“Three.” He conceded her point with a nod. And wiped a hand across his mouth to hide his grin.
Finally, the woman threw her arms up in the air. “Either way, why on earth would you think that you’re the man I need? You don’t know anything about me!”
“Four.” Kieran moved closer. So close that he smelled her perfume. Something fresh, like rain in a forest. Close enough that,yeah, he could see straight down her cleavage to a thank you, God amount of creamy skin surging against the lace edge of her bra. “And now I’ve got an answer for you.”
“This ought to be good.” She tilted her head up, her chin jutted forward in an ongoing challenge. “Go on.”
“Yes, apparently all of that does work—because you’re still standing here arguing with me.” Kieran let his arms swing forwardjust enough so the backs of his hands brushed the backs of hers. A jolt—tiny, but visibly noticeable—ran through both of themat the touch. So he did it again. “And arguing invariably leads to kissing.”
Those pretty pink lips parted. Then they closed again, and she licked them. God, the woman was killing him with this non-flirting flirting. “Is that so?”
Kieran spread his fingers to interlace, backwards, with hers. Just the tips. Just to tease both of them a little. “Well, youhave two choices. We could skip right to the kissing. Or we could go for a drink first. Do something old-school like—and I’mjust spitballing here—learn each other’s names.”
“Ooh. Looks like I’ve found an actual gentleman.”
Not like he’d had a choice. “Believe me when I say I’ve had chivalry literally beaten into me.”
Her hands flipped over to lace even tighter with his, and she squeezed. “Your mom hit you?”
“Never. Not once,” Kieran said emphatically. “But after she died, my big brothers raised me. At that point, we’d been wrestlingand beating each other up for years. It was better to get an atomic wedgie as a reminder to hold the door open for a girlthan because, oh, they think you looked at them weird when passing the ketchup.”
Her whole face softened. Thick, dark brown lashes batted in double time over those wide blue eyes. “I’m sorry to hear shedied.”
Crap.
Usually Kieran remembered to keep the whole dead parents thing under wraps. Women tended to focus on it. To abandon all other topics and be the comforter, the soother. Soothing wasn’tsexy, though. If he wanted to share memories, he’d turn to Ryan and Frank. Because those memories weren’t something he casuallydiscussed. Ever.
“It was a long time ago.” He’d learned to use the technique of deflection on this topic long before officially learning itsusefulness in law school. “And wedgies aside, I couldn’t ask for better brothers. They both work like dogs so that I can goto law school and just study, instead of also humping it at a job or worrying about loans.”
Something in her eyes flickered. “They sound great.” Another flicker. A . . . shimmy of her eyes. Like thoughts were racingfast behind them. Kieran didn’t know what that was about. Did mystery woman have brothers? That she missed? Maybe off in thearmed forces?
All he knew was that he wanted to find out.
“Ryan and Frank are the best guys in the world. I’d lay down my life for them, but they’d move heaven and earth to beat meto it.”
Flicker number three. “I’m impressed.”
Uh oh. Kieran lifted a hand to brush away a stray leaf the November wind had just gusted into her hair. “Before I ruin mychances and send you running into my not-nearly-as-hot-as-me brothers’ arms, how about that drink?”
“I think I’d really enjoy that.”
It occurred to Kieran that it was the middle of the afternoon. Luckily, they were in Chicago, so finding an open bar day ornight wasn’t exactly a problem. “Let’s walk to Navy Pier. Hit the Tiny Tavern, soak up the view of the lake and the city?”Because he absolutely wanted to keep talking to this fun, feisty woman.
“How about we drive?” She pointed to a huge black SUV half a block down. The oversized, darkened window kind that usuallyalerted you to the presence of movie stars in the city. “I rolled my ankle skidding on some leaves piled at the entrance tothe tunnel under Lakeshore Drive.”
“Then you shouldn’t even be standing on it.” Kieran lifted her into his arms with a fast but smooth swoop. It did not at allsuck to have his forearm squeezed between her calf and thigh. And he wouldn’t begin to let himself notice the softness ofher breast pressed to his chest.
Okay, he’d notice, because he wasn’t fucking dead. And this woman snuggled tight against him was the best thing he’d held in a very long time.
Her arms lifted to wrap around his neck. “I’m Delaney Evans.”
“Kieran Mullaney.”
“I guess that makes this an official date. Now that we know each other’s names.”
“Nope. Not official yet.” Kieran tilted his head to just barely brush her lips with his. At least, that’s what he’d intended.But she tasted like coconuts and freedom. Kieran slid his tongue along the crease of her lips, and hell if they didn’t partright away. His grip tightened on her, hand splaying wide across her taut stomach.
“You hang on to me while I get the door open.”
The big door to his left opened and Kieran twisted at the noise, instinctively tucking Delaney a little bit behind him. Thenhe gaped when he saw his brothers inside.
“Get in, K.,” Ryan ordered.
There was someone in the driver’s seat. Delaney stepped around him—without any limp—and climbed in to sit next to Frank. Confusedas all hell, Kieran followed her, dropping his backpack on the floor. She closed the door. The car merged into traffic, moveddown the block and was on Lakeshore Drive before Kieran could do more than squint in confusion at Ryan and Frank as he buckledup.
“What the hell is this? Where are we going?” Then he twisted around to look, really looked at
