has ever refused me.”
His gorgeous eyes gazed up at her. Marian put it down to
light-headedness making her think such things. One foolish mistake and look at
the predicament she was in.
The surprise in his words was as plain as the shock on his
well-defined face. He wasn’t human. The ability to control minds, which he
seemed to have, made him wolf or demon. She hoped for the latter, but either
way she needed his help to get out of there before something nastier came
looking for her. She took a deep breath to settle her fluttering pulse and
closed her eyes so she couldn’t see the drop below her.
“I get that a lot. I guess I’m good for keeping your ego
down.” It was true. Marian was too stubborn to let anyone control her mind, and
others had tried, several hundred times. “Now please get me out of here.”
“So, now you need my assistance?”
“Get me down!”
He chuckled.
Asshole.
He stepped up to the tree. Grasping it, he rammed his
shoulder into the trunk, causing a violent shudder.
“Arrrr, what the fuck? Are you trying to kill me?” Her heart
throbbed hard in her ribs as if trying to escape from her chest. She could hear
the roar of her blood in her ears, echoing around in her head.
“No, although fucking might not be a bad idea.” He barged
the tree again, his teeth flashing into a grin in the glow of the setting sun.
Marian screamed and considered letting go just to throw one
of the knives hidden on her body at him. He shook the tree again and the branch
she lay on shuddered. Her grasp slipped and she fell fast toward the sidewalk,
the air rushing past her.
She felt a jolt and wondered why death hadn’t hurt. Should
she be able to think when she was dead? Not only could she still think, but she
could smell the scent of the musk of male skin.
Marian opened her eyes to see the man watching her with a
look of pure smugness tugging at the corner of his mouth. His full lips were
framed with a straight cut jaw and rough stubble, his arms cradling her as if
she weighed nothing. Her heart beat fast from the adrenalin. She tried to
focus, but had trouble keeping her eyes open.
“When I wake up, you are so dead.” All she could think of
was his deep, very male smell and the warmth of his arms as he pushed past the
audience they had attracted and carried her to his car before she slipped into
blackness.
Chapter 2
Marian woke to a heady scent filling her senses. A spice she
couldn’t name in her addled state, yet it aroused her every nerve and drove a
damp heat through her core. Sweeping her hand across silken sheets, she tried
to cling to the scent, savoring it as she pulled it into her lungs. Rolling,
she took a plush pillow in her arms, wincing as her skin stung across the
shallow wounds there. Recollection hit her fast as she jolted to wakefulness
and fell from the bed to the old, rough carpet. She twisted in the sheets which
encased her, her limbs caught up in their folds. A furious battle ensued as she
struggled to free first her legs, then her arms, from their smooth embrace.
Free at last, she stood and moved to the window, hoping to
identify her surroundings. Darkness pressed in on her with only the distant
city lights glowing against the black sky. The dark arms of trees circled the
home, which she could see from her lofty vantage point, was large. Wherever she
was, she wasn’t going home tonight. Only the brave, suicidal, or stupid went
into the city at night. She was, of course, the exception, but this was too
late even for her liking.
There was a tap at the door. She dropped into a defensive
crouch as her hands went to her hip and the concealed daggers arranged there. A
tall, sullen man walked in with a bread roll steaming on a plate alongside a
bowl of something which smelled like stew. Marian sniffed, but didn’t take her
eyes from his face. Her stomach growled in hunger as her muscles clenched and
coiled, ready to fight her way out.
The man’s skin was waxy and stretched
His gorgeous eyes gazed up at her. Marian put it down to
light-headedness making her think such things. One foolish mistake and look at
the predicament she was in.
The surprise in his words was as plain as the shock on his
well-defined face. He wasn’t human. The ability to control minds, which he
seemed to have, made him wolf or demon. She hoped for the latter, but either
way she needed his help to get out of there before something nastier came
looking for her. She took a deep breath to settle her fluttering pulse and
closed her eyes so she couldn’t see the drop below her.
“I get that a lot. I guess I’m good for keeping your ego
down.” It was true. Marian was too stubborn to let anyone control her mind, and
others had tried, several hundred times. “Now please get me out of here.”
“So, now you need my assistance?”
“Get me down!”
He chuckled.
Asshole.
He stepped up to the tree. Grasping it, he rammed his
shoulder into the trunk, causing a violent shudder.
“Arrrr, what the fuck? Are you trying to kill me?” Her heart
throbbed hard in her ribs as if trying to escape from her chest. She could hear
the roar of her blood in her ears, echoing around in her head.
“No, although fucking might not be a bad idea.” He barged
the tree again, his teeth flashing into a grin in the glow of the setting sun.
Marian screamed and considered letting go just to throw one
of the knives hidden on her body at him. He shook the tree again and the branch
she lay on shuddered. Her grasp slipped and she fell fast toward the sidewalk,
the air rushing past her.
She felt a jolt and wondered why death hadn’t hurt. Should
she be able to think when she was dead? Not only could she still think, but she
could smell the scent of the musk of male skin.
Marian opened her eyes to see the man watching her with a
look of pure smugness tugging at the corner of his mouth. His full lips were
framed with a straight cut jaw and rough stubble, his arms cradling her as if
she weighed nothing. Her heart beat fast from the adrenalin. She tried to
focus, but had trouble keeping her eyes open.
“When I wake up, you are so dead.” All she could think of
was his deep, very male smell and the warmth of his arms as he pushed past the
audience they had attracted and carried her to his car before she slipped into
blackness.
Chapter 2
Marian woke to a heady scent filling her senses. A spice she
couldn’t name in her addled state, yet it aroused her every nerve and drove a
damp heat through her core. Sweeping her hand across silken sheets, she tried
to cling to the scent, savoring it as she pulled it into her lungs. Rolling,
she took a plush pillow in her arms, wincing as her skin stung across the
shallow wounds there. Recollection hit her fast as she jolted to wakefulness
and fell from the bed to the old, rough carpet. She twisted in the sheets which
encased her, her limbs caught up in their folds. A furious battle ensued as she
struggled to free first her legs, then her arms, from their smooth embrace.
Free at last, she stood and moved to the window, hoping to
identify her surroundings. Darkness pressed in on her with only the distant
city lights glowing against the black sky. The dark arms of trees circled the
home, which she could see from her lofty vantage point, was large. Wherever she
was, she wasn’t going home tonight. Only the brave, suicidal, or stupid went
into the city at night. She was, of course, the exception, but this was too
late even for her liking.
There was a tap at the door. She dropped into a defensive
crouch as her hands went to her hip and the concealed daggers arranged there. A
tall, sullen man walked in with a bread roll steaming on a plate alongside a
bowl of something which smelled like stew. Marian sniffed, but didn’t take her
eyes from his face. Her stomach growled in hunger as her muscles clenched and
coiled, ready to fight her way out.
The man’s skin was waxy and stretched
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