Irish Rose by Nora Roberts

books and papers were piled together in one heap. There was an adding machine, but it was nothing like the clunky manual one she'd used before. Besides the clutter, there was a phone, a china holder stuffed with pencils and a basket clearly marked In and Out.
    Burke moved behind the desk and began opening and closing drawers. "You've got stamps, stationery, extra work sheets, checkbooks. Since Morita, nothing goes out without my signature."
    "If you'd taken that precaution before, you'd be thirty thousand dollars richer."
    "Point taken." He didn't add that Morita had worked for him for ten years, during lean times and better. "Set your own pace, as long as it's not sluggish. Rosa will fix you lunch. You can take it in here or in the dining room. There may be times I'll join you."
    "Are you here most of the day?"
    "I'm around." He settled a hip on the corner of the desk. "You didn't sleep well."
    "No, I…" But her fingers had automatically lifted to the slight smudges under her eyes. "The time change, I guess."
    "Are you comfortable at the Grants'?"
    "Aye, they're wonderful to me. All of them."
    "They're extraordinary people. You won't find many like them."
    "You're not." She hadn't meant to say it, but told herself it was too late to be sorry she had. "You've an edge to you."
    "Then be careful you don't get too close. Edges can be sharp."
    "I've already seen that for myself." She said it lightly as she reached for the first stack of papers. He closed his hand slowly and firmly around her wrist.
    "Are you trying to provoke me, Irish?"
    "No, but I don't imagine it takes much."
    "You're right there. It might be fair to tell you that I have a short fuse, and a dangerous one."
    "I'm so warned." She looked amused, but when she tried to free her hand, his fingers only tightened.
    "One more warning, then. Since you've moved into our little community, you'll hear it from others soon enough. When I find a woman who attracts me, I find a way to have her. Fair means or foul, it doesn't mean a damn to me."
    It wasn't a warning, Erin realized. It was a threat. Beneath his fingers, her pulse was beating hard and fast, but she kept her eyes even with his. "I didn't have to be told to know that, nor have I any intention of attracting you."
    "Too late." He grinned but released her hand. "I find you intriguing enough to dance in the moonlight with, desirable enough to kiss in a garden shed, and passionate enough to imagine making love to."
    Her stomach knotted with fear, with longing. "Well, a woman's head could be turned clear around with such flattery, Mr. Logan. Tell me, did you bring me to America to sleep with you or to fix your books?"
    "Both," he said simply, "but we'll deal with business first."
    "Business is all we'll deal with. Now I'd like to begin."
    "Fine." But instead of leaving, he ran his hands up her arms. Erin stiffened, but didn't back away. She wouldn't play the fool and struggle. Though she braced herself for the hot passion she'd experienced before, he only brushed a kiss over her cheek.
    He'd thought of her and little else since he'd come home again. He'd thought of how she'd felt in his arms, of how his system reacted when she smiled, of how her voice flowed, warm and sweet, so that a man didn't care what the words were as long as she spoke again.
    He knew he could have her. Her response had been too quick and too encompassing before for either of them to pretend otherwise. He knew she wanted him, though it didn't sit well with her. Even now, as he kissed her lightly, avoiding her lips, her breath was beginning to tremble. He'd never known a woman whose passion was so close to the surface. Now that she was here, in his home, he knew he wouldn't rest until he had all of it.
    But she would come to him. His pride demanded it. So he teased her with his lips, knowing he stirred her. He teased her with his lips, knowing he was slowly killing himself.
    "Fair means or foul," he murmured, nipping gently at her earlobe. "I want