Primal Heat 04 - Forever in Darkness

exactly where she was supposed to be: in his
arms. He looked down at her as he slid his hand over her lower back, softening
his grip when he felt her resist as she tried to keep their bodies from
touching. Her pulse was hammering in her neck, a desperate flutter that he
wanted to press his lips against and ease.
    Instead, he took a deep breath to
calm his lust. "Who are you?" he asked softly as he tunneled his
fingers through her thick hair. Sweet Jesus, it felt unbelievable to have her
in his arms. "And how come you aren't dead anymore?"
    Wariness flickered in her eyes, and
he knew before she answered that she wasn't going to tell him.
    As if he could accept that.
    The woman had died twice already.
That wasn't the kind of thing a guy could let go.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Alice's heart was hammering, and
her skin felt hot as she stared up at the man who seemed to consume the very
air he breathed. He dominated the room, his presence so strong and powerful it
seemed to diminish everything around him. He smelled faintly of fresh earth and
perspiration, the scent of a man who was sheer, raw male. Her entire body was
thrumming from his touch, and she felt as if her skin was on fire where his
hand was pressed against her lower back, urging her closer to him.
    His brown eyes were dark and
intense as he watched her, moving her gracefully in time with the music as he
waited for her answer. She felt as if he was looking right through her, ferreting
out all her secrets, unearthing everything she was trying so desperately to
survive.
    She knew she should feel terrified
of him, with all his strength and power, with the way he towered over her, but she
didn't. She couldn't take her gaze off his face, off the intensity of his
stare, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him, that she'd met
him, that somehow they had crossed paths before.
    He'd called her Catherine.
    Catherine.
    How had he come up with that name?
Had it been a fluke? A coincidence? Or was he not the stranger he seemed to be?
What did he know? And could it help her? She whispered a silent prayer that
this man, that this sensual, alluring male that was awakening such desire in
her had answers that would help her. "What's your name?" she asked.
    "Ian Fitzgerald," he said
easily, with just the faintest hit of a brogue beneath his words, as if he'd
once had it but had lost the accent so long ago that it was no longer a part of
who he was.
    His name made chills roll down her
spine, and she shivered at the sound of it. But why? She was sure she'd never
heard it before. "Who are you?"
    His eyes darkened even more, and a
hooded shadow took over his face. "I kill bad guys."
    The answer was not the truth, not
the entire truth. She could see from the tension in his jaw that he was holding
back, but at the same time, the pride in his voice told her that there was
truth in his words.
    The man holding her so possessively
in his arms really did kill bad guys. Sudden hope flared inside her, leaping to
life. Dear God, was he her answer? "Are you for hire?"
    Ian's grip tightened on her, and he
hauled her against him. Their bodies smacked together with an impact so intense
it sent spirals of heat coiling through her. She tried to lean her shoulders
back, to keep her breasts off his chest, but his muscular arm tightened around
her, locking her down against him. "You're in danger." It wasn't a
question. It was a declaration that he'd figured out her deal, and he didn't
like it. His voice was rough and harsh, and she felt his barely contained fury
raging through him.
    Ian's protective response was like
a firecracker, igniting something inside her so powerful she suddenly couldn't
keep herself away from him. For so long, she'd been trying to protect others. No
one protected her. Ever. It went against the very essence of what she was. It
was literally against the foundation of nature for someone to try to keep her
safe.
    And yet, here was this powerful
male claiming that right.
    Dear God, it felt amazing. Tears
burned in her eyes, and she slid her hands over his shoulders and behind his
neck, allowing him to crush their bodies against each other. She could feel her
heart hammering against his chest, and she knew he could feel it, too. It was
crazy, insane, her response to him, but she couldn't help it and she didn't
want to.
    This man was so intense, so much more
than she'd ever met before. He was strong enough to charge right past all the
rules and regulations surrounding who she was and