Smoke and Mirrors Read Online Free PDF

his desk, but the way he looked at her made her feel like they were pressed body to body. "Is that what we're doing?"
    "It's a great way to get acquainted, wouldn't you say?" He punctuated the question with a razor-sharp smile she hadn't found in any picture, any video.
    "Is this how you welcome all new employees?" she asked.
    "This has nothing to do with you being my employee, Cass." The glitter faded from his gaze, leaving only challenge. "This has to do with the way you took on a roomful of drunks last night with no fear in your eyes, but acted like a butterfly on a spring day the second I put my arm around your waist. Not many people are bold as sunshine one minute, mysterious as
midnight
the next. I was just curious why."
    The observation knocked the breath from her lungs. "I didn't realize you were into pop psychology, Mr. Mansfield."
    "It's Derek," he corrected, "and I'm not."
    "Sure sounds like it to me."
    He laughed. "Relax. I'm not trying to steal all your secrets, I just make sure I know who I'm dealing with." He lowered his feet to the floor and leaned across his desk. "You can go on downstairs now. We've covered enough for one day."
    He was toying with her, she realized, dismissing her just when their conversation was going somewhere. His instincts were clearly as lethal as hers.
    "How gallant of you," she murmured, drawing her braid over her shoulder. "But what if I'm enjoying our conversation? What if I'd rather continue our little game of truth or dare?"
    Surprise sizzled in his eyes. He recovered quickly, that supremely male expression easing back into place. "Hate to shatter your illusions, honey, but I learned a long time ago you can't always get what you want. Sometimes wanting only makes it more impossible."
    "Ohh, I don't know about that." She absolutely refused to consider that she might not bag her man. "Guess I'll have to wait and see."
    She stood, pivoted, sauntered from his office. Her pace was slow and steady, remarkable considering how wildly her heart thrummed.
    A long time had passed since anything, anyone, had burrowed beneath the mechanics of the job and tapped into her core of femininity. She could play the role of sultry hotel worker, and she would if that's what the job demanded, but as she recalled the seductive invitation in Mansfield 's eyes, she realized how careful she needed to be.
    The line between woman and cop had blurred once before, and the consequences had been deadly. In the five ensuing years she'd carved the line as deeply as she could, made it as dark and uncrossable as possible.
    She stayed on the side of the cop exclusively. It was smarter that way, safer for everyone.
    Even though there was no one.
    Mansfield 's arrival changed nothing. Heightened everything. She couldn't let the line blur now, couldn't afford to pay attention to the side of her that was the woman.
    Not with Mansfield primed to pounce.
    * * *
    The sun dipped beneath the horizon, leaving a cloudless black sky in its wake. Far above, a canopy of stars flirted with the earth, a brisk wind stirring to their fierce command. Many a night had been spent like this, lying on deck of a ship and watching the sky. Out in the middle of the ocean, thousands of miles from land, everything seemed more vivid. No towering skyscrapers to taint the view, no airplanes to interfere with the deafening silence, no lies to obscure the truth.
    But Derek was no longer a merchant marine, no longer a rebellious youth getting back at his family and searching for his identity. He was a man who knew the score.
    The stay in Edinburgh had been good for him. Some had accused him of retreating, yet he and Luc knew the truth. His furlough in Scotland had nothing to do with admitting defeat and everything to do with preparation.
    I don't think you give a damn.
    The sting of Cassandra's words lingered. He couldn't help but wonder what she would think when everything was said and done, when his score was settled.
    Derek bit back the ridiculous