Free Forever As One by Jackie Ivie Page A

didn’t say it,
either.”
    “You infer it.” He narrowed his eyes.
    “Let’s just say….it’s hard to believe your
sincerity. To a woman you just…uh, you know…met.”
    “A woman I just made love to. Or are you
going to deny that, too?” He pushed his groin into hers so she’d
have no doubt about meaning.
    “Love and lust are two different things,
Dane. And I’m full of clichés tonight, aren’t I?”
    “Why do you keep trying to turn this into
something superficial and light? I’m completely serious and yet you
mock me. I’m at a loss. What can I say to convince you?”
    She tipped her head slightly and considered
him, slipped a tongue onto her lips to moisten them, smiled slowly
at him while batting her eyelashes. That look had a devious tint to
it.
    “Marry me.”
    “Okay.”
    “Without a pre-nup.”
    “Okay.”
    “In the morning.”
    “Uh…”
    “You see?” Now her smile wasn’t remotely
devious. It was triumphal.
    “See what?”
    “You and me. And all this mates-for-life
talk. It’s not real. It’s nice. Don’t get me wrong. It’s more than
nice. And fun. You showed me just how much fun. But it’s not
real.”
    “I never said anything about for life,” he
replied.
    “Oh. That’s right. You didn’t. You should
probably let me up, so I can get dressed and check into my hotel. I
also have to contact the people who want your property before they
send out the National Guard or something.”
    “You can’t just bed me and then leave
me.”
    “That’s my line, Dane.”
    “Tomorrow. I mean, today. Sundown.”
    “What?”
    “I’m marrying you. At sundown. No. Better
make it midnight.”
    “You don’t have to marry me, Dane. It was a
test. You failed.”
    “What? How can I fail a test if I don’t know
the rules?”
    “Welcome to the war of the sexes, Dane
Morgan. By the way, I think you’ve taken the naïve party boy
schtick a bit too far. Give it a rest and let me up. I need to make
a call. I don’t want someone reporting me as a missing person and
then finding me on your yacht. I couldn’t handle the
embarrassment.”
    “Are you trying to anger me?”
    “Not really…but if it gets me freed, I’m all
for it.”
    Dane pushed to his side and opened his limbs,
releasing her. “Don’t go too far.”
    He watched her roll off the bed, trying to
take the sheet with her. She was totally wrong about her body.
There wasn’t a hint of cellulite to mar any of her perfection. She
looked luscious, curvy, soft, and wholly womanly. She knelt out of
view. He sat to watch her sort through the pile of clothing on the
floor.
    “I’m on a ship, and I can’t find my clothes.
How am I leaving? Where did you put my purse?”
    Dane scrunched an eye. Pondered it. And then
shook his head. The purse was part of that gray area he’d
suffered.
    “You can’t keep me captive by hiding my cell
phone, Dane.”
    “Use mine.”
    “Your pockets are empty.”
    He watched her toss his pants.
    “On the dresser.”
    “Where?”
    “Any of them. All of them. I have lots of
phones and lots of roaming plans. Go. Pick one.”
    “I need a robe.”
    “Oh. I don’t think so.”
    “Jerk.”
    “Welcome to my war between the sexes,” he
replied.
    She took his t-shirt and pulled it over her
head - raising strands of hair with the static - before she stood
up, tugged the garment down to the tops of her thighs and then
glared at him. It didn’t work. She could glare all she liked; he
still thought she was adorable. And the t-shirt didn’t do much to
conceal her. Not the way she’d pulled at it. All that happened was
thin cotton molded to every curve. He folded his arms but couldn’t
move his eyes as she stalked across the room, grabbed one of his
phones, and opened it.
    She had an excellent memory. He watched her
spend a couple of seconds dialing in the air before looking down
and punching buttons. Then he had to pretend he couldn’t hear
everything by pasting a completely blank expression on his