About That Night

Her eyes widened at his words, and he waited for her to say something, anything, that would let him know that he wasn’t the only one feeling this way tonight. But instead, she turned back to her wineglass and toyed with the stem.

“There is something we should probably talk about,” she said. “I was in court today.”

Court. Kyle pulled back and shook his head in disbelief. Here he was, putting himself out there, and still all she wanted to talk about was work. “Really,” he said dryly.

“It was actually a fairly routine matter,” she continued. “But since you’ve been involved in the case, I thought you might be interested in knowing that Qui

Kyle went still. “What does that mean?”

Her eyes sparkled coyly. “Voluntary manslaughter? It’s a type of homicide where there’s no prior intent to kil—”

He put his hand over her mouth, cutting off the sass right quick. “What does it mean?” he repeated in a low voice. When he took his hand away, he saw the edges of her lips curving up in a smile.

“It means you’re no longer my witness. There’ll be a sentencing hearing, but for all intents and purposes, the case is over.”

That was all Kyle needed to hear.

He threaded his fingers through her hair and gently cupped her neck. No more games. “You didn’t have to tell me that tonight.”

She held his gaze unwaveringly. “No, I didn’t.”

An admission that spoke volumes. Kyle ran his thumb possessively along her lower lip, his voice a soft growl.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Twenty

RYLANN KNEW, FROM the look in Kyle’s eyes, exactly what would happen if she left the bar with him. His hot, smoky-blue gaze made it perfectly clear.

Sitting in that booth, she could think of a hundred reasons to say no to him. And only one reason to say yes.

Because, simply, she wanted to.

She always did the right thing. And from a rational perspective, doing the right thing would mean getting up and walking away from Kyle and the wicked promise of his words. But he was sinfully attractive, intelligent, and witty, and it had been a long time since she had done anything that felt this…breathtakingly exciting. If ever.

“I need to say good-bye to Rae,” she told Kyle.

And here she’d thought the look in his eyes had been hot before.

He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over her fingers. “Meet me at the bottom of the staircase. I’ll tell Dex I’m leaving.”

After he slid out of the booth and walked away, Ryla

She grabbed her purse, climbed out of the booth, and walked over to the bar to talk to Rae.

“My God, it’s about time,” Rae said after Ryla

“You’re okay catching a cab?” Ryla

“Of course. Go.” Rae threw her a knowing grin. “Have fun.”

Well, yes…that was the plan. Then Ryla

Assuming she didn’t have a panic attack in about two seconds at the thought.

She descended the staircase that led to the bar’s main level and saw Kyle standing at the bottom, waiting for her. His eyes never left hers as she approached, and when she got to the last step, he held out his hand.

“Ready?” he asked. Despite the heat in his gaze, the devilish grin at the corners of his mouth was comfortingly familiar. Once upon a time, this man had made her heart skip with just a kiss—now it was time to finally see what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

Ryla

The crowd in the main level of the club was thick, and the driving beat of a fast, techno-pop song pumped through the speakers as Kyle led her through the mass of bodies. About halfway to the door, he began tracing slow circles over her fingers with his thumb. A warm flush spread over her body—such a simple touch, but one that turned her on nevertheless. So much so that she barely felt the cool breeze of the nighttime air when they stepped through the nightclub’s doors.

“We can catch a cab at the corner,” Kyle said in a thick voice.

Walking briskly, he led her toward the nearest intersection. They passed an alley about fifty feet before the corner, and without any warning, he gripped her hand tighter and pulled her in. Ryla

His lips parted hers demandingly, his long, muscular body pi

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment you walked into the courtroom that morning,” he said, breathing heavily, when he finally pulled back. Then he took her hand in his again, quickly led her out of the alley, and flagged down a cab at the street corner.

When the taxi pulled to a stop in front of them, Kyle opened the door, and they both climbed in. He gave the driver the address of his penthouse, and since that was closer than Ryla

Kyle nodded at the doorman and took her to the elevators. As soon as they stepped inside—alone—and the doors shut behind them, he backed her up against the wall and kissed her again, hot and hard. A few moments later, Ryla

After slamming the door behind them, Kyle took her purse and tossed it to the floor. His keys followed, then he wrapped his arms around her waist, once again claiming her mouth as he led her through the penthouse.

When they finally came up for air, Ryla

Kyle pressed her against the door, drawing her attention back to him, and swept his tongue over hers. When she moaned and arched instinctively against him, he pulled back, his eyes dark and smoky. “You’re sure this is what you want?”

She tangled her fingers in his hair. “I’m sure.”

“Good.” He took her hands and led her into the bedroom with a daring glint in his eyes. “Then show me.” He walked to one of the armchairs, released her hands, and took a seat. He waited expectantly, looking every bit the multimillionaire used to being in charge. “Start with the dress.”

Oh, really? Ryla

He shook his head slowly. “Sorry, counselor, but this isn’t the grand jury room. I’m making the rules tonight.”