Unfortunately, he also closely resembled the man who’d attacked her earlier. Her warning bells were clanging hell for leather. She hadn’t listened to them earlier and look where that had gotten her.
Eve backed up silently.
“Angel,” he said, softer this time, his voice so clear she knew he had to be resting his forehead against the door. “I know what happened today. You shouldn’t be alone. Let me in.”
Alec’s voice. Hearing it in person, after all these years, stabbed her like a knife. Dark and rich like chocolate, it was decadent. Sinful. It had urged her to relinquish her virginity, an act that was painful for most women, but had been the pinnacle of pleasure for her. She’d fallen head over heels that night. Would have done anything for him, gone anywhere he wanted. Anything, if it meant they would be together.
Stupid. Naïve.
Shaking her head, Eve continued to retreat, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her arms were straight and steady, pointing the muzzle directly at the door. She wasn’t surprised that he knew what happened to her today. The fact was, Alec always knew. From the beginning, he’d had an uncanny way of knowing what she was thinking and feeling. She was pretty sure that’s why he was so damn good in the sack. Before she knew what she wanted, he was giving it to her.
“Eve, listen to me. You can’t be alone now. It’s not safe.”
You’re not safe, she thought.
“I’m the closest thing you’ve got,” he retorted, as if he’d read her mind.
No. Go away. She couldn’t voice the words. Her throat was too tight.
“I won’t, angel. I’m coming in. Keep backing away.”
“I-I’ll s-shoot you.”
Eve could sense him pause.
Then her door burst open in an explosion of splintered wood and bent locks. Three dead bolts. The kind bullets couldn’t break.
Her entire body shook violently, but she held the gun level.
He entered her condominium with casual ease, his steel-toed boots thudding heavily on her polished wood floors.
Alec Cain was tall, dark perfection. He wore black from head to toe, from his fitted T-shirt to his leather pants. His inky locks were a bit too long, caressing his nape and falling over his brow. His full lips were drawn tight with strain. His brown eyes were burning. That intensity had done crazy things to her equilibrium when she was a wild child of eighteen. It did crazy things to her now.
The past decade hadn’t aged him at all.
“I told you to go away, Alec.”
He tossed his leather jacket and helmet onto her sofa as he passed it. “Are you really going to shoot me if I don’t?”
“If you don’t turn around and get out of my house, yeah.”
Alec could stand stock still and be merely gorgeous, but when he moved, all bets were off. There was a sleek, predatory grace to him that was riveting. A woman couldn’t help but wonder if he would be as smooth in bed. Eve knew he was. Sex was an art form to Alec, and he was a master.
“I’m not leaving, angel.”
Eve’s nostrils flared. Then she squeezed the trigger.
CHAPTER 4
The click of the hammer falling was deafening in the quiet room. Had there been a round in the chamber, Alec would be sporting a steaming hole in his chest.
“You can’t hurt me,” he said softly.
“Don’t underestimate me. I always keep the gun stored on an empty chamber. You won’t be so healthy when I squeeze off a live round.” She gestured toward the door with a hard jerk of her chin. “Get out, while you’re still in one piece.”
Her home no longer felt like her own. Alec dominated her living room. The darkness of his clothes was completely at odds with the soft champagne colors she’d decorated with. In an odd twist of fate, she and he matched. She wore a black cotton tank top and matching shorts, her comfort clothes.
“I can’t.” He turned his back to her and pushed the door closed, the protruding dead bolts fitting into the gaping holes in the decimated jamb. He hooked the slender chain into place (the one piece of security she hadn’t bothered with before), then grabbed the wooden chair next to the console table and wedged it under the haphazardly hanging knob.
Locking them in together.
He faced her. “That mark on your arm is going to start messing with you.”
The damn thing was already messing with her. It throbbed and burned something fierce. “What is it?”
“Both a blessing and a curse.” Alec stepped closer, completely unconcerned with the danger her gun presented. “It’s a punishment, a form of penance.”
“What-the-fuck-ever. I’m agnostic and you’re insane. Take your lunatic bullshit and get out of my house.”
“You’re going to get sick and need someone here.”
“Well, it sure as hell isn’t going to be you. I’ll call a friend. Someone reliable.”
Outwardly, the dig didn’t appear to affect him, but she sensed it had struck home.
“A friend isn’t going to be able to help you, Eve. Especially a woman. Not unless you started swinging both ways, which I really doubt. You like men too much.”
“No, I only like parts of men.”
“You liked all of me.”
“I was a stupid kid.” She snorted. “But I learned my lesson the first time.” His challenging smile made her breath catch and she stilled, absorbing what he’d said. “Wait. Are you talking about sex?”
Eve’s eyes widened and her gaze dropped to his groin. The man was rocked, cocked, and ready to go. Every inch of that hard, muscled frame was edgy with tension and arousal. Sudden fury gave her strength, and her shaking stopped.
“No way, Alec. You’re insane if you think I’ll let you touch me again. Go find someone else to torment. I’m all stocked up on angst.”
The angular lines of his face softened. “Angel—”
“Don’t ‘angel’ me. I’m not your angel. I’m not your anything.”
“You’re everything, which is why I left.”
“Shut up.” Fire was coursing through her veins making it hard to think.
Alec studied her intently. “The fever’s kicking in. Your cheeks are flushed and you’re beginning to sweat. You need to lie down.”
“Yeah, that’d be convenient for you, wouldn’t it? Disarm me and get me horizontal.”
“If I just wanted to get laid, why hit up a woman who holds the grudge from hell? I’m not that hard up.”
That smarted, the knowledge that he could crook his finger and have whomever he wanted. She should take comfort knowing she wasn’t the only one to chase him. But it just made her jealous and cranky.
“If you know what happened,” she bit out, “then you know that man looked like you.” Although now that he was here in the flesh, Eve saw the differences between them. No one looked like Alec, although the winged man had been awfully close.
But at this point, she didn’t care. She just wanted Alec out of her house. She couldn’t deal with him. Not today. God, not ever. Never again. Even after all these years, he still drove her crazy.
Sweat dripped down her temple and Eve wiped it away impatiently. “This afternoon pretty much ruined me for men with your coloring. Switching teams actually sounds pretty good at the moment.”
“Don’t,” he said tightly, the muscles in his arms flexing. “I’m barely holding it together as it is. I’d hunt him down now, if you weren’t about to be extremely sick. You need me here, more than you need me out there.”
Her laughter was harsh and without humor. “You’re something I don’t need in my life, especially now.”
Alec rubbed the back of his neck. The pose showed off his well-defined biceps to perfection. It pissed her off that she could still find him so damned attractive.
“I’m sorry, angel.”
Somehow, he managed to fill those words with a wealth of regret. But she wasn’t buying what he was selling. He was one of those guys who never stayed in one place for long and left broken hearts in his wake. The first time she’d been too young to know better. There was no excuse now.
Perspiration gathered between her br**sts and trickled down her chest. Eve rubbed at the wetness through her tank top. “It’s been a really crappy day, Alec. I need to go to the doctor in the morning. If you would leave and not come back, I’d be super grateful. I might even forgive you for being crazy. Someday.”
A sudden flare of heat spread across her skin and made her dizzy. The room spun and she stumbled. Alec caught her, cradling her violently shivering body down to the floor. He pulled the gun from her lax fingers, and set it down carefully beside him.
“Alec . . .” The smell of his skin, achingly familiar, drugged her already confused senses.
“I’m here, angel,” he crooned, pulling her into his embrace.
She clutched at his arm and found the raised mark with her fingertips. Turning her head, Eve saw it. The trinity knot and serpents were just like hers, only his brand had another image in the center. An open eye. His looked like an embossed tattoo, while hers was most definitely a blistering burn.
“Dear god,” she gasped, her breathing labored as she felt consciousness slipping from her. “What’s going on?”
He brushed strands of her hair away from her face. Her skin tingled where he touched her, goose bumps rising. Everything about the way he looked at her exacerbated her fever. There was nothing in the world like being wanted with a primitive desire. The one thing she’d never doubted was that Alec was madly in lust with her.
“You were drawn to him because of me, weren’t you?” His lips hovered above hers so that their panting breaths mingled and became one. It was as intimate as sex, that sharing of breaths between them.
She didn’t have to answer. He knew. He always knew.
His thumb brushed across her cheekbone. He moved to kiss her, but Eve jerked her head away.
“Damn you,” she breathed, her nails digging into his skin.
“We’re both damned.” He pulled her into his lap and tucked her flushed face into the crook of his neck, where the scent of his skin was so strong.
Against her will, she nuzzled him, rubbing her sweat into his flesh. She felt the urge to crawl inside him, to see what made him tick. Her tongue darted out and tasted him. He shuddered in response, squeezing her tighter. Her wound was on the arm facing away from him and she felt his fingertips move, feather light, over her bandage.
Her voice came as no more than a whisper. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You’re right, angel. You haven’t.” His lips pressed hard to her damp forehead.
“Then why?”
He exhaled harshly. “Because of me. Because I couldn’t resist you.”
Eve opened her mouth to reply, but weariness pulled hard at her and she sank into darkness.
CHAPTER 5
The deep rumbling growl of a Harley drew Eve’s gaze to the parking lot of the ice-cream shop where she worked after school. It was five in the evening and the day was just starting to end. The horizon was the color of a tangerine tinged with burgundy.
She walked to the end of the counter to catch a glimpse of the Heritage Softail that lounged in front of the Circle K convenience store next door. It was a black and chrome beauty, boasting custom saddlebags and a well-worn seat.
“What I wouldn’t give for a bike like that,” she whispered, “and the freedom of the road.”
Not that she was unhappy with her life, because she wasn’t. It was just . . . ordinary.
Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at the clock and silently begged it to tick a little faster. Her shift was over at six. The final football game of the season started at seven fifteen. While her high school was across the street, the field they played on was a few miles away.
“Hey. Are we going to Chad’s party after the game?”
Eve glanced at her friend Janice and shrugged. “I’m not sure. Depends if Robert’s going or not.”
Shaking her head, Janice went back to work wiping off the counters, her long, blonde ponytail swaying with her exertions. “You can’t avoid him forever.”
“I know. And I know he’ll stop talking shit about me when he hooks up with someone else, but in the meantime, I just want to stay out of his way.”
Crouching down, Eve opened the doors beneath the display case. She pulled out the glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels.
“He’s an a**hole,” Janice muttered. “I’m glad you didn’t screw him.”
“Yeah.” Eve stood. “Me, too.”
She tossed one last longing glance at the Harley and froze. The owner was shoving a paper bag into one of the saddlebags. Then he tossed one leg over the bike and settled into the seat.
Wow.
He was tall, dark, and dangerous. His long legs and fine ass were draped in loose, low-slung blue jeans, his powerful biceps bared by the fitted white tank top he wore. His jaw was square and bold, his lips firm but sensual. Wicked. The lines that bracketed them only emphasized how gorgeous he was.
Completely unaware of her fascination, he turned the key and revved the engine, his black leather boots resting firmly on the asphalt, ready to push the bike back. The anticipation of his departure made her shiver.
Then he turned his head and saw her.
Eve knew the exact moment he became aware of her stare because he stilled, his large frame visibly tensing. The hand on his thigh reached for his sunglasses so he could push them up. As they lifted, they caught the overly long lock of glossy black hair that fell over his brow and took it with them.
Their eyes met. Electricity arced through the space between them. She shivered. The bottle of glass cleaner fell from her nerveless fingers and thudded on the linoleum floor.
“Wow . . .” Janice’s voice breathed the awe Eve felt. “He’s got to be famous.”