Sinfully Sexy by Linda Francis Lee Page A

wickedly at Ben.

"Where is she?"

Without ever looking at him, she said, "It's Tuesday, which means she's
at World's Gym . We all go on
Tuesdays. Though I'm running late. There's a new, incredibly cute
instructor for the six-thirty and seven-thirty kickboxing classes."
Julia shifted her gaze to Sterling. "Chloe has a crush on him. She
wouldn't miss Tuesday Kick for anything. Gotta run if I'm going to make
it to the next session."

Julia walked past the men and headed out of the building.

Both men watched her go, though it wasn't Julia who Sterling saw in his
mind's eye.

"Come on, let's go," he commanded, already grabbing his briefcase and
heading out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"To the damned gym."

Sterling ignored his brother's lamenting groan.
    * 
*  *
The men drove up Mesa Street from downtown in Ben's black Range Rover.

"I take it you've got it bad," Ben said, breaking into the tense
silence.

"What are you talking about?"

"You, for Chloe."

"There is nothing going on between me and Chloe Sinclair, and I
certainly don't have anything bad—unless it's a bad case of irritation
over a woman who isn't doing her job."

"Ah, so that's why you're hunting her down after hours for some
meeting?"

"We have a show to produce," Sterling bit out tightly.

"And I guess I'm supposed to be impressed by your dedication to the
job. Workaholic, no life outside
the office. The sort of life you want me to lead?"

"I guess that puts me between a rock and a hard place for an answer."

Ben grinned. "You bet, big brother."

They raced up Mesa Street. No matter how many times Sterling drove
through town, the geography surprised him. Even though it was October,
the trees were still green. The massive mountain range, with its
dangerous cliffs and rocky ledges rising up from a city that was
nestled at its base, looked red in the setting sun. The mountains
flowed down into the Rio Grande river basin, then rose up again on the
other side in what he had learned was Mexico. But today, none of that
made a bit of difference in his mood.
By the time the two men pulled up to the building on Mesa Street,
Sterling was jaw-ticking mad.

Out of habit, Sterling took his briefcase with him as he strode into
the gym. Ben followed and made
some sort of an explanation when Sterling didn't stop at the front
desk, a perky receptionist calling out
for him to sign in.

Ben shook his head and wondered what the hell was going on with his
brother. Ben knew without having to be told that Sterling had come to
El Paso to force him to return to the family. And for the first time
since Ben had left St. Louis, he wondered if returning wasn't what he
needed to do.

That was the only reason he could come up with for having said he would
return to St. Louis if Sterling saved the station. At the time, saving
the station in a month hardly seemed possible. But he had forgotten
Sterling's drive—a drive that was exhibited now as he hunted down
someone who had stood him up for
a meeting.

But would that get the job done?

And if Sterling did succeed, could Ben really give up life in law
enforcement?

He didn't know the answers. In his second week on leave from the force,
he still couldn't think about, much less talk about, his partner being
killed in an undercover drug deal gone wrong.

A commotion to his left cut into his thoughts. Thankfully. Though not
so thankfully he realized that
Julia Boudreaux was at the center of the tumult.

Why wasn't he surprised?

Hell, the woman was a piece of work. Her long, black-lacquer hair was
pulled back, her violet eyes flashing. She said what she felt, when she
felt like it. He had enough strong women in his family. He wanted a
woman who knew how to be soft, sweet, and kind. A woman who knew how to
fill his mind and his body with the sort of heady desire that tasted
like bourbon warmed between two hands.

Leaning back against the wall, he watched her work the crowd, all men,
all circling around her, trying to get a morsel