Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit. Emilie Rose

Mesa Verde before hightailing it to the mountains. I’m headed for a town where the rumor came from.”

      “Oh, okay.” Brianna was quiet for a moment—a short moment. “I wouldn’t mind stopping in Mesa Verde.”

      Stunned by her startling remark, Tanner nearly lost control of the vehicle. It went off the road, onto the rough shoulder, before he righted it.

      “You want to do what? Have a look-see at Mesa Verde?”

      “What’s wrong with that?”

      “Brianna,” Tanner said between clenched teeth, “I thought we were out here to search for a rapist/killer, not go on a sightseeing jaunt.”

      “Well, of course we are,” she said, abrading his irritation with her reasonable tone. “I meant someday I’d like to explore the cliff dwellings.”

      “I’m sorry.” In truth, he wasn’t at all sorry. “I thought you wanted me to stop today to go crawling around the ruins, and we have no time to waste.”

      “But you wasted all day yesterday,” she protested.

      Tanner was on the sharp edge of impatience. “Brianna, I told you I had a lot to do yesterday. Besides having to make some phone calls to tie up a few loose ends, I had to get our food supplies, which I paid for.”

      She sighed. “Okay, explanation accepted.”

      “Big of you,” he drawled with a bite.

      “I know,” she said sweetly. “And, of course, I’ll reimburse you for the supplies.”

      “Damned straight you will, honey.” His voice had a hard edge he didn’t like. Get a grip, Wolfe, he warned himself, before you find yourself without a mission…and the company of the gorgeous but irritating Brianna. As he fully expected, she retaliated.

      “Don’t go all predator on me. I’m not one of your prey,” she shot back at him. “And don’t call me ‘honey.” ’

      Predator? She thought of him as a predator? Tanner frowned, not sure whether he wanted to laugh or curse a blue streak. Hell, predators killed their prey, sometimes ate it. He worked hard not to kill his, even the ones who deserved it. And he sure as hell didn’t eat his prey, the mere thought revolting.

      On second thought, he mused, gliding a quick glance over her body, he wouldn’t mind taking a nip of Brianna’s satiny-looking skin. The mere thought of tasting her was enough to stir his body. Get your mind back to business, Wolfe, he warned himself, where it’s safe. This ultrasuperior, haughty, independent woman was not for tasting, not by him. Damned shame, too.

      “I’ll make a deal with you,” he said, shifting in his seat to relieve an uncomfortable ache in that sensitive area. “You don’t call me ‘predator,’ and I won’t call you ‘honey.’ Deal?”

      “Deal,” she said, shaking the hand he held out to her.

      “How about ‘sweetheart’?” he asked, not missing a beat.

      “Tanner Wolfe,” Brianna cried sternly, before she gave way to laughter. “You’re a…a…”

      “Devil?” he asked, grinning in delight at having made her laugh instead of berating him.

      She raised her hands in surrender. “I give up,” she said. “You win—for now.”

      “Looks like a draw to me,” he said as he slowed down. “Good timing, too. We’re here.”

      “So I see,” Brianna said, peering through the windshield as he drove into the town. “This is it?”

      “Yeah, I know, not much to look at.”

      “A little larger than other towns I’ve driven through.” She sat forward, as far as the seat belt allowed, to get a better look at the old town.

      “Will we be here long enough for me to look for a coffee shop or diner? I need some caffeine.”

      He parked the SUV in front of a small café. “You want to go traipsing around in those?” He sent a pointed look at her shoes.

      Brianna shook her head. “Of course not.” She feigned shock. “I couldn’t walk around in public in heels and this attire,” she went on haughtily. “I’d never dream of committing such a fashion faux pas.”

      Was she serious? Tanner stared at her for a moment, then laughed.

      Brianna laughed with him. “I suppose it is time to change, isn’t it?” She flashed a megawatt smile.

      Tanner felt something strange inside, a sensation unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was as if there was something coming alive, unfolding deep within him, a current of soft warmth. It was weird. He had experienced heated desire many, many times. But this feeling was different. And it was directly related to the woman seated next to him. He had to swallow, moisten his throat and lips before he even attempted to reply.

      “Yes, I suppose it is.” He sighed, not even caring if she heard him mutter, “I’m gonna miss ’em.” Swinging open the door, he said in the most normal tone he could manage, “I shouldn’t be long. Wait for me inside.” Stepping out, he motioned to the place. “We might as well have lunch while we’re here. Then we won’t need to stop again.” He raised a brow. “Okay?”

      “Fine.” She nodded, quickly calling after him as he slammed the door and started away, “I’ll need to get in the back to get my boots.”

      He was lifting the trunk before she had finished. “Yeah, I know.”

      Releasing the seat belt, she turned to look at him. He grinned, lifting a Western hat and settling it on his head. “I needed this, too.”

      Bri felt her breath catch with his grin. Darn, what the devil was it about this man? What something did he have that no other man had ever possessed to make her heart race, her breath catch, her body go all warm and squishy? Her feelings were even more intense than they had been with—She cut her thoughts short, not even wanting to think that rotten man’s name.

      “Brianna?”

      His voice brought her to her senses. She blinked. “What?” God, she hated the confused, disoriented sound of her own voice.

      Tanner frowned. “Are you all right?”

      “Yes, of course,” she answered crisply. “Why wouldn’t I be all right?”

      “Beats the hell out of me.” He shook his head, still frowning. “All of a sudden you seemed…I don’t know…kinda lost or something.”

      Sure, Bri thought, it was the something that got to her. “I was, er, just thinking.” Brilliant, Brianna, she chided herself.

      “About?” He was frowning again.

      About…about…jeez. “About maybe I should just go with you,” she said, wincing inside at the inanity and wondering how she could extradite herself from him so she could think clearly.

      Fortunately Tanner performed that all by himself with two succinct words. “Think again.”

      “Huh?” She smothered a groan.

      “Brianna, I am not about to take you with me to talk to an informant. Somehow I feel said informant would very likely pretend he didn’t even know me. Understand?”

      “Yes…yes, of course,” she said, feeling more ridiculous by the minute. Looking away from his curious expression, Bri undid the ties around her slim ankles, slipped out of the heels and tossed them into the backseat. “If you would please hand me my pack, I’ll change and then go…get some coffee.”

      “Wouldn’t it be easier if you told me where the boots are so I can hand them to you?”

      Smart-ass. Bri gritted her teeth to keep from saying the word aloud. “There’s a plastic bag attached to my backpack. They’re