The first thing I saw was his tie. I had what could almost be called a fascination with them. Ties said a lot about a man. Some refused to even wear them. Some lacked the discipline to tie them with precision. Don’t even get me started on knot types. Some men’s education stopped with the four-in-hand their fathers had taught them. Others sported Full Windsors like peacocks fluffing their feathers. The one before me was a crisp Neapolitan knot, an international, old-world preference. Done wrong, a tall man might end up with a tie that was too short, but whoever this man was, he was too sophisticated for such a faux pas.

His jacket was expensive and expertly tailored. He was tall with broad shoulders. Strong. Powerful. He filled my doorway like a linebacker. My guess was his shirt concealed a delicious set of muscled abs. Whatever he was selling, I’d take one—maybe two.

I slowly made my way upward. Nice jaw. Clean cut. Square with just the beginning of dark stubble. I indulged in a quick fantasy of how that stubble would scrape a tantalizing path as he kissed his way from my jaw down to my . . .

The stern line of his lips brought me back to reality. His mind didn’t appear to be going where mine was.

My eyes flew to his. Striking, dark, but not black. Gray? Long lashes I’d kill for. Too bad he was glaring at me. Whatever had brought him to my door, he was not happy about it. He oozed power and authority. Not a politician. Too well dressed to be a police investigator. Government official? Was one of my clients involved in something I didn’t know about?

I instantly pictured being handcuffed . . . then being handcuffed naked . . . then how he’d look handcuffed to my bed. Hey, I was a woman in my prime who hadn’t had sex since I’d brought Ava home. Four years is a long time. Still, I gave myself a mental shake. “Can I help you?”

He looked me over, and my body warmed everywhere his eyes wandered. Sadly, he didn’t look any happier when his gaze met mine again. “Miss Ellis?”

“That’s me.” I smiled. He didn’t smile back.

“I found something—”

When he brought his hand around, I saw the most glorious thing. Everything else fell away as relief swept through me. “Wolfie.” I couldn’t help myself; I launched myself at the man and hugged him so tightly I’m pretty sure the sound I heard him emit was the air I’d crushed out of him.

The sheer joy of the moment consumed me. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable I was making the man until he set me firmly back from him. I couldn’t even be offended; I was that grateful.