She might be right about them not finishing anything tonight. But she was wrong about expecting him to back off.
Kathleen might have the IQ of a rocket scientist, but she'd missed the mark this time. They couldn't walk away from what they'd started. Chemistry like that didn't come along every day.
They were going to finish it. Before it finished them.
Kathleen wanted to finish it, longed to take it all, but feared the whole pot of java wouldn't jolt her to life after her restless night. Standing beside the lobby coffee machine, she replaced the carafe on the warmer and resigned herself to making do with the measly twelve ounces in her travel mug.
A corner of her hopeful brain had decided she'd exaggerated her response to Tanner all those years ago. One kiss and she would know the truth.
The truth had not set her free.
The truth had her by the jugular, and she didn't know how to shake loose. Kissing Tanner had been nothing like twelve years before. She couldn't possibly have remembered the intense reaction and still allowed herself to become so close. Almost friends. Vulnerable.
Which was why she had to forget about their lip lock of the prior night. If kissing him could turn her into mindless mush, then making love with him would zap every ounce of control she'd cultivated.
Heavy treads sounded from the stairwell just before the lobby door opened. One flash of golden-blond hair and already her heart pumped a hummingbird's pace. Kathleen turned away, busying herself with selecting the perfect napkin from the drink cart.
"Good morning, Kathleen." Tanner reached past her shoulder for a cup, then the pot, never touching. Just too close for her to ignore.
Kansas would have been too close.
She sidled away, downing a scalding gulp from her mug as she eyed Tanner over the lid. Would he be angry? Men in a testosterone snit could be testy. She wasn't feeling all that pleasant herself.
Worse, what if none of it mattered to him? Lighthearted Tanner could shrug off anything, including one parking lot turn-down from his least favorite flight surgeon.
With a familiar gleam in his eyes, Tanner returned her stare over the top of his cup. She'd seen it the last time he'd headed into combat, and she knew that look. Focused determination.
Focused on her.
He hadn't forgotten. Tanner hadn't shrugged one second of their kiss off those broad shoulders.
A rogue shiver of unwanted excitement prickled over her. Followed by numbing determination. He might be circling, but she intended to set boundaries with impenetrable defenses. They had two weeks to wrap up the investigation before Christmas. She intended to be home in time to finish her shopping.
Kathleen reached into her left breast pocket His gaze trailed her every movement as she withdrew a slip of paper. He didn't linger.
He didn't need to. Her memory supplied plenty of details about her br**sts pressed to his rock-solid chest. Another steely hard part of him pressed—
She set her jaw and offered him the scrap of paper. "Here."
Tanner took it without touching her. Not that he needed to. "What's this?"
"A chiropractor appointment. Yours. We should be finished checking out the wreckage with Quinn and Crusty in plenty of time for you to make it this afternoon."
His thumb worked over the print as if that might erase the time. "I assume this is non-negotiable."
"You got it, hotshot Direct orders from your doc." There. Boundary number one. Doctor-patient distancing established. On her own turf, she felt steadier already.
Tanner cocked his head to the side, silent for once as he studied her. Assessing the opponent for weaknesses?
He wouldn't find them.
Slowly he folded the paper and slid it into a sleeve pocket Kathleen exhaled her relief. Until she noticed the careful manner in which he worked the paper. Favoring his pinky. His puffy, swollen pinky.
Her boundaries surrendered crucial ground.
Kathleen extended her arm. "Let me see your hand."
"What?"