KENSINGTON BOOKS

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      Contents

      Watching Casey

      Seducing Lisa

      1

      I watched in silence as Connor Grant moved across the large open gallery space that dominated the first floor. He’d never told me he loved me or even that he liked being with me, for that matter. He’d told a million lies with his actions and his body. How could a man give a woman so much pleasure and also give nothing? I knew he was from Great Britain and that both of his parents were dead. He had a law-enforcement background that he could not talk about and no siblings. That was it; and I’d gotten that from his personnel file.

      It had been my rule for years not to get involved with a man I worked with. I’d broken that rule with him and I was paying the price. Every time I saw the bastard, my knees got a little weak with the memory of him. As a lover, he’d been the perfect combination of demanding and giving; it was just too bad that he was a motherfucker in the vertical position.

      He was moving toward me, smiling and weaving his way through the crowd of people I’d put between us. After dumping his ass, I’d taken a two-week vacation. Fourteen days in the U.S. Virgin Islands had given me new sense of self and a fantastic tan. I took a drink from my glass and pursed my lips as he came to a stop in front of me.

      “Casey.”

      “Mr. Grant.” I tried to keep my voice cool and neutral.

      I watched shock and then anger drift across his face in equal measure. “Back to that, are we?”

      “Seems like we never really left it.” I glanced around the room for a way to escape.

      “I’d like to talk to you.”

      “I’d like to forget you exist.” I tried to move past him but he took my arm to stop me. His grip was firm but not painful. “Let go, Connor. You’ve made it abundantly clear what you can offer me and what you never will. Frankly, I can buy a dick in a store.”

      “We have a good thing.”

      “No, we had an empty and physical thing. Now, we have nothing.” I looked to his hand. “Let me go.”

      His hand fell away and he sighed. “I’d hoped you’d be over this by now.”

      “You just hoped I’d still fuck you,” I murmured softly and cleared my throat. “We’re way past that.”

      At least, I was damn positive we were past that. Connor was attractive in a truly British kind of way. He’d worked for the Holman Gallery for over a year and had been the head of security for nearly four months. We’d been fucking for just over five months when I realized through no admission of his own that he never wanted anything serious with me or any other woman. It’s true that he’d never made promises to me. He’d also never told me how much the idea of marriage or even a committed relationship freaked him out. If he’d had his druthers, I still wouldn’t know.

      He caught up with me in the staff hall that led to the administrative area. I stopped, turned around, and glared at him. “What?”

      “You can’t just dismiss what we are to each other.”

      “No, but I’m very capable of realizing of what I’ll never be to you.” I pushed my finger against his chest. “I deserve more.”

      “I can’t argue with that.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. “Case, I’ve missed you.”

      I stilled myself against the small thrill it gave me to hear him say it. But, I knew deep down he really didn’t mean it. “You miss putting your dick in me.”

      He slid one hand around me, pressed against the small of my back until I was flush against him. “True. I miss talking to you, hearing about your day. Where have you been?”

      “I went on vacation. That’s no secret.”

      “Three months early and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going.”

      “I’m a grown woman.” I pulled briefly but sighed when his grip tightened. “I’m entitled to a private life.”

      “I thought I was a part of that private life.”

      “You don’t want to be.” I shoved at his chest and sighed at how weak I was about it.

      The truth was, being in his arms felt great and just about as right as I could imagine. A year ago, he’d walked into the gallery and I’d spent the day in damp panties. His cool blue eyes, dark hair brown hair, and tight body had put more than one woman in the gallery on the edge of orgasm.

      My body was already a jangle of raw nerves and I winced as my nipples started to tighten against his chest. “Just let go.”

      “And if I can’t?”

      “You don’t have a choice,” I snapped. “Go find another woman; it won’t be hard.”

      “You can’t tell me that you don’t want me.”

      He covered my mouth with his and I responded before I could think better of it. Parting my lips to his questing tongue was as easy as breathing. His big hands slid down my back and pulled me closer. My body was screaming, “hell, yes,” but my mind wasn’t having it.

      I fisted my hands in the lapels of his jacket and jerked my mouth from his. “Don’t.”

      “Case.”

      I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes against the sudden tears. “I can’t do this.”

      “Do what?”

      I met his gaze and tears slid down my cheeks. “I can’t be your fuck. I can’t be that woman you call in the middle of the night when your bed is cold or you can’t sleep. I need something you can’t give me and I’m begging you to leave me alone.”

      He released me and took a step back; concern softened his eyes but his own displeasure was still very evident. Connor wasn’t used to women dumping him. He’d been furious two weeks ago when I’d left his apartment and that fury still lingered.

      “I don’t make it a habit to hurt women.”

      Well, I doubted seriously he set out to do it, but I was confident I was the most recent in line of women who didn’t get what they wanted from him.

      “You never made promises to me.” I wiped at the tears and sucked in a deep breath to steady myself. “And I realized that they were never coming. I’m just disappointed. I’ll get over it.”

      “You mean you’ll get over me,” he muttered.

      “You never let me get close enough to get attached. I’m not one of those women who confuse sex and love.” I crossed my arms over my breasts and shook my head. “Look, the others will speculate but they won’t ask questions. In a few months, they won’t even care about what happened between us.”

      And maybe in a few months I could look at him and not be angry. I turned and walked quickly to the end of the hall and pulled open the door to the office area. At my desk, I pushed off the high-heeled shoes I’d donned for the party and stared at the blank screen of my computer. It had been just a little over a year since I’d taken the promotion that’d pulled me off the sales floor and into the administration area.

      Jane Tilwell, my boss and mentor, had thrown a lot in my lap from the very