Free Forever As One by Jackie Ivie Page B

face in
the event she looked.
    “Karakov Enterprises. With a million ways to
help you locate what you need.”
    Karakov? Sounded Russian.
    “This is Evangeline Harper calling. Let me
speak to Serge, please.”
    “It’s three thirty a.m., Miss Harper. Serge
Karakov is not available.”
    “Tell him I have an answer from Florida.
He’ll take the call.”
    She turned to look across at Dane. He
regarded her without expression. And then another voice answered,
causing her to turn her side to him. That was no great loss. She
had a gorgeous profile, too. He was going to have an eternity to
watch her and enjoy every moment of it. What a wonderful
thought.
    “Miss Harper? Miss Evangeline Harper?”
    “You told me to call when I had a firm figure
for you.”
    “Uh…yes. That I did. I’m just…surprised to
hear from you. That’s all.”
    He was surprised to hear from her.
Sounded it, too.
That’s the clue Dane needed. His lips tipped
up before she swiveled in place and almost caught his expression.
He blanked it again.
    “I’m calling about the property. You know…Sex
and Sunburn?”
    “You have a price?”
    Evangeline put her hand over the receiver.
“How much do you want for your property?” she asked Dane.
    “I don’t have any property,” he replied.
    “Sex and Sunburn?” She tilted her head as if
that would trigger his memory.
    “I gave it to you.” He grinned. He couldn’t
possibly hold a blank expression with the way she inhaled through
bared teeth.
    “Would you be serious?”
    He attempted it, but it wasn’t easy. It took
a few moments to get the blank expression back in place. “It’s a
cute little place. Brings in a hefty profit and a large crowd. You
might not want to sell it. And just think. You’d be my boss. You
can even fire me.”
    “Give me a figure, Dane.”
    “Invent one, my love. After you marry me, you
can do whatever you want with whatever chunk of real estate you
want. You might decide to keep that one. We don’t really need more
crime on the coast, do we?”
    She turned her back on him, and spoke softly
into the phone. “I’ll have to call you back. Apparently, I’m still
in negotiations.”
    “But—”
    She clicked the END CALL button, cutting off
the man, and her hand was shaking as she put the phone back down.
Dane shoved back against the headboard and waited for her next
move. One thing he had to give her. This mate of his was an
intelligent, feisty woman. It was very entertaining just being
around her. And the view was spectacular.
    “You just made me look like an idiot,” she
told his dresser.
    “What’s one drug lord, more or less?”
    Her head snapped around.
    “Tell me I’m wrong.”
    “I never said that. I don’t even know for
sure.”
    “But you suspect?”
    “I never said that, either.”
    “You contacted someone about them, didn’t
you?”
    “How did you—? Uh…no. I didn’t.”
    This time he didn’t hide the smile. Or the
fangs. “Come back to bed, darling. Negotiate with me.”
    “Dane.”
    He patted the bed beside him. “Come on,
already. The sun will be up soon and then I need to leave you. You
can rest. Or make calls. Or I’ll send one of my assistants to help.
You’ve got a lavish wedding to plan. Or…you might prefer a
beachfront, barefoot-in-the-sand type affair. Either way you need
sleep and it sounds like I’m going to be busy…with lawyers and
estate people.”
    “Are you serious, Dane?”
    “Yes.”
    “I mean, really, truly, serious?”
    “Yes, yes, and yes.”
    “Can I trust you?”
    “Totally.”
    “I don’t know. Trusting and opening your
heart…it’s so scary. Things happen. People…die.”
    He was at her side a second later, cursing
the impulse that made him move that rapidly, before folding her
into his arms. She turned her nose to the center of his chest and
just stood there. Trembling. Fighting tears?
    He knew his heart was dead, but the solid
thumping radiating from there sure didn’t feel like