The Danforths: Marc, Tanya & Abe: The Laws of Passion / Terms of Surrender / Shocking the Senator. Leanne Banks

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СКАЧАТЬ her. “Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?”

      Oh man. Was that a leading question.

      He turned back to the fire before he slipped and told her exactly what he had in mind. “No, thanks. I was planning on making myself some hot coffee just as soon as I got the fire going.” But at the moment, a good stiff shot of bourbon sounded like a better deal.

      “Do you have any chocolate mix? I always think hot milk is better than coffee in the middle of the night.”

      “There’s probably some in the pantry.”

      “Good. I’ll go find it.” She left the room and that bewitched devil dog, Laddie, trotted along at her heel.

      A couple of lousy hours with Dana and man’s best friend had turned on the hand that fed him. It wasn’t the first time Marc had lost a best friend to a woman. But it still hurt. You’d think he would’ve learned a lesson the first time.

      The fire snapped as the heat blazed against his hands and face. He replaced the poker and closed the glass doors, all the while thinking of how Dana had looked, standing there with his former best friend beside her.

      She’d had on a gray sweatshirt that was a couple of sizes too big. The V-neck had slipped down one shoulder, revealing the curve of one of her creamy golden breasts. She obviously wore no bra underneath.

      His hand flexed with the memory of how her breast had yielded to him earlier. A man could hardly forget so soon how sweet that felt. Or how he wished he’d had the opportunity to place his mouth around the jutting nipple. Or how…

      When he looked down, he realized that the thin fabric of his pajamas and robe were revealing with crystal clarity every erotic thought he’d had. Damned biology.

      Pulling the robe tighter, he straightened his shoulders and went off to find that bottle of bourbon.

      As the first rays of sun changed the farmyard from pitch-dark of night into gray cast of dawn, Dana ran a comb through her shower-wet hair and slipped on her running shoes. At this hour, every muscle in her body yearned for a real run. But there would be no opportunity for that today. She couldn’t leave Marc alone.

      For a couple of hours last night, she’d sat at the kitchen table while he’d drunk himself into a sleepy fog. It was a good thing that over the years of being a covert agent she’d learned the art of listening. She’d let him tell her—for the third time—the history of what the cartel had done to his family. Then he told her every detail of how his time in jail had gone. Twice.

      He’d been so miserable, feeling sorry for himself and trying not to recognize the sexual tension that they both knew flared between them. She’d been miserable too—not sure of what she wanted. One thing she was sure of; he was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.

      She would be willing to bet the farm, though, that he’d be wishing for a total head transplant when he finally woke up this morning. Chuckling to herself, she finished dressing and slipped out of her room to go make the coffee. He was going to need it.

      When she entered the kitchen, the smell of coffee brewing made her nerve endings itch. Nothing seemed out of place and she hadn’t heard any kind of disturbance, so she quickly figured out it must’ve been Marc who had made the coffee. But where was he now?

      Dana went to the outside door and found the alarm still set. But it could’ve easily been disarmed and reset, and there would be no clues. Checking the fine thread she’d placed across the threshold in case someone did get past the alarm system, she wasn’t surprised to find it broken. Marc had gone outside. And after all her warnings about not going anywhere without her.

      It finally hit her that Laddie was missing, as well. She’d ordered the dog to sit in the hall watching the master bedroom door while she’d been taking her shower.

      She stepped onto the back porch and scanned the dreary horizon. After spotting Laddie moving noisily amongst the sheep, she relaxed her shoulders. But then she noticed Marc talking to an older man out near the barn, and the tension raced back through her hands and down her spine.

      Dana watched as Marc shook the other man’s hand, then turned and came toward her alone. The stranger walked away, heading in the direction of the far pasture out past the barn.

      Dressed in jeans and a pecan-colored sweater that matched his eyes, Marc looked relaxed and devastatingly handsome for this hour of the morning. But he scowled at her when he came near. “You shouldn’t be out here, Dana. Let’s go back into the house.”

      She grimaced at his words. “You’re a fine one to talk. Aren’t you the one that shouldn’t be outside, contacting strangers without me? I’m trained in defense, not you.”

      He grabbed her elbow and swung her around, still moving toward the kitchen door. “The man was my neighbor, William Stevens. I was arranging for him to take care of the animals for a few weeks. But now that he’s seen you, he’ll be wondering what’s really going on. And I’d rather not be the subject of any more speculation if I can help it.”

      The stab of irritation hit her right between the tingling waves of pleasure at his touch. “Won’t he simply believe I’m just another one of the many glamour girls you bring home? He wasn’t close enough to get a good look.”

      Marc stopped at the bottom of the steps, released her and stood back to study her face. “Are you joking?” He answered his own question without waiting for her reply. “No, I can see you’re not. What would make you say such a thing?”

      “I’ve studied the background files on you, Danforth. There’s a stack of newspaper clippings an inch thick, all with you cuddling, kissing or holding hands with various debutantes and models. Why wouldn’t everyone just assume you bring them home?”

      Marc checked the alarm system and found that she’d left it disarmed. “Inside.” He spent a moment at the door waiting for her, then he must’ve realized he’d better try again. “We can talk about it if you’ll come into the kitchen now. Please, Dana.”

      She swung around and scanned the horizon. “What about the dog?”

      “Stevens said he’d take him to his farm for the time being. Laddie likes it over there with other dogs.”

      After they’d reentered the house, Marc poured coffee into two mugs and then sat at the table. Dana rearmed the alarm and joined him.

      “Look,” he began. “My family is well connected here in Savannah. For them, and because of my position at the firm, I have to attend an occasional charitable or political function. Sometimes I must escort a woman. But believe me, none of it is particularly fun…or personal.”

      Sipping her coffee slowly, she waited.

      He looked thoughtful for a second then continued. “Except for one of my brothers and a cousin or two, I haven’t brought anyone out here since I moved in.”

      Dana raised her eyebrows and pushed out her bottom lip. It wasn’t that she doubted him—exactly. But it seemed hard to imagine.

      “You don’t believe me?” He stood and paced to the sink and back. “The truth is, I haven’t had a real date in over a year. Ask anyone in my family. They’ll tell you.”

      “I don’t believe you’d СКАЧАТЬ