The Ties That Bind

He should be in there. But the need to center himself, and remind himself why exactly he was going in there was strong. He wasn�t going in there to flirt with a sexy woman, or get laid. He was going in there on the hunt for a thief. A woman who manipulated men with the promise of sex to get into their houses, and into their safes. He thought about calling Jack. It might be good for another cop to know what was going down, and Jack was a friend, he�d back him up.

But Kane never reached for his phone. Instead he popped another candy into his mouth, and left his car to start the hunt.

The security at the door recognized him and he saw the guy radio inside before he was ten feet away. When he stepped aside and held open the door for Kane, Vanessa Lawson was just inside the door, greeting guests. And for just a second, Kane lost the ability to breath.

She�d changed.

Instead of the ripped jeans and tank top of earlier, the young attractive woman was now a devilishly sexy seductress. She had black high heel boots that went to the knee, a leather skirt and a plain white silk blouse. She looked like a cross between a high powered business woman and dominatrix Barbie.

Her dark hair flowed down her back in thick waves. When she turned her head to look at him the light shifted and caught the fire in her waves.

Their eyes locked and Kane forgot about everything but the sexual pull between them. She excused herself from the couple she was talking to and strode toward him. His heart pounded and his gut clenched when she stopped only inches away and leaned forward to brush her cheek against his. �I need to know your name. Introducing you around as Detective Michaels sort of defeats the purpose of this little escapade don�t you think?�

He breathed deep and her scent went straight to his head. Clean and light with a hint of feminine musk, it made him think of naked bodies writing together on a sun dappled bed.

�Kane.� He cleared his throat and spoke softly. �My name is Kane, Vanessa.�