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arrogant behavior. She was disappointed in herself that he could so easily stir her temper, not to mention her libido. She was a stronger woman than that.
    Cool as a cucumber, that was how she’d play it. Yep, a cucumber. Which was roughly the size of his— Stop it! She squeezed her eyes shut and massaged her temple to eradicate the memories, his hardness against her palm, his thickness stretching her. He’d hurt her at first—her own fault, she readily admitted—but then, oh Gloria. The best fuck of her life. But she hadn’t had that many men, so maybe he wasn’t that good; perhaps she lacked experience to judge.
    No, he was that good . And so sure of himself, he didn’t realize he didn’t know where she lived. Ha!
    She peeked at a frowning Bethany and faked a reassuring smile.
    “Do you have the address?” she purred into the phone. There! Neutral enough to fly over Bethany’s head and pointed enough to get the message through his thick one.
    “Four seventeen Drury Lane. Apartment 217.”
    Her jaw dropped. “Y-you… How…?” she sputtered.
    “Being the deputy chief of police has its perks. See you soon.”
    “No!” she cried, but he’d already hung up. She didn’t even have his cell number. When he’d called her to set up the meeting at the bar, he’d called from the police department, so she only had that number on her caller ID. She had a hunch she’d have a lot more trouble getting past the guardian dragons to the deputy chief of police than the deputy chief of police had getting to her.
    She almost slammed the phone down but belatedly remembered Bethany. “That will be fine. Thanks for the information,” she said to empty air and gently replaced the receiver.
    “You call the deputy police chief Mark?”
    “It’s his name.”
    Bethany curled her mouth with distaste. “It sounded like you two were having a lover’s spat. What was that all about? How do you know him?”
    Bethany had been a friend first, but she was also an employee, and although the two roles often entwined, what business was it of Bethany’s—who’d unilaterally tabled a program she was supposed to develop—to question her phone calls? Stephanie didn’t answer to her—least of all about her private life. If she and Mark had been having a lover’s spat, it was inappropriate for Bethany to inquire about it. Nor did Stephanie appreciate the censure on her program coordinator’s face that she might be in a relationship with a man. Men were not the enemy! They were as injured by sexism as women.
    But Gloria, she’d like to injure him. Right where it counted.
    Her annoyance with Mark and her irritation with Bethany and her inappropriate prying snowballed into a hard knot of anger.
    “My phone call is none of your business. This meeting is over.” Stephanie folded her arms and tightened her lips into a line.
    “Fine.” Bethany snapped the lid shut on her netbook, grabbed it and her phone, and headed for the door.
    “And Bethany,” Stephanie spoke sharply. The other woman peered over her shoulder. “Get the communications program up and running by next month, or we’re going to have a serious discussion.”
    * * * *
    Holy fuck, she made him hard. Mark leaned back in his chair and chuckled. His gut had warned him that Stephanie would get cold feet once the sun rose and that he should seal the deal. He refused to allow her to wiggle out of their date. Squirm on his lap when he spanked her, yes. But run from him? Not a chance. He had a successful career, a home, a life. But the short time he’d spent with her had filled hollow places he hadn’t known he had. He wasn’t about to give up until he’d given it his all. This spitting kitten wanted him as much as he desired her, even if she refused to admit it.
    She probably had no idea her lower lip quivered when she thought she was being tough. Didn’t realize how her expression softened when she looked at him, how utterly perfect she’d felt in his arms, around his