Up to No Good by Julie Leto

Author:Julie Leto
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

10

AS THE COIN FLIPPED in the air, Sebastian heard Michaela catch her breath. He stepped back, allowing the gold disc to drop to the carpeted floor. It bounced. Twice. The light from the nearby lamp glistened off the surface. He dropped to one knee to examine the result.

“It’s heads,” he announced.

Even in the dim light, he didn’t miss the subtle fade of color from her skin. Before he could decide if her lips truly quivered or if it was a trick of the uncertain light, she pressed her mouth closed with tight determination.

He recognized the reaction—she hated to be afraid. But fighting the natural reaction to danger had likely saved her life on several occasions. No fear would be the most appropriate motto to describe the Michaela Carmichael the world at large saw when she walked into a room. But in a short span of time, Sebastian had learned to see past the image she projected, beyond the persona she clung to like a lifesaver in a storm. He’d seen the look of fear in her clear sapphire eyes before—too many times over the past forty-eight hours. He never intended for fear to be the most prevalent emotion between them. Desire, yes. Passion, absolutely. But not fear.

And yet, between the threat to his airplane, the bomb tossed into the garden of their rented house and his brilliant idea to turn the tables on her Sexcapade fantasy by denying her absolute control, fear had become too familiar for his comfort—or hers. And he hadn’t even told her the latest news Vic had delivered just before his departure. The bomber had not only ransacked Michaela’s bedroom at the French Quarter house, the culprit had left a calling card. They’d found a sweetly scripted letter stabbed into Michaela’s pillow with an ice pick lifted from the kitchen. He didn’t know the specific verbiage. He didn’t need to. All he knew was that he’d move heaven and earth to make sure nothing bad happened to Michaela—especially at his hands.

“We can dissolve our agreement right now, Michaela, if you aren’t comfortable.”

He watched the possibility play in her eyes. The brief consideration slowly dimmed the underlying anxiety, but after a few seconds, she shook her head.

“No. We have a deal.”

Bas pocketed the coin and rose. “What we share shouldn’t be about deals.”

A half grin lifted the side of her mouth. “What about mergers?”

He closed the scant distance between them. Her resilience amazed him, and when coupled with her beauty and her innate sensuality, he knew he didn’t stand a chance at denying her anything she asked for, even if he knew she feared the ultimate outcome. When he touched her hand, his suspicions were verified. She was shaking, no matter how ramrod straight she held her spine to keep the quiver from knocking her off her feet.

“I propose we drop this Sexcapade proposal and move on to a merger that isn’t so binding,” he suggested.

She quirked one eyebrow. “Binding? What, were you planning on tying me

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