Page 37

“Intimidation is at the bottom of my list of things I’d like to do to you,” he teases.

I frown at him, my chest heating with both annoyance andattraction. Two sides of one coin that’s constantly being flipped inside me where Ezra is concerned. “Do you always have to make a joke out of everything? Is there anything you take seriously?”

“I…” He pauses, frowning again. “I take a lot of things seriously.”

“Doesn’t look like it from where I’m standing.”

Ezra sighs, looking genuinely weary. It’s another new side to him. I seem to be seeing a lot of new sides to him lately. “Do we always have to do this? This stupid game where you pretend you hate me? We both know you don’t.”

“What?” I splutter. “What are you talking about?”

“Things would be a lot easier if you would just acknowledge that you’re attracted to me. You don’t have to spit venom at me every waking moment just to try to convince yourself that you aren’t.”

My eyes go wide. “I’m not trying to convince myself of anything.”

“Then why are you going to wind up back in my bed?”

“I…” I grit my teeth. I can’t tell if he’s genuinely annoyed, or if this is all just another game to get me riled up. I decide not to play into it. I take a deep breath to steady myself, blowing it out and willing myself to calm. “You’re right.”

Ezra looks surprised. “I am?”

“Yes. I’m attracted to you. Clearly.”

“See?” He beams. “Was that so hard?”

“Which is why we really have to stop doing this.”

His smile falters. “Stop doing what?”

“This.” I gesture between us. “It can’t go on. And I admit that I’m as much to blame for it going on as long as it did as you are, but it won’t end well. Neither of us wants anything more than sex,and that’s not worth the complications of keeping this up for longer than we already have.”

“It doesn’t have to be complic—”

“Sex is always complicated,” I sigh. “Look at us right now! I can’t even be in the same room with you without wanting to either kiss you or punch you in the gut. And you know as well as I do that any sort of…connection between us should be reported to each of our clients. Technically, without their written consent to continue, we’re both playing at grounds for dismissal.”

Ezra’s eyes widen. “Did you just admit you want to kiss me?”

“I’m saying it doesn’t matter if I do.” I shake my head. “I have too much riding on this to add you in the mix too. We should just end things here and focus on the case.”

“The case,” he echoes.

I nod. “Yes.”

He looks away from me, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall as his mouth purses in thought. I can almost see a dozen things running through his mind as he tries to decide which one to settle on, but I see the moment that he does. An expressionless mask comes over his features, and he nods as if to himself, eyes finding mine again.

“All right, Dani,” he says flatly. “If that’s what you want.”

I eye him suspiciously. “That’s it? It’s that easy?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because this isn’t the first time I’ve said we should end it, and you’re usually much less inclined to just agree.”

He shrugs. “I don’t make begging a habit, and if you say you aren’t feeling it anymore, then I guess that’s that.”

“Uh-huh.” I continue to watch him as if he’s going to laugh at any second, making this into another joke, but when he doesn’t, I feel a flood of something coursing through me. I tell myself it’srelief, but I can’t be sure. Does relief make your stomach knot? “All right then. So we’ll stick to strictly professional going forward?”

“Strictly professional,” he repeats. “Can do.”