If someone would have told Felicity a month ago she’d be hanging out in the rougher part of Dallas, at a dive sushi bar with Kade Kincaid, she would have laughed her butt off. She would have laughed her butt off even more if someone would have told her she would like it.

Like him.

They sat on the floor, a small table between them with their shoes off. He told her the rest of the really horrible joke he’d been explaining to her. “No, see when you have a priest and a rabbi joke, you always have to have a cowboy in their midst.”

Giggling at his insanity and intensity, at the way he tried to make her understand the finesse of the rabbi, priest, and cowboy joke, she closed her eyes and giggled harder.

“Are you laughing at me, Song?”

She peeked and saw he was starting to break his intensity too.

“Shut it, Song." He pointed at her.

This made her laugh even harder.

He couldn’t hold back his own laughter anymore as he said, “I swear, you have no culture.”

This just made her laugh even more.

It’d been a casual, fun time. She’d been impressed at how, when Kade was incognito, he seemed just like a normal person.

“What? You’re getting that look on your face.” He cocked an eyebrow.

She looked at his empty plate of food. “I guess you are more adventurous than protein shakes.”

He sighed. “Hey, I ate a hotdog the other day.”

Pumping her eyebrows, she shook her head. “If the public only knew. It could change your whole image.”

“Yes, the public. And where would my PR firm be then?” He grew serious. “Is that why you won’t come away with me?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re relentless.” But she didn’t feel as angry as she had earlier when he’d asked. The thought of a grandmother intrigued her.

For a few moments, they just sat there, smiling.

“What did you mean earlier when you told me you’d been thinking about football?”

Immediately, she thought of being close to him, how she’d thought of the dinner cruise. “Nothing,” she said quickly.

“No way.” He leaned in intensely. “You have to tell.”

Hating that she felt this way, and hating that she did trust this man, she looked at her hands. “I was just thinking how …” She chickened out. “Never mind.”

“What?”

Adrenaline filled her, and her heart raced.

“Song?” he asked.

Hearing him call her by her last name amused her. “I was thinking how you always do your football speak, and I had actually thought a football analogy in my mind.”

He grinned. “Good, I’m rubbing off on you.”

His eyes sparkled, like they couldn’t wait for the entire joke to smile more fully, and her mind flashed to being in his arms at the dinner cruise. “What?”

“What?” She hadn’t meant to think about that. “Nothing.”

He shook his head. “Nope, we’re staying here until you tell me.” He crossed his arms.

She thought, once again, that he was a bratty and entitled billionaire, but she didn’t say it.

“Song,” he said in a deep voice.

She sighed and looked back at her hands. She spoke quickly. “I was just thinking about being in your arms and how strong you are and …” It was coming out all wrong. “But not like your muscles.” She prattled on, looking up at him.

The edge of his mouth twitched up.

She waved a hand in the air, hating how tongue-tied she felt at this moment. “I was thinking about the dinner cruise, about when we danced and you held me. I was just thinking how good it felt to be held.”

Their eyes were locked.

She blinked. “A woman needs to be held sometimes.” This was getting worse, but she didn’t stop, already exposed. “See, this is what I’m talking about. Earlier, when I actually thought the football analogy, it was because I thought about how you’ve snuck past my defenses, but I was thinking in football terms, like the stuff you say to me. It just sounded more like an analogy you would say.” She stopped talking, feeling breathless. “I’m rambling …” She trailed off, feeling idiotic.

His grin widened.

“That was horrible. I don’t know why I said all that.”

Kade hesitated, and she worried he thought she had lost her mind. Then she thought it might be good if he did think that because she was feeling so strange and weird. Things she didn’t want to feel for anybody were surfacing.

Like right now.

He leaned over and put a hand on top of hers on the table. “How about after work you just come to my place, and we’ll go see my grandma?”

“Fine,” she said, unable to believe she’d actually agreed.

His whole face lit up, and she thought he would literally spring from his bottom to his feet in one jump. “Really?”

Excitement, angst, uncertainty, and everything all rolled into one pulsed through her. She stood, feeling extremely uncertain. “I shouldn’t." She looked at her phone. “It’s almost two. I’m late.”

He dropped money on the table and stood, taking her hand. “Just tell DaVinci you were with a client.” He wagged his eyebrows. “It’s true.”

She might have to, but she didn’t want to tell DaVinci. It would open another can of worms for her.

Kade kept his hand in hers as they left the restaurant. “You’re going to love it. My grandma is amazing, but her house is even more amazing.”

Turning, she decided she had to make sure he knew the boundaries. “Kade, you know I have a heart condition, but there are other things you don't know.”

Taking both of her hands and pulling her against the side of the dive wall they stood in front of, he soberly evaluated her. “Have you killed anyone?”

She frowned. He still had a small smile on his face. “Stop.” She tried to tug her hands away.

He kept her hands. “Do you owe child support?”

She glared at him. “Funny man.” Her heart rate went into hyper speed.

“I know about your mom and dad.” He looked serious. “You mentioned your brother. What else do I need to know?”

I’m never having that surgery everybody thinks I need, she wanted to say. She hesitated.

A slow grin washed over his face. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you know way more about me than I even know about me. So I’ll look forward to discovering everything about you.”

She did know most things about him. Down to all his relationships, or lack of them really. She hadn’t really thought about that. Kade hadn’t had any serious things going on. Lots of dating, not lots of serious.

Seeming to be on the same wavelength, he dropped one of her hands to put his arm behind her on the building and kept her other hand. He was close to her. Kissable close. He stared into her eyes. “Has there been someone, Felicity? Someone you don’t want to tell me about that you still love, or are you in a relationship I should know about?”

The words sounded so vulnerable coming from him. Her heart started running wild. She smiled and put her finger slowly against his lips. “I told you, Kade. You can’t fall in love with me.”

He grinned. “Yeah, but you never said you can’t fall in love with me.” A cocky grin filled his face.

She glared at him, hating and loving this pull between them. Whipping out her phone, she ordered an uber.

While they waited, he picked up her hand again.

Part of her wished, begged, hoped he would forget her. That he would quit texting, that she wouldn’t have to break his heart when she told him the whole truth about her.

Gently pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, he searched her face. “Where have you gone, my redheaded Aphrodite?”

A small smile played at her lips. “I’m not Aphrodite.” She scoffed. “Also, Aphrodite was Zeus’ daughter.”

A scowl filled his face. “Gross, obviously I haven’t kept tabs on the Greek Gods.”

She laughed. “Obviously.”

He leaned into her. “Will you kiss me?” he asked and snaked a hand around her waist, pulling her into him.

Her heart pounded, and she found she wanted to. Dang it, she really wanted to.

His other hand cupped the back of her head and tangled itself in her hair as he gently pulled her closer.

She still didn’t move.

Right before his lips claimed hers, he said, “Tell me you want to kiss me.”

There had never been a more sensual, more heightened, more all-consuming chemistry in her life. Every cell in her body hummed with energy charged by his. It was like the tiniest touch would make her implode.

Even though she shouldn’t and it wasn’t fair and a million other things, she stared into those pools of blue sky and thought the actual Zeus might just be zapping her with his lightning bolts. It was the only explanation for this electric energy, and she couldn’t take it any longer. “I want to kiss you.”

Their lips met, and explosions of passion filled her. His lips were soft, and he took his time, deepening the kiss.

She grabbed him around the neck and pulled him closer, drinking him in, needing the solace and the strength and everything he was.

His lips kissed down her neck softly, slowly, with determination, and his hands squeezed her around her waist almost to the point of pain. It was like she couldn’t get close enough to him. Somehow, there was too much distance. All she could think about was how Kade had done the very thing she’d never wanted—he’d read her defenses and found an opening. He’d not only taken it, but he'd dominated the whole field.

His lips were back to hers, and she felt herself coming back to her brain, her mind, her will. She pushed him back. “Kade,” she whispered, feeling like she’d just drunk from the lake of the Gods, danced with the immortals. “We can’t do this.” Unfortunately, there was no force in her tone.

Still, every part of him seemed to pull away from her, letting her go. His hands were languid, like water ready to ebb, ready to flow based on her command, at her waist. “It’s already done.”

His words, his cockiness, the truth of him, took her by such surprise that she choked out a laugh.

She hated that she had allowed anyone, especially him, to get to this point. She shook her head, and all she knew was the fire that had started would be painful to put out. "I …”

He nodded to the curb. “Your uber is here, I’ll see you tonight." He smiled playfully. “Come to my house at six. Bring an overnight bag and your swimsuit.” He lightly touched her nose. “It’ll be fun.”

Moving to the curb, he opened the door for her.

Feeling like she was in shock, she got into the car.

He shut the door and smiled.

The driver pulled away, and she put her hand to her heart, finally recognizing exactly what emotions she felt about Kade Kincaid.

Fear and love.