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

His well-earned muscles rippled with the slight sheen of sweat, making her want to touch him—to learn the ins and outs of every crevice on his body. He was the first man that had ever made her tremble at the sight of a bare chest.

But she couldn’t allow herself to dwell on his formidablebody , she chided herself. He was her suspect and a potential informer. She had to play this smart.

“I don’t quite know how to answer you,” he replied. “I work hard at my job and don’t have many hobbies…anymore. I bought this place a couple of years ago because I thought it would make a good place to raise a family.”

He hung up his dish towel and sat on a stool at the kitchen counter. “About a year ago I…uh…changed my mind about the family. But then I thought the place seemed lonely without youngsters around, so I bought a few lambs. And here we are—a real working farm.”

“You don’t mind the work?”

“Not at all. It relaxes me. I’ve found I love to work the ground and care for the animals. It’s so basic. So elemental and idyllic. And a small place like this doesn’t take much time.”

She hung up her own towel. “I like working my body hard too. When I’m concentrating on the work, the rest of the world disappears. It’s quite powerful.”

“Exactly.” Marc tried not to react to her words, but the image of her working her powerful body while on top of his body just wouldn’t go away.

The silence between them was tense for a minute.

Finally, Dana broke the ice. “I checked your security system while you were in the shower. It’s a fairly good system. It should keep you safe.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I had it installed when I moved in, but I keep forgetting to set the darn thing.”

“Not while I’m on the case, you won’t.”

“Will you be staying here with me?” It hadn’t occurred to him that this was a twenty-four hour a day job.

“Of course. Kidnappers and assassins don’t exactly operate in broad daylight or when it’s convenient for you.”

“But I’m going to be…uh…searching for evidence to prove my innocence.” He didn’t want anyone around if he had to break into someone’s office looking for evidence.

“Not a problem. I’ll be right there with you.”

“But…”

She didn’t let him finish his sentence, but waved him off instead. “That’s my job. I intend to keep you alive until the trial. And I don’t care what it takes.”

He thought she was the most adorable “tough guy” he’d ever laid eyes on. If he was really in more danger than merely being framed, he couldn’t have picked a better person to watch over him.

“Do you receive mail out here?” she asked.

“No. I have everything sent to my office.”

“That’s good. It might take them a little while to figure out where you live. We have some time.”

“Time? Time for what?” Now if that wasn’t a leading question, he didn’t know what was. But he knew exactly where he wanted it to lead.

“To prepare ourselves for an attack…more than just the alarm system. Do you own any weapons?”

“Guns? No way. I’ve always figured that in case of a break in, I’d probably get shot with my own gun.”

“How about Laddie? Will he bark if someone comes around to let us know there’s danger?”

“Hmm.” He thought of the overgrown, fluffy puppy and grinned. “Maybe. If we can keep him out of the house. He likes to sleep on the suede sofa. And he’s a pretty heavy sleeper, too.”

Dana threw her hands on her hips and grimaced. “For crying out loud. Haven’t you ever considered the possibility of a kidnapping before? You’re a wealthy and intelligent man, Marcus. That sort of thing can easily happen if you don’t pay attention.”

An unwelcome memory snuck up and jabbed him. “Yeah, I know that. One of my cousins disappeared a few years back. Victoria was a pain in the neck when we were kids, but she had turned into quite a beautiful teenager. The family figured when she was missing for a while that it was a kidnapping, but no ransom demand was ever made.”

“Disappeared? Was she ever found?”

He slowly shook his head. “Maybe she just ran away from home. But I doubt it. She didn’t seem unhappy.” Marc stood and stretched. “I guess I have been a little careless. But somehow you just don’t think things like that can ever happen to you.”

“Well then, I’d like to suggest that we spend no more time here at your farm than we have to. I’ll go out in a while and move my car out of sight. I’ll put it into the barn next to your SUV for the night. And we’ll keep the drapes drawn and lights dim. Tomorrow we can make other arrangements. All right?”

“Yes, I guess so. I do have the animals to worry about, however. But maybe I can ask my neighbor to keep an eye on them again.”

“Good idea. And I think you should let your answering machine pick up all your calls from now on.” Dana stood and shook the kinks out of her arms and legs.

She looked like a raw bundle of energy packaged into a long and beautiful body. The very air around her shivered with the powerful and electric vibes she threw off. Man, would he like to capture a little of that energy. She seemed so vital and sensual.

Marc couldn’t remember lusting after a woman the way he’d been lusting after Dana…not since…way back as a horny teenager. He’d been aroused since the first moment he’d seen her standing in the parking lot.

“By the way,” she interrupted his thoughts. “When I was checking your security, I noticed that you had a few phone messages on your answering machine. Maybe you should listen to them so you can clear the machine for more.”

“I imagine that’s my family wondering how I’m holding up after my unfortunate incarceration .”

“You have a big family, don’t you?”

“Enormous. There were five kids in my immediate family. And my aunt and uncle have four kids…plus a great guy they took in, who seems like just another brother now.”

He headed toward the den, but kept talking over his shoulder. “A couple of months ago we found out about an adult sister that none of us had known anything about. And just lately we’ve had a rash of weddings and engagements, adding spouses and potential spouses, with kids and babies coming along faster than you can think.”

“Whew! How do keep them all straight?” She tagged behind him down the hall.

“It’s easy when you’re born into it. I’m not sure how all the newcomers are going to get along with everyone else, though.” Marc flipped on the light in the den and went to his desk. “Do you have any siblings? Or were you lucky enough to be an only child?”

Dana wasn’t sure how to answer that. Just how much of herself did she dare lay open to him? Strangely enough, she really wanted to tell him the truth about herself.

This wasn’t a deep undercover operation. She’d been on several of those in the past. But her boss was convinced that Marcus was truly just a pawn of the drug cartel’s and not a major player in their operation.

Her job here was to find a way into Marcus’s confidence so that he would turn over any evidence he might have and then testify against the cartel in court. The more she was around him and the better she began to know him, though, the less she wanted to be undercover at all.

There were some things about the man that intrigued her. Things like a deeply injured look in his eyes that appeared whenever he thought no one was watching.

So…was he on the take from the mob? After all, the state’s attorney thought there was enough evidence against him to charge him with racketeering. But something about him—maybe it was the gentle way he had with his animals, or the rough and hungry looks he’d been throwing in her direction—just didn’t seem like most of the criminals she’d known in the past.