Perilously Fun Fiction: A Bundle by Pauline Jones (best fiction novels of all time .TXT) 📕

arched her other brow, thanking the powers that be for the Seymour-ness that kept her expression bland and cool despite the intensity of his very dangerous regard. “Really?”

Cool, very cool. Obviously a woman after his own heart. Dante smiled his satisfaction. “Absolutely.”

He joined her by the desk, letting his body brush against hers.

“I found them so interesting I’d like more of them.”

Luci traced the line of the float with her finger, the action moving her around the desk and away from him. “Would you?”

Dante leaned across the desk and trapped her hand against the paper. Trapped her gaze with his. “Yes, I would.”

She didn’t even blink. “They aren’t mine to give.”

He studied her face with interest. There was charm in the angular lines that wasn’t apparent to the undiscerning eye. He prided himself on having a discerning eye—particularly where women were concerned. Initially, he’d planned to ferret out the scam, eliminate the principals and take it over for himself. But she was an unexpected bonus. Perhaps, if she wasn’t too clever, he’d keep her. For a while anyway. It might be fun.

“You gave one to Benny.”

Luci slid her hand away from his and took his chair, sliding back and crossing her legs. Both movements worked the skirt of her dress up enough to draw attention. The three men practically created a vortex with their collective and simultaneously indrawn breaths. When they turned a touch blue around the lips, Luci smoothed the dress back in place.

There was a combined exhaling that ruffled her hair. Luci waited until Dante’s dazed gaze found her face again before she said, “I’m afraid that wasn’t me. I couldn’t have given Benny anything yesterday, since I only arrived last night.”

“What?” He wheeled to look at his suddenly worried men. They both gulped, swallowed and backed into the wall. “Idiots.”

“I wouldn’t be too hard on them.” Luci stood and walked around the desk. “This Benny doesn’t sound like a person who pays a lot of attention to detail.”

“That’s right, Boss,” Abel said hoarsely. “Benny said it were the younger one. That the rest are old. Wouldn’t know about her, now would he?”

All three of them looked at him. He wasn’t a fair man, but he liked to appear to be one, so he nodded. “Then who was it?”

“I suspect, though the idea fairly boggles my mind—and you should know a Seymour doesn’t boggle easily—that it was Unabelle.” For the first time she looked more than mildly curious. There was a tiny frown between her oddly straight brows. He studied it and decided to like it. “Though I wouldn’t have her picked up if I were you. Her fiancé is a retired cop. Eddie Ross?”

Dante scowled. “Ross?”

“You know him?”

“Let’s say I’ve had some...interaction with his nephew.”

Luci smiled. Dante wasn’t ready for it and he thought he was ready for anything. He kind of heard the boys inhaling again, but all he could do for the space of it was stare and bask in it.

“We have something in common then.” She turned off the smile. Rational thought took a bit longer to be restored. “I’ve had a few encounters with him myself.”

Dante took a shaky breath, then said with assumed calm, “Then you know how unreasonable he can be?”

Luci laughed. The sound invoked an extraordinary feeling of delight that once again blurred rational thought and made him want to grin like a fool. He looked at his men and saw they were grinning like fools. He realized his mouth was starting to turn up and stopped it.

Get a grip, man. She’s just a woman. One who made him want to sit up and beg, but just a woman. He rubbed his brow, hoping to clear his head. What—oh yeah.

“The boxes. What I’d really like to know is how the boxes got that way.” He chose his words with care, not anxious to use the actionable ones like scam and defraud. It didn’t seem possible that she was wired, since no one knew she was going to get grabbed, but he stayed in business by not trusting anyone, especially anyone as attractively packaged as Luci Seymour.

“Another thing we have in common.” This time the wattage on her smile was turned down, as if she knew its danger to the male brain.

“Is that a problem?” he shot back.

“No.” Her shrug was a study in the elegant. “The contents just don’t seem to be your style.”

He stepped in front of her. She was as tall as he, so he had to use the force of his personality to intimidate her. He gave her a deliberate once over, mentally stripping her. “What’s in those boxes will always be my style.”

She looked amused instead of intimidated. “Okay, but my aunts—”

“They’re your partners?”

“I’m not in it at all. I’m just here for the wedding.”

“But you can talk to them? They’ll listen to you?”

She looked at him, her gaze closed and cool, with no sign of the charm that had taken his breath away. “Maybe. The situation is...complicated.”

She’d piqued his interest now. He was accustomed to people experiencing a full range of emotions in his presence, but he’d never met anyone so politely indifferent. Maybe a change of tactics was in order? He captured her hand and gave her his most charming smile.

“Luci, I hope it’s all right for me to call you Luci? And you can call me Dante. I’m counting on you to uncomplicate it for me.”

Luci studied him. He wasn’t just going to go away. And it would really be annoying if his men kept grabbing her off the street. Not to mention what it would do to Mickey’s blood pressure if he got involved, which she had a feeling he would.

“It would help if you met them. They’re giving a party on Sunday. You should come, bring a friend.”

His eyes gleamed. “I like parties. And I’m quite good with old ladies, aren’t I, boys?”

“Sure, boss.”

It was hard not to grin at their less-than-enthusiastic endorsement, but Luci knew it wouldn’t be wise. This