04 Naked Games by Anne Rainey Page B

event. Deanna had been hired for a remodeling job, but the client had turned out to be a drug dealer. When a teenage boy had overdosed, the boy’s distraught father had shown up with a gun to exact his revenge. Deanna had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
    Dean raked a hand through his hair. “Waiting on Jonas to disarm the guy were easily some of the longest minutes of my life.”
    Catherine reached across the table and covered his hand with her own. “I can’t imagine. You must have felt so helpless.”
    Dean’s gaze went to their hands, and Catherine couldn’t tell what he was thinking. As he slowly turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with hers, Catherine’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s something I never want to repeat,” he whispered. “That’s for damn sure.”
    She took another sip of her hot chocolate and moaned at the creamy flavor. “This is delicious, by the way. You could sell it and make a fortune.”
    He chuckled and picked up his own, then took a long drink. God, even watching his throat work was sexy. After he placed his mug back on the table, his gaze went to hers. “Enough about the chocolate. I want to know more about you .”
    Catherine started to pull her hand away, but he held on tighter. When their gazes connected, Catherine’s blood turned to molten lava. Dean stared at her as if he wanted to devour her. She left her hand where it was. “What do you want to know?”
    He pushed his mug to the side and leaned in closer. Catherine could smell his scent, and like before it turned her on. “Anything. What do you like to do in your off hours? Any hobbies?”
    She laughed. “Seriously?”
    One side of his mouth kicked up in a playful half grin. “Why not? It’s a place to start.”
    “Okay. I either spend time with my friend Mary, or I read. I love books. It’s something Gracie and I have in common.” She tilted her head to the side. “What about you? Do you like to read?”
    “Eh, not all that much.” He paused a second, then asked, “Your friend, what’s she like?”
    “She’s different. Bold, lovable, a real risk taker.” Catherine shrugged. “The opposite of me. We’re as close as sisters though.”
    Dean slid his thumb back and forth over her knuckles, creating a maelstrom of need inside her. “I’m not sure about the risk taker part,” he murmured, “but you can be pretty bold. Hell, you’ve put me in my place more than once.”
    Catherine liked the way Dean described her, even if it was inaccurate. “I don’t think you’re talking about the right person.”
    “Hmm, we’ll leave that for another day. For now, tell me about your job, web design. Do you enjoy it?”
    Oh, now, that was a subject she could sink her teeth into. “I love it. It can be demanding and clients can be difficult at times, but it’s nice to set my own hours. And there’s a lot of satisfaction when I finish a project and the client walks away happy.”
    “Web design requires a fair amount of knowledge with coding, doesn’t it? You must be good with computers.”
    She swirled her finger around the rim of her mug, gathering several droplets of foam, then licked it off. “I know enough,” she answered. “But I’d like to go back to college to learn more.”
    He frowned. “I’m having a hard time picturing you sitting alone at a computer all day. How’d you get into it?”
    The fact Dean couldn’t imagine Catherine in such a way was more proof that he had her pegged all wrong. More proof that she needed to show him that she wasn’t the woman he thought she was.
    “I started out thinking it was computer engineering that I wanted to do,” Catherine replied. “I ended up in information technology instead.”
    He looked her over and murmured, “I’d never figure you for a geek.”
    Her eyes grew round. “I am not a geek!”
    “You sure as hell don’t look like one,” he growled, as he tugged on her hand and brought it to his mouth. He brushed each