shoulders and turned her toward him. “Maybe at Christmastime.”
Her jaw clenched. Her cheeks flamed with a feverish red flush. “If you think I’m going to stand here and—”
“She wants the wedding sooner.” He talked loudly to cover her words. “And you know how stubborn she can be. She’ll get what she wants.”
“Here’s what I want,” she said. “I want you to get your sorry—”
Michael pulled her close. He silenced her with a kiss.
She twisted in his grasp, but he wouldn’t let go. Later she could yell at him, but right now he needed to warn off all the tomcats in town. Whether she liked it or not, he intended to keep her safe, and a fake engagement was a small price to pay.
Though he had only intended to keep her quiet, his kiss became real when her struggle calmed. She wasn’t fighting him anymore. Her arms encircled and embraced him. Her lips were sweet and soft. Her supple curves molded to him, and the fire of her anger took on a passion of its own.
Her tongue flickered across his mouth, and Michael gladly welcomed her probing. He deepened the kiss, and she responded with a moan.
He was stunned by the intensity of her mature passion. Eleven years ago, their kisses had been gentle as a softly played flute. Now, Annie’s kiss was a full-blown symphony.
He wanted more. But not now. Not with three other men watching. Reluctantly he broke away.
“I guess that settles it,” the police chief said. “If you two aren’t engaged, you should be. Congratulations.”
“I’m a lucky man,” Michael said.
Annie’s blue eyes were dazed. Her full lips parted, but no words came out.
Before they left, Chief Engstrom promised to have Bobby and the other officers patrol the neighborhood regularly. “We’ll come back in the morning when there’s some light. Then we’ll see if we can find anything that looks like evidence.”
With Bobby trailing behind, Engstrom left the bedroom. Michael listened as the two men went down the stairs and out the front door.
From the bed Lionel chuckled. “Congratulations.”
“Pretending to be engaged is the best way to keep all these guys away from Annie,” Michael rationalized. “Until we know who Bateman is involved with, we can’t take chances.”
Lionel yawned broadly. “It’s a good plan. To tell you the truth, I was worried about what people would say when they found out you were staying here. I didn’t want Annie’s reputation to be ruined.”
“My reputation?” Annie rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe for one minute that my reputation was your concern, Lionel. You as much as admitted that you wanted me and Michael to get together. You set me up.”
“Someday, Annie, you’ll thank me for this.”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I want to thank you both for providing me with the single most humiliating situation in my life. Not only am I the only woman from my high-school graduating class who has never been married, but now I have a phony engagement to add to my record.”
Michael didn’t believe she was all that upset. There was a spark between them that couldn’t be denied. “It’s not so bad to be engaged to me.”
She slapped his face with her left hand. Her aim was accurate and her arm was strong.
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