They continued the slow dance of talking and eating but not touching for nearly a month before Kyra cornered Sean one night at work. Most everyone else had gone home when she wandered into his office. He glanced up at her and gave her a half-smile. She placed both hands on his desk and looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm cooking dinner tonight and I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer," Kyra said in a low voice. "We are going to talk about 'it,' if it's the last thing I do."

Sean covered his grin with his hand and cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

She shot him a look that told him he didn't have a choice in the matter and left his office without another word.

Sean pulled into her apartment's parking lot 20 minutes later. She let him in and hurried back to the kitchen. The aroma of fresh baked lasagna wafted though his senses.

After dinner, they ended up at the sink like their first encounter, him washing dishes and her drying them. Draining the sink, he pulled the dishtowel out of her hands and tossed it on the counter before hauling her into his arms.

"We're going to have to stop being in the kitchen together," Sean said as his lips covered hers. Kyra wrapped her arms around his neck and arched against him. This time he groaned. He moved his mouth down her jaw and lower, nipping her neck. Her fingers buried in his hair as she threw her head back, giving him more access. His hands settled on her hips to hold them still.

Sean buried his face in her neck, trying to regain his self-control.

"Kyra, are you protected?" he huskily asked.

"I went on birth control after our last encounter here," she replied, her warm breath in his ear.

He didn't need any more invitation then that. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her through the living room and down the hall to her bedroom.

Kyra woke to a tan muscled arm around her waist and warm body pressed against her back. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes at the memory of last night. In their intense hunger, there had been little preliminary exploration the first time. They had joined together in passionate fury and it was over almost as quickly. The second time, however, was a slow burn as they spent time discovering each other.

She slipped out of bed to go to the bathroom. When she returned and climbed back into bed, he pulled her beneath him and nuzzled her neck, his arousal evident against her bare thigh.

"Morning," he said as he pressed his lips to her collarbone.

"Morning," she said as her hands grasped his shoulders and she brought her knees up. He entered her and she let out a soft moan. His mouth found hers and his tongue mimicked his thrusts. She wrapped her legs around his hips, allowing him to pump and grind deeper.

Kyra felt like she was spinning up into a vortex as pleasure coursed through her. Sean shouted her name as his own climax threw him over the cliff. He collapsed on her, resting part of his weight on his forearms so as to not crush her. She trembled underneath him as aftershocks rippled through her.

When he could breath normally again, Sean rolled onto his back and brought her with him so her head rested on his shoulder and her legs tangled in his.

"I could get used to this," she said after while, her hand idly grazing his chest.

"We didn't really discuss where we go from here," Sean reminded her.

Kyra propped her head up on one hand and looked down at him.

"What is there to discuss?" she asked.

"For one thing, we work together. How am I going to keep my hands off you now? Are we going to tell anyone or no one? And what about the tiny detail that I'm your boss? We've got to figure out how to handle that." Sean reached up to push her bangs out of her eyes. "I'll do whatever you want but it is going to be tough any way we look at it."

"In answer to your first question, you'll just have to rely on that self-control that you've maintained all those years before we ended up in bed," Kyra said matter-of-fact. "Second, I'm not planning on telling anyone, not even Chase. It's nobody's business but yours and mine. And lastly, you'll treat me like you've always treated me. I'm a detective who works for you; I won't expect any special treatment as your girlfriend, because no one will know I am."

Sean stared at her for a moment before speaking.

"And if someone finds out? Then what?" he asked.

"I'm going to choose to cross that bridge when we get there," she replied. "Sean, I know we're taking a huge risk, but I've wanted you in my life for a long time. We will just deal with it as it comes."

And come it did.