Hart and Soul Read online

She glanced back and forth between Dex and Hart.

  Dex grinned, knowing her predicament. “Can I help you?”

  She licked plump, painted lips. “You’re Hart Winston, the fighter?”

  Dex grinned. “No, ma’am. I’m his twin and a lowly writer. That’s Hart, looking very distracted—probably about his upcoming fight.”

  “Oh.” She turned toward Hart and smiled with giddy delight. “I didn’t know you were a twin.”

  Hart tamped down his irritation. If this was the woman sent by the goons, then he couldn’t dismiss her as he wanted to. He had to play along.

  Summoning up some masculine charm, he rose from the table and held out a hand. “I’m the evil twin,” he told her with a smile. “And you are?”

  “Caroline Welsh.” She went all giggly on him. “I’m a huge fan.”

  Hart held his smile with effort. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  “You look so impressive, I just know you’re going to win your fight.”

  “Damn straight.” It was all he could do not to glance at the goons. “Will you be attending the fight, or watching on TV?”

  “I’ll be there! I follow the fights all over the country. I love the excitement of a live event.” She licked her lips. “And I just love hanging out with the fighters.”

  Great. Hart strained his good manners. “Well, maybe I’ll see you there.”

  Turning coy, she fluttered thick black lashes and put a hand on his forearm. “Please don’t tell me I have to wait months before we get better acquainted.”

  Hart started to answer, and his cell phone rang. He held up a finger. “Excuse me just a second, will you, honey?”

  She pouted, but glanced at Dex.

  Dex whistled and turned away.

  “Yeah,” Hart said into the phone, already knowing from the caller ID that it was Joe.

  “We weren’t followed, and she’s in your car, waiting for you. I’ll keep an eye on her until you get out here, but you should have a babe coming up to you before long.”

  “Exactly,” Hart said. “Already done.”

  “Ah, she moved fast. Lisa overheard them finalizing the plan, which is why she approached to get a better look at them. Anyway, those are your boys, the ones who want to mangle your limbs. Make note of their mugs so you can identify them later, and then make a date with the chick for sometime soon, but not for tonight.”

  “Definitely not.” He had Lisa waiting, and no other woman could compare to her.

  “Lisa got their names, too, so that’ll help. But we’ll catch them in the act, just to make sure we have all the proof we need.”

  “Got it,” Hart said, anxious to be done so he could join Lisa. “I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  After he hung up, he turned to Caroline again. “Sorry, but that was business. Now where were we?”

  “You,” she said teasingly, stroking his chest, “were about to invite me to join you.”

  “Damn, I wish I could. Unfortunately, I have to cut the night short.” When her eyes narrowed, Hart said, “How about tomorrow night? Say eight o’clock?”

  “Oh, that’d be perfect!” She brightened again—and stupidly glanced back at the men. “You could pick me up when I get off work.”

  “All right.”

  Withdrawing a pen and paper from her purse, she wrote down an address. “Are you familiar with the western area? I work there at a small drugstore. I could meet you in the back lot.”

  It was a crime-ridden area—perfect for violence—but Hart just shrugged. “No problem.”

  Before he knew her intent, she went on tiptoes, grabbed his neck to hug him close, and planted one on him.

  She left him cold, though he tried to hide it as he caught her waist and eased her away. His damn brother sat there grinning like an idiot, with one eyebrow raised.

  Hart cleared his throat and said, “Let’s save that for when we have some privacy.”

  Caroline took several deep breaths, then nodded. “Tomorrow,” she breathed with enough drama for the stage.

  As she turned to swish and sway away, Hart glanced at the two men. They quickly averted their eyes, but they’d been watching, and seething.

  He looked forward to annihilating them both. “Let’s go,” he said to Dex, who had already stood.

  “Don’t look at them anymore,” Dex told him. “It’s too obvious.”

  “Yeah, I know. But it’d be easier if I just went over there right now and beat them both to a pulp.”

  “What will you do?” Dex asked, knowing Hart wouldn’t instigate anything. He valued his position in the fighting organization too much. “I mean, I know the general idea, but do you have someone you can trust in the SBC to make sure they’re punished beyond a few punches to the face?”

  “Drew Black runs an up-front operation, and he’s not going to like it if they do try to carry through with their plan.” They walked past the men, far enough away that they couldn’t be overheard, especially not with the drone of the crowd filling the bar.

  Hart could feel their burning gazes on his back. So much hostility, he thought, all because he worked hard and succeeded. Some idiots always wanted a shortcut. “I imagine Drew will kick them out completely.”

  “Sounds right to me.”

  At the door, Dex and Hart separated, with Dex hanging back to make sure the men didn’t follow. Along with the street lamps and headlights of passing cars, a full moon illuminated the area and the parking lot beyond. Humidity hung in the air, making the night dense, damp.

  Sexy.

  Hart shook himself. Someone wanted to put him out of commission, and all he could think about was getting Lisa alone.

  Somewhere in the shadows, Joe lurked, watching over her. Hart could see the faint outline of her profile where she sat in the passenger seat of his car. Waiting for him.

  He inhaled the humid night air and jogged across the street.

  The second he opened the car door and slid in, Lisa looked at him—and frowned. He closed the door, putting the interior in shadow once again. Moonlight shone on her glasses, and added a soft glow to her skin.

  Hart wanted to kiss her, but before doing anything else, he used his cell to call Joe, letting him know the plan he’d made with Caroline Welsh.

  As Lisa listened to him talk, her frown intensified. He could feel her tension in the close confines of the front seat. Jealousy? There was no reason for it, but Hart accepted it as a good sign. Never before had he wanted to deal with a possessive or jealous woman. But this was Lisa, and he was quickly realizing that with her, everything was different.

  After disconnecting the call with Joe, Hart turned to her, smiled, and leaned over to take her by surprise with a quick kiss. He kept it short and sweet; otherwise, he might have gotten carried away. He wanted to be alone with her.

  He wanted a bed nearby.

  And the sooner he got away, the better the odds that no one would see Lisa with him. He didn’t want to take any chance on the men expanding their plot to include her. As he pulled away from the curb, he saw Joe join Dex in front of the bar. Together they headed toward Joe’s truck.

  After they were more than a mile from the bar, with Lisa still frowning at him, Hart tried a smile. “Joe said you got their names?”

  “Yes.”

  He raised a brow. “Care to share with me?”

  “Brad Emery and Tyler Stevens.”

  He mulled that over, but they didn’t ring a bell. Still, he didn’t know everyone by a long shot, only the guys from his camp. “Never heard of them. You’re sure they’re fighters?”

  “Brad Emery is, or so he claimed. I’m not sure about the other one.” Her eyes narrowed. “You smell like strong perfume.”

  “I do?” He lifted his arm and sniffed. “I don’t smell anything.” But he actually did. Caroline had been drowning in something sweet, and she’d done her be
st to cozy up to him.

  No way in hell was Hart going to admit that she’d taken him by surprise with a lip-lock.

  Lisa made a face. “You are such a fraud.”

  “What did I do now?” Hell, he only wanted to get her alone, and naked and under him. Or over him. Didn’t matter to him. But most definitely, the lights would be blazing so he wouldn’t miss a single thing.

  Her expression droll, Lisa turned to look out the window. “Did you mean what you said, Hart? That you would never lie to me?”

  “Absolutely.” He reached for, and found, her hand. “I admit I have plenty of flaws, honey, but I’m not a liar.”

  She looked at their linked hands. “So you meant it when you said you don’t want anyone else?”

  This was important to her, he could tell. Maybe it was time to bite the bullet and ’fess up some. He went through a green light, turned the corner—all one-handed, because he didn’t want to lose the physical link with her—and slowed on the quieter side streets leading to her apartment.

  “Spilling my guts here, but I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone as much as I do you.”

  She scoffed . . . but looked interested.

  “That one night together . . .” Hart whistled. “No matter how I tried to deny it, it was special. Enough so that it’s kept me thinking about you far too much. Even as distracted as I’ve been with the SBC and training and everything, whenever I was alone, and especially at night when I tried to sleep, I’d remember different things about you: how you felt and your scent, what we did and what I still wanted to do. You’ve kept me awake when I should have been too worn-out from training to think straight.”

  She bit her lip. “If I hadn’t contacted you . . .”

  “I would have eventually come calling.” Now that he’d admitted it to himself, Hart didn’t mind admitting it to her. “I fought it, but it was a losing battle. Hell, even when I thought you might be pregnant, I had really mixed feelings about it.”

  Her eyes widened. “You wanted a baby?”

  His shrug looked more cavalier than he felt. A baby that looked like him or Lisa, a little girl with her brown eyes and soft hair, or a rambunctious boy who liked to tussle.

  No, the idea didn’t distress him as it should.

  He fumbled for the right words. “It’s not that I’d plan one for right now. I mean, I’m starting a new career, and kids would really put a kink in things. But . . . eventually, yeah, of course I do.”

  “Amazing.”

  He glanced at her, unsure of her mood or her interpretation of things. “Well, you know what they say about the timing never being perfect. But I figure that no matter when they come, babies are always a blessing.” He squeezed her fingers. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m glad I still have some time, but a baby with you, at any time, would never feel like bad news.”

  The illumination from the dashboard lights emphasized the shadows, and lit her face in a soft glow. She straightened her glasses, then peered at him with obvious confusion. “Why me, Hart? How am I different?”

  He shrugged again, knowing this was important and hoping to say it right. “How I feel with you . . . being with you . . . it’s easier.”

  Her brows went up.

  “I enjoy talking with you.”

  She stared. “So it’s my scintillating conversation you like most?”

  Hart couldn’t help but grin at her look of disbelief. “When I’m around you, I always want you, Lisa. Don’t misunderstand that. But with you, I don’t resent the time that we’re not having sex.”

  She bit back a smile. “I take it that you’ve spent a lot of time seducing?”

  “Or being seduced.” He grinned at her. “Usually when I dated, it was with the endgame in mind.”

  “Interesting.” She settled back and studied him. The time ticked by.

  Finally, unable to take it, Hart asked, “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that I believe you, that you do feel differently about me.”

  Relief loosened his knotted muscles. “Good.”

  “So then, since we do have something different going on, could you tell me why you failed to mention that Caroline kissed you?”

  “Uh . . .” How did she know that?

  Lisa shook her head. “Give it up, Hart. You have lipstick all over your mouth. If it didn’t mean anything, if you didn’t enjoy it, why didn’t you just ’fess up right away?”

  Five

  Hart Winston not only found her desirable, but he also enjoyed her company. Lisa couldn’t help but be thrilled, seeing as how she’d been secretly enamored of him forever. But she wouldn’t put too much stock in anything a man said while his hormones were in charge.

  If Hart had been celibate as long as he’d claimed—which had to be a record for him—then he’d likely see things in a skewed way until he’d appeased his lust.

  She was ready to help him with that. Oh, boy, was she ready.

  She watched as Hart pulled into the parking lot, put the car in Park, turned on an interior light, and checked his face in the rearview mirror.

  “Shit.” Using a sleeve, he scrubbed his mouth. “I’m sorry, Lisa. The woman grabbed me,” he explained while scrubbing, “and I wasn’t sure what to do, being she’s probably the one I’m supposed to meet so the idiots can carry out their plot. I mean, if I’d shoved her away, or turned my face, or maybe gagged on her, the jig would be up, right?”

  “Uh-huh.” Lisa opened her door and got out. Like Hart would ever gag on a woman. He was so ridiculous, such a hedonist, how could she ever take him seriously when he spoke about his feelings?

  Hart left the car, locking it with a click of the remote, and jogged to catch up with her. “What does ‘uh-huh’ mean?”

  “It means I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me about it right off.” While walking along the path beneath a security light, she dug her keys out of her purse.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d understand.”

  They entered the building and headed for her apartment door. “Of course I understand. This is a delicate situation. You have to play along to expose the men who want to harm you. I wouldn’t expect you to risk that just because a woman was too forward.”

  “So . . . it’s okay? You really don’t mind?”

  He looked and sounded disgruntled, as if he’d wanted her to blast him with jealousy. Lisa shook her head as she unlocked her door. “I have no claim on you, Hart.”

  He followed her in, closed the door, and crowded close to her. Only one small light shone in her kitchen, barely breaching the shadows. His expression looked harsh, too serious, his eyes glittering and his mouth tight.

  With one hand, he smoothed her cheek. “I want you to.”

  His look alone left her breathless, never mind the press of his hard body or the touch of his warm breath coming too fast. “What?”

  “Have a claim.” He cupped the other side of her face. “On me.”

  Lisa looked at his mouth, ready to agree to almost anything. Then she firmed her resolve. No, she would not commit herself. If, after they’d made love again, he still felt the same, then she’d discuss it with him. “Let’s go to bed.”

  His eyes flared—and he moved away from her.

  “Hart?”

  A lamp came on, almost blinding her, and then the overhead kitchen light, and the hall light.

  Was he racing to the bedroom without her? “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to make sure that lipstick is washed away.” Before he went into the bathroom, he looked back over his shoulder. “I’m not kissing you with another woman’s mark on me.”

  “Oh.” So considerate. Well . . . sort of. “I appreciate that.” Truthfully, she hadn’t thought of it. But now that he’d mentioned it, yes, she did prefer that he remove all signs of that woman’s pursuit.

  Water ran, and
she heard Hart splashing, and then gargling. She smiled, dropped her purse and keys on the entry table, and headed for her bedroom. She was so anxious to have him again that she could barely contain her excitement.

  She was seated on the side of the bed, removing her shoes, when Hart stepped into the room. He paused, looked at her, and then the lighted bedside lamp, and he smiled.

  Coming to stand in front of her, he carefully lifted away her eyeglasses. He set them on the nightstand, and then bore her down on the bed so that she had to give up on the shoe and concentrate on his broad shoulders instead.

  “I feel like a kid on Christmas morning,” he rumbled before kissing her jaw, her throat, up to her ear. Carefully, he eased his weight onto her, one hand on her cheek, the other braced over her head. “Let me unwrap my gifts myself, okay?”

  Her heart raced, especially when he nibbled his way to her mouth, then treated her to a deep, damp, hot kiss. She wove her fingers into his silky hair and held on, so hungry for him that she didn’t care what he did, as long as he got on with it.

  When he lifted his head and moved to the side of her, his hand now on her waist, Lisa said, “You’re not the only one who’s been celibate, Hart. So as much as I appreciate finesse, I’d just as soon get down to business.”

  “You went without too?”

  How could she really want any other man after having him? “I’m discriminating,” she said.

  He was staring at her cleavage. “I’ll try to make it worth the wait.”

  Her toes curled.

  Then his hand settled over her breast, and she sucked in a breath.

  Watching his hand as he cuddled her through the material of her dress and her demi bra, he said, “I love this dress. Talk about a tease, with all the buttons right there.” His dark eyes came up to clash with hers. “It was the same with that damned blouse you wore. The one with the tie at the throat.”

  Lisa didn’t understand, but with his thumb circling her puckered nipple, she couldn’t even think.

  “I kept imagining pulling that tie open.” He gave a low growl. “I love the idea of undressing you.”

  Lisa closed her eyes to gather herself. “Okay. Then how about you get on with it?”