Dark Deceiver. Pamela Palmer

that even through enchantment she could feel the bubbly excitement of a brand-new crush. Because that was exactly the way she felt. Excited.

      Kade rose and took off his leather jacket, revealing a T-shirt that accentuated his hard, muscular arms. Instead of moving to the living room as she’d suggested, he came around the counter and picked up the knife she’d dropped, nudging her aside with his hip. “I have a little experience with cooking.”

      His warm masculine scent washed over her, his overwhelming nearness stole the air from the room. She took a hurried step back, not wanting to be tempted to craziness a second time. She tried to calm her fluttering pulse as she leaned against the counter and watched him wield the knife with expert precision, his muscles flexing and bulging in all the right places.

      “You look like a professional.”

      “I’m not good with sauces and seasonings, but I can handle a knife well enough.” He looked up, capturing her with his gaze as the pepper disappeared beneath his blade. “What else do you need me to chop?”

      Autumn grabbed the counter as the boat bobbed, then handed him the red pepper, onion and tomato. “I didn’t mean to put you to work.”

      His mouth twisted with a wry hint of humor. “I don’t mind.”

      “Okay. Thanks. I’ll…um…get the rest of the ingredients.” They worked together surprisingly well, getting everything into the skillet. Despite Kade watching her, she managed to stir and cook the food without a single additional mishap.

      Dinner was almost ready when he leaned over the skillet and sniffed, a look of sheer pleasure on his ruggedly handsome face. “It smells good.”

      “Thanks.” She felt suddenly shy at the sincere compliment.

      He turned that look on her, pleasure lighting his eyes and playing around his mouth.

      Happiness bubbled out of her throat in a laugh, drawing a full smile from him at last, a smile that was endearingly boyish and a little lopsided, crinkling his eyes at the corners. Her heart flipped over in her chest. She swallowed a gasp and turned quickly back to the skillet. What was she doing?

      She was falling for him. Flat-out falling for him. And she didn’t know how to stop.

      When the rice started sticking to the bottom of the pan, she moved the skillet to a cool burner and turned off the stove.

      “Finished?” Kade asked hopefully.

      “As ready as it’s going to be.” She looked at him uncertainly, wondering how big a fool she was making of herself. He was so out of her league. But as she reached for the plates, something crashed outside, making her stop. The wild clanking of the dock lines told her it was just the wind, but in the next instant, a crack of thunder had her running for the door.

      “My laptop!” She’d left it outside.

      The wind buffeted her as she dove out the door. Sea spray stung her face, but she pushed toward the back deck and the small table she’d used earlier. The chair had fallen over, but her computer was where she’d left it, thank goodness. The sky had turned dark fast with the rising storm. A distant flash lit the clouds, followed by a low roll of thunder. She grabbed the laptop, and turned to find Kade right behind her.

      “We’ve got to get this furniture in the hatch,” she said, yelling over the howl of the wind. “It’s here.” She took three steps and tapped the hatch door beneath her foot. “I’ll be right back.”

      She escaped into the relative calm of the houseboat, deposited her laptop on the kitchen counter and grabbed the hatch keys so she could lock up once everything was stored. When she returned to the deck, Kade was lowering the table into the hatch, but the chair that had fallen over was on the move again. Lifted on a gust of wind, it was bounding across the deck, end over end, toward the rail.

      The boat rocked on the swells, making walking nearly impossible, but that chair belonged to Larsen and she wasn’t going to lose it. She lunged for it, lurching across the deck. But as she reached for the escaping furniture, she lost her balance and tipped toward the rail. For one dismal instant, she prepared herself for an icy swim. But at the last moment, a strong arm snagged her around the waist and hauled her against a rock-solid chest.

      “I’ve got you.”

      Autumn collapsed against him, heart pounding in her throat, then noticed the chair tight in his other hand. “Nice catch.”

      A low sound that might have been laughter vibrated against her back. “I wouldn’t let you escape me that easily.”

      The boat bobbed, but held by his strong arm, she didn’t stumble. Couldn’t fall. She felt safe. Protected. And for the first time in years…not alone.

      She turned to face him. Their gazes met and locked in the flash of distant lightning and she caught a glimpse of his face, of a brooding intensity in his eyes. Her heart, still thudding from her near fall, began to race as her storm-whipped senses became focused only on the man. The pressure in her chest increased and she lifted her hand and pressed it against his cheek. Gone was the crazed out-of-control need that had gripped her before. In its place was a need for connection as deep as her soul.

      As the wind tossed his loose hair, he lowered his face to hers. His mouth brushed hers, gently at first then with more insistence, sending warm desire flowing through her, sliding through her limbs. He tasted like heaven and smelled like the forest and the sea joined in a battle as old as the stars. She wanted this, wanted him, and she kissed him back, losing herself in a whirlwind of sensations. The feel of his strong arm around her, the slide of his tongue against hers drove her excitement with the rising storm.

      Lightning lit the sky with a crack of close thunder and the first large raindrops landed on their heads. Slowly Kade pulled back, releasing her mouth even as he continued to hold her. His expression was lost to the shadows until another flash of lightning illuminated his face, revealing a longing in his eyes she didn’t understand. Almost a loneliness.

      The raindrops began a steady bombardment and they pulled apart. As one, they ran for the hatch. Kade dropped the chair inside and Autumn locked the door then ran for sanctuary. She closed the door behind them and sank back against the cool glass, raindrops tickling her cheeks. Kade ran his hands through his hair, flinging the droplets everywhere, showering her anew.

      “Kade!” She laughed and looked at him, but the expression in his eyes caught her fast, silencing her. She couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to look away. They weren’t even touching, yet she’d never felt so close to another, so aware of another, in her life. She felt as if he could see into her soul and learn all her fears and secrets. And if she looked closely enough, she could learn his.

      Her pulse throbbed with an ache of recognition and the illogical certainty that this man was the one she’d been waiting for.

      “Autumn…”

      The ring of the phone interrupted whatever he was going to say, breaking that gossamer thread of connection. She ran to grab the phone from the counter.

      “Autumn, it’s Larsen. We’re ready. Drive to Charlie’s and give me a call when you reach the parking garage. I’ll tell you where to meet us.”

      “Okay. Bye, Larsen.”

      Autumn slowly pushed her phone into her pocket, chilled suddenly by the thought of dragging Kade into the Sitheens’ trap. She didn’t have a choice. If she was right, and Kade Smith was the good, decent man she believed, he’d forgive her. Eventually.

      And if she was wrong? Then he was Esri and he deserved to die. There was nothing she could…or would…do to stop it. Though she had a feeling she would regret it for the rest of her life.