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Haisley’s boss retreated to his office down the hall, finally leaving them alone—if Nash didn’t count her curious coworkers unabashedly staring.

He turned his gaze to her. “Well, Ms. Rowe. What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

But he’d hoped. And he was damn glad his hunch had been right, especially after he’d worked up the courage to stop by her place and knock on her door last night. She hadn’t been home. Or she simply hadn’t answered. And he must be a perverse SOB because, despite everything, having her this close again, yet so far away, made him want her more than ever.

She stiffened, her pulse visibly jackhammering. Nash felt a primal sense of satisfaction that he could still rattle her.

“Let’s get coffee.” She grabbed his arm and all but dragged him into the cubby on the other end of the floor, away from everyone else. Her hands trembled as she poured herself a cup from the pot. “For the record, I didn’t expect you here, either.”

“Well, you’re stuck with me.”

“We need to set some ground rules. This will be a strictly professional relationship.”

Nash stepped into her space, reaching past her to grab a Styrofoam cup and deliberately brushing against her. He watched her swallow hard. “You think? I distinctly remember our relationship being anything but.”

Her pupils blew wide. God, he’d missed seeing desire war with restraint on her beautiful face…usually before she gave in to him.

“Those days are over,” she insisted, though she sounded breathless. “I told you on New Year’s Eve that I can’t do this again. We’re not repeating ancient history, understood?”

It was hard to take her seriously when her nipples hardened and poked the front of her blouse.

He grinned, loving that she was still so responsive to him, to the molten chemistry simmering between them, no matter how much she wanted to pretend otherwise. “Trying to convince me there’s no fire between us is futile.”

“Whatever you think is between us is in the past—and it’s staying there. So we’ll divide and conquer on this case. You pursue leads and see if you can figure out who’s behind these abductions and how to stop them. Keep me posted on whatever you find. I’ll handle research and everything PR-related. Anything I come across that I think might be helpful to your investigation, I’ll email you. Thanks for the chat.” With that dismissive quip and an accompanying pat on the shoulder, she abandoned her cup of coffee and broke for her desk.

Nash wrapped his fingers around her arm and dragged her back flush against his chest. “We’ll try it your way, but I know you, Haisley. So let me be clear. Though we’re a team, you willnotpoke your nose into anything that could potentially turn ugly. You don’t put yourself in danger. I’ll handle all that. Step a toe out of line, and I’ll spank you.”

She whirled, her eyes flaring with anger. “Like hell you will! You’re not touching me, and you’re not treating me like some wilting damsel. I can handle myself.”

Unable to resist pushing her buttons further, Nash bent closer until his lips were a scorching whisper from her ear. He could feel the blistering heat radiating from her, could smell her arousal as her breathing turned shallow.

“Maybe so, but I’m not taking any chances when it comes to your safety. End of discussion.”

No matter how capable she was, he wouldn’t allow her to put herself in harm’s way. An image of her falling into the hands of whoever was abducting these young women, of them brutalizing her body, flashed through his mind. He clenched his jaw and shoved away the vision.

“Ugh.” She tossed her hands in the air. “This is exactly why we shouldn’t be partners. You make me insane.”

“Can’t handle the tension between us?”

“I can handle anything you can dish out, but you’re already trying to dictate terms. I’m not putting up with it, and I’m not risking my professional future.”

Nash dropped his voice to a gravelly murmur, knowing she could feel his words like a physical caress. “You not taking risks? We both know you’re a divining rod for pushing limits. Why fight it now?”

Her face tightened. “Can you at least pretend to respect my boundaries?”

“Sure. When you stop pretending there’s nothing between us.”

“Who says I’m pretending?”

“You forget how well I know you, baby.”

When she opened her mouth to protest, Nash silenced her by trailing a scorching fingertip down the side of her exposed neck. The shudder that rolled through her revealed her body’s blatant betrayal. She didn’t want to admit that she still wanted him, but on a primal level, she did.

He leaned even closer to savor her intoxicating scent, wishing he could kiss her. Even the thought sent heat straight to his cock.

Haisley’s shallow breaths mingled with his own in the charged atmosphere. He could practically taste the tension pinging between them. Part of him knew he should stop this cat-and-mouse game, guard himself and not give her a chance to shatter his heart again.

But her eyes still burned with that same reckless spark that had drawn him in all those years ago. The same spark that made rational thought fly out the window whenever he was around her, consequences be damned.