Evangeline Williamson was loathed to admit it, but a part of her liked playing dress up. She enjoyed curling her hair, finding the right dress and applying her make-up just so. Receiving male attention from the right male set her pulses racing.

For a split second, she and John McBain made eye-contact. Their gazes locked in silent communication. Her heart raced in a way it never had in response to RJ. In the back of her mind, she was glad that he hadn't played escort. She pondered going over to engage in dialogue. Then, a colleague appeared. Evangeline responded to the junior partner's joke. When she looked again, John was gone.

She spoke to several more business acquaintances. While she smiled and responded at just the right moment, her mind debated her heart. The need to talk to John overpowered her common sense. Some inexplicable thing drew her to him. Like a moth to flame, heat scorched her flesh in his presence. The man intrigued the hell out of her and the chance to simply gaze into his hooded sapphire eyes proved to irresistible to ignore.

Screw the debate. She smiled her goodbyes and strolled into the lobby.

He stood beneath a sparkling chandelier. Tall, dark and handsome, other men paled in comparison. An uncontrollable grin plastered itself on her mouth. Her breath caught as he took in her form-fitting red dress. When he commented on her lack of date, she knew that their conversation was just getting started. She offered to buy him a drink. His corresponding blush tempted the bad girl lurking just below the surface.

"Come on, detective. I'm harmless."

He cocked an eyebrow. A smile played at his gorgeous mouth. And he followed her into the bar.

*/*

"Want another drink?"

"I'm feeling this one." She laughed softly to mask the awareness that quivered in the pit of her lower belly. Sitting across from him and sharing a drink should be easy. She'd done it before with other men. Casual conversation coupled with a martini. Easy. Simple.

Not so with this man.

He fixed her with a curious stare. "That can be a good thing sometimes."

She frowned. "No, it isn't."

"Figured you'd say that." He sipped more of his bourbon.

"Is that a dig?" She sat forward. A hint of a challenge reawakened the bad girl inside her, tempting her.

"Sound like a dig?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" Don't enjoy this too much, Evangeline! But the warning fell on deaf ears. This conversation hit her pleasure points.

"Are you sure you don't want another drink?" he countered.

"Why are you so interested in my drinking?" His interest intrigued her. She sat on pins and needles, waiting for his response.

He looked as if he were weighing the question. "I'm just curious. Do you ever let down your guard? I mean, do you ever let," he said, gesturing with his hands, "all this go?"

"I don't need to let go," she said with full certainty.

He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Opinions vary."

Oh, hell no!

She waved to the attendant without taking her eyes from the sexy detective. "Bartender! A double!"

John held up two fingers. "Well, now, that we've got that settled."

Relax, girl. She inhaled a deep breath. Calm down. Thankfully, he directed the conversation to common ground--the law. But it was too late. She was too far gone to behave like a cold, detached attorney. Besides, his every movement and every word reminded her of his sexual attractiveness. How the hell was she supposed to resist that!

The bartender arrived with their drinks. With his eyes watching her every move, Evangeline dove in. Like a caress, she felt his gaze travel to her lips and down her throat. Her heart thudded wildly inside her chest. Were they treading on dangerous ground or what? And why was she so tempted to cross it?

The martini created a warm burn throughout her body. She shivered. With a faint smile, she announced, "Well, I'm really feeling it now."

"A first time for everything."

Geez! There was no pleasing this man! He excited and aggravated her. "What is that suppose to mean?"

He shrugged. "I'm thinking you've never done a really spontaneous thing in your whole life."

Excuse me? "You're wrong."

"Name it."

"What?!" She all but stammered.

"The spontaneous thing."

"Why should I tell you?" Mischief awakened her senses. She jutted her chin in a teasing show of defiance.

"I don't think you can because it doesn't exist."

"Really?" she countered.

"Really."

She crooked her index finger, beckoning him. He wanted spontaneous. She'd show him spontaneous. "Curious?"

"Oh, I gotta hear this." He scooted across the booth and pointed to his ear. "Right here."

Before he completely settled at the edge of the seat, she curved her fingers around his chin and pulled him to her. Her mouth parted over his. The soul-searching massage surprised her completely. He placed his hand at her neck. The caresses of his flexing fingers sent tingles up her spine. She longed to savor the taste and feel of him, but that was wrong. It was just a dare. She pulled away before the temptation to go further overwhelmed her. Far sooner than she really wanted, she ended the kiss.

"Is that spontaneous enough for you?" Triumph pulsed in her veins. The surprise in his eyes invigorated her. The desire lurking in his sapphire orbs caused her to breathe in shallow breaths.

"Spontaneous." He nodded. "It straightened me out. Cleared up something I always wondered about."

"What is that?"

"Just how far lawyers are willing go to prove a point."

They laughed.

"Well, it is my job to win arguments."

"Oh, you won." Sensuous anticipation passed between them.

"And, as much as I would love to stay here and debate with you, I have a meeting." She grabbed her purse from the table and stood. "I'm late."

He rose from the booth. His gaze danced from her eyes to her mouth and back again. "Oh, the kiss and run type."

"Apparently so." The desire to stay scared her. Kissing him was the bad girl coming out to play…the attorney unable to resist a challenge. It was definitely time to go before any more spontaneous actions occurred.

"Well, thanks for the drink and thanks for the other thing." He stared into her eyes, conveying messages she secretly wanted to answer.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She smiled once more and rushed from the bar with as much grace as she could muster. In the darkest recesses of her mind, she knew this was just the beginning for them.

Their mutual temptation had been sparked.