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her. How could any real man live up to a fantasy?
    Laying her head down on the tapestry, Jane ran her finger over the fabric, tracing the intricate stitching that created a forest haven that seemed alive. Closing her eyes, she breathed deep. She swore she could almost smell the heavy scent of flowers in the air and hear the buzz of the insects as they roamed from flower to flower. Water lapped against the shoreline and a bird sang from some nearby perch.
    Frowning, she rubbed her palm over the tapestry. She didn’t remember a lake in the picture, but a lake would be wonderful. The fish would breach and land back in the water with a splash. A smile curved up the corners of her mouth. That would be lovely.
    She twitched her nose as something flicked it. The smell of violets filled her nostrils. The light, haunting smell was absolutely incredible. She brushed her hand over her cheek when something feathered lightly over it. She really didn’t want to wake up, but when she felt it again, she slowly opened her eyes.
    The light was bright in her eyes. Funny, she couldn’t remember leaving a light on. Blinking, she brought the world around her into focus. Slamming her eyes shut, she scrunched them tight, counted to ten and slowly opened them again. She definitely wasn’t in her apartment.
    A shuffling to her right made her turn her head. A huge male chest filled her line of vision. Swallowing hard, she looked up over the tanned expanse of skin, along the strong column of his neck, until she found herself staring at the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. His pale blue eyes ensnared her and she was afraid to blink, afraid he was just a figment of her imagination and would disappear as quickly and quietly as he appeared.
    Long blond hair trailed over his shoulders and a thin braid ran down on either side of his temples, framing his face. And what a face. His features were strong and his nose had a slight bump, indicating that it had been broken at some point in his life. There was a hint of arrogance in the tilt of his jaw and a sensual curve to his thin lips.
    He was too good to be real. She closed her eyes again and counted to ten once again. The sounds of the woods still rang in her ears but this time it was joined by a masculine chuckle. “Where is your man?”
    Her eyes popped open again. “What man?”
    He gently stroked a purple violet over her cheek. That must have been what had awakened her earlier. She was enthralled by the dainty flower being held so carefully in his massive hand. In fact, she was so enthralled, she almost missed his next words. “Surely a treasure like yourself is not alone?”
    Nerves struck her suddenly. What the heck was she doing? She was lying here next to a complete stranger. And where the heck was she? She started to scoot away but found herself flat on her back with him leaning over her.
    Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he threw one muscled thigh over her legs, caging her easily. The only thing to do was brazen it out. “Listen mister. I don’t know who you are or what’s going on, but you’d better get off me.” She was pleased that she sounded so tough and decisive. That was more like her.
    Except he didn’t look impressed at all. Instead, he looked quite amused. He wasn’t smiling, but there was a distinct twinkle in his blue eyes. “I am Zaren of the House of Bakra and you are on my land.”
    “Well, you’ll have to excuse me. I have no idea exactly where I am or how I got here or where exactly here is.” She knew she was starting to babble, so she took a deep breath. Calm. It was important to remain calm. Although that seemed an impossible task with a gorgeous giant looming over her. The heat coming off his large body was amazing and she had to fight her inclination to just lean into it and absorb it. The man was a living, breathing female fantasy.
    Fantasy.
    “Of course, this is only a dream,” she muttered. It was too bad he wasn’t real. But on the other