asped vi
so fast it hurt. He
of her, bracing for the bone-cr
bed fistfuls of
ng. She was lying
fabric of her nightgown. She inhaled sharply. The d
Gaines'
ng at the vaulted ceiling of the guest b
so fast her
r body felt whole, save for a dull, throbbing pain i
and stumbled out of bed. Her
ll-length mirror lea
ale, but alive. A small white banda
into her brain li
ed to run away, tripped over her own heels, and tumb
ged for the smart calendar
umbers burned
back. Back to the day she fel
n crushed her legs. Her knees buck
ve. She had
palm to stop the hysterical sob from ripping out of her throat
otsteps echoed in
e moving
d against her ribs. Sh
in
tear-streaked face from he
door, a crystal vase lay shattered in
fore she fell down the stairs, sh
hat door today, she had screamed at him, picke
forward on her
liced into her index finger. She frantically swept the
topped right ou
owly turned. The metal hi
g her racing heart to slow down. She wiped the
oak door s
tailored charcoal suit. His broad shoulders filled the fr
room like a radar, ins
. His hands were balled into tight fists at his
same, yet entirely different. This was the m
tely welled up w
her eyes. His eyes narrowed. He
a low, gravelly threat, "I will freeze every singl
at threat had ignite
like a desperate, clumsy att
ream. She didn't
She looked at him with eyes full
ence st
dropped a fraction of an inch. He stared at her, compl
a small st
rp pain shot up her leg. She gasped, h
brain did. He lunged forward, h
d his arm back, shoving his hand deep into his trou
the abort
he had trained him to expect vio
her gaze t
spered. Her voice tremb
e room like a ph
ilated rapidly. H
tically for the lie, for the trap. The tension
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