“Hi,” she breathed into the awkward silence.

“It’s been a while.”

She nodded. It was jerky, nervous. He hadn’t heard much of Luc’s conversation with Kimber, just enough to know his cousin had some whacked-out imagining that he’d been keeping the beauty to himself. And that Kimber thought she had an urgent reason to be here. Since they only had one acquaintance in common, this had to be about the Colonel.

“Is everything all right with your dad?”

“He—he’s fine. Thanks.” She pasted on a smile. “He says some psycho ex-convict he helped bring in for a client is out now and threatening him, but that’s nothing new.”

In their line of work? “No, it’s not.”

Finally, his erection abated enough for him to cross the room and plant himself at the fussy Italian table. A smile still tugged at the corner of his cousin’s mouth, and Deke sent him a warning glare.

“I heard you tell Luc you had something urgent to talk to me about. It’s not about the Colonel?”

“No. It’s…” Kimber’s lashes swept toward her cheeks as she looked down, bit her lip again.

Damn it, her unconscious, innocent flirtations were making him hard all over.

Her gaze bounced back up, and he saw fortitude there.

Interesting…

“It’s personal.”

Personal? Deke had no idea what to say. She’d come to him for something personal? He’d done his best to be an ass to her when he’d worked for her father.

Not too difficult when he’d been knotted up by sexual frustration on a daily basis.

A moment passed in silence. A pause.

Luc rose and approached Kimber. “I’ll give you kids a few minutes alone. I have to make a phone call, anyway. There’s more raspberry tea in the fridge. Don’t let Mr.

Glower scare you off.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it. “And don’t leave without saying good-bye.”

Deke watched the exchange, and realized that he was grinding his teeth. Bastard.

Kimber was everything his cousin pursued with single-minded vigor: the promise of sweetness, white lace, and innocent sighs. The fact she had a healthy hint of red in her hair was just a bonus.

Not this woman. Not this time. If Kimber was off limits to him, Luc wasn’t getting a piece of her ass, either.

The muted slam of a door down the hall let Deke know his cousin was safely ensconced in his office. He turned his attention back to Kimber. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“I came to ask you for a favor. I realize this is odd but…” She drew in a shaky sigh, then raised her chin, seeming to take her nerves in hand. A moment later, she sent him a direct stare. “Would you teach me about sex, the way you like it?” Generally, Deke’s expression conveyed none of his thoughts. His line of work made a poker face essential. But Kimber had his jaw dropping on this one. He couldn’t have been more stunned if she’d asked him to dig a hole the size of the Grand Canyon with his bare hands.

“What?”

“I want to learn about the way you like to have sex.” The way he liked to have sex? Like it was some foreign fucking planet?

Something here was wrong. Very wrong. Virginal Kimber couldn’t possibly want what he wanted. It shouldn’t even be in her vocabulary. Hell, maybe it wasn’t. She probably didn’t have the faintest idea what she was asking for.

With that sobering thought, irritation doused his manners, and he shook his head. “Why the fuck would you want that?”

Kimber didn’t bat an eyelash at his language. Deke gave her credit for that—and having the guts to come here in the first place. Growing up with the Colonel and two older brothers, likely she’d heard every four-letter word known to man, and a few they’d probably made up on their own. He wondered where she’d come up with the fortitude to ask him to…what? Be her sexual tutor? He damn near snorted at the thought of all the things he’d like to show her.

“I think it’s time I expand my horizons,” she explained in a breezy, practiced manner. “And for all your brash attitude, you’re an honorable guy. You’d never hurt me—”

“Which is exactly why I’m going to say no to you before you get any farther in that little speech.”

“I haven’t finished.”

“You shouldn’t have started.”

“I need your knowledge. I have to know how to please a man with your wants.” His wants. As if it was easy. As if he could just draw her a picture. He held in a bitter laugh. “Let me get this straight: You want to learn how to fuck me, but you have no clue what that means, do you?”

She bristled. “I do. You’re into ménage.” How the hell had she learned that? Surprising. Perplexing. Disturbing. So damn arousing.

But the way she said the word ménage, like it scared the hell out of her. Deke laughed. Long and hearty, out loud and totally at her expense. “Kitten, you’re in way over your head.”

“Please don’t treat me like a child. I’m not the most experienced woman. So what?

Everyone starts from scratch. I’m trying to learn. I’m not asking you for a commitment or a lot of your time. I’m talking an evening or two. What’s your hang-up?”

So the little kitten still had claws. He found that wildly exciting. She’d look mighty fine spread out on this gleaming round table, parted legs dangling, swollen pussy open to him, while she mewled, a pant away from orgasm…

He cleared his throat and forced himself to focus. “Forget for a minute that you only have a vague idea what you’re asking for. Let’s get to the bigger question: Why? Why do you want to learn about ménage?” Kimber folded her hands in front of her and hesitated. She was trying to decide how much to tell him, formulating and discarding plans. He gave her a minute to get her head together. He could wait. It wouldn’t take long for him to get to the bottom of all this shit.

“You may be aware that, shortly before you came to work for my father, he had been guarding Jesse McCall.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

“Jesse and I…became very close that summer. We shared a special connection.

You could say our romance blossomed. We’ve both dated other people, but it’s just not the same. And our relationship has only grown stronger over the years. We’ve kept in constant touch via e-mail and phone calls. We share our hopes and wishes and dreams. I’ve had a lot of years to think about him, about us, and I believe he’s the one for me.”

Someone hand him a barf bag. She honestly believed that, while Jesse was churning out hits and banging a different woman on every stop of his concert tour, their friendship had some special significance in his life? He supposed it was possible—on the twelfth of never following a blue moon right after hell froze over.

“I see,” he drawled. “So what do I have to do with all this?”

“Well, about six months ago, we talked about our relationship at length. I told him I thought he was the one.” She bit her lip, hesitated. “He told me that he cares for me very much, but that his…lifestyle would shock me.” Based on what the tabloids printed? “It would.”

“I’ve seen the pictures of him with different women. I’ve heard the rumors that he’s been into this whole ménage scene. I know what I need to do to have a future with him. He says he doesn’t want to taint me and thinks I couldn’t cope. I need to prove to him that I can be everything he needs.” Holy shit. Was she completely out of her mind? She wanted him to tutor her in pleasuring the pretty-boy crooner and some unknown asshole. Did she really still have a teenage crush on the celebrity, the kind that made her squeal each time she heard his name? An immediate denial bit into his gut.

“So you think I’ll teach you, you’ll snare him, and we’ll all live happily ever after?” Kimber bristled. “I think it’s wise to go to Jesse prepared to please him and prove I can be that special person in his life.”

“How is this urgent?”

“He’s been in Europe for the last few years. I’ve missed him terribly. But he’s finally coming back to the States. Back to Texas, but just for a few months. We’ve made plans to see each other, find out where our relationship is going. It’s my chance to prove to him we still have that special connection.” Special connection? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

“First of all, the guy is an international pop star. He’s had something like three number-one albums in the last two years. He’s got women falling all over him. And you know it.”

She raised her chin. Pride. She had it in spades. Just another thing that made him hard for her.

“Which is exactly why I can’t afford to go unprepared. I’m aware of the competition for his time and attention. I’m aware that I’m not as worldly as the groupies who hang around him. But there is a connection between us. I want to take it to the next level. I think he does too, but is afraid of hurting me.”

“Second of all, you’re way too innocent for this.”

“That’s why I’m asking for your help. I refuse to go to him and run the risk of seeming like a child. Why the interrogation? How difficult can this be?”

“You think I can draw you a fucking picture, and that’s going to tell you all you need to know about ménages?”

“I was prepared for an explanation, maybe a demonstration…depending.” Un-frigging-believable. “An explanation would do jack squat for you, kitten. It wouldn’t help you prepare the way you’d need to. A demonstration would blow you away.”

She frowned, her frustration clearly rising as fast as his arousal. “If that’s the case, I need to know it now, before I commit to Jesse. A small demonstration—”

“Would make you run screaming out of here so fast, it would set records. You couldn’t handle this.”

“Why? Does it include bondage or whipping?”

Deke’s eyes widened in surprise. Kimber even knew about such things?

“Don’t look so damn shocked. I’m not a child anymore.”

“Maybe not. But you’re a virgin. I’d bet my life on it.”

“Yes. So what? I’ve saved that for Jesse.” She tossed a glossy curl behind her shoulder and acted as if a twenty-something woman announcing she’s a virgin was the most normal thing in the world. “Deke, I know you don’t owe me anything, but I’m asking as nicely as I know how for your help.”

“Fuck how you asked. Yeah, it was nice. Whatever. It’s a damn stupid request.”

“If you’re worried about my father being angry—”

“Hell, yes, he’ll be angry. But that has nothing to do with why I’m saying no.

Kimber, this isn’t the sort of sex a virgin has.” She paused, pondering. Then she stood. “Okay, I get it. I don’t…light your fire or whatever. Fine. I’ll figure something else out.”

He should let her believe that and let her go, but Deke couldn’t. She had to understand that she lit his fire—and was now playing with it.

Deke stood and blocked her path. “You think you don’t light my fire?” He looked down toward his cock, thick and hard and straining the front of his jeans. A moment later, her gaze followed suit. Her little gasp only made him harder. “Kitten, you have no idea the thoughts that have been running through my mind since your request that I teach you all about sex fell out of that pretty, fuckable mouth. I doubt you want to know.”

Fresh color stole up her cheeks. She glanced at his crotch again. Bit her lip. She did that when she was nervous and thinking.

“Yes, I do, if it has anything to do with sex the way you like it. The way Jesse likes it.”

Annoyance spiked in Deke. If he ever touched Kimber, big if, she wouldn’t be thinking about that pansy-ass pop star. She’d be too damn busy coming.

But saying no to her felt like he was turning his balls inside out. Hell, she was serving herself up on a platter for his lust. The lust he’d been harboring for over five years. Lust that created a nagging ache in his cock and clawed at his gut to be quenched.

Innocent. Virgin. Danger!

Time to put a stop to this now. She thought she was adult enough to handle ménage? Yeah… He could scare her off in about two seconds. And he’d better, before he did something crazy like grab her, touch her, drive her to the brink, then stuff her full of cock.

“The sex I like isn’t sweet or pretty or romantic, kitten. It’s raw, sometimes a little painful for a woman. It can require a spine of steel and a lot of stamina.” Kimber tensed, swallowed again. She was nervous—but intrigued. Curiosity swirled in those pretty hazel eyes. Finally, she nodded. “Go on.” Deke stepped closer. He couldn’t resist. Now he could smell her. Peaches and brown sugar and a hint of female arousal. Were his words making her hot—or was it knowing she could turn him on that got her wet?