She froze, her hands slightly raised to take the edges of the cloak from him.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the neighborly gesture,” he said.

“We were both at loose ends this evening.” She was irritated now. “And weare neighbors. Sort of. And you did seem a little moody this morning. Dinner together sounded reasonable. If you’ve got a problem with that, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Ouch. You’ve got teeth, don’t you?”

“I’m a Harte.”

“Right. I just wanted to let you know that I don’t need any do-gooder nurturing. I’d much rather you had another agenda.”

He draped the cloak around her shoulders. When he was finished he did not release her and step back. Instead he stayed there, so close that she could feel the heat of his body. He rested his hands on her, letting her feel the weight and strength of them.

“Another agenda?” She twitched the cloak into place, fussing with it a bit to cover her awkwardness. “Such as exploring various strategies we can use to help A.Z. prove that a secret government agency is planning to move frozen space aliens into the institute?”

He tightened his hands on her shoulders. “I was thinking more along the lines of you seducing me.”

She opened her mouth. And closed it immediately when she realized she did not know what to say.

“You know, just to help lift my mood.” His voice roughened a little. Getting dangerous. “Wouldn’t be too much different from inviting yourself over for dinner so that I wouldn’t be alone. Just another little act of charity.”

“I already gave at the office.”

“So much for small acts of random kindness.”

His lifted her hair aside and kissed the nape of her neck. Electricity went down her spine. The room dissolved into a thousand different hues. She was inside the rainbow.

“Gabe.”

“And here I thought you felt sorry for me,” he said against her nape. “I thought you were genuinely concerned about my burnout problem.”

“Look, Gabe-”

“Got another question for you,” he said.

“Forget it.”

“Can’t. It’s been eating at me for weeks. I’ve got to know. Did you ever fill out one of your own questionnaires and run it through your computer program to see if you could find the perfect match for yourself?”

The question blindsided her. It caught her up with the force of a heavy wave, sweeping her off her feet and roiling her senses. She pulled herself together with an effort.

“You’re very chatty all of a sudden, aren’t you?” she muttered.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

She felt the heat rise in her face.Damn. “I don’t owe you any answers.”

“Ah. So youdid try to match yourself. I had a hunch you might have done it. Who could resist? There you were with your program and all those potential dates. What happened? No good candidates on your list of clients? Hard to believe.”

“I told you,” she whispered, “the program is not foolproof.”

“Maybe not, but it’s got a very high degree of accuracy. You assured me of that when I signed on. What went wrong? Didn’t like the matches it selected for you?”

She put out her hand and closed her fingers around the doorknob. “Take me home, Gabe.”

“Or did you lose your nerve? It’s one thing to use intuition and the results of a questionnaire to help other people make a decision that will affect them for a lifetime.” He turned her slowly around to face him. “It’s another thing altogether to use them to make a choice that will affect your own life.”

“Gabe-”

“Maybe your mistake was in looking too far ahead,” he said softly. “Hell, maybe I was making the same mistake. Maybe we should both stop obsessing on the long term and focus more on the short term.”

She swallowed. “How short a term are we talking about here?”

“Let’s start with tonight.” He kissed her throat. “We’ll reassess matters in the morning.”

She stiffened. “I don’t do one-night time frames.”

“There you go, trying to think too far ahead again.”

“Goading me will not work,” she said. “I do not respond to taunts or dares.”

“Of course you don’t. You’re a Harte.” He leaned his forehead against hers. His thumb moved along the line of her jaw. “Whatwill work?”

She took a deep breath, inhaled some of the dancing storm energy that swirled around them and used it to fortify herself.

“You have to admit that you cheated on the Private Arrangements questionnaire,” she said.

“What the hell does that damned questionnaire have to do with what’s happening between us?”

“I ran the one you filled out through my program. Compared it with one that I had filled out on myself. If you were completely honest in all your responses on that form, I have to tell you that we are definitely not a good match, Gabe. Not even in the short term.”

For the space of two or three heartbeats, he went utterly motionless.

“And if I did shade some of the answers?” he asked.

“Then the conclusions were invalid, of course.”

He smiled slowly. “I lied through my teeth on most of them.”

She touched the tip of her tongue to her lower lip. “Honest?”

“I swear it on my honor as a Madison,” he said against her mouth.

“Iknew it.” Satisfaction unfurled within her. She put both arms around his neck. “I was sure of it. Even the one about-?”

His mouth closed on hers before she could finish the question. He kissed her, long and hard and deep; so deep that she forgot everything else.

The colors of the rainbow that surrounded her grew brighter, becoming almost painfully intense. She had to close her eyes against the shattering brilliance.

She kissed Gabe back, full on his warm, hard, incredibly sexy mouth. She gave it everything she had, moving into the moment the way she did when she was painting all out; flying with the vision, trying to get it down on the canvas before it evaporated.

Rain pounded on the roof of the cottage. Wind lashed at the windows. Electricity arced in the atmosphere. The night was alive and so was she.

She was vaguely aware of the rain cloak sliding off her shoulders. And then she realized that her feet no longer touched the floor. Gabe had picked her up in his arms.

She turned her face against his chest, savoring the scent of his body and the strength of his arms. She spread the fingers of one hand across the expanse of his chest. Beneath the fabric of his pullover, he was hard and sleek.

He carried her into the cottage’s tiny bedroom and tumbled her down onto the old-fashioned four-poster. Her shoes thudded softly on the old rug. He straightened, peeled off his pullover in a single, sweeping motion and tossed it carelessly aside. It caught on a bedpost.

He never took his eyes off her as he stripped off his trousers and briefs. His hands were quick and ruthlessly efficient. The sight of his heavily aroused body elicited an immediate reaction far inside her. She was suddenly aware of a liquid heat pooling in her lower body.

He paused long enough to open a drawer in the nightstand. She heard foil tear in the darkness.

And then he was on the quilt with her, looming over her, caging her between his arms. The ancient bed squeaked beneath his weight. If she had tried to sketch him at that moment, she knew the result would have been a picture composed of dark light, strong shadows, and fathomless pools of mystery.

He tugged the tunic off over her head. Unfastened the satin bra. Excitement sent another flood of brilliant colors through her when he touched her breasts. She could hardly breathe. All of her senses sharpened and focused.

Gabe slid one leg between her thighs. He shifted his mouth back to hers in a heavy, drugging kiss.

She gripped his shoulders, digging her fingers into his bare skin. His hard body cut off what little light came through the doorway from the main room. She could hear the storm swirling outside the cottage, weaving a magic force field that held the rest of the world at bay. At least for now.