THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

called her name sharply.
    “I’m right here. Don’t panic,” she joked, then spun around and stopped short at the sight of him. He was naked from the khaki pants up. She ran her tongue over her dry lips.
    His gaze darkened.
    Her breathing hiccupped. How could she want him again so soon? They’d made love three times during the night. If she let him touch her now, they’d never get out of here.
    “Where are we?” she asked, hoping to divert his attention. She dropped the apple core into a wastebasket on her way back in.
    A smile kicked up on one side of his mouth. “Changing the subject?”
    “There was no subject,” she clarified.
    “Yes, there was. It just wasn’t being spoken.”
    She suppressed a smile, refusing to concede that her mind had traveled along the same path as his. “In that case, yes, I’m changing the subject. Where are we?”
    He strolled over to her as he spoke. “This is part of greater Ft. Lauderdale. It’s a small upscale community chosen by large yacht owners because of the canal. You could say this is home to the local rich and shameless.”
    “What makes this canal so good for big boats?” Angel asked, wanting to confirm her guess.
    “The smaller canals are shallower. The channel in this one is fifty feet deep so even when the tide is low you can run a hundred-foot yacht through here.”
    She followed him over to the thick rail on the balcony. They were three floors up and overhung a green chain-link fence that sprouted from the seawall. That must be to deter anyone from walking along the top of the seawall since only about two feet of landscape separated it from the hotel.
    Zane’s tone changed to a more somber one. “Before we have breakfast, I want you to tell me what’s going on.”
    She shifted around and leaned back against the concrete rail. A balmy wind lifted tendrils of hair across her face for the heartbeat it took to form her answer. “I got involved with the wrong group of people, but it wasn’t my fault.”
    “I need a few more details than that. What do you have that they want?” 
    His tone didn’t change. She couldn’t read him. His face had blanked into an inscrutable mask. How much could she say without going too far?
    She said, “I have some ... items that someone else stole.”
    “So you stole it from him?”  His eyebrow lifted slightly.
    “No. I don’t consider taking these items from him as stealing,” she stated.
    “Why?”
    “Because I intend to return them to the rightful owners.”  She was encouraged to see his face relax but still had to add, “Eventually.”
    His mouth compressed into a stern line. “What do you mean by eventually , Angel?”
    “I need them for just a little while. Considering no one knew who had them and I’m going to return them, the owners should be considerate enough to let me borrow them,” she reasoned.
    He opened his mouth, shut it, then asked incredulously, “Just what do you have in mind?”
    “I can’t tell you everything.”
    “Oh, yes, you can. Someone is trying to kill you. Starting right now, I want the whole truth,” he demanded.
    “No.”
    Anger banked across his dark gaze. “I hate that word. Say anything you want, but don’t use that damn word again,” he ordered.
    “Fine!” she snapped, arms crossed. “I’m not telling you anything else. How’s that?”  She slapped a hand on each hip and leaned forward. “And, by the way, how did you find me last night?”
    “Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about what you have that belongs to someone else.”
    “It’s no big deal,” she dismissed.
    “No big deal?” he shouted. “Stolen gold coins are no big deal?”
    They both stared at each other in silence.
    “You have them,” she accused. “They’re on that boat, aren’t they?”
    A muscle in his clenched jaw twitched. He obviously hadn’t intended to share that little tidbit of information.
    “They’re safe,” he said.
    “I need those coins,” she stressed.
    “For what? If you’re innocent, why don’t you just turn them over to the police?”
    Her shoulders fell. Hearing Zane say if she was innocent hurt more than she’d ever let him know.
    She stomped her foot. “Okay, here’s the deal. Once I can confirm my alibi for when they were taken, I plan to use them to prove my employer stole the coins.”
    ~*~
    Zane’s cell phone rang and he stood in indecision. He wanted to shake some sense into Angel, but the last thing he’d ever do was touch her