His Dark Embrace

One of them moaned, a soft cry of need and longing.

Just when she realized that that needy purr had come from her own throat, Kaiden put her away from him, then turned his back toward her.

Sky stared at him. He was breathing hard, his hands clenched at his sides. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder and realized he was trembling. “Kaiden?”

He blew out a shaky breath. “Just give me a minute.”

Her hand fell away and she bit down on the corner of her lip, confused by his behavior. She wasn’t an untouched innocent. She knew when a man wanted her. And she for sure wanted him, so why had he pulled away? She hadn’t been with a man since her divorce. Was she so desperate for a man’s touch that she had imagined the sensual spark that had ignited between them like a match striking tinder?

No, that had been real. Butterflies danced in her stomach when he turned to face her again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice gruff. “I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand.”

She blinked up at him, uncertain of how to respond.

Thorne took a deep breath, held it, then blew it out in an impatient sigh. He didn’t want to take advantage of her. She was recently divorced. Her brother was missing in action. She had buried her grandfather only days ago. She was grieving and, oh, so vulnerable. Not to mention the fact that she had a boyfriend waiting for her in Chicago.

Sky folded her arms and took a step backward. Apparently, she had imagined that spark, after all.

“I appreciate all your help,” she said, her voice cool, “but I think I can manage the rest on my own.”

He regarded her through narrowed eyes, then shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Okay, Sky Blue,” he said quietly. “If you need help with anything else, you know where I live.”

Lips tightly pressed together, she nodded. Right now, she only wanted one thing.

It wasn’t until she heard the front door close behind him that the tears came again.

Thorne muttered every curse word he knew, in every language he knew, as he stormed across the street and into his own house. Dammit! He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings or start something he knew he shouldn’t finish, but how the hell was he supposed to have known that one innocent kiss would so quickly turn into something far more provocative? Still, he shouldn’t have been surprised, not when she smelled so good and felt so right in his arms. Not when he had spent every day since he had come back to town thinking of her, dreaming of her. Wanting her in the most primal way.

He stood in front of the big stone hearth in the living room, his hands braced against the mantel. Dammit! He had known scores of women in the course of his existence. Beautiful or plain, rich or poor, young or old, none of them had ever stirred his desire or touched his heart quite the way Sky did. He had seduced them, used them, forgotten them. But there would be no forgetting Skylynn, not in this lifetime or any other.

The best thing he could do for Sky McNamara was keep out of her way and out of her life. In a week or two, a month at best, it wouldn’t be safe for her, or any other mortal female, to be near him.

Chapter 6

Skylynn woke feeling grumpy after a restless night. Her dreams had been oddly disjointed, more like remembered scenes from her past than the kind of dreams she usually had. The images had changed quickly from one to the other, with no rhyme or reason.

She had been at her parents’ funeral, crying in Granda’s arms when, suddenly, she was in Iraq with Sam, making mud pies out of sand while bullets and grenades whistled over their heads. She was inside Kaiden’s house on Halloween night and it was full of trick-or-treaters—ghouls and ghosts, talking scarecrows, witches on broomsticks, vampires, and werewolves. And then, abruptly, she was out on the sidewalk in front of Granda’s house, playing hopscotch with a tall man in a gray cloak. And always, in the background, someone was watching her, someone who wore a long black leather coat with the collar turned up. Someone whose eyes burned as red as the fires of hell.

Going into the bathroom, Sky threw off her pj’s and stepped into the shower. She closed her eyes while the warm water sprayed over her, washing away the last of the troubling images, but nothing could wash away her concern for Sam. It had been four months since he had disappeared. It was horrible, not knowing where he was, not knowing if he was dead or alive.

She murmured, “Please be alive,” as she dressed and went downstairs to fix breakfast. She refused to believe Sam was dead. He had been her hero, the one she confided in, the one who had made her laugh when no one else could. He couldn’t be gone. Without him, her last anchor would be lost and she would truly be alone in the world.

Going into the kitchen, she pulled back the curtains, revealing a day as gray as her mood. With a sigh, she plugged in the coffeemaker, then sat at the table, trying to decide what she wanted for breakfast, only to realize she was too depressed to eat.

When the coffee was ready, she poured herself a cup, added a little milk and sugar, then went into the living room.

She was sitting on the sofa, staring at the far wall, when her cell phone rang.

“Tara!” she exclaimed. “How are you?” Sky had met Tara Reed in Chicago and they had quickly become best friends. They worked together at McGraw, Strait & Dunne.

“I’m fine,” Tara said, a smile in her voice. “I just called to see how you are.”

“I’m doing all right,” Sky murmured, leaning back against the cushions.

“Now, why don’t I believe that?”

“Probably because I’m lying. But I’ll be all right. It’s just hard, you know? I wish I’d called home more often.”

“Sky, you called him every week.”

“I know.” But she still felt guilty for not calling Granda more often. With Sam missing, she had been the only family her grandfather had left. “So, how’s everything at MS & D?”

“Miserable without you. Leena from Accounting eloped with CJ. Everybody’s talking about it. I mean, really, he’s old enough to be her father.”

“No kidding!” CJ McGraw was the CEO of MS & D, and Tara’s boss. “Boy, I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Neither did anybody else, including me! Oh, guess what? I saw Harry at Gene & Georgetti’s the night before last.”

“Oh?” Gene & Georgetti’s was Harry’s favorite restaurant. She told herself she didn’t really care, but curiosity made her ask, “Was he alone?”