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feet. She’d even spared him a wink before she tugged off her heels, straightened the dress that had rolled up to her waist, and started running. But not before he realized, holy mother of Christ, she hadn’t been lying.
    She really wasn’t wearing any underwear.
    His blood ran hot now just thinking about it. The real kicker, though? When he’d gone to tip the valet he found out the little scamp had also stolen his wallet.
    He should’ve been furious, but for some reason, the very idea that she managed to get the drop on him like that only made him want her more. The question now was, what to do about her?
    Nothing , his brain supplied helpfully. Absolutely nothing. He had a job to do and she was a hindrance at best and a catastrophe waiting to happen at worst. Not to mention that, until he did what needed doing, getting involved with a woman who was already taking up far more mental real estate than she should, was a terrible idea.
    So then why was every instinct blaring at him to go find her? To figure out what her game was and, just as urgently, if she was even half as hot for him as he was for her.
    He shook off the thought for the dozenth time today. No, as long as she stayed away from Alistair --and she would, because now that her cover was blown, surely she wouldn’t show her face again-- Jake would leave her be.
    For now.
    Once Alistair Hannigan was dealt with? All bets were off. It only made him even hungrier to get this thing done and over with, for good.
    Now, as he gazed out into the open sea with the warm June sun on his face, he realized he was smiling just thinking about seeing her again.
    “What’s so funny?” Mike asked from his spot at the captain’s chair, pulling him from his reverie.
    Jake spared a glance at his older brother and raised his beer bottle high in the air. “Women.”
    “Can’t live with ‘em, but damn, they sure are soft and warm.” Mike snorted out a rueful laugh, holding up his water bottle in kind before taking a swallow. “What are you complaining about, though? I didn’t even think you had a woman. Keeping in mind, it makes perfect sense that I wouldn’t know considering we live in the same city but I never see you.”
    Guilt pricked at Jake and he made a show of reeling in his line like maybe he’d gotten a nibble. He’d known when he invited his brother to go fishing odds were Mike was going to give him a raft of shit about not being around the past few months, but they’d been out on the water for two hours now and already he’d brought it up three times.
    “I don’t have a woman, exactly. Just one in particular on my mind, is all.”
    Mike’s stormy blue gaze narrowed on Jake’s face and Jake could almost hear the gears grinding.
    “That’s good to hear. You know, it’s been a long time now that Pop’s been gone. Seven years next month. Now that Ma is gone too, do you think maybe it’s time to start living again?”
    And there was the rub. The exact reason he spent more time avoiding his brother than he did in his company. Same speech, different day.
    “I’m not a monk. I have lady friends I take out for meals and the like,” he muttered, wishing he’d remembered to bring his headphones.
    “I’m not talking about fucking.”
    Funny how Mike had forced the better part of the Emerald Isle from his voice over the past couple years, but when he swore, there was no hiding it.
    “I’m talking about connecting with people, brother mine.”
    Jake hitched one ankle over the other and went stonewall, staring out at the water. There was no point in trying to explain it all again because Mike would never understand. Until he avenged their father, there would be no connecting. Not with anyone. Once he lost focus, the anger would settle to a slow burn, taking a backseat to other things…other relationships. It was only a matter of time before it cooled to an ember and then winked out altogether. He’d pretend it never happened and the world would go on