by Lori Foster
Angel gave a quick peek at Dane and he frowned. Had she gotten a call and not told him? “Angel?”
She shrugged, but he could tell the careless effort cost her. “He didn’t say anything, Dane, so I thought it was just a wrong number. I was going to tell you, but we got…distracted.”
Dane would have had more to say about that, but Celia sniffed again. “Several times now Raymond’s not been in his office when he should be. He was acting funny the last few days. I thought he was cheating on me. I knew he was up to something, but I thought it was just another woman, not…not this!” She indicated the entire mess with a wave of her hand.
Alec grunted. “Why the hell would he be after another woman?”
“How should I know?” she snapped. “He was sneaking around, showing up late. But then I had his letter of recommendation from Derek checked and found out it was forged.”
Alec looked livid. “So you just decided to follow him and could have gotten yourself killed as well!” He bent down so he could stand nose to nose with Celia. “What the hell did you ever see in him in the first place?”
Angel grinned at Dane while the other two continued to argue. Dane shook his head and pulled Angel close again. He was almost afraid to stop touching her, reassuring himself she was truly okay. “If this isn’t the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened, I don’t know what is.”
As Dane spoke to her, Angel turned her gaze on Raymond. He wouldn’t be walking any time soon. Angel shivered, and that made Dane furious all over again.
“I’d like to kill him with my bare hands.”
Angel touched his mouth. “Shh. Don’t say that, Dane. It’s been awful, and you’ve lost so much, but I want it to end now. For all our sakes.”
Grayson gave a last shuddering sob and snuggled close.
Dane pressed his lips to the baby’s forehead. “Me, too. God, I was afraid for you and Grayson.”
Angel sighed. “Oh, Dane. I feel awful. Your brother wasn’t the villain after all. He was trying to protect me.”
He smoothed her hair back from her face. “That’ll be a comfort to my mother, I think.”
“Your mother!” Angel blinked up at him. “Raymond said she was sorry, that she wasn’t ignoring us because she was mad, just being careful not to say anything that might drive you away again. You need to talk to her, Dane. When I think of her suffering…”
Police sirens sounded in the distance. “I’ll settle things with my mother, honey, just as soon as we get things taken care of here. And then,” he added, cupping her face and holding her close, “you and I are going to talk. I have a few things to say to you, Angel Morris, and no matter how angry you get, you’re going to listen.”
ANGEL WATCHED DANE pace around the bedroom as Grayson began to doze in his strong arms. Dane wore only his slacks, and those were undone. His bare feet left impressions in the thick carpet and the flexed muscles of his forearms left an impression on her.
Love swelled, making her warm and shivery at the same time.
It had been a long day, filled with police interviews and questions and confrontations. Grayson had a difficult time settling down, too many strangers invading his small world at one time. But he charmed the detectives who’d run the investigation, as well as Dane’s mother once she showed up. Angel smiled again. She was actually beginning to like Mrs. Carter. How could she not when the woman obviously adored her son and grandson as much as Angel did? Oh, she tried to hide it, but tonight her defenses had cracked just a bit, and Angel had seen the woman beneath the iron.
“Do you think it’s okay to put him in his crib now?” Dane whispered, not halting in his even strides around the room. Grayson nestled close against the warmth of Dane’s broad, naked chest, one small fist clutching his chest hair.
Angel smiled and laid her brush aside. She was freshly showered and in her nightgown, exhausted, but at the same time elated. Everything was over, all the fear and bad feelings and hurt put to rest. Her confession had been on the tip of her tongue when Grayson had begun fussing. “Do you want me to take him?”
“No, I can do it.” Dane gave her a long, sizzling look. “Why don’t you get under the covers? I’ll be right back.”
Her heartbeat picked up its pace and she slid into bed. When Dane returned, he removed his slacks, laid them over the back of a chair, then faced her with his hands on his naked hips.
Angel smiled. “If you ran a board meeting like that, you’d be sure to have everyone’s attention.”
He looked chagrined for just a moment, then dropped his arms and started toward her. “Right now, I only want your attention.”
Angel eyed his naked body. “You have it.”
“Angel…” He growled her name as he climbed into bed beside her.
“Your mother is a proud woman, Dane. It hurt me to see her so upset.”
He stilled his hands, which had been in the process of removing her nightgown. “I know what you mean. It nearly broke my heart to hear her admit to so much guilt. She said it was so hard losing Derek, and the only solace she could find was that maybe I’d finally forgiven her.”
Angel stroked his head, knowing what his mother’s confession had done to him. “I’m proud of you for how you handled it.”
“I wish I’d known how she felt long ago. Maybe it wouldn’t have gone on for so long.”
“You’re both too proud for your own good. But your mother is making the attempt to accept me.”
“Ha!” Dane pulled down the right strap of her nightgown and cuddled her bare breast in his rough palm. “My mother adores you. She hides it well, but that’s just how she is. I think she sees you as a link, a way to soften our reassociation even though I told her all was forgiven. And there were tears in her eyes when she finally got to hold Grayson.” He kissed the slope of her breast, his mouth warm and gentle. “That’s the first I’ve ever seen her cry. You know, she’s going to spoil him rotten.”
“Thank you for refusing her and Celia’s offer to keep Grayson. I’m not ready to be separated from him yet. Not after being afraid for him for so long.”
“Me, either. Maybe when I’m old and gray I’ll be ready to let him out of my sight. But for now, they can visit him here, and we’ll make a point of visiting them often.”
They were both silent for a moment, Dane busy in his minute study of Angel’s skin, caressing her, kissing her, Angel trying to formulate the words she knew she needed to say.
“My sister is holding up well.”
Diverted, Angel asked, “Did you get a chance to talk alone with her?”
“Yeah. I don’t think she ever would have gone through with the marriage to Raymond. She was as suspicious of him as I was.” Angel felt him tighten and knew he was reliving the horror of the afternoon. He pulled her close and buried his face in her breasts. “You could have been hurt. I don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened in my life.”
Angel kissed his temple. “Thank God for your sister.”
“Alec wants her.” He lifted his head and there was another grin on his face. “Damn, but I can’t get over it. Alec and Celia. Somehow it just doesn’t fit.”
“You know, Celia does have some say about it. Right now, she told me she’s in no hurry to get involved with any man again. Raymond really hurt her.”
“Mostly her pride. But she’s tough. She’ll get over it.”
“And Alec wasn’t speaking to her when he left.”
Dane shrugged. “He’s always quiet. It’s just his way.”
She wasn’t convinced. “Don’t get your hopes up, Dane. I can tell you’d like to see the two of them together, but all things considered, a romance between them would be difficult.”
“That’s what I thought about us. But look how much I love you.”
Angel would have fallen off the bed if Dane hadn’t been sprawled on top of her, anchoring her in place. “What did you say?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” He tugged the other strap of her nightgown down, baring her to the waist.
“I know I deceived you from the start, that I was pretty ruthless at times to get what I wanted.”
“When were you ruthless?” Angel felt both numb and cautiously elated. She couldn’t quite believe what he was saying.
“I convinced you we needed to marry because you needed protection. But I could protect you without marriage. I lied to get you where I wanted you.”
“You did?” Angel shook her head, trying to clear it. “I mean, you said you wanted to marry me so Grayson would have a solid home.”
“I have enough money to insure Grayson would be happy and well cared for without marrying you. That just seemed a convenient way to trap you.”
Her heart rapped against her ribs, threatening to break something. “I don’t feel trapped.”
His eyes darkened, turned warm and probing. “Good, because I still want you to marry me, but with no more secrets between us. I love you.”
Angel licked her suddenly dry lips. “You know, you beat me to the punch. I was going to tell you the same thing tonight.”
Very slowly, a slight, pleased smile tilted his mouth and Dane leaned down and kissed her. “Is that right?”
“Yes.” Her breathing accelerated with the touch of his warm breath. “I knew ages ago that I loved you.”
“You didn’t know me ages ago, honey. Hell, our entire courtship has taken only a heartbeat.”
“Well,” Angel said, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight, “it was long enough to make me irrevocably and madly in love with you.”
Dane grinned as he began tugging up the hem of her nightgown, groaning at the feel of her soft naked belly against his abdomen. “It’s a damn good thing, because I have no intention of letting you go.”
“Your mother did mention to me what an intelligent businessman you are.”
His hand slid over her ribs, then lower, his fingers probing, and he closed his eyes when he found her warm and ready. “I know a good deal when I find it. You, Angel Morris—soon to be Carter—are a very good find.”
EPILOGUE
“MICK, MICK!” Grayson came barreling around the corner of the house, chubby arms pumping the air, and threw himself around Mick’s long legs. Mick was always greeted with the same amount of verve when he came over after school. He was one of Grayson’s favorite people, a surrogate big brother.
Mick swung the seventeen-month-old toddler up into his arms. “Hey, buddy.”
“Mick, Mick!”
Angel came in on the heels of her son and dropped onto the couch. “Thank God you’re here. He’s been screeching your name all day. I can’t tell you how glad I am that school’s almost over.”
Mick, devastatingly gorgeous at eighteen, topping a few inches over six feet, grinned his killer grin at Angel while he tossed Grayson into the air, encouraging the screeches of berserk joy. “You look exhausted, Angel. Is this little monkey wearing you out?”
With a serene smile, Angel said, “I think it’s his little brother or sister that’s actually doing the trick.”
Dazed by her news, Mick tucked Grayson under one leanly muscled arm and staggered into a chair. “You’re pregnant?”
She smiled happily, pleased with his reaction. Now to get Dane’s reaction. She heard the front door opening and leaned toward Mick. “I was hoping to have a few minutes alone with Dane, if you—”
“I’ll take short-breeches here out to the swing.”
“Mick, Mick!”
But as Dane stepped into the house and called out, “I’m home,” Grayson launched himself from Mick’s arms. Angel gasped, but Mick, quick on the draw, managed to juggle the toddler until he could get both feet on solid ground. And like a shot, Grayson was off again.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Mick laughed. “To think, he used to be such a peaceful baby.”
Dane entered with Grayson perched on his shoulders. He went directly to Angel, who dutifully lifted her face for a kiss. “My mother said you had something to tell me.”
Angel glared. “She promised!”
“Promised what?”
Mick lifted Grayson from Dane’s shoulders. “The squirt and I are going out to the swing.”
“Wait a minute, Mick. I have something for you.” Dane reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.
“What is it?”
As usual, Mick was still hesitant at the sign of a gift. But Dane, who delighted in trying to spoil Mick as much as he did Angel, only laughed. “I know the academic scholarship you got doesn’t pay for everything, so this will help pick up some of the tab.”
Mick merely frowned until Dane gave an exaggerated sigh of impatience and opened the envelope. He waved the paper under Mick’s nose. “It’s from the company. We have our own set of tax deductible donations, and this year, my mother decided to expand into scholarships. The two combined ought to take care of most of your schooling expenses. And let me warn you, if you even think of refusing it, you’ll have to deal with Mother. Since Celia left the company and Mother’s taken over again, she’s more autocratic than ever. I believe she actually missed it. And she’s taken to singing your praises, so don’t even think to fight her on this.”
Mick looked ready to faint and with a numb expression, took the paper from Dane and read it. Silently, Angel retrieved her son, who promptly planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek, then laid his head on her shoulder. With everyone else he was a dynamo of constant motion. With Angel, he loved to cuddle.
Very slowly, a grin settled over Mick’s face. Then with a loud whoop, he jumped up and slapped the ceiling. Angel felt like crying every time he acted like the young man he was, rather than the old man he’d been forced to be. Since his mother’s death, he spent more time than ever with her and Dane, and they were as close as a family could be.
After a gentle hug to Angel, and a bruising bear hug to Dane, Mick swung Grayson up and headed out the door.
“He’s something else, isn’t he?”
Angel smiled at Dane. “You’ve been a good influence on him.”
He grunted. “If only I could say the same for my sister.”
“Oh no, what did she do now?” About six months ago Celia had decided she’d had enough of the corporate world, and following in Dane’s footsteps, she was determined to become a P.I. Dane was horrified, but didn’t know how to stop her. In an effort to keep an eye on her, he gave her a job at his office, which rankled Alec no end. Just as Angel had predicted, nothing had come of a romance between them, and instead, their constant bickering kept Dane on the brink of insanity.
Dane gave Angel a telling look. “She almost got shot, that’s what she did. She was supposed to locate that little chump who jumped bail, not try to bring him in. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen Alec that mad.”
“Why was Alec mad?”
“Because he did get shot.” Dane quickly grabbed her when she paled. “Now, Angel, he’s all right, just a flesh wound. The bullet grazed his thigh. But he’s been raising high hell for the past two hours, and Celia, that witch, has steered clear, which means I’ve had to listen to it all.”
It was too much, and Angel fell into a fit of giggles. She’d been so worried about Celia, who’d become reclusive after her emotional hurt with Raymond. But now Celia was determined to experience everything life had to offer, and there was no one who could stop her, not even Alec. And heaven knew, he tried hard enough. Grown men might walk a wide path around him, but Celia continually tried to go through him.
“I’m glad you think it’s so funny. Between Mother constantly working to reel me back into the company, and Celia’s antics, I’m ready to go hide under my covers.” He grinned at Angel. “Want to come with me?”
“Maybe. But first I need to talk to you.”
Dane groaned. “Tell me this won’t be bad news, babe. I can’t take any more bad news.”
Angel drew a deep breath. “I told your mother I’d need a leave of absence in about six months.” Angel had agreed to fill in for vacationing secretari
es, which she thought would be a week’s worth of work a month, and instead it was turning out to be more like three weeks’ every month. Something always seemed to come up so that she was required. Luckily her motherin-law didn’t mind when she did most of that work at home, so she could be with Grayson. On the days she had to be in the office, Dane adjusted his schedule. Or sometimes Mick, or Celia, or even Alec…
“Is my mother wearing on your nerves? I thought the two of you were getting along pretty good?”
“It’s not that. Dane, do you remember when we first talked of getting married?”
He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. “If you’re thinking of backing out now, it’s too late. You signed the marriage certificate ages ago.”
Angel playfully punched his shoulder. “I’m pregnant.”
He froze for a heartbeat, then a gorgeous smile spread over his face. “Pregnant?”
She nodded. “Almost two months now. I waited to go to the doctor so I could be sure.”
His large hand opened over her abdomen, and as usual, she quickened in response. “It’s not twins?” he asked, looking at her body.
“The doctor doesn’t think so, so you can relax.”
He did, then he grinned some more. His hand on her belly turned caressing and he kissed her throat. “This time will be different, babe. I’ll take care of you.”
“Dane, I don’t regret anything about my pregnancy with Grayson. If things hadn’t happened as they did, I might never have had Grayson, and I might never have met you.”
“Angel.” He kissed her, his hand still resting where his baby grew. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Angel spoke past a wobbly, heart-filled smile. “The only thing missing the first time around was you.”
Dane kissed her again. “And this time you have me.”
“Yes. This time I have everything.”
WANTON
CHAPTER ONE
CELIA BIT HER LIP. She felt naked in the tight, flesh-toned dress, too made-up with the cosmetics that had spent more time in her drawer lately than on her face. She was very aware of her bare thighs, of her exposed arms and cleavage. Though the air-conditioning hummed, she felt warm with embarrassment.