Blogger Bundle Volume VIII: SBTB's Harlequins That Hooked You Read online

  Why was it that all nurseries had that sweet baby scent—infant purity laced with powder and lotion? Dane wondered. When he’d visited his sisters while their children were young, their nurseries had smelled like this. And what was it about women caring for children that gave a man the sense that all was as it should be, that all elements in the universe were harmoniously aligned? Annie would certainly consider that a male chauvinist thought.

  Annie probably had no idea how she looked sitting there in Mother mode. She appeared comfortable, relaxed and perfectly natural in the role. A sudden, unbidden image of a pregnant Annie flashed through his mind. He vanquished the image as quickly as it had materialized.

  “You’d make a wonderful mother,” Jeannie said. “Samantha has certainly taken to you.”

  “I like children,” Annie admitted, then ruffled Samantha’s blond curls. “And I especially like this young lady.”

  Samantha giggled and scooted closer to Annie. “I like you, too.”

  “Have you ever thought of remarrying and having some children of your own?” Jeannie asked.

  “Oh, I’ve thought about it,” Annie said. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that neither husband nor children are for me. My career is very important to me and I’m afraid marriage and motherhood would bore me to tears.”

  Dane felt as if he’d been sucker punched. For a couple of minutes he couldn’t seem to find his equilibrium. Why the hell did Annie’s statement bother him so much? He barely knew the woman. They’d met only thirty-six hours ago. What difference did it make to him that the idea of marriage and motherhood bored her?

  Dane treaded quietly down the hall, needing to get away before Annie and Jeannie were aware of his presence. He had to have a few minutes alone to sort out why he’d overreacted. No big deal, he told himself. Nothing to sort out. It’s just that he thought it unnatural for a woman not to want marriage and motherhood. Annie’s attitude went against everything he had grown up believing in—everything he still held true.

  That was all there was to it. Nothing personal. Just a gut reaction. He’d have felt the same way if he’d heard any woman make the comment.

  “I’d never think of marriage and motherhood as boring.” Jeannie caressed her son’s head as he lay at her breast, nursing greedily. “Being married to Sam and raising a family together fulfills me as nothing else ever could, not even the most successful career. But then, that’s me.”

  Annie understood that it was true for Jeannie Dundee and countless other women like her. But her own disastrous marriage had left her gun-shy. And having a child without having a husband wasn’t something she’d ever considered.

  “I need my career,” Annie said. “Perhaps ‘bored’ was the wrong word. It’s just that I wouldn’t be happy and completely fulfilled without my career, no matter how many children I had.”

  “Or how wonderful your husband was?”

  “Daddy’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Samantha beamed as she looked to her mother to confirm her comment.

  “Yes, sweetie, your daddy is wonderful.”

  “I suppose, if I were honest…it’s not that I don’t want a child.” Annie chose her words carefully, hoping anything negative she had to say about men in general wouldn’t affect Samantha’s hero-worship of her own father. “My father was very overbearing and so was my ex-husband. Our relationships were doomed because I wouldn’t conform to their wills. I had a mind of my own and I used it.”

  “All men aren’t like your father and husband,” Jeannie said.

  “I suppose not, but I’m not willing to take that chance.”

  “You think Dane is like that?”

  “I know he is. Good Lord, Jeannie, he’s a prime example of a Southern gentleman. And believe me, I won’t allow anyone to drag me back into the type of life-style I hated.”

  Jeannie smiled sadly, her eyes filled with compassion. Annie couldn’t bear the other woman’s sympathy. She handed Samantha the book, stood hurriedly, and said, “Please, excuse me. I need to pack and get ready to leave.”

  “Of course, you go right ahead.” Jeannie motioned for Samantha to come to her. “I’ll see you before you leave. To say goodbye.”

  Annie rushed out of the room, trying to escape Jeannie’s tender concern. She didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her, least of all this kind, gentle woman, who had somehow cornered the market on happiness.

  Just because Jeannie is blissfully happy as a wife and mother doesn’t mean you would be.

  Halfway down the hall, she ran straight into Dane. The unexpected collision threw them both temporarily off balance. Dane grabbed her shoulders in an effort to steady himself and her. They stared into each other’s eyes. Boldly. Hotly. The uncertainty of their feelings and of the moment itself robbed them of rational thought.

  Finally, after endless moments of silence, Dane released her and said, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I’m fine. How about you?”

  “Yeah, fine.”

  “I was just going downstairs to get ready to leave for Biloxi.”

  “Annie…” Dane paused, reluctant to tell her about Matt’s accident. “There’s no need to rush. Matt O’Brien was in a car wreck last night and he’s in the hospital with some cracked ribs and a broken leg.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I suppose that means a delay in sending someone down here.”

  “There is no one to send,” Dane told her. “All the Dundee agents are on other cases.”

  “Oh.” Annie’s mind tried to assimilate the information and its ramifications. The main thing she understood was that she didn’t have a bodyguard or an investigator.

  Dane noticed her frown, the worry wrinkles lining her forehead and the dejected slump of her shoulders. “It’s all right. I’ll take the case and we can return to—”

  “You can’t take the case!” Annie said, near hysteria in her voice. “I don’t want you!”

  “I realize that, but you don’t have any choice. It’s me or nobody.” He wasn’t going to give her the option of hiring someone from another firm. Dundee Private Security and Investigation was the best and that’s what he wanted for Annie—the best.

  Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Damn!”

  “I’ll put in a call to Lieutenant McCullough to find out if there’s anything new there, then if necessary, we can dock at Point Clear, check things out and then either drive or fly to Florence.”

  Annie opened her eyes and faced him.

  “How long will it be before there’s another Dundee agent free?”

  “At least a week, maybe two. Why?”

  “I’ll agree to your taking the case, if…and this is an important if…you’ll turn over the case to another agent as soon as possible.” She realized she could go to another agency and not wait for a Dundee employee to become available. Her common sense told her that was exactly what she should do. But she couldn’t bring herself to sever ties to Dane and the agency he headed. As irrational as it seemed, even to her, she felt a bond with Dane, and thus with his agency. He had saved her life more than once and that alone made her trust his abilities.

  Dane didn’t flinch, didn’t show any response, but she sensed his anger. He wasn’t a fool, she told herself. He had to know the reason she didn’t want him as her bodyguard, at least not on an indefinite basis. He had to be as aware as she was that the sexual electricity between them was powerful enough to light up a whole city. If they ever acted on their desire, the end result could be lethal for both of them.

  “Fine.” Dane snapped the word out quickly. “I’ll get our bags and we can set off for Point Clear after I call McCullough.”

  “Then we have a deal?” Annie asked.

  Dane held out his hand. “Yes, we have a deal. I’ll take the case on a temporary basis, only until another agent is free.”

  Annie accepted his hand, shook it and released it as quickly as possible. Touching him was something she had to avoid from now