Hands On by Debbi Rawlins Page B

him, it was all supposed to be an act, and anyway, he didn’t want her poking around his personal business.
    â€œCome on, Dalton. What was all that about Linda?”
    â€œNothing. Why all the questions?”
    Her eyebrows rose. “Aren’t I supposed to know about my husband? And I might remind you, I wasn’t the one who added another layer of back story. So don’t get huffy with me.” She placed her hands on her hips. “And where did you run off to without telling me?”
    â€œI went to call my ex-partner to run a check on Mary Jane.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œShe looks clean so far.”
    â€œAnd?” The stubborn glint in her eyes told him he wasn’t going to get off that easy.
    â€œAll right already.” He muttered a curse. She was getting the wife role down a little too pat. “Yes, Linda is my ex-wife. We’ve been divorced for two years.”
    â€œAny kids?”
    â€œGod, no.”
    She frowned. “You don’t like children.”
    â€œI love kids. I’m just glad we didn’t have any to drag through a divorce.”
    â€œNasty, huh?”
    â€œNot really.” Man, he did not want to talk about this. His ego had been bruised enough.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œThat you don’t need to know.”
    Cassie made a face. “So long as you don’t spring any more surprises on me.”
    He sighed. “One day I came home from an assignment and she basically said ‘see ya,’ and that was that.”
    Cassie gasped. “How awful.”
    He shrugged. “Meant to be, I guess. Someone in my profession has no business getting married anyway.”
    â€œYou don’t believe that.”
    â€œWhy not? I’m living proof, aren’t I?”
    â€œMarriages go bad for a lot of different reasons.Why are you so willing to accept the blame because of your job?”
    â€œLook, not that I don’t appreciate your concern, but save the psychoanalysis for the others.” Shit, he wouldn’t have followed her out here if he knew she was going to start digging into his personal life.
    Cassie wasn’t fooled by his attempt at nonchalance. He’d been hurt by the breakup of his marriage. It was in his face, and clearly in the way he’d reacted this morning. The thought that he might still love his ex-wife made Cassie a little melancholy. She didn’t know why. It just did.
    â€œOkay,” she said finally, “we don’t have to talk about it anymore. Just don’t spring any surprises on me. Deal?”
    He winced. “This morning wasn’t kosher. I apologize for that.” Something caught his attention behind her. He frowned and she started to turn around when he said, “Kiss me.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œJust kiss me, dammit.”
    No chance to respond after that. He pulled her roughly against him and used one hand to hold her by the back of the neck while he pressed his lips to hers. She couldn’t catch her breath and tried to break away.
    â€œBask.” Dalton broke contact long enough to murmur, “He’s headed toward us.”
    This time when he kissed her she responded, kissing him back, teasing him with her tongue across his lips. He made a low growling sound and plunged inside her mouth. Her breath faltered and she sank heavilyagainst him when his hands roamed her back and then dug into the curve of her buttocks.
    â€œLooks as if this morning’s session wasn’t a total waste.” Bask’s amused voice cut through the haze.
    Slowly they parted. Dalton looked as dazed as she felt.
    â€œI didn’t mean to interrupt.” Bask sidestepped them on the path, motioning with his hand. “Please, continue.”
    Cassie smiled sheepishly, her heart racing out of control. They waited until Bask was a good ways down the path and out of earshot before they even looked at each other.
    â€œWell, we blew that.” Cassie’s