Free Freaky by Nature by Mia Dymond Page A

formula that much easier.
    He stomped into the study, yanked the top drawer from the desk
    and scattered papers all over the floor. Why was Holly even interested
    in the over-confident SEAL? She normally went for old guys. He
    snickered while he pawed through the pile. Ole Albert really was a
    genius. Even at sixty, he knew the key to keeping Holly was to make
    her happy at home, in bed. That’s why the PermaSlim was the only
    diet aid on the market laced with a hidden prize.
    He tossed page after page onto the floor. Where was it? She put it
    here, in this drawer. He witnessed it with his own eyes. He yanked
    out the next two drawers, rage consuming him when he continued to
    come up empty handed.
    Sweat coated his brow and his heart pounded as he paused to
    consider his next move. Maybe he had underestimated Holly. Albert
    had mentioned several times her body was her only asset, but that
    didn’t appear to be entirely true. Sure she was easy on the eyes, but
    since Albert’s death she proved him wrong. She seemed stronger,
    more independent, and a whole lot less trusting. Bile rose in his
    throat. He was losing control of her, and that was very unacceptable.
    His eyes darted around the room until they rested on a metal
    cabinet in the corner of the office. Did the ditz even know how to file?
    He snatched a paperclip from the top of the desk and straightened it.
    Cursing both Holly and himself, he poked it into the cabinet’s silver
    lock and jiggled it back and forth until he heard a snap in the silence.
    Once the drawer rolled open, he shoved his hands inside, thumbing
    through every paper. Nothing. He growled and slung the file folders
    over the side of the cabinet before he headed back to the living room.
    Where the hell did she hide it? He crammed his hands into his
    pocket and smirked when his fingers grazed the cool metal of his
    pocket knife. He stepped to the sofa, flicked open the blade, and
    punctured each cushion until the fabric resembled a plate of spaghetti
    noodles. Still, he didn’t find the bounty.
    Sure he was now certifiably insane, he turned over tables, leveled
    bookshelves and even emptied plants from their pots. He paused only
    when he assured himself he wouldn’t find anything. Hatred and panic
    had him by the balls; failure was not an option.
    Suddenly, a shrill beep sounded from the front door. Warning
    bells chimed in his head as he focused on the rectangular panel on the
    wall. His eyes widened and he pushed his anger to the side when he
    saw the red “armed” light flash in rapid succession. Someone had
    remotely reactivated the alarm.
    With a loud curse, he took several long steps across the room and
    then slipped out of the house into the lazy Arizona afternoon .

    ***

    Holly hum m ed softly to herself as she parked in her driv eway ,
    reliev ed that re-opening the gy m had gone rem arkably well.
    Thanks to Max’s expert state-of-the-art design, the new security
    sy stem assured safety . Ev en when she’d accidentally hit the panic
    button this m orning, the police responded before she could explain
    her error to the operator.
    She grabbed her gy m bag and headed up the driv eway ,
    encouraged that m ay be the pool incident had been a practical
    joke. Although no one found it funny , at least there wasn’t a repeat
    perform ance. And with the new security sy stem , she fully
    intended to m ov e sensual dance class back to the gy m . When
    Jack’s patrons figured out the girls practiced there, Jack had no
    choice but to start happy hour a few hours earlier.
    Holly reached into her bag for her house key and wondered
    how she could conv ince Brett he could leav e her alone again. Ev er
    since he discov ered the class, he insisted he attend ev ery practice.
    She sm iled. Not a bad thing, really . She enjoy ed dancing for him
    while he fidgeted and pretended he was only there for security .
    She didn’t hav e the heart to tell him she secretly nam ed him
    Pinocchio. No way could he