She probably hated him.

That was okay. She was still Evangeline. Still his mate.

Good thing that, as often as he used to piss her off, she could never stay mad at him for long.

16

This… this couldn’t be happening.

It was one thing to be secretly attracted to a man she met a couple of times. In some ways, he was everything that Adam was not. Dark—tanned, rugged skin, black sunglasses, dark brown unruly hair—where Adam was fair. Big. Visibly dangerous.

Adam was as law-abiding as they come. A freaking cop. This guy looked like he’d done some serious time. And, since abducting a woman was one hell of a crime, it looked like he’d be doing a lot more.

If she got out of this in one piece. If she managed to live long enough to testify against him.

Keep calm. Don’t agitate him. Guy already looked like he was on the edge and that was before the way she smelled seemed to set him off. Don’t give him a reason to decide you’re not worth it.

Maybe she shouldn’t have snapped back at him. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know what he was capable of—

Well. No. That wasn’t right. Her dark stranger was obviously capable of drugging her and grabbing her off the street in broad daylight.

If he could do that and not show any remorse when she threw it back at him…

Evangeline struggled to stay calm. Don’t piss off the big, scary man, she told herself firmly. If only he’d take off those damn sunglasses. She wished he would. They covered his eyes and half of his rugged face, making it impossible for her to get any idea of what he was thinking.

She wasn't sure that he was.

The man she’d innocently had coffee with last Friday had kidnapped her. Drugged her first, then brought her to this place. No denying that.

But why? She didn’t know. And he didn’t look like he was about to tell her.

Thank God Adam was a cop. He called her so frequently, constantly checking in. How long would it take before he realized that something had happened to her? That she was missing?

It couldn’t be long. She had faith that Adam would find her, too. He loved her—he was always telling her that he loved her. Nothing would stop him from coming after her.

She just had to survive long enough to give Adam a chance to track her down.

Don’t set off the unpredictable stranger… she could do that.

Right?

In a slow, careful voice, she said softly, “Who else am I supposed to smell like?”

The smile slid off of his face.

He was going to kill Colt.

Take her, he said. She’s your mate, he said. Once she’s with you, the bond will snap back.

Horse shit.

Who was this woman in front of him? It was Evangeline. Of course it was. But the Evangeline he knew—the woman he mated, then married—had never gentled her voice around him. She said what she was thinking when she was thinking of it.

He expected screaming. Ranting. Fury. If she picked up the lamp on the desk and heaved it at him, he was prepared to duck; he already made a mental note that he’d probably have to replace it after they left the cabin.

This woman was acting super weird. Not like his Angie at all. He’d done what no Para was allowed to do: he’d run off with his mate. And, instead of shouting bloody murder, she obeyed him—actually did something she’d never do, and obeyed him—when he begged her not to scream. Now, she sounded like she was just commenting on the weather or something.

No. No, no, no.

Tags: Jessica Lynch Claws Clause Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net