They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Guy would have to deem this particular photo priceless. He grinned.

Because it matched the look on her face.

Julia gaped, eyes wide, and high color rose in her cheeks. “Where did you get that?” she demanded, albeit weakly.

He snapped his phone shut. “A friend. I’m famished,” he said, retracing his steps off her porch. He looked around and took a deep cleansing breath, as though all was right with his world. “Are you hungry?”

She hurriedly locked her door, then scrambled along behind him. He decided he liked it, her chasing after him for a change. Go ahead, he thought. Check out my ass. I happen to like it.

“What friend?” she wanted to know.

Guy chuckled under his breath and opened the passenger door for her. “Boy when you said ‘unavoidably detained’ you meant it, didn’t you? The guy who bailed you out of jail, this Warren, is he your boyfriend?”

Surely not, Guy had thought skeptically when he’d first seen his picture as well. Bless Payne’s thorough heart, he’d run a check on him, too. The guy looked about as fun as watching paint dry, downright maudlin. He’d dubbed him Eeyore, and one look at him had told him that the guy didn’t possess the necessary skill to rock her world.

Her?

With him?

What? Did she have a “boring” fetish?

Unfortunately, since it was his house she’d been arrested for attempted B&E--dressed up like a comic-book bombshell, no less--and he’d been the guy she’d called to the rescue, Guy had come to unhappy conclusion that Eeyore had to be her boyfriend.

It boggled the mind.

Though he knew he shouldn’t give a damn, the mere idea set his teeth on edge. He--a badass former Ranger--was jealous of a man with absolutely no discernible evidence of testosterone. A bloody tax accountant.

“How do you know about Warren?” she asked as Guy slid behind the wheel. He started the truck, then dialed the stereo down to accommodate conversation.

“He bailed you out,” Guy said. He shifted into drive, shot a look over his shoulder, then pulled away from the curb. “You were trying to break into his house. My friend thought I’d want to know these things.”

Her jaw worked angrily. “Did it ever occur to your friend that none of this is any of your business?” she practically ground out.

Guy flashed her an unrepentant smile and dropped his shades into place. “No.”

“No?”

“Why would it? We’re in the business of not minding our business.”

She frowned. “Come again?”

“Ranger Security,” Guy told her. He aimed his truck toward Frank’s, a nice little Italian place off base. “A couple of friends and I run a personal security and PI firm in Atlanta. We earn our living by being nosy, though personally, I prefer the term ‘curious.’”

She snorted. “Call it whatever you want it, but you had no business delving into my private life. What on earth would make you want to do a thing like that?” she asked, a mortified wail creeping into her voice.

Guy slid her a lingering look and lowered his voice an octave. “I was curious.”

Julia blushed adorably and looked away. “You could have just asked.”

“But then I wouldn’t have this hot new screen saver for my cell phone.”

A smile played around her lips before she could fully squash it. “You’re insufferable.”

Guy shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”

“I’ll just bet you have.”

“So what’s the deal with Eeyore, I mean Warren?” Guy asked again. “You never answered me.”

She turned to look at him. “Eeyore?” she asked pointedly.

He slid her a sidelong glance. “Surely you’ve seen the resemblance.”

Julia chuckled and shook her head, evidently not quite sure what to make of him. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

“And you’re really good at avoiding questions. Maybe I should call my friend back and have him get the score from Warren. You know, it’s amazing how people will just spill their guts to you. Really. You wouldn’t believe some of the--“

She gasped, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “You wouldn’t.”

He tutted under his breath and smiled innocently at her. “Aw, you ought to know me better than that.”

Looking completely irritated and miserable, Julia crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the windshield. “He was my boyfriend,” she finally said. “We broke up.”

Before or after he’d bailed her out of jail? Guy wondered, curiously elated at this news. It meant that she was unattached and available and though he shouldn’t be considering any sort of sexual entanglement with her, he had to admit the idea was becoming more and more seductive.

Had she dressed up for Warren as a way to win him back? Geez God, surely not. Where was her self-esteem? Her self-respect? Or had Eeyore dumped her after her untimely stint in the slammer? For whatever reason, this seemed more likely. She hadn’t cut him loose, that was for sure, otherwise she wouldn’t have been planning a sexy little rendezvous featuring her in the starring role.

As unbelievable as it was, Eeyore had dumped her.

He smothered a disbelieving grunt. Boring and stupid. Now there was a winning combination. What the hell had she been thinking? Granted he’d known her less than a day, but even he could see that this Warren hadn’t been the guy for her. He’d had chesticles for pity’s sake, big man boobs. Hell, the guy probably had more estrogen than she did.

Since she seemed more humiliated than hurt, Guy decided to continue his roll as nosy ass and probe for further details. “Why’d you break up?”

Her lips formed a humorless smile. “Like a dog with a bone, aren’t you? I’ll bet you were one of those kids who liked poking dead animals with sticks to see if they were really dead.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Guy said, stung. He loved animals, dammit, and while he’d admit to being a hellion, he’d never been a bully. Or a psychopath in the making. He shot her a glance. “My dog would take offense at the comment.”

“You’ve got a dog?”

Her brows winged up in surprise, as though he were too shallow to care for a pet. Guy set his jaw and found himself becoming more and more perturbed. “Yes,” he said tightly. “I have a dog--Bear. He’s a chocolate lab.”

“Oh.”

He waited a beat and when she didn’t expand on comment he said, “Why would you think I wouldn’t have a dog?”

“I just assumed you wouldn’t have time for one,” she said breezily. “An animal requires a commitment and, what with all your snooping around and womanizing, I wouldn’t have figured you’d invest that much of yourself into a pet.”

“And I wouldn’t have thought you’d dress up like a hooker to try and drum up some sexual interest in your boring boyfriend, then get yourself thrown into the slammer for your trouble, either.” He smiled wolfishly at her. “But I guess we all make mistakes.”

Back to being mean again and he instantly regretted it, but dear God, the woman was provoking.

“I’m sorry,” Guy told her, mentally swearing. “That was uncalled for.”

Julia sighed heavily. “Don’t apologize. I goaded you.”

“That’s no excuse for being cruel. You just--“ Guy paused, trying to think of a diplomatic way to say what he meant, which was highly unusual for him when he normally didn’t use an internal editor.

“Don’t sugar-coat it,” she told him, smiling now. “Just say what you mean. First lesson in building a trusting relationship, right?”

“Fine.” He glared at her with exasperated humor. “You annoy the shit out of me.” He grunted, drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “You’re such a smart ass.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hi, Pot. Meet Kettle.”

“I know I’m a smart ass,” Guy readily admitted. “I’m just not used to dealing with a woman who’s one also.” Actually, it was kind of refreshing. Women didn’t ordinarily argue with him. They batted their lashes and sat in his lap and ruffled his hair. Conversation was limited.

She smiled and chewed the inside of her cheek. “No, you’re probably used to women fawning all over you and agreeing with every macho prehistoric comment that comes out of that sexy mouth of yours.”

He brightened. “You think my mouth is sexy?”

Julia closed her eyes tightly shut, then opened them again and chuckled softly. “Out of everything I said that’s the only thing you heard?”

Guy wheeled his truck into Frank’s parking lot and found an empty space. “No, I heard the rest of it. I just liked that part the best.”

She blushed again, fought another smile. “You would.”

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I think your mouth is sexy, too.” Without thinking, he reached over, cupped her chin and gently ran the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. She gasped softly, the sound vibrating something deep inside of him, and those mesmerizing green eyes fluttered shut.

Invitation enough, Guy thought, closing the distance between them.

His mouth settled over hers and a shock of sensation so intense it made every hair on his body stand on end--along with another part below his waist--shook him to the very core. His entire body quaked with a weird sensation akin to adrenaline overload--as a junkie, he recognized it--and a shaky breath leaked out of his mouth and into hers. She tasted like sweet tea and butterscotch candy and the vaguest hint of something wild, wicked and indefinable.

He became instantly addicted.

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then she sighed--the sweetest breath of supplication he’d ever tasted--pushed her hands into his hair and her tongue into his mouth and the rest of the world vanished.

He’d been right.

She was a hellion in the making--and he was just the guy to help her with the transformation.

 

*   *   *

 

It was official, Julia decided.

She was a slut.

She’d known Guy McCann for less than day and yet the second he’d touched her--just the barest graze of the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, probably the single most erotic touch she’d ever been privy to--and she’d melted.

Right into his mouth.

Truthfully, she hadn’t expected him to kiss her--a pretty bold move for a guy who’d she’d spent the majority of the time arguing with--but then who was she kidding? She’d known from the minute she’d met him that he played by his own rules. He was cocky, reckless and irreverent, infuriating...and absolutely sexy as hell.

And, oh Lord, he could kiss like the very devil.

He fed at her mouth with a combination of confidence and skill that was simply drugging with its sensuality. A bold sweep of his tongue, the smooth drag of his lips over hers. He’d leaned over and had framed both hands around her face, angling her closer so that he could deepen the kiss. She felt his fingers slid over her jaw, almost reverently, and a satisfied masculine growl of approval vibrated in their joined mouths.

Julia’s belly quivered, her nipples pearled and an explosion of heat erupted in her womb, sending a rush of warmth over the quaking, tingling folds of her sex.

Sweet mercy.

She tangled her fingers in the short hair at his nape, sliding her thumb along the smooth patch of skin behind his ear and wiggled closer to him. Her blood burned through her veins, moving sluggishly with the weight of desire, and seemed to burn hotter in her suddenly heavy breasts and needy, neglected womb.

A kiss, a mere kiss, and yet if he so much as touched her, she knew she’d come.

This was what she’d been missing, Julia realized as a buzz of excitement joined the tornado of sensation swirling madly through her body.

This was pure desire in its most potent form.

Mindless. Desperate. Agonizingly unfamiliar because she’d never experienced anything even remotely close to this sort of passion. Every cell in her body hammered with the urge to get closer, to feel naked skin to naked skin, his mouth attached to her nipple, the hard long thrust of him deep inside of her.

She whimpered longingly into his mouth and felt him smile against her lips, then seemingly pleased and further emboldened, he upped the tempo of the kiss. Suckling her tongue, probing the insides of her mouth, and all the while, moving those amazing lips over hers in a mimicking dance she’d love to feel below her waist. If he could make this kind of magic in her mouth, then the possibilities were endless on other equally sensitive body parts.

To her chagrin, Guy drew back. Her swollen lips and drunken expression peered back at her from his mirrored shades. A slow smile slid across his lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?” she asked stupidly.

“For not slapping me. I’ve been wanting to do that since the instant I saw your mouth.”

She blinked. The instant he saw her mouth? But--

“It’s hot. And you’re a helluva kisser. Good timing. Not too wet, not too dry. Wow.”

Spoken like a true teacher, Julia thought, still swaddled in the post-kiss afterglow. And he’d complimented her. Now that was a first.

Guy shot her another smile, then exited the truck, rounded the hood and opened her door for her. Good manners, she thought, wondering where he’d learned them. His mother, most likely, yet it was hard to imagine this man ever being a baby or even a little boy. Her lips twisted. He could hardly spring fully grown from the womb, though, so she knew he had to have been, at one time or another, a least a little vulnerable.

He fell in beside her as they walked toward the restaurant. “I hope you like Italian,” he said, holding the door open for her.

The mouthwatering scent of fresh garlic, oil olive and marinara hung in the air, making her belly rumble. Candle light sparkled from small square tables draped in red and white checked clothes. “You wouldn’t have to hope if you’d asked,” she pointed out, trying to appear less affected than she had been by that kiss.

Guy smiled, completely unrepentant. “Is that your way of telling me that you don’t like it?”

They waited to be seated. “No, that’s my way of telling you that you should have asked me where I would like to go.”

“I wasn’t aware that this was a date.”

Julia chewed the inside of her cheek and glared at him. “I wasn’t either until you kissed me.”

He grinned and an admiring gleam twinkled in that smooth jade gaze. “Touché. Do you like Italian?” he asked solicitously.

Julia nodded primly. “As it happens, I do.”

He put a knuckle in the small of her back, causing a ripple of gooseflesh to zip up her spine, and nudged her forward, after the hostess. “Excellent. Then I made a wise choice.”

Despite it being high-handed, yes he had, Julia thought as they were seated. Fresh herbs, oil and bread appeared at their table almost instantly, followed by a nice bottle of wine. The atmosphere was warm and casual and the aroma of good authentic Italian food wafted on the breeze of slowly turning ceiling fans. Julia ordered the spinach ravioli and a Ceasar salad, then sat back and watched Guy peruse the menu with a practiced eye.

God, the man was too handsome for words, she thought, her gaze inexplicably drawn to those beautiful lips she’d been tasting only moments ago. “I’ll have the grilled lamb with salsa verde,” he said, closing his menu. “And a Ceasar salad, also.” Smiling, his gaze returned to Julia as soon as the waitress moved away. “So, why did you and Warren break-up?”

Because I suck in the sack, Julia thought, and almost blurted out the humiliating truth. Her wine glass paused halfway at her lips and she looked at Guy above the rim. Tension knotted her belly. “Back to that, are we?”

“You’ve never answered me.”

She swallowed. “That’s because it’s none of your business.”

He tore off a piece of bread and dredged it in herbs and oil, then smiled at her before popping a bite into his mouth. “We’re dating now, so it is.”

She chuckled despite herself. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, we aren’t dating,” Julia said, with an exasperated eye roll. “I was only needling you because you were rude. We kissed, Guy. That’s it.” She congratulated herself when no bolt of lightening accompanied the lie.

“For now,” he murmured enigmatically, causing her heart to skip a beat. “If you aren’t going to tell me why you two broke up, I suppose I’ll simply have to start guessing.” He paused, gave her a speculative look. “Despite the fact that you’re incredibly beautiful, you’re hiding a hideous deformity beneath that long skirt. Is that it?”

He was insane, Julia decided, warming at the “incredibly beautiful” remark. “No,” she said, poking her tongue in her cheek.

“I’ll look later,” he said confidently.

Honestly, she’d like to get a look at his balls, because the guy had a brass set that was for damned sure.

He made a grand show of pondering her once more. “Any odd fetishes Lord Boring couldn’t handle?” An exaggerated frown wrinkled his brow. “You’re not into toe-sucking are you?”

She choked on a laugh. “No.”

“Spanking?”

“No.” Sorry. Pain in any shape, form or fashion didn’t do it for her. She couldn’t stub her toe without the entire neighborhood hearing her wail.

He hummed under his breath and leaned back in his chair, his expression turning endearingly dejected. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

“Why is it so important?”

“Because I find stupidity fascinating and the guy would have to be a complete moron to let you go.”

Julia stilled, taken aback by the blunt but flattering assessment. That had to be one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Her eyes inexplicably watered and she pretended to sneeze into her napkin so that she could wipe her eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured. Then a thought struck. “What makes you so sure that he cut me loose and not the other way around?”

A droll smile rolled around his lips. “You weren’t dressed like a woman who was going to give someone the kiss-off last night, were you?”

Oh, yeah. God, how humiliating. For a moment she’d actually forgotten that he’d stored that embarrassing mug shot on his cell phone, that he knew that she’d tried to break into Warren’s house and that he’d been the one to bail her out of jail.

But if he knew all of that, he had to know that until last night she’d never been in any sort of trouble--that desperate times drove people to desperate measures. Hell, no wonder he was so damned curious. She’d be curious, too, if their roles were reversed.

In all honesty, she hadn’t been desperate to keep Warren so much as she’d been desperate not to fail again. Which was hardly fair to Warren. Still, the ungrateful wretch should have appreciated her gesture and not ditched her for her effort. Quite honestly, she never thought he would have had the spine to do it.

And he had been boring, Julia thought, growing more incensed by the second. He’d been a boring, snoring, soft-spoken mealy-mouthed stiff. What in the hell had she ever seen in him to start with? Julia wondered, delving into a little self-therapy. What had been the draw?

Then it hit her--he’d been safe and manageable...just like all the other guys she’d dated, Julia realized. Or since Colton, the one and only bad boy she’d ever allowed herself to care about. He’d dated her long enough to bed her--to make her think that he gave a damn about her--then had cut and run the minute he’d “tagged” her. He’d been her first. She’d been nineteen, a college freshmen, and fresh pickings for a guy whose only goal in life had been seeing how many girls he could assembly line through his bedroom.

God, that had been so long ago, Julia thought, still a bit stung by the rejection, but not devastated as she had been then. She stilled. Had she allowed that old heartbreak to affect all of her relationship decisions? Had the fear of being rejected again made her play it safe? To choose only guys she could conceivably control? She wouldn’t have thought so, but... The subconscious was a powerful tool, and self-preservation even more so.

Her gaze slid to Guy once more. Now there was a heartbreaker if she’d ever seen one. Julia’s breath left her in a soft sigh. He had trouble written all over him and yet that didn’t prevent her pulse from leaping every time he aimed that smile at her. And he could fix her, Julia thought. That bone-melting kiss out in his truck had proved what she’d already suspected. When it came to the how-to’s of sex, Guy McCann was clearly an expert.

She needed an expert.

She needed an orgasm.

In short, she needed him.

“Do you really want to know why he broke up with me?” she asked.

Guy nodded.

“Fine. I’ll tell you.” Julia tossed back the rest of her wine, drawing courage from the alcohol, then straightened her shoulders and pushed her lips into a bitter smile. “Lord Boring--Eeyore--thought I was too dull in the sack.”

There. She’d either scared him off...or thrown down the gauntlet.

Time would only tell which.