3

      “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING on here?”

      Maddie tensed as the Kissing Bandit yanked hard on the handcuffs, but they held tight. Beneath all that pink silk was solid core steel. “You need to calm down.”

      He took a deep breath, his face pressed halfway into the pillow. “Look, Gigi, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us after all.”

      She rolled her eyes. The man was gorgeous, but completely clueless. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m not Gigi. My name is Maddie Griffin and I’m from the Griffin Bail Enforcement Agency in Chicago.”

      He stopped moving. “What?”

      “You heard me, cowboy. You’re all mine.” She took a deep breath, still a little shaky from her first takedown. It had all gone according to plan. Sort of. She hadn’t actually intended to let him kiss her, or to kiss him back. But that didn’t matter now.

      She had him exactly where she wanted him.

      “You’re a bounty hunter?” he said at last, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.

      “That’s right.” She stood beside the bed, waiting for him to accept the situation. He’d soon tire of fighting the handcuffs.

      “Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got the wrong man. My name isn’t really Whip. I made that up….”

      “I know,” she interjected. “You’re the Kissing Bandit.”

      “Who?”

      “The Kissing Bandit.” She reached down, unable to resist brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. “I realize Tanner Blackburn is your alias du jour, but even if the name changes, the crime stays the same. You’ve been scamming women for the past seven years, but your luck just ran out. I’m taking you in.”

      “This is ridiculous.” He bucked once, his breathing heavy. “I am Tanner Blackburn and I’m an attorney from Dallas. I should warn you that forcibly holding someone against their will is a felony in this state.”

      She arched a brow. “A lawyer? I thought you were a bull rider.”

      He clenched his jaw. “I made that up.”

      “Just like you made up the name Whip?”

      “Yes.”

      She folded her arms across her chest. “Somehow that doesn’t sound like something an innocent man would do.”

      “I had my reasons,” he said between clenched teeth.

      “Now that I believe.” She slipped off her high heels, relishing the feel of the plush carpet against the soles of her feet. “Advertising your services in the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine is the standard m.o. for the Kissing Bandit. So is preying on helpless, vulnerable women.”

      “Helpless?” He struggled to lift his head off the pillow. “I’d hardly call you helpless. Crazy, yes. Helpless, no.”

      She smiled. “You’re just mad because I gave you a taste of your own medicine.”

      He stopped moving and stared up at her. “Are you telling me this was all a ploy? The beers at the bar. The invitation to your hotel room. The kiss.”

      She forced herself to meet his gaze, wishing she could forget about that kiss. It definitely hadn’t been part of her plan. She was only supposed to sketch him. But he’d caught her off guard when he’d marched into her hotel room and kissed her. So she’d improvised. Then, after she’d peeled his shirt over his shoulders to secure his arms, she hadn’t been able to resist kissing him again.

      Now Maddie just wished she could forget the way her body had responded to him. It wasn’t just embarrassing, it was unprofessional. For one brief, insane, electrifying moment she had forgotten the real reason she’d brought him up to her hotel room.

      “Tell me,” he demanded, obviously irritated by her silence, “do you really have a showing at an art gallery? Are you even from New York? Or were you just playing games with me?”

      She tipped up her chin. “What do you think?”

      His shoulders sagged. “I think I’m an idiot.”

      “Don’t take it so hard. Your luck couldn’t hold out forever.”

      He closed his eyes. “This is beyond crazy. I am not the Kissing Bandit. I’m an estate lawyer.”

      “Is that one of your new scams? I imagine there is quite a profit in seducing wealthy widows.”

      “It’s not a scam, it’s the truth. I’m with the law firm of Collins and Cooksey. The only reason I made up Whip the Bull Rider was to impress you.”

      “I’m definitely impressed with your creative abilities—” she sat on the edge of the bed “—although I do think it’s a little disgusting that you’re in a bar trying to pick up women the night before your wedding.”

      “My wedding?” His brow furrowed. “Where did you get a crazy idea like that?”

      “From you. Down at the bar you told me that you’d met the bride through the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine. I believe your exact words were—It paid off.”

      He shook his head. “No, you’ve got it all wrong. I tried to tell you that before, but you distracted me.”

      “Oh, sure. Blame the victim.”

      “Victim.” He snorted. “I’m the one whose leg is growing numb. Now please unlock these cuffs.”

      Maddie could see his discomfort, but she steeled herself against the appeal in his blue eyes. A bounty hunter couldn’t risk feeling sorry for her fugitives or allow herself to make concessions. Besides, the man deserved a little discomfort after all the pain he’d caused her father—not to mention all the women whose hearts he’d broken.

      “I’ll unlock them when we get to Chicago.”

      His eyes widened. “Chicago?”

      She nodded. “That’s where we’re headed as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow. I’ve been tracking you for the past three days and I’m a little behind schedule.”

      “I’m not going anywhere with you.” He lunged upward, but only succeeded in rolling off the bed. He hit the carpet with a loud grunt.

      She kneeled down on the floor beside him. “It won’t do you any good to try to escape.”

      “Escape?”