LITMIR.BIZ

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am I going to walk home?”

      He grinned. “Guess I’ll have to carry you.”

      Warmth pooled low in her belly at the thought of her body tucked up against his. Part of her longed to assume her flirtatious guise and maneuver more sexy talk with him. But some of her daring had faded along with the buzz from that last cosmopolitan. Even worse, she liked Josh more by the minute—a fact that rendered a one-night stand less appealing. A torrid night with Josh practically guaranteed she’d never see him again.

      She shook loose his handiwork and rewrapped the shawl. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

      He snorted. “Let’s look at who’s coming up with the good ideas here tonight. You think it’s a good idea to traipse around New York alone at 2:00 a.m. I think it’s a good idea for us to leave together. You think it’s a good idea to put me in jail. I think it’s a good idea for us to explore the possibilities of being—”

      She hurried to cut him off. “I get the picture.” She definitely didn’t need reminders of his earlier provocative suggestion. Handcuffs had never seemed so appealing. But she needed to put some distance between her and Josh before he got the wrong idea. No matter how much her hormones argued the fact, she could not sleep with Josh in her apartment. “But I’m not conceding the point. I still think my ideas have been very sensible.”

      Sensible. The word resounded in Josh’s mind, at odds with everything he thought about Lexi Mansfield. “Is that what you want, Lexi? Sensible?”

      She deftly unfastened the diamond collar around her throat and slid it into a tiny purse she carried. “See that? Sensible. I may occasionally carry handcuffs and go manhunting on the posh New York club scene, Josh, but I’m not crazy enough to wear Harry Winston out in public.”

      Josh stared at the long, smooth column of bare neck the diamonds had just vacated. She suddenly looked less like his five-foot dominatrix and more like a vulnerable woman.

      “I never suggested you were crazy.” Josh curled his arm around her back and ushered her toward the door. Lexi flung good-nights and smiles at the few remaining people they passed on their way out. He hoped the high color in her cheeks had something to do with his touch.

      As he held the door for her, she looked up at him and paused. “Are you sure?”

      “A little wild maybe, but definitely not crazy.”

      She nodded as if satisfied and walked out onto Columbus Circle, the black blanket fluttering in her wake.

      Josh followed close behind, surveying the activity on the street. They were near Lincoln Center in a great neighborhood, but Central Park loomed to one side—and who knew what might leap out of the bushes at this time of night.

      “Do you really live right around the corner, or were you just hoping I’d let you go home alone?”

      She fidgeted on her high heels and pointed. “West Sixty-second Street. You can almost see the blue awning from here.”

      He squinted. The buildings in this neighborhood all had doormen and good security, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get jumped from an alleyway. “I guess we can walk. But you really should take cabs at night if you’re by yourself.”

      “And pay five bucks to go two blocks? No, thank you.” She set the pace as her high heels clicked down the pavement.

      Josh smiled to himself as he noticed she took two steps to his one, her slim dress limiting her stride to a sexy little walk.

      He fell into step beside her, fighting the urge to sling a protective arm around her.

      Would she mind? She’d definitely backed off the flirting ever since he’d insisted he would walk her home. Had he misread her signals? After Lexi’s prolonged pursuit at the club and her teasing overtures with the handcuffs, Josh had been pretty certain she would be amenable to spending the night with him. Now he wasn’t so sure.

      He would walk away if she wanted him to, of course. But he didn’t relish the idea. He’d had hours in the jail cell to resign himself to the fact that he wouldn’t be getting any work done on his investigation tonight. His work for the night had been compromised, but not his overall case. Once he’d come to terms with a night off, he’d gladly spent the rest of the time indulging in erotic fantasies about Lexi.

      He had another block and a half to sway the odds in his favor, and he didn’t plan to waste them lecturing her about street safety.

      The night air was crisp and clear. A few fall leaves barely clung to the trees planted at precise intervals along the street. A light breeze caught stray strands of Lexi’s hair.

      Josh racked his brain for the right approach. He didn’t usually have to work at this—the women in his past had made it known they were available. He’d thought Lexi was like that, too, but she was turning out to be more complicated than he’d expected.

      Didn’t matter.

      He wanted her more than he could remember wanting any other woman.

      He brushed his hand over her shoulder. “You warm enough in that thing?”

      She slanted him a sideways glance. “Plenty warm.”

      “You ever share your blankets?” He tugged one corner of her shawl and crossed his fingers.

      She stared straight ahead. “No.”

      Her heels clicked down the street, ticking off his remaining time to seduce her. The odds seemed to be going up in her favor with every step she took.

      Click.

      Click.

      Click.

      “So Alec told me you write reviews for a magazine.” He might as well find out a little about her. He didn’t see how any great Casanova move would salvage his night with the dominatrix, anyway.

      Oddly enough, he wanted to learn more about her even though he knew she’d be sending him home soon.

      “It’s New York Fashion magazine. I’ve been writing the style column for five years, now.” She unearthed her hands from the mass of black cashmere and huffed warm breath on them.

      Josh watched the steam rise from her folded palms, plagued by a vague sense that he’d seen her somewhere before tonight. She had a familiar smile….

      She peered over at him, pausing just before they reached her awning. “Just how much did Alec tell you about me?”

      Josh took her hands in his and tugged her to the side of the street. He must be wrong thinking she looked like someone he’d met before. “He told me the women were giving you a hard time tonight.”

      He wrapped his hands around hers, then pulled their knot of fingers toward his lips. Mirroring her actions of a moment before, he huffed a slow, heated breath over her cool skin.

      “I can manage myself,” Lexi said, her voice halting just a little. She didn’t pull away. “I mean, a lot of those people at the party were designers or else they work with a design house. Because I critique their work, I’m sure at one point or another over the past few years I’ve offended almost everyone.”

      Her eyes were huge in the dim light from a street lamp. Josh wanted nothing so much as to wrap her cashmere blanket around both of them and pull her to him. He could envision every nuance of her sequined curves and he longed to test the knowledge of his eyes with his hands. Would she feel as good as she looked?

      “That doesn’t make it okay for them to gang up on you tonight. It had to be awkward for you.” He settled for curving one hand along her jaw and brushing the soft silk of her cheek with his thumb.

      “A little.” She half sighed the words, giving Josh the impression her thoughts lay elsewhere. Lexi’s eyes closed for a moment, then flew open again.

      Josh wanted to shout over that small victory.

      She

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