"I believe you," she answered with a smile.

"Bye, Mother." Cassandra's voice drifted from the front hall.

Reilly offered the elder Ms. Van Winter a quick nod before moving to catch up with Cassandra as she went out the door. Heading down the wide steps, he wasn't surprised to see his assignment already at the edge of the sidewalk, trying to wave down one of the many passing yellow taxis.

Assignment. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy.

Reilly closed the space between them. "Why didn't you tell your mother about the light fixture falling this afternoon?"

"Because she'd add it to her list of things to worry about." Cassandra waved at the approaching taxi. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"I inspected the fixture while you changed out of that ball gown," Reilly shot back. "The bolts holding it in place gave way."

That got her attention. She turned to him, her translucent skin paling another shade. "As in they were old so it was their time to go, or are you saying they were tampered with?"

"I didn't see anything deliberate," he was forced to admit. "I checked the other fixtures and they looked to be okay, but years of rust-"

"Well, there you are. It was an accident."

Reilly thought differently and the caviler attitude of this princess wasn't helping. "Your extensive training brought you to that conclusion?"

"My mother may have hired you-" Cassandra paused, her tongue taking a swipe at her bottom lip before she continued, "-but that doesn't mean I have to like you, Mr. Murdock."

"You don't know me." He lowered his voice as a taxi came to halt in front of them. "And for the last time, it's Reilly."

"Goodbye-" Cassandra reached for the door, "-Reilly."

Their hands collided at the cool metal of the handle. His fingers folded over hers, and that same powerful punch as before propelled its way up his arm. He turned toward her, his nose inches from the mass of curls piled on the top of her head.

Her exotic fragrance, hinting of something spicy and warm, swirled around him. An ache for a taste of her filled his chest and he fought against the urge to trail the tip of his tongue along the delicate curve of her ear.

Hell, the moment he'd laid eyes on her he'd known he wouldn't ever be satisfied with only a taste of Cassandra Margaret Van Winter. He wanted all of her.

Plain and simple.

Alone and naked.

Clean, soft white sheets, a bottle of fine wine, slow jazz on the stereo and a locked door completed the fantasy.

Forcing his thoughts away from the crystal clear vision, Reilly pressed her fingertips against the latch, pulling open the door with both of their hands.

"Ladies first," he whispered.

Ignoring the way his warm breath caressed her skin, Cassandra yanked her hand free and scooted into the far corner of the taxi. Rattling off her address, she struggled to keep herself from watching him as he climbed in beside her.

The sheer size of Reilly Murdock filled the interior. His knees pressed against the partition, he stretched his arm along the back of the seat, his fingers inches from her shoulder. She moved away from his hand and clutched at the purse in her lap, refusing to allow herself to stroke the soft leather.

Stop, please stop, she silently commanded the tingling sensations that continued to skate across her palm. She wanted desperately to erase his touch from her fingers. Not that it would do any good. The same commotion was whirling inside her body.

It'd been a long time, years in fact, since any man made her feel this way. A man who, thanks to her mother's overactive imagination, was going to be sticking to her like glue.

Oh, a great analogy!

Turning to face the window, Cassandra focused on the passing buildings, trying to block out the memory of his body cradling hers after he'd shoved her out of the way of the light fixture. It might not have killed her, but it surely would've put her in the hospital. Could someone really be trying…?

No. She refused to think about it. No matter what her mother believed, she rejected the idea someone was out to hurt her. What motive would they have?

The store had started to earn a decent profit, revenue vital to both her and her mother's welfare, but nothing extravagant. Nowhere near the life they used to have. But all that would change as soon as she unloaded the necklace.

"Penny for your thoughts."

His deep voice startled Cassandra from her reflections. Her newly hired bodyguard stood on the sidewalk, leaning into the taxi's open door in front of her apartment building.

"What?"

"You're home, Cinderella. I paid the fare for your pumpkin. You wanna get out and let this gentleman be on his way?"

Cassandra looked over at the cabbie, his head angled back over the front seat. "Thank you," she muttered to the driver before quickly exiting to stand next to Reilly. "How much was the fare?"

"Don't worry about it." Reilly opened the lobby door and stepped aside to allow Cassandra to enter. "I'll add it to my bill."

His bill? Right. One more thing for her to worry about. She had no idea what the going rate was for bodyguards, but she'd bet it wasn't cheap. Great. Now she had another expense to try to fit into her already tight budget. The upcoming jewelry auction couldn't happen soon enough.

The moment the toe of her three-year-old Jimmy Choo heels crossed the threshold, Cassandra froze. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose. Someone was watching her. Someone other than her newly hired bodyguard. She could feel Reilly watching her back, but this was different. And at the same time it felt familiar. Very familiar.