Kane the same time he looked at her.

“Uh…no,” he answered.

Shanna turned toward the couple. “We aren’t married.”

“Oh, well, you do make an attractive couple,” Leona said. “How long have you been together?”

It took Shanna a moment to reply. “We aren’t.”

“That’s too bad. Some people just look like they belong together.” The woman laughed. “How did you end up together tonight?”

Nosey old woman. “He was in my coffee shop when the power went out. My car wouldn’t start so he offered to take me home.”

“Ah…so maybe fate is at work after all. I didn’t think I misread that. I felt the energy between you two the minute I got into this truck.”

Shanna shared another look with Kane. Was there an energy between them? She felt something, but what was it? Apprehension? No. It was warmer than that. Intrigue. Attraction. Huge attraction.

As she continued to fall into his eyes, she saw them react. Her heart hammered. Thankfully, he had to glance away to drive.

“Leona’s always been good at that,” Carl commented. “Seeing what’s going on between people.”

Shanna let her breath go and looked through the passenger window at the frozen landscape.

They drove in silence for a minute or two.

“You’ll both be staying at Shanna’s house, then?” Leona asked, her obvious attempt to sound nonchalant failing.

“I have a room at the Warwick,” Kane said. “Shanna is welcome to stay with me if her house isn’t safe.”

“Maybe you should do that, Shanna. It’s better than being alone. And you won’t have any heat in your house. Unless you have a generator.”

“We have a generator,” Carl said.

“I’ll be fine,” Shanna said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she stays warm.” Kane sent her a sexy grin from across the Hummer.

She couldn’t stop the warmth of her reaction. When he smiled like that, rational thought vanished.

Leona laughed softly. “I don’t doubt that you will.”

Still mesmerized by his grin, Shanna wondered what it would be like to kiss that mouth. Looking ahead at the icy road, she decided it was best just to keep quiet.

Kane pulled into a driveway and helped the older couple out.

A few minutes later he was back in the truck, and they headed toward the Beacon Hill area. He stopped to check another car on the side of the road, but that one was empty. The Hummer lights were the only lights on her street. It was eerie how dark it was. The headlights reflected on tree limbs scattered in front yards and in the street. Kane had to drive around a few.

He stopped where a bigger limb blocked the road. The tangle of power lines snaked among the debris. Shanna’s heart scampered with adrenaline. Would they even make it to her house? The thought of Scotch all by herself wrenched her. The poor thing would run out of water and she’d go hungry tonight.

Kane backed the truck up to go around the downed tree. Loud cracking made him stop, the Hummer sliding a little. She twisted to see out the back window. A huge branch took out a power line and sent ice and snow flying as it blocked the Hummer’s retreat with a giant crash.

Hearing her own rapid breaths, Shanna faced forward, the headlights shining on the blockage ahead of them.

She looked over at Kane, who looked back at her, just as stunned as her. He turned to the driver’s window and searched for an escape route. There was none. The tree that had fallen ahead of them lay across a yard, having narrowly missed hitting a house and now in the tangle of wire.

Kane turned the Hummer, backing to get it faced in the other direction. The tree limb that had just fallen lay across the street but it hadn’t taken the lines on that side. He drove onto the curb and into someone’s front yard.

Shanna caught sight of the power lines waving precariously and wondered if more would fall. Kane drove back onto the street and turned a corner. This road was better.

No sooner had Shanna relaxed against the seat, she saw someone run into the middle of the street waving their hands in the air.

Kane stopped the truck and rolled down his window.

A man approached. He wasn’t very tall and wore a baseball cap over a hooded sweatshirt. He didn’t seem to be keeping himself very warm.

“Man, am I glad to see you. Not many people are driving tonight. I need to get my family out of here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I need your ride, man.” His eyes darted from her to Kane. Something in the look made her wary.

“Maybe I can take you somewhere. Aren’t you warm enough in your house?”

“A man’s got to take care of his family, you know?” The short man lifted his sweatshirt and his hand came up with a gun.

Shanna gasped and sat frozen with a sudden rush of fear. What if he shot Kane? What if he shot them both?

“Get out,” the short man said.

“If you need to go somewhere—”

“Get out. Now!”

Shanna’s pulse charged. Kane didn’t seem ruffled at all. He didn’t say anything, just met the other man’s desperate gaze. Then without warning, he knocked the man’s gun with one hand and punched his face with his other fist. It threw the short man off balance. Kane stepped on the gas, sending the Hummer into a fishtail. Gunfire pinged against the truck. Shanna screamed and bent forward to get her head out of the way of potential bullets.

The truck seemed to be handling funny.

“He got one of the rear tires,” Kane said.

“Don’t stop!”

“I have to.” He drove around a corner and did just that.

“Oh my God.” Her mouth was dry from breathing so fast.

Kane got out and prepared to change the tire. Down the street, the shadow of a man walked toward them. When he saw that they were stopped, he started jogging toward them.

Shanna scooted to the driver’s side and opened the door. “Kane!”

“I see him.” He swore.

Movement from the house where they had stopped made her look there. A man with a rifle strode toward them. Did he want Kane’s Hummer, too?

He cocked the rifle and aimed down the street but up in the air. When he fired a warning shot, she knew he was going to help them.

Shanna’s whole body quivered from fright as she shakily looked through the back window. The man ducked for cover behind an ice-covered parked car.

The rifleman stood near Kane.

“I’ll keep watch while you finish up,” he said to Kane.

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“Damn idiot’s been at it for a couple of hours now. Trying to steal a car. Called the cops but it’ll be a while before they can do anything. Whole city’s gone mad.”

“Thank you for helping us,” Shanna said.

“You folks need a place to stay? Got me a generator and the wife is making a big pot roast. Got a few of the neighbors here, but we can make room for more.

“We’ll be all right,” Kane said from where he worked on the tire, and Shanna trusted him.

He finished with the tire and stood. Snow flecked his shoulders and hair. He shook the rifleman’s hand and thanked him before getting behind the wheel.

Shanna checked once more to see where the man who’d tried to steal the Hummer had gone, but saw nothing. She leaned back against the seat and watched as Kane meandered around debris in the road. It took several minutes to get just a few blocks, but finally they reached her street.

Pulling in front of her two-story house, Kane left the truck running. The headlights from the Hummer helped her see. When he got out with her and followed her to her front door, she stopped digging for her keys to look at him. He was going with her?

“Just in case you have company you weren’t expecting,” he answered her silent question.

She resumed her dig for keys and found them, then climbed the steps to her covered porch and opened the door. The living room was dark and cold.

“Scotch,” she called. When she didn’t hear her cocker spaniel’s claws tapping on the hard wood floor, she felt a flash of worry.

She walked straight ahead into the dining and kitchen area. No Scotch. Back in the living room, she passed Kane and jogged upstairs, hearing him follow at a slower pace.

On the second story, she flipped the light switch and remembered there was no power. The hall was pitch-black.

“Scotch,” she called again, walking down the hall, she paused at her guest room. Peering inside, she felt a breeze and heard rustling. Through the shadows, she made out the shape of a tree limb sticking through the window. Her heart sank. But there was nothing she could do about it.

“Could be worse,” Kane said from behind her.

Ignoring him, she closed the door and moved around him on her way down the hall. At the end, she went into her master bedroom. Her eyes were better adjusted to the darkness. She heard something and caught the shadow of movement on the bed.

She let her breath go. “Scotch.” Relief washed over her. She went to the bed and knelt before the cocker spaniel, hearing and feeling her warm, excited breaths, and then a little whimper.

“Good girl.” She kissed the dog’s furry cheek, feeling equally furry eyebrows move with blinks. It must have frightened her when the tree limb had fallen, otherwise she would have barked when Shanna came home.

“Poor baby.” She faced Kane. “I should grab a few things.”

He stood in the doorway, a looming shadow. Was he going to watch her pack?

“I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

How had he guessed her thoughts? She hadn’t even had to say anything. He was probably good at reading every woman…with all the practice he’d had.

She groped in the dark for her overnight bag and threw in a change of clothes and some toiletries. Scotch stayed close to her feet.

“I won’t let any more nasty tree limbs scare you,” she said. Closing the bag, she headed downstairs.

Kane stood by the front door, watching her as she descended, at least she was pretty sure he was through the darkness. For a second she considered telling him she and Scotch would tough out the night in the cold and dark. But not only did that idea not appeal to her, there was the matter of the tree sticking into her guest room. And that man who’d shot at them. She could stay with Carl and Leona, but their house was too close to that trouble. Maybe she could take shelter with her friend Tiffani. She’d call and find out.

“I need to get some dog food.” She went into the kitchen and put a small baggie of food in her overnight bag along with a bowl for water. Then she found Scotch’s leash and clipped it to her collar. Scotch licked her cheek, making Shanna smile.

Back in the living room, Kane took her bag and she grabbed her purse and led Scotch out the door. In the Hummer, she found her cell phone. Scotch jumped from the backseat and stepped onto her lap. Shanna put her arm around her and gave her a peck of a kiss on the top of her head.

Beside her, Kane looked down at the dog and then at her. She doubted he had any dogs of his own. He was probably too busy being a corporate shark.

Lifting her cell phone to her ear, she listened to ringing until Tiffani’s voice mail sounded. Dammit. She called information and then the Hilton. They didn’t have any rooms left. It was the same for the Westin and the Sheraton. Apparently a lot of people had the same idea. Go stay in a hotel, where there were backup generators. She dropped the phone into her purse and pet Scotch.

“There are worse things than being stuck with me,” Kane said.

Seeing his smiling profile, she wondered. If he kept attracting her like this, she’d end up swimming with the other fifty fish.

“Is it just me you don’t like or men in general?” he asked.

Though he sounded teasing, she sensed he really wanted to know. “It’s not that I don’t like you, I’ve just seen how you operate. I lost count around the twelfth date, but you must have brought about thirty women into my coffee shop. What do you expect me to think?”

“That bothers you?” he asked with a glance.

Yes. “Of course not.”

“What’s wrong with dating a lot of women?”

“Nothing.” It made him seem indecisive and untrustworthy.

“It’s not like I slept with all of them.”

But he had slept with some of them.

“I didn’t sleep with most of them.”

That made her lift an eyebrow. Did he know what she was thinking?

He caught her gaze. “I only slept with one.”

Okay, that was impressive. She faced forward, uncomfortable with the way that satisfied her.

The sound of his chuckle warmed her. “I’m going to be a gentleman, here, and not ask you the same question.”

“You want to know how many men I slept with?”

“No.”

Yes. She smiled. “One. Just like you. How long has it been for you?”

“Six months.”

“Three for me.”

This was starting to resemble the question-and-answer phase of a really good date. Covering a lot of ground, here….

“What happened?”

“He didn’t think he was enough for me.”

She watched him think about that a moment. “I can see how a guy would do that.”

“You can?”

“You’re a smart, successful woman. I’d run, too, if I couldn’t satisfy you.”

She felt her face begin to heat. “What happened with your relationship?”

“She got tired of my work schedule.”

“You know, you’re really going to have to address that.”

“I just haven’t met the right woman yet.”

“Slow down a little and you will.” He was way too much of a workaholic.

“Are you always this open with men?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head with a brief but amused laugh. “I should have gone with my gut and asked you out.”

“What?” He’d wanted to ask her out? She struggled to keep the pleasurable response circulating through her core from showing on her face or in her body language. She’d learned to get practiced at that, but this time seemed different. He seemed to push her limits on a fundamental level.

“I didn’t think you were interested.”

“I’m not. I wasn’t.” Dang it. She’d said that too quick!

He eyed her dubiously, amusement still crinkling his eyes.

“Okay, I can see it’s time to stop this conversation.” And fast.

“Are you scared?” he teased.

“No.”

“Would you have gone out with me?”

“No!”

He looked over at her. “Would you go out with me now?”

She could only stare at him. Go out with him. Mr. Onliner. “Uh…” Yes!

“Just forget I said anything.”

Fat chance of that happening. Shanna marveled at his disappointed profile and began to worry she was falling for the wrong guy…yet again.

Chapter 3

K ane followed Shanna and her dog to the elevator. After convincing her the Warwick didn’t have any rooms left, she’d finally agreed to come up to his room. He had to admit, this was unusual, but the circumstances were unusual. He didn’t want her to spend the night cold and alone. He wouldn’t want anyone to have to do that. It wasn’t her nice butt that motivated him. Or the chemistry that had pleasantly surprised him on the way here.

Opening the door to his suite, he let her in ahead of him. She looked around the spacious living room, a soft green and yellow sofa sat before an armoire. Near the floor-to-ceiling windows, a small table for two offered a great view of downtown. Through a door to the left was the master bedroom and bathroom with a jetted tub.

He put her bag in the master bedroom and came back into the living room. She’d unleashed her dog and it sat next to her, both of them staring at him.

The silence grew deafening.

“You want to go grab something to eat?” he asked. It was too uncomfortable up here, just the two of them. The dog didn’t count.

She nodded. “That would be great.”

“Will…ah…Scotch be ok in here alone?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s a good girl.”

“Why’d you name her Scotch, anyway?” he asked as they left the room.

“Because I was drinking it when my friend brought her to my house and she was the same color.”

“Do you drink a lot of scotch?”

“Only that one time. I think that was after Bachelor Number Thirteen.”

“Having about as much luck as I am, huh?”

She didn’t respond to that, but he could tell it was a sore subject.

He stopped himself from putting his hand on her lower back as they stepped onto the elevator. She wasn’t his date. Maybe he had gone on too many of those lately. He just didn’t believe in wasting time, and he wanted to find a girlfriend who’d hopefully grow into more so he could straighten out that part of his life. He didn’t want to be alone anymore.

On the main level, the halls and lobby were dimly lit, the hotel conserving energy by only using half its lights. None of the exterior lights were on. The sound of a crowd of people carried into the open space. The Brasserie Margaux was busy. No surprise. He bet every place in the city that had hot food and a generator was busy tonight.

He stopped before the hostess.

“It’ll be an hour wait,” she told him. “We’re out of chicken and lamb on our dinner menu and tiger prawns on our tapas menu.”

“Thanks. We’ll take our chances in the bar.” He led Shanna there. A throng of people stood and sat at the bar and at tables, laughing and talking. Above the bar, a television played a news program on CNN. He found a place to stand at the edge of the bar area and watched a video segment display varying clips of a dark Seattle. The extent of the outage was staggering. Sections of the city had lost power one at a time since early afternoon.

“Oh my God,” Shanna exclaimed beside him.

More footage showed downed power lines laden with ice. There were so many.

“It’s going to take days to get the power back on,” Shanna added.

Yeah, and that’s what worried him. He glanced around the throng. Did the hotel have enough provisions to support this many people? He didn’t have any food in his suite, other than snacks the hotel stocked. He hadn’t thought they’d need to stay more than one night.

“Good thing I don’t have any plans for Christmas,” he said.

“I was going to drive to Portland tomorrow.”

Even if she could make it out of the city in this weather, she had no car. The rental companies would probably not be open, either, without power to operate.

“Looks like you’re going to be stuck with me for a little longer than you thought.”

Her head turned from the television and she stared at him, a blank look, as if she were struggling to comprehend spending Christmas with him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t take it personally,” he said.

The blank look remained and he couldn’t help smiling.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked.

“Uh…sure. Water.”

He turned.

“Wait.”

Stopping, he looked back at her.

“Make that a dirty martini. Tanqueray.”

“Is this another Scotch moment?”

She smiled. “Nope.”

Smiling back, he made his way through the crowd to the bar and five minutes later returned with a martini and a beer and two bottles of water tucked under his arm. He handed her the martini.

She lifted the drink and sipped. Her eyes were that blue-green color again. She had a slender nose and plump lips and prominent cheekbones. Her hair was uncombed but it looked good that way, with all its layers. She had a lot of it, too. Enough to sink his fingers into and pull her head back for a long kiss.

Whoa. Where had that come from? He drank some beer and pretended to study all the people around them. But his interest soon gravitated back to Shanna. She was wearing jeans and high heels that made her seem taller than she was. Her tan sweater molded to her nice breasts. Not too big, not too small.

There he went again. Noticing her that way. Dating her was one thing, but this animal attraction had flared so fast he could hardly keep up with it.

He drank some more beer. Was he mistaking the answering warmth? She’d never shown any hints of it at the coffee shop. But now…

The hostess called a name and the couple sitting at the table beside them got up. Shanna climbed onto one of the seats. He put the waters on the table and sat across from her. A woman came and wiped the table and took the dirty glasses away. He sipped his beer and put it on the table.

Funny, how the city was shut down and they had their own little oasis. What a stroke of luck that he could enjoy dinner with a beautiful woman while chaos took place outside the hotel walls. He looked over at Shanna.

“Well, I already know what you do for a living…what about your family? Do they live in Portland?”

She looked at him as though she couldn’t believe he’d asked. “I’m not one of your dates, so don’t start following your script.”

He leaned back in his chair, a little stunned. “What script?”

“You ask all your dates that question.”

“Were you listening that closely?”

She averted her gaze, scanning the crowd without appearing to pay much attention to what she saw.

“How else was I supposed to get to know them?” he pressed.

Turning back to him, she contemplated him. Frustration beamed off her. But then slowly her temperament smoothed, as if she realized she’d revealed too much emotion.

That interested him. She didn’t want to get to know him, or she wasn’t going to let herself. Either he’d have to work hard to get her to open up, or give up now and just get through the blackout.

He sipped his beer and watched two couples laughing at a table near theirs.

“My parents and my brother and his wife and three kids live in Portland,” she said.

He smiled as he looked at her again. Was she just being civil or was temptation playing a role, too? “I have a brother in San Diego. My parents and sister and older brother live in Broken Bow, Nebraska.”

“And you weren’t going to see them for Christmas?”

“I’ve been busy with work. A new acquisition, and some reorganization going on.”

“You’re working over Christmas?”

He shrugged. “It happens sometimes.”

“And you were married once?”

“Now who’s following a script?” he teased.

She smiled and gave her head a little shake. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little tainted right now.”

“That bad, huh?” Must have been hurt by a man. “How long were you with him?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You already know the answer.”

She knew a lot about him, what with her eavesdropping and all. It should bother him, but it didn’t. Instead, it flattered him to know she was so curious.

“We didn’t date that long,” she said. “He was just another online player, claiming to be looking for something long-term, when in fact, he was dating anything that responded to his e-mails.”

“Not everyone is like that on those sites.”

Her eyes changed to mocking skepticism.

“I may have dated a lot of women, but I also know what I’m looking for.”

“And after fifty attempts you haven’t found it?”

He couldn’t deny it looked bad. Was he being too picky? “Most of them were one-time dates. A few of them had potential, but either they lost interest or I did. The one that came close decided she didn’t want to be with an executive. It’s nothing immoral.”

“You spend holidays alone to work and you aggressively pursue women. What are you looking for?”

“You mean, you didn’t hear that when you eavesdropped on my conversations?”

She lowered her eyes and turned her martini glass in a circle.

She had heard. He found that incredibly tantalizing.

“Were you ever married?” he asked.

“No, but I was engaged once. I was with him for ten years, but I finally realized he wasn’t right for me. We were too different, and we were growing apart.”

“How many men have you dated since then?”

She sipped her martini and didn’t respond. He grinned because he could tell she knew what he was after. She didn’t even have to answer. She’d dated a lot of men.

“I wasn’t looking for meaningless sex,” she protested.

“Neither am I.”

“Okay…then maybe you’re just looking for someone who will neatly fit into your busy schedule. Someone who won’t complain about the hours you work.”

Her observation was accurate. But why did it sting coming from her? “What’s wrong with that? I want someone who accepts me the way I am.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re having such a hard time finding her. What woman wants a man who’s only willing to offer mediocre to a relationship?”

“I’m not offering mediocre.”

“No?”

“Do you always say exactly what’s on your mind?”

She breathed a laugh and he could tell she’d realized she might be getting a little too harsh. “I’m sorry. It’s just, if it was me dating you, I wouldn’t want to come second to your company.”

“If I was dating you, I doubt that would be possible.”

Her smile remained and she took her time replying. “Do you say that to all the girls?”

“No.” Amazing. He hadn’t.

Reluctance to believe him hovered in her beautiful blue-green eyes.

“What are you looking for in a man?” he asked, not wanting this conversation to end. He wanted to get to know her, more than he’d wanted to get to know any other woman before her. “You probably want the usual. Fidelity, honesty, all that, but what about the man? What do you want from him as a person?”

He watched her genuinely ponder his question. “I…I guess I just want someone who fits. Someone who understands the way I think and likes it. Someone who makes me laugh and who I can be myself with and am physically attracted to.”

“And you’ve never found it? Not even with one or two?”

A frown put a crease between her eyebrows. “I thought I found it with the last guy, but he dropped a bomb on me when he broke it off. I wasn’t expecting it. I thought we were hitting it off, and all along he was thinking the opposite.”

“Dating can be that way.”

“Yeah. I sure am sick of it.” She smiled wryly.

He returned the smile. “I am, too.”

“A real connection is always missing,” she said. “Sometimes I get close, but it never quite fills the bucket, you know?”

“Yeah, I do.” Boy did he ever. The similarities between them were beginning to resonate a little too much. Why had they both dated so many people and not found what they were looking for? And why were they connecting like this? Why her? Why now?

She didn’t say anything more, so he sipped his beer and glanced around the bar. He spotted someone that made him stop. His date from the coffee shop. She sat at the bar, drink in front of her, alone, and looking at him with a sullen pout. She must not have made it home from the coffee shop. He wondered how she’d gotten to the hotel. Had she slid off the road and gotten a ride or had road closures turned her around?

“I hope her daughter is okay,” Shanna said, turning from looking over her shoulder.

He couldn’t help the flash of irritation. “I’m sure her husband took care if it.”

The tiny smile said she was stifling a full grin. It worked to defuse his wavering mood.

“I thought someone like you wouldn’t mind meeting a woman who was only after sex. It’s sort of a refreshing change, isn’t it? The woman after it instead of the man, I mean.”

Someone like him? “If I wanted a married woman, I’d have never gotten divorced.”

“Why did you get divorced, anyway?”

“Are we on a date now?”

“No.”

She seemed indignant enough to amuse him. “Yes, we are. And you already know the answer anyway.”

“She left you for another man. I know. But why’d she go looking?”

“She didn’t support my choice in careers.”

“In other words, you didn’t pay enough attention to her.”

“I was with her every spare moment I had.” But somewhere inside him he knew she was right.

“When? The few minutes before you fell asleep every night? And then there must have been the times you traveled.”

“I asked her to go with me a lot of the times.”

“If you really wanted your marriage to work, you would have found time to be with your wife. I think you just wanted the convenience.”

“Convenience?”

“I’ve met so many men like you. You’ve invested so much of yourself in your career that you don’t know what you want for anything else in your life. It’s a miracle if you can decide with any certainty what kind of music you like, much less what you want a woman to have between her ears. It’s the stuff between her legs that counts most.”

Ok, that was going too far. “Hey, I wasn’t the one who burned you.”

She sank back against the chair, repentance in her eyes. “He didn’t burn me. I didn’t care enough for him to have that much of an affect on me. He just showed me what a fool I’ve been, searching online for someone worthy enough to take seriously.”

“Not every man who uses online dating sites is bad.”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re one of those men?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“You didn’t meet me online.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that, but her eyes still held a sarcastic distrust that he found endearing.

He smiled and flagged the waitress for the bill. At least he wasn’t going to be bored while the city was paralyzed under ice.

The restaurant ran out of eggs and sausage by ten the next morning, so Shanna had called for oatmeal. Now it was after one in the afternoon and Kane wasn’t back from wherever it was he’d gone. When she’d awakened, he wasn’t there. She should be glad for the reprieve. Spending so much time with him was beginning to wear on her. Could she afford to trust him? He’d dated fifty women. What made her any different than all of them? It would be sweet to believe she was, but reality wouldn’t be so kind. If she got involved with him, would she just be signing herself up for another heartache?

She paced by the television. “The airport has reopened, but most of Seattle remains without power today and there’s no indication of when it will be restored…” a news anchorwoman said.

How long was she going to be stuck here? Tomorrow was Christmas. She’d already called her mother on her cell. She hadn’t had service until late this morning.

What if she woke up on Christmas morning with Kane?

She stopped pacing. She wanted to.

Worse, she missed him right now. She didn’t know where he was and that bothered her—like they were a couple. It had only been a day and she was already attached. What was the matter with her?

She had to do something.

Grabbing her jacket and purse, she checked on Scotch curled up on the couch and then left the suite. On the main level, she passed the lobby with its dark wood and copper fireplace. People sat around it, some talking, some reading. She didn’t see Kane’s long-lost date. She reached the front doors.

“Excuse me, Ms.?” someone called from her right.

Shanna stopped and looked at a man dressed in a hotel security uniform, standing next to the entrance.

“The National Guard is patrolling the streets. If you don’t have to go anywhere, I’d suggest you didn’t.”

“I have a coffee shop not far from here. I want to make sure it hasn’t been looted. I can walk there.”

“National Guard has everything under control in the downtown area. You don’t need to worry.”

Well, that was good news, anyway. She wasn’t so sure about not worrying, though. But even if her shop had been looted, the National Guard was in the area. What more could she do?

“Thank you.” She turned and headed for the restaurant, where it appeared everyone else had gathered. Like last night, it was crowded. She entered the throng, listening to the chatter, hearing a few slurring words. Some had decided to spend their time drinking. She found a small table and sat. A day-old newspaper lay there, so she started reading.

But it wasn’t long before her thoughts turned back to Kane. The prospect of getting involved with him scared her. Maybe she should shut him out until she was able to go home.

And then what? Never try love again? Is that where she was headed?

Maybe all those dates just hadn’t been right. Maybe the men had all been wrong for her. Did she want to pass up the chance that Kane could be different?

She wasn’t sure she could risk it. Kane liked women too much. Or was that really what drove him? Maybe he was searching just as hard as she was? Maybe they were looking for the same thing. Except he was looking for the wrong thing. He wanted a woman who fit his schedule, when what he needed was a woman who fit him.

Kane left his office and made his way back toward the Warwick. The weather had cleared but it was still cold. Ice clung to eaves and light poles and cars, but signs of a meltdown were beginning. Cleanup efforts were heavily under way. The main roads in the downtown area were being cleared. Workers were busy repairing power lines.

After two hours trying to work, he finally admitted the real reason he’d left the hotel room. He hadn’t wanted to be there when Shanna woke. Seeing her again, in the morning, in his hotel room, would have driven him mad. He wanted her. All morning he’d tried to tell himself it was just physical. She was an attractive woman. What man wouldn’t have sexual fantasies of going into her room and stripping her naked? He’d barely slept because of those tortuous thoughts.

He came upon Hisashi’s Bar and Grille and spotted Hisashi hammering plywood over his broken windows. Kane veered across the street.

Hisashi saw him and stopped hammering, climbing down from his stepladder.

“Mr. Ramsey, what are you doing out at such a time? Did you not make it home yesterday?”

“What happened?” he asked instead of answering.

Hisashi shook his head as an expression of angst and anxiety consumed his face. “Last night a group of young boys broke into my restaurant. They take everything from my register. A whole day’s worth. It will not be easy to recover this, what with all the repairs I must now do.”

An impulse hit him. It was Christmas Eve and he was going to spend it with Shanna. She didn’t trust his intentions, but if he showed her he wasn’t like her other dates, maybe he could make this thing between them last long enough to see where it led.

“You have any fresh seafood in there?” he asked Hisashi.

“Ya, ya. I had a small generator. At least I have not lost that.”

“Good. I’d like to order takeout.” He pulled out his wallet and counted a thousand dollars. “Will this help?”

Hisashi shook his head and waved one of his hands. “No, no. You no need to do that.”

“Take it. Make me a nice dinner for two.”

Hisashi smiled big and took the money. A half hour later, Kane had a bag of fresh food. And wasn’t Shanna going to be surprised?

Would she think he was trying to seduce her? Let her. Because he was. And a lot more than that. He wanted to explore her. She was the first woman he’d met in a long time who stimulated him on a deep level. Challenged his thinking, his ideals.

Entering the hotel, he rode the elevators to their floor and opened the door to his suite. Shanna wasn’t in the living room. It was getting late.

She wasn’t in the bedroom, either, but seeing the unmade bed reminded him of the thoughts that had plagued him all night. That’s when he could no longer deny it. Along with his fantasies, the things she had said last night, made him confront, had run through his head, too.

He’d divorced a woman who hadn’t been able to handle his work schedule and he was in danger of repeating the mistake. He’d told himself he wanted a woman who could handle his ambition, but the truth had reared up in his conversation with Shanna. How had she managed to do that?

She wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind, for one. Maybe she felt as if she had nothing to lose. She saw him as a man she’d never end up with, so why not? It had opened his eyes.

Did he really want a woman who fit his work first and everything else second? Someone who’d stay in the background while he conquered the corporate world? His ex had accused him of never wanting to spend time with her. Now he knew she’d been right. He didn’t want that again. He wanted to be consumed with a woman. And he wanted to see if that woman could be Shanna.

Chapter 4

“I wondered where you were.”

Shanna looked up from the newspaper and saw Kane standing there. Feeling a rush of pleasure with the sight of him, tall and gorgeous with a voice to match, she stiffened. It was after four. She hadn’t seen him all day.

His shoulders were broad in a light blue jean shirt, and his dark blue jeans fit him good, no stomach pushing the waistband too low. And she could see the outline of his package. A man who looked this good in jeans had to be worth something.

“I went up to the room. I thought you left,” he said.

“Did you miss me?” she teased.

He grinned. “Yes.”

A funny flutter down low and deep caught her off guard. Was he flirting with her? She stopped smiling when she realized she’d flirted first.

As he moved to the other side of the table, she got a glimpse of his fine ass. He sat across from her.

“Where’d you go?” she asked.

“To the office. It’s within walking distance.”

He’d gone to work on Christmas Eve, when the city was without electricity. “Just couldn’t resist, huh?”

“I didn’t get much done.”

“Kind of hard in the dark.”

The slight cock of his head and look of umbrage made her wonder if work was the only reason he’d gone.

“That was part of the distraction,” he said.

“There were others?” She was afraid she didn’t sound casual enough.

“Plenty.” Leaning back against his chair, he watched her the way a man does when he likes a woman a lot. That captivated look in his eyes.

She couldn’t help smiling. “Care to share any of them?”

“I better not.”

“That good, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

That almost made her ask him to tell her.

“That’s the real reason I left this morning.”

“Wow.” He was either really good at getting into a girl’s panties or just plain charming.

“Yeah.”

“Am I safe tonight?” Putting her elbows on the table, she folded her hands and put her chin on top, feeling like a flirty fifteen-year-old.

“As safe as you want to be.”

She laughed lightly. It was too good not to, especially when those green eyes took in her face as if she were a sculpture of a naked woman.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

Yes. Almost. “No.” She wanted to.

“Fair enough. I picked up a few things on my way back here. How about you consider tonight our first date?”

“What did you pick up?”

“You’ll see. Later.” The left side of his mouth lifted and his eyes sent her a sexy message.

Oh, that tickled her insides. “Why can’t you tell me? Is it kinky?”

“Do you like kinky?”

“I have my boundaries.” She couldn’t believe she was playing along with this. And liking it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lifting her chin off her hands, she leaned back and just looked at him. His gaze flared like a windswept grass fire. She should be running from it. Instead, all she wanted to do was feel it envelop her.

Arguing from the entrance of the bar made her turn with Kane. A woman stood before a tall man with dark hair. He spoke angrily to her, but not loud enough for Shanna to discern what was being said over the other people in the bar. Though she could only see the woman’s back, she recognized her.

“Isn’t that your date from yesterday?” she asked, incredulous.

“Yeah.” He didn’t sound happy.

The man searched the bar.

“Must be the husband.” Was he looking for his wife’s date? “Does he know about you?”

Shanna watched the man spot Kane and start toward them.

“Looks like it.”

“Oh, boy,” Shanna said, getting worried. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a bar fight over a married date that Kane met online.

The woman marched after her husband, trying to take hold of his arm as he reached Shanna and Kane’s table.

Kane stood as the man came to a halt.

“What the hell are you doing here?” the man demanded.

Shanna watched Kane remain silent, as if allowing the man to answer his own question. City-wide blackout.

“I’m not stupid, mister. I know who you are. You’re the guy my wife’s been seeing. I recognize you from that online dating site.”

“Todd, stop this. I didn’t come here to see Kane,” Kane’s date said.

“Kane?” The angry husband could have drilled holes through his wife’s eyeballs with his look. “You say his name like you’ve said it many times.”

“I haven’t, I—”

“I always knew you were a tramp.”

The woman sucked in a breath of air. “That isn’t fair.”

The volume of voices lowered around them. Some of the people in the bar were beginning to notice the ruckus.

“Look,” Kane said, “I didn’t know your wife was here. She must have gotten her own room.”

“I did,” the woman said, tugging on her husband’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. Don’t make a scene, Todd. We can talk about this in my room.”

“You e-mailed him. I read them all.”

“Only to arrange a time and place to meet. We only met once.”

“You’re lying. And there was more in those e-mails than arranging a time and place to meet. You like him.”

“I only met her once,” Kane said. “But I wouldn’t have even done that if she’d have told me she was married.” He pinned the woman with a hard glare of disgust.

“I think you’ve been sneaking around with my wife,” the man said.

“I didn’t know she was married,” Kane repeated. “She didn’t tell me, and she lied in her profile. I would have never pursued her otherwise.”

Todd swung his gaze to Kane’s date.

“Todd, please. Stop this. Let’s go to my room,” she pleaded.

It was like a bad movie Shanna couldn’t stop watching. She was one of the background actresses, a prop, not noticeable enough to pay any attention to. Not that she wanted to be noticed right now. She’d like nothing more than to go to the room and snuggle with Scotch.

“Don’t you mean the same room you planned to bring him?” the husband shouted, the epitome of a man victimized by his ego.

The woman looked at Kane with big, round, revealing eyes. She had meant to bring Kane here.

“Oh my God,” her husband said, an appalled frown on his mouth and in his eyes.

“What did you expect?” the woman spat. “We haven’t had sex in weeks!”

“You slept with him?”

“No.”

The husband turned to Kane. “Unscrupulous swine!” He swung his fist. Kane didn’t move in time and was struck on his cheek.

He tried to catch his balance, but tripped over the foot of a man standing behind him and fell on his rear.

Shanna sprang to her feet and planted her palms on the husband’s chest, shoving as hard as she could. The man stumbled but didn’t move far. He turned his injured ego onto her.

“Bitch.”

Her jaw opened and she almost let her temper loose. But she caught the knee-jerk reaction in time.

Kane climbed to his feet. “I think you should both go.” He was bigger and taller than the other man. Had he been prepared for the punch, his date’s husband wouldn’t have stood a chance.

From the bar entrance, two security guards approached.

The husband saw them and faced Kane again. “This isn’t over. I’m not finished with you.”

Kane didn’t react. Just waited for the security guards to stop before them.

“Let’s go,” Kane’s date said, tugging her husband’s arm.

He relented, raising his hand to the security guards. “We’re going.” And then to Kane, “Don’t come near my wife again.”

“He didn’t know, Todd. I went on Soulmate to find someone to have sex with, that’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Come on, let’s go to my room.” She tugged on his arm again.

He didn’t budge. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you. Did you know I was going out of my mind worrying about you? When the airport closed, I couldn’t reach you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And then you didn’t pick up our daughter. I had to leave work to go and get her.”

“Were is she? Where is our son?”

“They’re at my sister’s. Where I’m going.” He turned and started off.

“Wait!” She held on to his arm, trying to stop him. “What if you don’t make it?”

He shrugged her off him. “What do you care?”

“I do care.”

At the bar entrance, he stopped and faced her and they argued at a low volume. Finally his temper eased and they left together.

The volume of talking gradually increased in the bar. Distinguishable words meshed together as the throng conversed among pairs and groups.

Shanna turned to Kane, who rubbed his cheek. “Are you okay?”

“He’s lucky I didn’t see that coming.”

“Ok, Batman. You ready to go up to the room?”

He dropped his hand and smiled. “Yes.”

As it dawned on her how her question sounded, she pivoted and walked toward the elevators.

In the suite, Shanna held Scotch while she watched Kane go over to the bar. Putting Scotch down on the couch, she joined him there.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked.

“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”

He poured martinis into two glasses and handed her one. Their gazes met and she couldn’t look away.

“I’m starting to see why you don’t like the online thing.”

She smiled and reached up to hold his chin with her fingers and thumb, turning his head aside so she could better see the reddened skin of his cheek. No blood.

“He can’t hit worth a darn.”

Kane chuckled and she lowered her hand, taking a sip of her martini.

“You never answered my question.”

“What question was that?”

“Are you going to consider tonight our first date?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On what you have planned.”

He grinned. “All those times I came into Bean Me, I wondered what it’d be like if it was you sitting across from me.”

“You did not.” Did he? She’d seen firsthand what kind of ladies’ man he was. While he was charm incarnate, she still didn’t trust his intentions.

“You never seemed interested.”

“You were with other women.” A lot of them. He was too hard to please. She’d be an idiot to fall for him. But maybe she had one more risk left.

“There is that.”

“What would you have done if I’d have shown interest?”

“Probably come in by myself.” He sipped his drink while his gaze took a leisurely trip down her chest and returned to her eyes.

“And then what? Ask me out on a date?”

“Probably.”

Just probably? “And then what?”

“Ask you out on a second date.”

“You don’t know that. You’ve never gone out with me.”

“I’ve been with you for more than twenty-four hours. I’d have asked you.”

He sure knew how to feed her ego. But he was right. Instead of getting sick of each other, they seemed to keep getting closer.

She sipped her drink and let herself feel the pleasure it gave her to look into his incredible eyes. The energy between them hummed.

“What made you decide to open a coffee shop?” he asked, and she was relieved to move on to another topic.

He sipped his martini and she was distracted watching his lips.

“I was an engineer at Boeing. I got tired of the corporate environment.”

“What’d you do for Boeing?”

“I was a test engineer. I did a lot of requirements and specifications and ran tests on aerospace products, that kind of thing.”

“Sounds like you gave up a good job.”

“I wasn’t happy. I wanted to work for myself, so I used my 401K to get Bean Me going.” Reminded of her rent situation, she lowered her eyes and sipped her drink. She’d been doing fine until her rent was raised. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but unless business picked up or she raised her prices, she’d gradually go under. There were plenty of other coffee shops, and if she raised her prices, she’d price herself right out of the market.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

Looking up, she met his smiling eyes. “So it’s dinner you have planned.”

“For our date. When are you going to admit that’s what’s happening here?”

“All right. It’s a date. But don’t get any fresh ideas.”

With a cagey grin, he moved around her and bent to open the refrigerator.

What was she getting herself into?

He brought out a container of sushi.

Shanna’s stomach growled. “How did you get that?”

“From a restaurant I frequent. I know the owner.” Putting the container down on the counter, he opened a smaller one of soy sauce.

“Must be nice to have people do what you want all the time.” She picked up a salmon roll and dipped it in the sauce.

“He’s a friend of mine.”

She chewed the roll. “Mmm.”

He ate one, too, watching her mouth as she chewed another one. She looked at his mouth, too. There went that energy again. She met his green eyes and once again let herself feel the attraction mixing.

“What’s the main course?” she asked, getting a little breathless.

“Tempura. Cold, but good.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had Japanese on Christmas Eve before.” And she had to say, it wasn’t disappointing. She hadn’t expected much with the city powerless and the hotel running low on food. She glanced around the fancy suite. “All that’s missing is a Christmas tree.”

He gestured with the nod of his head toward the wall across from the floral sofa. “There’s a wreath.”

There was, a big one with red bulbs and berries. There was a candle nestled in a bed of greenery on the table, too.

Kane walked over to the table. Putting his drink down, he lit a lighter and set the candle ablaze. Then he grinned her way.

“What are you doing?” she asked, not wanting to admit she liked it.

“This is different than any other date I’ve ever been on.” He walked toward her, more like a stroll, a sexy one. She resisted the urge to back up as he came to a stop in front of her.

“What’s different about it?”

He exaggerated a shrug. “Oh, I don’t know. A city-wide blackout. We’re in a hotel suite instead of a coffee shop.”

“Yes, that does make it a little different.”

“You make it different, too.” He was no longer being playful. He was serious.

“Think you’re gonna get lucky tonight?” She had to keep this light. She wasn’t ready to trust him.

“I’m already lucky. Stranded with a beautiful woman, having a romantic dinner for two on Christmas Eve. Who would’ve thought?”

“Not me.” She sipped her drink again.

“You think all I’m after is sex?”

She didn’t know what to think. He hadn’t seemed interested in only sex with his date yesterday.

“It isn’t. I’ve been looking a long time for a woman I enjoy talking to. We don’t seem to be lacking in that area.”

It was easy to talk to him, and there was a wonderful heat to their chemistry. He seemed to understand what she was thinking and feeling without saying much.

“You’re just having a hard time accepting it. Because you saw me with so many women.”

Weird. “Can’t argue there.”

“I guess I was going after it a little too aggressively.”

“What…the perfect wife?”

“Perfect for me.”

“And your career. I don’t want a man who puts his career before me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

Wrapping his fingers around her martini glass above her hand, he took it from her. Her heart beat faster as she watched him put it on the table with his and then return to her.

“I thought that’s the kind of woman I needed,” he said. “It wasn’t until I met you that I realized what a mistake that would be.”

“Are you saying you’d change your work schedule for the right woman?”

“Yes. I’d put her first.”

Oh, this was getting dangerously good. Dare she dream of being the right woman for him?

He stepped closer, sending her pulse flying.

“I’m curious,” he said.

“Uh-oh.”

He chuckled. “That guy you were with for…what did you say? Ten years?”

“Yeah.”

“You ended it, right?”

“Yes.” Why was he bringing this up now?

“So it can’t be him that made you standoffish.”

“I’m not—”

“And the online dates,” he interrupted. “Most of them were just one or two dates, right?”

“Some of them lasted longer.”

“Did you love any of them?”

“No! Of course not.”

He smiled and she realized what she’d given away. Her defensiveness spoke loudest of all.

“You loved the last one you were with.”

No, she hadn’t. “I thought I did.”

“What are you so afraid of, Shanna Toole?” he asked.

Falling in love with the wrong man. But she couldn’t say it to him. Uncomfortable, she stepped back and turned, passing a sleeping Scotch on the couch on her way to the window. The city was dark under a starlit sky.

She heard him move to stand behind her, stirring her senses and building heat low in her abdomen.

“Don’t be afraid of me, Shanna.” His hands glided up her arm and stopped near her shoulders. “How can I hurt you when I feel the same as you?”

She turned and looked up at him, melting into his eyes.

“I won’t hurt you,” he said. “I want this. I want what I haven’t found online or anywhere else.”

Oh, God. Yes.

“Do want that, too?” he asked. “Do you want what you haven’t found?”

“Yes.” It came out on a sultry breath.

He slid his hand along her side to her back. Pulling her against him, he brought his head just above hers.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Her breathing quickened and she tipped her head back a little. Anticipating. Humming with it. She felt outside herself, full of wanting so powerful she swam in it.

He did kiss her, a featherlight touch at first, then with more pressure. He brushed his lips over hers. His tongue tantalized her. She opened her mouth and he took it with his, sweeping in for a deeper kiss. Her breath tripped into a more needy rhythm, his sounding the same.

The lights went dark.

Kane pulled back and she searched around the suite. The only light came from the single candle burning on the table.

“What happened?” she asked, even though she knew.

“Must be having problems with the generator.”

She looked through the windows but couldn’t see much. Dark shapes of buildings blocked some of her view of the stars.

When she moved her head to peer up at Kane, her eyes had adjusted enough to see him watching her. His striking green eyes enticed her. The fire of his passion ignited her own. She leaned against him and angled her mouth over his.

She slid her arms over his shoulders. A tingling glow started in the region of her heart and now pooled between her legs. This connection that had sprung between them erupted like sticks of dynamite.

He lifted her and started to walk. She hitched her knees on his hips as he carried her to the couch. Scotch groaned and jumped off, trotting to a chair and hopping up onto that, curling onto a ball.

Shanna lay on her back on the couch and Kane lowered himself on top of her. The weight of him felt delicious. His long, lean body pressed in all the right places against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his mouth toyed with hers. His tongue a fluid dance keeping tune to the sensual rhythm. Never had she been with a man who matched her like this, on such an intimate level. Already.

He rose up and pulled off his shirt. She put her hands on his stomach and ran them over his chest, feeling his pebbled nipples. He came back down and pressed his mouth to hers, resuming his magic. His hardness pressing where she craved him made her open her legs. Groaning, he kissed her neck, tongue wetting a trail of heat down the V of her blouse.

Too fast.

His fingers unbuttoned one, then two buttons.

“Kane.”

“I want to be inside you.”

“Oh.” The thought of that filled her with animalistic need. She lifted her hips against his hardness.

He moved down, taking his erection away from her. She moaned a protest, raking her fingers into his hair. His mouth touched what he’d exposed of her stomach. He unbuttoned the rest of her blouse.

It was like she was watching herself as she sat up and let him remove the garment and unhook her bra. Now she was bare from the waist up. She lay back on the couch, raising her arms above her head, her forearms on the armrest. He looked down at her, knees between her legs, a man hungry for the taste of his woman.

Putting his hands on each side of her, he kissed her. The tenderness of it sent tingles all the way to her toes. His mouth slid off hers and moved to her neck again. He groaned.

Too fast. Too soon.

“Kane.”

“I know,” he rasped. “Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid.”

His mouth came back to hers. The building urgency swept her to neverland. That spark between them that had ignited out of nowhere as soon as the lights had gone out flared.

She felt his hands on the waist of her jeans and lifted her head to watch him. He kissed her stomach, his tongue doing circles there, sending sensation ricocheting across her skin and deeper. She got dizzy with it.

He unzipped her jeans and started to pull them down. His green eyes lifted to meet hers. “Just the jeans.”

She nodded. He left her underwear on as he removed her jeans. He stood from the couch and removed his own jeans, leaving on his green plaid boxers. She could see his erection pushing out the material. Parting her legs as he came back down on her, she groaned when she felt his hardness against her, only their underwear separating their bare flesh.

He kissed her for endless moments, moving his hips, rubbing against her, stroking her closer and closer to orgasm. She parted her legs wider and lifted her knees, earning herself the sound of a hungry groan from him. Holding his head with both hands, loving the feel of his hair between her fingers, she tipped her head back to catch her breath. He kissed her neck, sucking a little before crawling down her body, planting wet kisses as he went, taking his time at her nipples before moving on to her ribs and stomach.

She wanted to watch him but sensation made her dig her head back into the couch and arch her back. Kane curled his fingers against her skin as he took hold of the hem of her underwear. She lifted her head in time to see him look up at her, his eyes on fire with want. It drove her over the edge.

He pulled her underwear down just a little. An inch.

More.

His tongue explored what he’d exposed.

More.

Still watching her, he pulled her underwear down another inch. He was almost there, teasing the perimeter of what yearned for him. She relaxed against the pillow, putting her arms above her head again, looking at him. She felt drugged with anticipation. He pulled her underwear down more, exposing just enough. His tongue touched her.

The trigger-sharp sensation made her close her eyes and a sound exhaled from her.

He slipped her underwear down more. Totally exposed now. And his tongue found her. An instant later, she came. The most incredible orgasm she’d ever had. She didn’t even know if she made any sounds. He’d transported her to oblivion. His answering groan suggested she had.

Pulling her underwear all the way off, he stood and removed his. She thought he’d take her right there on the couch. She was feeling enough like a wet noodle to let him. But instead he bent and lifted her, carrying her naked to the bedroom.

Depositing her on the bed, he kneed her legs apart. He didn’t wait. Propped above her, he drove himself into her and started pumping his hips. She thought he’d continue on that way, bringing her closer to another peak with each thrust, but he didn’t. He slowed, easing the crescendo into a tortuous ache, until she felt his penetration everywhere in her body. Sensation numbed her to anything but the feel of him reaching for that deep, elusive place.

He began to groan with each impassioned breath, telling her he was close. His pleasure stimulated hers. She burst from the inside, gripped by the tumultuous release, feeling his at the same time.

He stayed on top of her, catching his breath along with her. It took a while for the sensations singing inside her to calm. She could stay like this for hours. It felt so right. So terrifyingly right.

Chapter 5

S hanna woke slowly. She stretched long and languidly, blinking away sleep. It took her a moment to remember where she was.

Kane.

Last night.

Oh, dear God…how had it happened so fast?

Rolling her head, she saw him lying next to her, the covers down to his waist, one manly hand resting on his abdomen, the other beside his head on the pillow. He was more handsome in the morning light than he’d been to her last night.

She felt her face heat as she recalled how many times they’d made love. Or had that only been sex? They hadn’t known each other much longer than a day. And yet it felt as if she had known him all her life.

More than sex.

Would he feel the same?

Uneasiness spread through her. She slinked out of bed, finding her clothes and taking them out into the living room to dress. Hearing the refrigerator in the bar area, she realized that at some point during the night, the power had come back on. Moving to the window, the city sparkled under a clear blue sky.

She couldn’t tell if the hotel was running on a generator or if the city had gotten the power restored.

She found the remote and turned on the television. A news program showed a Christmas tree in downtown Seattle, the lights on and twinkling.

“I woke up and you were gone.”

She spun around to see Kane standing in only his jeans.

“The power is back on,” she said.

He glanced at the television, but his attention returned to her. She began to feel awkward, not knowing how he felt now that it was morning. Hell, she didn’t even know how she felt.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded, feeling ridiculously sensitive.

He walked over to her. Kissed her. And then his green eyes smiled down at her. “Thinking I’m going to run?”

She breathed a laugh. How did he know?

“I’m not.” His arms slid around her and he brought her close.

Pressing her cheek against his, she savored the feeling, breathing in his smell. “What happened last night?”

“I don’t know. Something good.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek.

“I didn’t plan it.”

“I didn’t, either.” She kissed him again, marveling how secure she felt doing so.

“I want to keep seeing you.”

This was such unfamiliar territory for her. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this with any other man. So good…and…so sure.

But she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with a man who put his work first. Yes, he’d claimed he no longer wanted that, but how long would that last? Would he grow unhappy with a woman who needed him that much?

Meeting Kane, making love with him, made her realize just how close she’d gotten to giving up finding that special someone. She’d stopped believing in herself, that she was worthy of the kind of man she yearned for but had never admitted to wanting. Kane was that kind of man. Worthy of her. And she was worthy of him…but would he recognize that after fishing the sea of women he had?

Disheartened and losing that floating, secure feeling, she pushed away from him and turned toward the window.

“Shanna.”

He stood behind her. Reluctantly, she turned.

“I feel the same as you.”

She breathed a laugh. “How do you know what I’m feeling?”

“I was in bed with you last night.”

“What am I feeling, then?” He had a magical way of pulling her out of her sadness and turning it into happiness.

“You’re wondering if this is going to last. You’ve gone on so many dates that part of you expects it to end.”

She nodded. He was amazing.

“Well, I want it to last.”

Her throat tightened with emotion. “So do I.”

A lopsided grin shaped his mouth. “Wait here.”

Perplexed, she watched him go to the bar and open a cabinet. When he straightened, he held a wrapped gift the size of a shirt box.

She looked from it to his face. He’d gotten her a Christmas present? She was too stunned to move.

He approached with a grin as though he knew. He knew too much about her already.

She took the present.

“Open it,” he coaxed, sounding pleased with himself.

“I didn’t get you anything.” She hadn’t even thought to. Did that make her selfish?

“You can get me one next year.”

The reference to such a far-off day told her just how invested he was in this. Looking up at him, she laughed. Taking the gift to the couch, she sat and opened the ends first, and then tore enough of the wrapping to expose the box.

“How did you get this wrapped?” she asked as she pulled the white shirt box free.

“Had some at my office.”

She sent him a quick glance. “You have wrapping paper at your office?”

“My assistant does.”

Smiling, she dropped the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside lay papers. A contract. A rental contract.

Shanna went still, so stunned she could barely process what this meant. She’d thought he’d gone to the office to work on Christmas Eve, but he’d gone to draft her a new contract. The onslaught of tears burned her nose and moisture sprang to her eyes.

She looked up at him, speechless against the power of her emotion. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. Gone so far out of their way just for her. All the years she’d struggled with dating, feeling so alone and unwanted, and now this. It was worth the wait.

“I read the one you signed and I agree—it’s not a fair contract,” he said. “I pay my managers commission on the contracts they sign, but only to encourage them to get a lot of them signed. They have strict instructions not to gouge anyone, but in your case the manager gouged. You weren’t the only one. I’m going to fire him after the holiday.”

Shanna lowered her eyes and read the terms. She couldn’t believe it. He’d lowered her rent below what it had been before she signed the renewal.

“All you have to do is sign,” he said.

She looked up at him again. His eyes glowed in the morning light, meeting her gaze with satisfaction and what might turn out to be love. She took in the rest of him, the hair on his chest that tapered to a line down his stomach, the shape of his groin in the jeans, his bare feet. She couldn’t believe he wanted her. But the way he’d made love to her last night, and his thoughtfulness in giving her this present, was enough to convince her he did.

She was no longer afraid of falling in love with him.

Putting the box on the couch beside her, she stood and walked to him, launching herself against him. When he caught her, she wrapped her legs around him and started kissing his face, the corners of his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his mouth. His arms felt delicious around her waist, holding her effortlessly, making her feel light and airy.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

He walked toward the bedroom. “Don’t thank me yet.”

“Mmm…is it time for your present now?”

“Yes. How many are you prepared to give me?”

“As many as you want. However and wherever you want them, too.”

“Oh my God…”

She laughed. “Merry Christmas.”

He lowered her onto the unmade bed. “Merry Christmas.”

There was that energy again, growing stronger, sweeping her into the light of new love. “Kiss me.”

And he did.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-4312-9

BLACKOUT AT CHRISTMAS

Copyright © 2009 by Harlequin Books S.A.

The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

KISS ME ON CHRISTMAS
Copyright © 2009 by Jennifer Morey

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