Copper Beach

toes, as if she was making her decision on the way up. The energy around her got a little hotter. “No one else. Not tonight. Anyone I should know about who might feel she has a claim on you?”

    “No,” he said.

    “That’s all right, then.”

    She put her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly, carefully, as if she was conducting a delicate experiment, the outcome of which was designed to satisfy her curiosity but not to oblige her to make a commitment.

    Fire roared through him. He lifted his head.

    “Don’t know about you,” he rasped, “but as far as I’m concerned, we are not running a field test or a lab experiment here.”

    Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

    “I’ll show you.”

    He crushed her close and kissed her hard and deep, making it clear that he wasn’t running a test. This was the real deal, and he wanted to make sure she knew it.

    She was clearly startled, and for a terrible moment he thought she would retreat. But she gave an urgent little gasp and tightened her arms around his neck. Her mouth softened invitingly under his.

    Heat lightning snapped and flashed in the atmosphere. He was suddenly more aroused than he had ever been in his life. It was as if the energy of his aura was resonating with hers in a way that made every sensation more intense, more volatile, more vital.

    He was trying to decide how to get her out of the coat and down onto one of the loungers when she planted both hands against his chest and pushed herself a little distance away. She was breathless.

    “Newton,” she managed.

    He looked down. Newton was sitting at their feet, his head tipped to one side with an expectant air. He had the leash between his teeth.

    “Your dog has lousy timing,” Sam said. “But he’s got a point. It’s too cold out here for this kind of thing.”

    Abby giggled. Her laughter sparkled in the night. Sam grabbed her hand and made for the glass doors. Newton, leash still in his teeth, dashed after them, excited and enthusiastic.

    “He thinks we’re playing a game,” Abby said. She punched the elevator button.

    The elevator door opened. Sam pulled her inside. Newton trotted in with them.

    Sam hit the button for the tenth floor and pinned Abby to the wall.

    “No games,” he vowed.

    She struggled a bit. He held her still and kissed her fiercely.

    When the elevator doors opened, he was forced to release her. She clamped a hand over her mouth and looked at him with laughter-filled eyes.

    “What’s so funny?” he asked.

    In response, she pointed up at the ceiling of the elevator. He saw the security camera and realized why she had resisted a moment ago. He laughed and yanked her back into his arms, making sure that he was kissing her as the elevator doors closed, making sure that the last image recorded on the security camera was that of Abby in his arms.

    Staking his claim.

13

    SHE WAS HOT AND COLD AND SHIVERING SO HARD SHE COULD not even get the key into the lock. What was wrong with her? It was as if she was in the grip of a raging fever, but she did not feel ill. Just the opposite. She was wildly exhilarated. She was flying.
    The key fell to the floor.

    “This is embarrassing,” she said.

    Sam scooped up the key, opened the door and propelled her inside. She was vaguely aware of Newton’s nails clicking on the floor behind them. He disappeared down the hall to the living room. Sam got the door closed, peeled off his leather jacket and immediately went to work unfastening Abby’s coat.

    Part of her was shocked by the force of her response. It was as if the physical contact had awakened something deep inside her that had been dormant all these years, as if she had been waiting for this encounter.

    Sam wrenched off her coat, hurled it in the general direction of the coatrack and closed his hands deliberately, powerfully, around her shoulders. Yet for all the strength that she sensed in him, both physical and paranormal, there was an exquisite tenderness in his touch that was incredibly seductive. As if he was handling fine, delicate crystal, she thought.

    She slipped her hands up under his black T–shirt and flattened her palms on his chest. The feel of sleek, hard muscles beneath his warm skin excited her senses. She could see the heat in his eyes. He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her throat. For the first time in her life, she understood what it meant to be thrilled.

    “Yes, yes, yes, ” she whispered.

    He pulled