“Why? If I don’t stay away, will I end up like your last three lovers?”
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t gasp. Didn’t put her hand to her heart dramatically as if those cutting words had just, well, cut her. Even though they had.
Deal with it. “End up like them?” She pondered that. Pretended to ponder it. “You mean enormously satisfied and ruined sexually for everyone else?”
A beat of silence. He cleared his throat. “No.” A rasp. “I meant dead.”
Oh, she just had to do this. The man was entirely too tempting. Once more, Alice shot up onto her toes. This time, she also curled her hands around his shoulders so that she could tug him down to meet her. He was a big one, after all. She had to pull him close. When she had him in position, her mouth moved toward his left ear. “What makes you think those men were my last three lovers?”
“Alice…”
Ah, had he felt the brief lick of her tongue over the shell of his ear?
“You’re so wrong,” she told him huskily. About many things. Not that he’d discover her secrets.
No one ever did.
He’d tensed against her. She could feel the tightness in his shoulders and because she was wicked and being wicked could be fun, Alice lightly licked the edge of his ear once more.
He hissed out a breath. His hands flew out and curled around her waist. Fast. Tight. Strong. He—
“There a problem out here?” Logan’s hard voice.
She almost jolted in surprise. Almost. Such a near thing.
When had Logan come outside? She didn’t remember hearing the back door open, yet she could now clearly discern the rush of his steps toward them.
“Alice?” Logan called.
She eased back, but the man before her didn’t release his grip on her waist. “No problem,” she said without looking away from his deep, dark eyes.
Logan rushed closer. “Get your hands off her, asshole!”
But the grip on her didn’t ease.
So her stranger wasn’t intimidated by Logan. Something else to remember. She tilted her head toward Mr. Dangerously Sexy. “Take your hands off me.”
Immediately, his hands dropped. “For the record,” he murmured. “You put yours on me first.”
Had she? She distinctly remembered him touching her cheek. But, then, yes, she might have been a bit touchy after that.
“You can touch me anytime, Alice. As long as, you know, you aren’t touching me with the intent to kill.”
Her lips pressed together.
“Is that shit supposed to be funny?” Logan locked a hand on the stranger’s shoulder and heaved him back. “Bastard, get the hell out of—”
“Name,” Alice said, voice flat. Because she wanted a name. Needed it.
His eyes were still on her, and he didn’t seem to notice Logan at all. “Call me Saint.”
He had to be joking. “Sinner,” she called instead. Because she was well acquainted with sin, and, staring at him, she knew this man was, too.
Like called to like. Darkness to darkness. Alice knew she carried a strong darkness inside of herself. There was no use denying that stark truth. Or denying the fact that she was drawn to this man.
Like to like.
Together, they might be incredible. Her attraction to him was off-the-charts electric. They could burn down a bed.
Or burn up the world. Because…he was dangerous. Not a wannabe as she’d first charged. But the very real deal. She knew it, deep inside.
Yes, they might be incredible together. Or they could just be another nightmare.
She already had enough nightmares and wasn’t particularly in the mood to have more. “I would like to say that meeting you has been a pleasure.” A careful exhale. “It hasn’t. I hope our paths do not cross again.” Brisk now, she turned on her heel and headed for the waiting car.
“They will.” A drawl from…Saint.
She glanced over her shoulder.
“Our paths are definitely going to cross again. Count on it.” A pause. “And as far as I’m concerned, it was a definite pleasure. I’ll be seeing you soon.” With that, he sauntered away. Whistling. The man actually whistled as he strode into the darkness, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
How wonderful for him.
She stood beside her car, gripping her keys too tightly, until she could no longer hear the pad of his footsteps or the sound of that too cheery whistling.
Logan edged closer to her. “Want me to give orders that he isn’t ever to be allowed in your place again?” Low, barely a breath.
Alice considered that option, and, for the moment, discarded it. “Dig into his life. I want to know everything possible about Saint.”
“Good, bad, and all the stuff in between?” Mocking.
“Something tells me there will be plenty of bad.” Stuff that she could potentially use against Saint, should he become a problem.
He already is a problem.
Still, she’d always believed in the old adage to…know thy enemy. Know him but try not to fuck him. No matter how incredibly tempting he may just be.
***
She stood on the edge of the ravine, with her heart racing so hard that it shook her chest. Her breath heaved in and out, and her whole body shuddered. She forced herself to look over that edge, to inch just a bit closer.
Her tennis shoes hit a few loose rocks and sent them crashing down below. She peeked over the edge, looking for him. He had to be down there, and he—
A hand flew up and locked around her ankle. He grabbed her and she fell forward, tumbling down, down—
Alice fell out of the damn bed. She hit the floor hard and cursed. Sweat covered her body. The stupid dream. It would never stop haunting her.
The covers had fallen with her and twisted around her body. Alice shoved them aside and climbed to her feet. Faint rays of light trickled through her curtains, and she knew there was no point in trying to sleep more.
She’d get dressed. Go for a run.
There are some things you can’t run from. But you could sure as hell try.
In moments, Alice had on her jogging shorts, her sports bra, and her sneakers. She slipped from her house, made it down to the street, then immediately took a right.
Five minutes later, Alice realized she was being followed.
No, not followed. Stalked.
The day had not gotten off to the best start…
Chapter Two
Alice stopped running. She sucked in a deep breath. Then another. And when she was ready, only then did she turn to face the threat.
Saint. Wearing jogging shorts. A compression shirt that looked truly amazing on him and displayed more of his wonderful, swirling tats. And, of course, he was sporting that killer grin of his.
“What a coincidence,” Saint said. “You come this way for your morning run, too?”
She was not in the mood for bullshit. Alice headed straight for him. “Do you always stalk the women you find attractive?”
His eyes widened. “You think I find you attractive?”
“Saint, stop being adorable.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re tenting the jogging shorts.” She waved down his body. “Of course, you find me attractive. So attractive that you are being stalkery, but I have to stay, you should have just saved yourself some trouble this morning. I told you already that I didn’t want our paths to cross—”