Iris Johansen (23 page)

“No, you lustful wench,” Rafe said firmly. “I spent a sleepless night and several exasperating, frustrating phone calls to arrange that particular gift, and the least you can do is to look at it and thank me for it.” He cast a rueful glance down at his own obvious arousal. “Quickly. Very quickly, please.”

Janna grinned mischievously as she opened the envelope. Her brow creased in puzzlement as she noticed that its only contents were two black-and-white photographs. She drew them out slowly and stared in blank surprise.

“The one standing upright is Norbet; he’s the male from the zoo in Ceylon,” Rafe said. “The one by the rock pool is Celene, a female from the London Zoo.” He frowned. “Or perhaps it’s the other way around.” He made a wry face. “It’s no wonder pandas are having problems reproducing. You can’t tell the damn things apart.”

“I believe it’s safe to assume that they can tell the difference,” she said absently, still looking down at the pictures.

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Rafe said skeptically. “You might explore that possibility when they’re delivered to the Camino Reserve next month. It might be the answer to the whole question of the endangered species.”

Janna’s eyes widened in surprise. “Delivered?” she said faintly. “You
bought
those two panda bears?”

He nodded. “And at no little cost to my temper,” he said grimly. “Do you know how difficult it is to get hold of a male and female panda? I’ve never experienced such suspicion in my entire life. I think they thought I wanted their heads to hang over my mantel.”

There was such disgust in his tone that Janna had to laugh despite the tears that were brimming in her eyes. What a beautifully touching gesture for Rafe to have made.

“Do you like your wedding present, Pocahontas?” Rafe asked softly, watching her face with a tenderness that caused her breath to catch in her throat and her heart to flutter strangely.

“I love my wedding present,” she assured him huskily. “I’m sure it’s unique in the annals of marital history.”

“Great,” Rafe said as he gently pulled her into his arms, the hard warmth of his flesh branding her own from breast to thigh. “God, you feel good,” he muttered hoarsely. His hands moved in tender exploration over the slender curve of her back and buttocks. “So soft, yet so firm and womanly.” One hand moved around to cup her full breast in his palm. “Very womanly. There’s no doubt which one is the female in this species. Much more convenient.”

There was no question regarding Rafe’s masculinity either, Janna thought happily as her arms slid around his shoulders, her fingers curling in the crispness of the hair at his nape. “Yes, far more convenient,” she murmured lovingly, and he bore her back on the coat he had spread on the rustling leaves.

The moment was inexpressibly beautiful, Janna thought dreamily as Rafe bent over her, his dark face intent and his lips curved in an expression of passionate tenderness. She could see the canopy of blue sky over Rafe’s shoulders and the brilliance of the autumn leaves on the oak tree above her. Completion
and renewal. The cycle went on forever, not only in nature, but in the heart. How thrilling to know that.

“Hey,” Rafe said gently, gazing down at her glowing brown eyes and absorbed expression. “Come back to me, Janna. I need you with me.”

She smiled at him with such loving warmth that he caught his breath.

“I’m with you, Rafe,” she said softly. “Always.”

Then she pulled him down to begin once again her own ritual of completion and renewal.

Welcome to Loveswept!

Kick off the summer with these sultry Loveswept reads. We’re starting June off with two fantastic e-originals…

 … And ending the month with
HER BETROTHED’S DILEMMA
, a special original historical short story from Loveswept author Megan Frampton.

We also have some wonderful classics for you to enjoy:

Temptation runs rampant in Linda Cajio’s
DOUBLE DEALING
, #1
New York Times
bestselling author Iris Johansen tells an engrossing story about a man who promises a forever love in
FOREVER DREAM
, and Sandra Chastain enthralls with her three searing romances,
SINNER AND SAINT
,
SHOWDOWN AT LIZARD ROCK
, and
SCARLET LADY
.

If you love romance … then you’re ready to be
Loveswept
!

Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher

P.S. Watch for these terrific Loveswept titles coming soon: July brings

Samantha Kane’s sensual new e-original,
TEMPTING A DEVIL
, Toni Aleo’s third entrancing book featuring hockey hunks,
EMPTY NET
, Ruth Owen’s dazzling
AND BABIES MAKE FOUR
, Jean Stone’s beguiling
SINS OF INNOCENCE
, Katie Rose’s utterly irresistible
A HINT OF MISCHIEF
, Iris Johansen’s seductive
TIL THE END OF TIME
, Sandra Chastain’s enticing stories,
DANNY’S GIRL
and
SILVER BRACELETS
, and August heats up with three e-originals: Stacey Kennedy’s intoxicating
CLAIMED
, Elisabeth Barrett’s blazing
SLOW SUMMER BURN
, and Toni Aleo’s red-hot
CROSSING THE LINE
, as well as Sandra Chastain’s stirring
SURRENDER THE SHADOW
, Katie Rose’s unforgettable
COURTING TROUBLE
, Adrienne Staff’s alluring
CRESCENDO
, Iris Johansen’s tantalizing
YORK, THE RENEGADE
and Ruth Owen’s ultra-sexy
BODY HEAT
. Don’t miss any of these extraordinary reads. I promise that you’ll fall in love and treasure these stories for years to come.…

Chapter 1

Eleanor “Elli” Fisher didn’t understand why she was so forgetful. She was convinced that if her ass wasn’t attached to her, she would forget it at home too. But really? How in the world did she forget all the bulbs for her light stands?!

Elli stood in the entrance of the Luther Arena, waiting for Harper Allen, her assistant, to bring the bulbs back from her studio on the western side of Nashville. This was one of the most important days of her career and she forgot the bulbs.

God, I am an idiot
.

How did she manage this? She ran her hand through her unruly brown curly hair, sighing. As if forgetting the bulbs wasn’t enough, she was also having a really crappy hair day. This was her first year with the Nashville Assassins. She couldn’t blow it. Being chosen to be the photographer for a hockey team was huge, but when it was for the team that just won the Stanley Cup and had the prospect of winning again? Hello, it was HUGE.

When she saw Harper running into the arena with the bulbs in hand, she let out the breath she had been holding. Damn, that was fast.

“For Christ’s sake! It’s a mad house out there!” Harper complained in her thick southern accent. Her hair was in spikes this week. The spikes were also purple, which made it even more interesting. Hadn’t she discussed with Harper how they needed to keep a professional image? Yes, purple was a team color.

But still!

“I know, come on. Let’s go put the bulbs in.” She didn’t have time to have it out with Harper right now; she had to get to the ice. They all but ran towards the entrance to the ice. Once there, she was greeted by the Assassins’ PR rep.

“Ms. Fisher, how do you do? Are you ready?”

Melody Yates was intense. That was the only way Elli could describe her. She was from New Jersey, and had been converted into a Southerner. And that made no damn sense to Elli, but whatever, this was her boss. So she flashed a huge grin and turned on her southern charm.

“Yes, ma’am. Let my assistant put these bulbs in, and we can get started.”

“Good, the boys will be out soon. Then we’ll go downstairs for the other shots we need.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Harper ran ahead of them and started setting everything up. Elli took in a deep breath. She had been photographing weddings almost her whole adult life, and now she was moving to sports. She had always wanted to do sports photography, partly because she had such a love for hockey, but she never could get an opportunity. Now, thanks to a job opening, and being related to the owner of the Assassins, here she was.

This was her chance.

A big one.

Harper handed Elli her camera with a big smile. Harper knew how important this day was, and also how nervous Elli was.

“Go on over there and let me test shoot, Harp.” Harper started towards the goal and turned with a stick in her hand, making a stern face. It brought a smile to Elli’s face. Harper was a dork, but God, Elli loved her. After fixing the aperture on her camera, Elli called Harper over as the guys started skating onto the ice.

“Good golly, Miss Molly! Look at them! Good Lord! They are gorgeous!” Harper whispered as all the guys came out and sat on the bench. Elli took her time looking the guys over. They were gorgeous, alright. But she already knew that, since she never missed a home game. Sometimes she thought it was the uniforms: bright purple and black, with a masked man on the front of the jerseys that brought out their good looks. But nope, even with the helmets off, these men were just plain gorgeous.

Getting back in the zone, she called for the coaches first. Trying to bottle her nerves, she got started. After shooting the coaches, it was on to the team. Each player came out in front of the goal, striking his pose. Elli zoomed in, taking a head shot before taking one with him holding a stick. After that picture, each lined up for an action shot, which consisted of skating towards her while shooting a puck. During all of this, Harper offered up commentary.

“For the love of God, El, that dude is hot!” Elli rolled her eyes, taking the shots she needed.

“Hush, Harp.”

“No, really. Like, please, can I hit on one of them? Just one?”

“No.”

“You’re no fun.”

Elli laughed it off. She was starting to get into her groove, just as the captain and the alternate captains came off the bench.

“Oh, to hell with what you say. Number two is mine, after this!” Elli gave her a pointed look as Jakob Titov, the Assassins’ leading scoring forward, skated in front of the goal. Jakob was extremely good looking, with hard lines to his face, bright green eyes, and dark brown hair. He was a looker, but not Elli’s type.

He reminded her too much of her ex-boyfriend.

“Hush, Harper!” Elli said as she took the shots she needed. What she didn’t need was Jakob making eyes at her assistant, which he did. And, of course, Harper returned them. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much that Harper always flirted with the clients. It didn’t matter how old they were or what they looked like, or even if they were the groom. She always found something in them that she liked. It was probably the fact that they all had a penis.

Elli loved Harper, but Harper was a little promiscuous and didn’t care who knew. Guys had no worth to her unless they were naked and inside her, as she always said. Elli always wondered what made Harper that way. It made no sense. There had never been a guy who had done Harper wrong in the twenty two years they had been friends. Her parents were good people. So Elli really didn’t understand where it came from. And, of course, guys liked Harper. She was wild, beautiful, skinny, and amazing.

Everything Elli wasn’t.

Jakob lined up, giving her his action shot. After she got it, he skated towards her and Harper instead of his teammates.

What the hell was he doing?

“Nice hair, beautiful,” he flirted in his thick Russian accent. Harper just smiled widely, as Elli flushed deep red. Elli didn’t know why she was embarrassed, but she was. She didn’t want attention on Harper right now, not with the importance of this job.

“Nice stick,” Harper said, looking down at where he was holding his stick. Jakob gave her a devilish smile and skated towards the bench.

“You are impossible, Harper Allen,” Elli said, flustered.

After getting it together, Alex Welch came next. Alex was easy to shoot. He had good lines, and bright blue eyes, so the pictures were bound to be fabulous. Next was the captain, Shea Adler.

Elli blushed as she got to the close-up of Shea. She had always thought the defenseman was gorgeous. With his almost black hair that fell in the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen, and a crooked nose that had been broken two years ago during a game with the Red Wings, she had to admit that she had a little bit of a crush on him. When he smiled, her heart melted. Yeah, his teeth were probably false, but damn, he had a pretty mouth.