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Well, in case it hasn’t dawned on you,
I’m not like the women you screw, Tyler. I’ve got a brain and ambition. Sorry if
that equates to being a coward in your mind.”
    She’d been gone a long time. Having her sparring with him now,
just like old times, caused excitement to sizzle through his veins. He leaned
closer. “If we ever gave in to this thing between us, having you ride me isn’t
something I’d ever turn down,” he said sotto voice to ensure no one overheard.
In fact, at his words, his dick almost broke through his fly. Down, boy. “And I like your brain just fine, Ward,” he
said quietly.
    “Ah,” she nodded. “But not my ambition. Not the fact that I’m a
big bad cop who can take you and any other man down? That’s a little too much
for even your ego.”
    “Anytime you want to take me down, or better yet, get down to
more personal matters, I’m all in favor of it.”
    Her eyes rounded. Sure, they razzed each other constantly, but
he rarely flirted with her. Not like this. Not in a way that immediately had
them both picturing their naked flesh pressed together in glorious
technicolor.
    She swallowed audibly. “That’s quite a change of heart,” she
croaked.
    His brows furrowed. “I don’t see how. I told you the last time
we were here that I wanted you.”
    “You’ve been ignoring me the past month.”
    She didn’t look very happy about it. And he was sure she’d
rather cut out her tongue than admit it. “I thought we were busy ignoring each
other,” he said carefully. “The exact same way you’ve ignored that kiss.”
    She scowled.
    Amazing that the expression didn’t detract from how beautiful
she was. She didn’t advertise it, and he could see how easily it might be
missed. But he worked with her and knew how passionately she fought for justice.
She was dedicated and strong. Take all that and add her pleasing combination of
features to the mix? She got to him on a gut level he couldn’t ignore.
    “That kiss meant nothing,” she said. “It was the product of a
weak moment on both our parts on a difficult night.”
    It pissed him off that she’d dismiss the kiss so easily, but
since he wasn’t surprised, Jase grinned and shrugged. “Sure. If that’s what you
want to tell yourself.”
    Carrie snorted, the sound feminine in spite of itself. “You
want to tell me differently?”
    He let several seconds pass while he stared at her. Enough time
to make her shuffle her feet. Enough time to be tempted to answer honestly.
Which was why he kept his mouth shut.
    When he failed to answer, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s what I thought.”
    It was her sigh that did it. Neither of them was going to act
on their attraction for each other. Fine. But she wasn’t a coward. Neither was
he. Why were they dancing around the obvious? He took a step closer, noting how
her eyebrows winged up in alarm. “I want you, Carrie. I’m honest enough to admit
it. The only reason I’m not pushing things is because we work together. I have
no doubt that sex between us would be out of this world, probably the best
either one of us has ever had, but given we both want to go places with our
careers, I figure it’s better to not get started.”
    “Maybe that won’t be the case too much longer,” she said
lightly, then looked as if she wanted to cut out her own tongue. “The
working-together part, not the no-sex part.”
    “Is that so?”
    “Like you said, I want to go someplace with my career. I’ve got
my eye on a much higher position. Once I break this serial-killer case, I think
I’ll be a serious contender.”
    She was gunning for another job? Whether he wanted to admit it
or not, he’d missed her the last month. The idea of her leaving SIG troubled him
and made him realize just how much enjoyment he got from seeing her. “You’re not
happy at SIG?”
    “Come on, Jase. We both know that because I happen to have
breasts, I’ll never be taken seriously as long as I work the