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stared at him, a startled expression widening her eyes.
    "No." She uttered that one word before she pulled out of his arms and shot up off the bed. After turning from him, her back ramrod straight, she stood in place for several seconds before she faced him again. Without saying anything else, she grabbed his arm, manacled his wrist and yanked the cuffed hand high enough to secure the other cuff to the bedpost
    Jake looked up at her, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. He'd had her there for a few seconds. She'd been his completely. Perhaps he'd been too gentle. Next time—and there would be a next time—he'd take her hard and fast, without giving her a chance to think.
    "Should I apologize?" he asked.
    Instead of responding, she turned and walked away, straight back to her bed. She dropped the key into her boot, which rested on the floor beside her bed. He watched her while she crawled beneath the covers and then switched off the lamp.
    "Mariah?"
    Silence.
    "I don't like it any more than you do, you know," he told her. "How do you think I feel being attracted to a woman who plans to try to reactivate Oliver Grimble's programming embedded in my brain? Believe me, lady, you're the last woman on earth I want getting me hot and bothered." Say something, damn it, Jake thought. Had he really blown it with Mariah? Had the kiss been too much too soon? "We can't help it. Neither of us. I want you. You want me. It's that simple. We'll have to find a way to deal with it."
    "Go to sleep, Jake," she said finally, her voice low and calm. "You need your rest."
    "Avoiding talking about it isn't going to change anything. It's not going to make us want each other any less."
    "Shut up, will you?"
    Smiling, Jake burrowed his head into the fluffy pillow. He had her rattled. He considered his options and decided that keeping quiet was the wisest course of action right now. Mariah was interested, but she was no pushover. She would fight him every inch of the way. And if he knew women—and he did—she'd be cool and aloof come morning.
    He expected her to give him the cold shoulder and probably take a bit of perverse delight in trying to break down his defenses. His gut instincts told him that Dr. Mariah Brooks was accustomed to being the one in charge. Maybe he should let her believe she could control him, then when she least expected it, make his move.

    ***
    Mariah brought Jake downstairs for breakfast with Burgess and Lester, an action designed to deactivate Jake's out-of-control libido. Of course, she wasn't sure whether the guy really was turned on by her or if his seduction routine was simply part of some master plan he'd concocted. Either way, she had to make sure he didn't kiss her again.
    In the wee hours of the morning, she'd known before he kissed her that he was going to—and she'd let him. She'd had enough warning so she could have stopped him if she'd really wanted to. But that was the problem—she had wanted that kiss. Her own sexuality and curiosity had gotten the best of her, at least for a couple of seconds. Thank goodness ABC Amber Text Converter Trial v ersion, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html
    she'd been able to use her common sense in the nick of time. Another couple of seconds and she would have been lost. As it was, just that brief kiss had been enough to curl her toes. Heaven help her, she was "in lust" with Jake Ingram. Talk about a major professional mistake!
    "Will you need us to go upstairs and stay with you this morning while you work on Ingram?" Burgess, who stood beside the kitchen counter, downed the last drops of his second cup of coffee, then put the empty cup in the sink.
    "Not unless Mr. Ingram refuses to cooperate," Mariah replied.
    "You're not going to do that, are you, buddy boy?" Standing at the back of Jake's chair, Lester ruffled Jake's hair.
    Jake snarled, then glanced over his shoulder and gave Les a warning glare.
    "I plan to give Mr. Ingram an injection," Mariah said. "Burgess, perhaps you