Dangerous Kiss by Avery Flynn

many restaurants failed within the first twelve months, Harvest had netted a profit its first year. Not much of one, but it had been money in the bank.
    On Mondays, Harvest stayed closed for business. Her routine dictated she’d spend the day buried in paperwork. Unlike other Monday mornings though, today she had a six-foot lightning rod of sexual energy zapping the calm.
    “Well, if you’re staying, you might as well come on up to the office.” Claire added a little extra sway in her hips and ascended the staircase.

    Jake admired the view as he followed Claire up the stairs. Damn. He needed to keep his thoughts on protecting her, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to touch her soft skin again.
    She had on some sort of strappy dress that made a man fixate on the thin pieces of fabric on a woman’s shoulders. Or maybe it just made Jake obsess about the bright-red material highlighting Claire’s lightly freckled shoulders. The skirt swished as she climbed the stairs. Momentarily it clung to one side of her round ass before switching direction.
    She stepped onto the landing and turned toward her office before he drank in his fill. Denied lust slammed into his gut and places lower as she disappeared into her office.
    She was spunky and stubborn with a smart mouth, all wrapped up in a sexy package that he desperately craved. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and feel her come around him. That vision in all its variations had kept him awake and hard most of the previous night.
    “You okay?” Claire’s voice knocked him back to the present. “You look like you’re in pain. Headache? I have aspirin.”
    The reality of her put his lustful imaginings to shame. She stood in her office doorway with her arms crossed underneath her breasts. Her stance pushed those touchable tits together and upward. The sun’s rays shining from her office windows outlined her toned legs through her dress.
    Aspirin wasn’t going to fix what ailed him.
    “I’m good.” He clenched and released his hands in a failed effort to get his blood rushing in a different direction. A bit bowlegged, he walked into Claire’s office.
    She sat down behind her desk and powered up her laptop. Jake looked around for a place to sit. She’d covered almost every horizontal surface with stacks of paper, management books and dirty coffee cups. He grabbed a pile of manila folders off a hot-pink plastic chair, gently placed them on the floor and sat down.
    He had no idea what to do now. He never figured she’d actually let him inside the restaurant.
    Claire cleared her throat. “Tell me about the phone and flash drive.”
    Well, that explained why she let him in.
    Jake searched for the right words to start his story. The conversation with Burlington last night hadn’t been pleasant, but it had been productive. He’d convinced the privileged prick he would cooperate, but demanded to know the story behind the phone and flash drive. Burlington had agreed.
    Claire’s chocolate-brown eyes didn’t waver. “Tell me now or get the hell out.”
    He scooted his chair closer to her desk and lowered his voice to a confidential tone. “Charles Burlington, Kendall’s dad, adopted her when he and Kendall’s mom, Charlotte, got married. Kendall was two years old at the time.”
    He leaned forward in his chair, swiped her coffee and took a long drink. Like him, she drank it black. He paid no mind to her irritated look as he returned the travel mug to her desk.
    “It seems Kendall’s biological father, Frank Darcy, is a two-time loser, con man and meth abuser who’d made contact with her earlier this year. He’d talked Kendall into giving him money—a lot of money. Burlington thinks Darcy killed Kendall.”
    “Why would Darcy kill Kendall?”
    “Burlington believes Kendall stored the account information needed to access her money on the flash drive. Either she changed her mind about giving the cash to Darcy or his meth paranoia took over and