Noah held out his hand. “Noah Cutler. And you would be?”
“Dan Kessler. Randi’s…partner.”
Randi thought she might choke from all the testosterone floating around her. And what was with that little emphasis Dan put on the word partner? That’s what they were. It was all they were. She thought she’d made they clear enough and that Dan was fine with that. She grabbed the bottle Dan held out to her. Yup, she really needed a drink. Lifting the beer she took a long swallow. Then she looked at Noah and Dan, glaring at each other.
Okay, enough of that.
“I’m going to say hello to Jeff,” she told them, “and ask him why he keeps secrets from me. Play nice in the sandbox, you two.”
She found Jeff out on the patio in the middle of a group of people.
“Hey!” He grinned when he saw her. “Glad you made it.”
She gave him a one-armed hug and whispered in his ear, “Did you deliberately not tell me someone in particular was coming?”
He lowered his voice and put his mouth close to her ear. “Would you have come if I told you?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, then. Maybe it’s time the two of you talked over old times.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” she insisted. “You cam bet I’ll get you back for this.”
She moved away from him, nodding and smiling to people she knew. She visited with acquaintances she hadn’t seen for some time, helping herself now and then to some of the snack foods Jeff had put out. Three televisions were tuned to the game, a big screen in the living room, a countertop in the kitchen and one out on the patio. Jeff sure liked his television, she thought.
It was easy enough to avoid serious conversation, what with everyone cheering or booing he game. She could smile, utter a few pleasant phrases and look like she was enjoying the party. Wherever she was, she was acutely aware of Noah’s presence and his gaze on her. Finally she stepped off the patio onto the lawn and wandered toward the back of the small yard. A large, mature crepe myrtle dominated one corner, and the moon siting high in the sky cast silvery beams of light on it. Randi walked over to stand near it, hoping some of the serenity of the beauty would wash off onto her.
What on earth was going on with the men in her life? Jeff surprising her, Noah acting like he was sorry they had ended things and Dan trying to push the envelope of their partnership again? Not to mention the very hinky nature of the arson investigation.
What was up with that, anyway? Every accelerant was different, every burn pattern. The only thing they all had in common was an ILS to create the quickest flashpoint. She was still chewing over the fact that there was something screwy and she had no idea what it could be when a hand tapped her shoulder. She nearly jumped a foot and almost lost her beer bottle.
“I didn’t mean to startle you like that.” Noah’s voice was deep and warm in her ear.
“Then don’t sneak up on me.”
She was afraid to turn around and look at him. Even after all this time just the sight of him made her pulse points throb, moisture flood her panties and her nipples ache for the touch of his fingers and his mouth. She had worked so hard to get over him, to put the pain of that last night behind her. She’d been so certain she was successful, but who was she kidding? The moment she saw him the other night all the old feelings came rushing to the surface.
I am a glutton for punishment. Will I never learn?
He gently nudged her to turn and face him. When she did, slowly, he took the bottle from her and set it on the ground. Then he cupped her face in his warm hands.
“I am the stupidest fucking man in the entire world.”
She shook her head. “You said that the other night. Or words to that effect.”
“And I’ll keep saying them again and again, as many times as I have to in order to get you to hear me.”
“And if I don’t?” she asked.
“I’m never giving up, Randi. Take that to the bank.”
He looked so intently into her eyes she was sure he could see clear to the inside of her soul. She drank in he sight of him, the deep brown irises flecked with gold, the late day scruff that accentuated his jawline and looked so sexy on him. The chocolate silk of his hair, still just below his collar the way he’d always worn it. She drew in a breath, inhaling the outdoor scent of his cologne that had always appealed to her, and waited to see what he’d do next.
Very slowly, as if giving her the chance to stop him, he pressed his lips to her. His were just as warm as she remembered, and softer than she expected. At first the contact was gently, a gentle brush that still ignited all her nerve endings. She felt his warm breath on her face as he held them in that position, just the lightest of contacts. Then his tongue, that very clever tongue that she’d never been able to forget, licked a soft line along the seam of her lips, just once each way. As if she’d just been waiting for that she opened her mouth and that clever tongue swept in.
Oh, god!
The touch of it was so familiar, the wet heat of it as Noah tasted every inch of the inside of her mouth. She brought her own tongue into
