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  The ringing telephone jarred Annie from the most restful sleep she’d had in ages. With her eyes still closed, she groped across the top of the nightstand, searching for the phone. She accidently knocked the receiver off the hook. Damn! She opened her eyes, scooted toward the edge of the bed, picked up the receiver and put it to her ear.

  “Hello?” Her voice was groggy.

  “Ms. Harden?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Lieutenant McCullough.”

  Annie’s eyes flew open. She shot straight up in bed, sending the sheet and blanket to her waist. Suddenly realizing she was naked, she dragged the sheet up far enough to cover her breasts.

  “Yes, Lieutenant, what can I do for you?”

  She glanced over at Dane, who had just opened his eyes and was staring at her.

  “Ms. Harden, I’m afraid we’ve got some really bad news for you.”

  Annie’s heart ached with the foreknowledge of what he was going to tell her. “It’s Halley, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. The body of a woman fitting Ms. Robinson’s description was pulled out of Mobile Bay early this morning. The Mobile police department has already gotten in touch with her family. Her boyfriend, Mr. Boyd, identified the body about thirty minutes ago.”

  “H-how was she…” Tears lodged in Annie’s throat. She looked at Dane through a haze of moisture.

  Dane prized the phone from her hand and spoke to McCullough. “How was Ms. Robinson killed?” he asked.

  Annie covered her face with her hands as tears racked her body. She’d known all along, deep down inside, that Halley was dead, but she had clung to the possibility that her young protégée had just been kidnapped and the police would find her alive. But now there was no hope. Clay Boyd had identified Halley’s body.

  “Yeah, I know. Thanks for calling,” Dane said, then placed the receiver back on the telephone base. He turned and pulled Annie into his arms. He stroked her hair away from her cheek and tilted her damp face up so that she had to look at him. “Ah, Annie, honey, you knew.”

  She nodded. “Why didn’t I just let her stay in that safe little world her parents had given her? Why did I have to encourage her to follow in my footsteps and break free?” Tears streamed down Annie’s face.

  Dane caressed her cheek. “Don’t do this to yourself. You aren’t to blame for Halley Robinson’s death. If she hadn’t wanted a different kind of life than the one her parents offered her, she wouldn’t have taken a job on your magazine and—”

  “I want to find the person responsible!” Annie jerked away from Dane, her eyes afire with anger and determination. “I want them punished for what they did. I want…”

  “We’ll find whoever was behind Halley’s murder. I promise.”

  “How—how was she killed?” Annie asked.

  “Honey, you don’t—”

  “Tell me!”

  “He cut her throat.”

  “Oh, God!” Annie realized that Halley’s killer would have done the same thing to her if she hadn’t escaped and if Dane hadn’t helped her.

  She saw the look of concern and affection in Dane’s eyes and knew he longed to comfort her. She understood that it was in his nature to care for others, especially the women in his life, whether they were friends, clients or lovers. An odd sensation zinged up Annie’s spine. Complete realization of just how intimate they were dawned on her. And memories of the time they had spent making love in the hours before dawn came back to her all at once.

  As if reading her thoughts, Dane said, “We lost our heads, didn’t we?” He ran his gaze over her face, down her throat, and stopped on her uncovered breasts.

  Warmth spread through her as she looked at Dane and remembered that he was naked under the sheet. “I’ve been on the pill for years, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she blurted. “The doctor put me on them to regulate my irregular period. I’m not promiscuous, or anything. I haven’t had sex with anyone since…in years and years. So, you don’t have to worry about other stuff. And—”

  Dane gently cupped his palms around her face. “Shh…I’m not worried about anything, except taking care of you. My first priority is to keep you safe, and I’m afraid that when we made love, I didn’t do that. I’m sorry, honey.”

  She closed her eyes, wanting to block out the sight of him. That tender, loving look. She bit down on her lower lip, then felt his lips on hers. Her eyelids flew open. He ended the gentle kiss and released his hold on her face.

  “By becoming your lover, I’ve jeopardized my effectiveness as your bodyguard,” he told her. “You realize that, don’t you? This case has become personal because I have feelings for you. Instead of thinking logically, I might let my emotions make decisions for me.”

  “We couldn’t help ourselves,” Annie admitted. “It has never been like that for me. I have never lost control.”

  “I’ve never lost control so completely, either. It’s almost frightening to think someone else has that much power over you.” Dane’s gaze met hers and locked, the truth of what had happened between them exchanged in that one long look.

  “We probably got it out of our systems, didn’t we?” Annie forced a fragile smile. “I mean, you can’t feel like that about someone all the time. If you did…”

  “It was great. Fantastic. The best either of us has ever had, but it can’t go any further.” Dane’s eyes narrowed as a frown wrinkled his brow and tensed his jaw. “That is what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

  Annie nodded. “Yes, that’s… We’ve only known each other a few days. And what we do know is that you’re the wrong type of man for me and I’m the exact opposite of what you find appealing in a woman.”

  “So, what happened between us this morning was a two-time thing, not to be repeated. Right?”

  “Right!”

  “From now on, our relationship is strictly business,” Dane said. “I’m your bodyguard and you’re my client.”

  “We just have to forget about our making love.”

  “Sure. Just pretend it never happened.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  They both knew they were lying to themselves. Neither of them would ever forget what had happened or how they’d felt. Even now, while they were so adamantly denying their feelings, desire stirred inside them.

  Annie tugged the blanket off the bed as she stood. She wrapped it around her and nearly tripped over the hem when she took her first step. She righted herself, lifted the blanket and smiled triumphantly at Dane.

  “I’m going to take a bath and get dressed,” she said. “I’ll stop by Dr. Lowery’s office to get my stitches checked, then I need to go over to see the Robinsons.” She wanted a long soak in a hot bath to ease the soreness out of her body, but she’d have to settle for another shower. During their rowdy lovemaking she had used muscles she’d forgotten she had. And she just hoped she hadn’t broken loose any of the stitches in her side.

  Dane got out of bed, totally at ease with his nudity. “I’ll catch a quick shower and meet you downstairs for—” he glanced at the clock on the nightstand “—brunch. I was going to say breakfast, but since it’s nearly eleven—”

  Annie’s eyes widened in disbelief when she looked at the clock. “I never sleep this late!”

  “We wore ourselves out,” he said, then picked up his jeans, stepped into them, turned around and left her bedroom.

  Most of the town turned out for Halley Robinson’s funeral, the overflow crowd gathering around outside the church. Annie wasn’t sure she could have gotten through the ordeal without Dane’s strength to lean on. Although they had kept to their agreement—that their relationship return to a professional one only—she knew that the strong emotions they’d shared nearly a week ago had formed an unbreakable bond between them. It was always there, even though they never spoke of it again or acted on the desire that neither could totally disguise.

  Dane stood at her side during the graveside ceremony that followed the elaborate service at the church