Page 12 of Kane

Not in a romantic sense.

No damned chance.

Kane was determined to keep this relationship strictly professional.

Right now, that involved trying to utilize his computer skills to help Cassie. Kane could see just how worried Cassie was. It was written all over her subdued face.

‘Here’s the thing,’ Kane said, delivering his words in a controlled and calm way. ‘If you took your equipment to a store, they would tell you it was done. Finished off. Any so-called expert would tell you the same.’

Cassie looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

‘But,’ Kane said. ‘I think I have a very good chance at repairing the hard drives at least well enough to extract the data.’

‘OMG! Wow! Wowie-wowzer! Are you being serious?’ Cassie asked, suddenly alive with optimism. ‘Thank you so much!’

Kane couldn’t help but grin as he saw how happy Cassie was. The smile. The gorgeous bone structure. The eyes. Cassie really did tick every box when it came to physical attraction.

Keep your damn mind on the job.

Don’t let your dick take over…

‘Easy now, I didn’t say it would be a walk in the park,’ Kane said, wanting to ensure that Cassie didn’t get her hopes up too much. ‘There are never any guarantees with this kind of thing. And it will take time. I’m not talking about a forty-five-minute reboot.’

Cassie nodded.

Kane could see that Cassie was paying attention. Hanging on every word he said. This was a difficult situation for her, that much was obvious. Kane wanted to make sure that she had realistic expectations.

‘I’ll do everything I can, you can bank on that,’ Kane said. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll take the equipment back to my apartment. I’ve got a studio there where I work on things like this. Does that sound okay?’

‘Yes, it sounds perfect,’ Cassie said, her slender body a perfect silhouette with the evening sun behind her. ‘But… why? Why help me? We don’t even know each other.’

Kane paused.

For a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Part of him wanted to say that he felt a raging, almost uncontrollable attraction to Cassie. That he wanted to be her Daddy. To look after her. To make sure that all her worldly needs and desires were met.

But Kane knew he couldn’t say that.

That he certainlyshouldn’tgo there.

Not now anyway.

‘I’m helping because that’s what I do,’ Kane said, making sure to sound as stoic and professional as he could. ‘It’s my duty to help where I can. And you need my help. End of story.’

Sydney giggled and blushed.

Cassie smiled, her cheeks reddening a little too.

Kane could see that he was having quite the effect on them.

‘Thank you again,’ Cassie said. ‘I’ll pay you back somehow. I promise.’

Kane nodded.

Then he realized something.

There was a way that Cassie could pay him back.