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Lauderdale because her best friend had shown her jewelry to a dealer and now, after years of working and learning and planning, she might finally be able to make a living doing what she most wanted. She left a great deal unsaid and yet told him what she wanted out of life, things that didn’t matter to a man trapped in something neither of them understood.
    “Are you married, Mala Bey?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    “I came close. He was so damn considerate it drove me crazy. Always asking what I wanted. Trying to please.”
    “In bed?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m not that way.”
    “I know. You take.”
    “I do what I have to.”
    “Is that what it is? You get a kick out of—possessing me?”
    “It’s working, then?”
    “I’m not going to answer that.”
    “It is. Good.”
    “All right!” she snapped. “You’ve gotten to me. Is that what you want to hear? I took two cold showers last night. I’ve never had to do that before in my life, but fat lot of good it did me. Before I’d even dried off—let me tell you something. If you could harvest and bottle up whatever the hell sexual stimulant you hit me with, you’d be rich. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Excited, if you must know, but also overwhelmed.”
    In the few minutes she’d been here, the sun had taken control of its domain. There was no end to the shades and hues of green. The artist in her made note of the subtle differences, but she hadn’t come back here to store up impressions that found their way into her work.
    She’d driven here barefoot because she’d had no choice. Because Laird Jaeger needed her.
    Maybe as much as her turned-on body needed him.

Chapter Four
    “You said something to me last night.” Mala shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “About our—finding each other being fate.”
    Laird didn’t answer, leaving her to ask if she’d really expected him to. While “talking” to him, she’d left the relative security of her car and walked to the edge of the Everglades. The vegetation’s hold on her emotions felt almost as strong as Laird’s hold did. Focused as she was on why she’d come here, she barely hesitated before pushing aside tall grass and branches and stepping into the rich-smelling growth. The Everglades’ lushness infused her with strength. At the same time she feared it.
    “What do you mean, fate?” she repeated. The skin at the back of her neck felt crawly and speaking came hard.
    Only birds and insects responded. She heard highway sounds behind her, but this dense world, whether she was ready for it or not, had become her existence.
    “You’re making me crazy, you know.” She tried a conversational tone. “If I had half the sense of a goat, I’d be on a shrink’s couch right now. He’d take me through past lives, check for multiple personalities, make sure I hadn’t been dropped on my head.”
    It wasn’t her head that was—suddenly and unexpectedly—making its presence known, but he didn’t need to know that.
    “I understand erotic fantasies,” she continued. More than I’m going to admit . “But I’m—all right—I’ll admit it, I’m used to controlling them, plugging in certain triggers such as a little leather and lace and indulging in some mental kinky fun, but knowing how to get in and out of the mood, playing it safe and in control, not the other way around.”
    “I told you. I had no choice.”
    “Is that what you said?” She squinted and stared. Had something changed about her surroundings? A darker-than-before hue to the area in front of that low-growing tree? She fought to concentrate. “I’m sorry. Of course you did.”
    She felt something feather-light on her cheek and brushed away what she hoped was a spider web. A not-too-subtle heat snaked through her groin and demanded a damn lot of attention. She pressed her thighs together and struggled to think about something, anything, except that sensation.
    “When this is over, how about we both get on that