Ryan’s lips rose from hers abruptly. Brusquely, with a trace of roughness, he changed from lover to brother. He tugged the lapels of her robe together and ran a quick hand through her hair as if he were suddenly determined to obliterate the sensual toss of her hair. The kiss might never have been, except that the look in his eyes was fierce, bright and stark with wanting. “You do need a bodyguard,” he said gruffly.

“I… Pardon?”

“Lock your door and keep it locked. Now, Greer.”

He was gone.

Greer was left bewildered and mildly irritated. Exactly what had happened? Surely he hadn’t changed from Jekyll to Hyde simply because she’d demonstrated a little basic human affection?

She glanced at the gold-framed mirror in the hall and saw a woman with tousled hair and no makeup, wearing a threadbare robe. Ryan didn’t strike her as a man who would ever be that desperate.

Men just didn’t jump her, not anymore. A long time ago, Greer had had enough of being wanted for her body, and she knew better than to send out any “available” signals until she knew a man well. She knew she hadn’t sent them out to Ryan, not because she didn’t immediately like him, but because she simply didn’t know him well enough.

For whatever reasons that kiss had happened, it left her unsettled the rest of the night.

Chapter Three

Wearing a pastel green suit and matching sandals, Greer was perched on the conference table, her legs swinging as she waited for the discussion to die down.

The conference room, like the offices at Love Lace, was thickly carpeted in pale pink. Flocked ivory wallpaper added an elegant touch; the paperweights were mother-of-pearl; and the ambience from the sewing room to the customer entrance was supposed to reflect luxurious serenity-an atmosphere conducive to the selling of lingerie.