Snowy Night Seduction

eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 2932 Ross Clark Circle #384 Dothan AL 36301 Snowy Night Seduction Copyright © 2006 by Arianna Hart Cover by Scott Carpenter ISBN: 1-59998-059-2 www.samhainpublishing.com All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2006

Snowy Night Seduction By Arianna Hart

Arianna Hart

Chapter One Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire, April

“Spring is in the air, folks. Bright skies and sunny weather are headed our way, so get out your rakes and get ready to do some yard work,” the TV weatherman said in a far too chipper voice. Seraphina clicked off the TV and looked at her companion, a Siberian husky named Cody. “What do you think, buddy?” Cody sneezed and ran for the door. “That’s what I think, too.” Even though the sun shone brightly enough to tell her she needed to wash the windows, Sera’s weather-sense screamed, “Snow!” along every nerve. April might be the start of spring for much of the nation, but in the mountains of New Hampshire, there was still a chance for a late season snowstorm. And if her weather-sense was accurate, they were in for the mother of all spring blizzards. She trusted her weather-sense a hell of a lot more than she trusted some plastic-haired TV weatherman. With a sigh of regret, Sera pulled a nylon windbreaker on over her flannel shirt and dragged on her boots. It wasn’t cold enough for her heavy down jacket—yet—and hauling firewood would keep her plenty warm. Yanking on some gloves to protect her hands, she pushed open the door and let Cody run out.

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Her pile of firewood had shrunk considerably over the course of the winter but was still taller than her five foot four frame. Just about everything was taller than her, so that was no surprise. Sera grabbed the first of many armloads and slogged her way back to the covered porch to stack it by the door. Bright sunshine smiled down on her and crocuses pushed up through the mud that hid her flowerbeds. The spring day mocked her efforts but she refused to stop. She knew a storm was coming. Knew it down to her toes, despite what that idiot on TV said. She wiped the sweat off her brow with her shoulder and went back for another load. The yard was a mess of mud and her boots were filthy in no time. A sense of urgency rode her hard, pushing her to hurry. Weather-sense wasn’t her strongest power, but right now it was the one that screamed the loudest. Having psychic powers was a pain in the ass sometimes. Hell, it downright sucked most of the time. Sera jumped back before a split log could land on her toe, and fell into the muck. Cold mud seeped through her jeans, sending a chill right through her. Great, now she was cold and dirty. She pushed back to her feet and tried to scrape some of the slop off the seat of her pants. “See! That’s exactly what I mean,” she said to Cody. His white legs were brown with mud and his snout was covered in it as well. “If these stupid psychic powers were any good, I’d have known I was about to fall on my ass and been able to avoid it.” Cody cocked his head to one side then took off after a squirrel. Sera stopped for a minute and just watched him run. He looked so much like a wolf when he ran that it took her breath away. Unfortunately, standing here staring at her dog wasn’t going to keep her warm when the storm hit. She bent down and picked up the logs that

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had scattered when she landed on her butt. At least she didn’t have to explain to anyone why she was piling up enough firewood to last through the Armageddon when the sun was shining and birds were singing their little hearts out. Being alone was another drawback of her “gift”. For some reason, guys just didn’t like it when her empathic powers manifested during sex. Okay, so it was only one guy who had had the unfortunate experience of having all her feelings—physical and emotional—rush over him as she lost control while making love. A jab of pain poked at her aching heart as she remembered Jake, looking at her like she was a freak, as he ran for the door. Some big, bad New York cop he was. Ha! Jacob Candellori, formerly of the NYPD, now the local sheriff, was scared flaccid by feeling her emotions wash over him during sex. It would be almost funny if it didn’t hurt so much. Memories swamped her as she walked to the shed to check on the generator. When Jake first came to their sleepy little town, he’d set hearts aflutter everywhere he went. His pitch-black hair and dark eyes had had every female between the ages of ten and ninety swooning when he gave them one of his craggy half-smiles. Just the thought of those intense eyes staring into hers as he drove into her was enough to make her knees weak, even now, when she hated him. Okay, to be fair, she didn’t really hate him. Her mentor, Denali, had made her face the feelings that hid beneath the fear and anger. She’d been hurt that her feelings had scared him so much he’d run away. Hurt? She’d been devastated when he had looked at her like she’d crawled out from under a rock. She’d thought they’d had something special together. Even though he’d had a reputation as a playboy, he’d

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treated her like gold. He’d enjoyed hiking through the mountains with her and actually listened to what she had to say about the land. She’d fallen hard and fast for him and thought he’d been as committed to what they had as she was. When they’d made love, really made love not just had sex, all her feelings had burst through her shields. The joy she felt at his touch and the love she felt in her heart had flowed from her like a tidal wave. And he’d totally freaked. One second she was rolling with the best orgasm of her life and the next she was watching him run out the door. His total rejection had hurt her so badly she’d wanted to curl into the fetal position and die. He’d rejected not just her body, but her soul as well. And, like any wounded animal, she’d run away to lick her wounds. But she was back now. She’d run to Arizona and found Denali, another psychic, who had far more control over her powers. For Denali, they were an extension of herself—like the ability to sing or draw—not some alien life force waiting to jump out and attack. Denali had taught her how to face her fears and embrace her powers instead of forcing them away. Sera might not ever get to the point where she used her powers with the unconsciousness of Denali, but they no longer ambushed her either. The next time she fell in love, she wouldn’t overwhelm her partner with her feelings before she could speak of them. The fact that she could even consider falling in love again was a sign of how far she’d come. Denali told her she’d be able to say the L word again without cringing someday, but Sera hadn’t believed her. Jake’s utter rejection of her had scarred her deeply but at least it hadn’t ruined her forever. She hoped.

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The generator had plenty of gas and a full tank waited nearby, just in case. She doubted she’d need to tap into the second tank but it was good to be prepared. If this storm was anything like the other freak spring blizzards she’d lived through, it would dump a ton of snow that would melt off quickly as soon as the storm passed. It would be nasty while it lasted but she shouldn’t be out of power for weeks. Clouds had moved in while she’d been in the shed and a cool breeze stirred the pine trees. Good weekend for yard work, my ass! Sera whistled for Cody and slogged her way back to the house. The mud on her pants stuck to her as she moved and she felt cold and clammy. She’d strip down and make herself a nice mug of tea to drink in a steaming hot bath. That would ease some of the anxiousness strumming through her. Maybe once the storm hit the feeling of impending doom would ease. Denali had taught her a lot about using her powers but it wasn’t like they came with a guidebook. Every psychic had different strengths and weaknesses. Even if she and Denali had the same powers, what worked for one woman, might not work for another. As it was, Denali’s powers leaned more towards healing and growing things, where Sera’s strengths were reading emotions and a tiny bit of weather-sense. If she’d had her druthers, Sera would have preferred the ability to grow plants. A rosebush didn’t run out in the middle of sex. “Positive thoughts. Think forgiveness.” That’s why she’d come back to New Hampshire, wasn’t it? To face her past and move beyond it? It wasn’t Jake’s fault he felt overwhelmed by her outpouring of emotion and had reacted badly. The bastard.

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Sera wiped off Cody’s filthy feet and snout with the old towel she kept on the porch and let him inside. In the mudroom, she stripped off her disgusting jeans and laid them over the cast-iron radiator to dry out. She yanked off the windbreaker and padded barefoot to the kitchen to put the kettle on. The sky kept getting darker and there was a definite tang of snow in the air. She’d been right about a storm moving in. Psychic powers, one, Super Doppler Three Billion, zero. While she waited for the tea water to boil, Sera pulled a container of her homemade chicken soup out of the freezer and popped it in the microwave oven. When it was melted enough to loosen up some, she dumped it out into a crock-pot and set it on high. What was better than hot soup when it was freezing outside? The teakettle whistled and Sera poured the steaming water over jasmine and orange tealeaves. Mug in hand, she crossed the wood floor quickly and started a fire in the woodstove. She’d let that get going while she took her bath. When she got out, the room would be toasty warm, the soup would be heating up, and she’d settle down with her dog and book while the snow fell. A tiny niggling of premonition warned her that wasn’t likely to happen but she ignored it. Just because she had the damn power didn’t mean she had to listen to it.

777 The windshield wipers on Jake’s SUV worked double-time and they still couldn’t keep up with the force of the falling snow. Where the hell had this storm come from? One minute, the sun was shining and the next, an artic wind was breathing down his neck.

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Now, instead of sitting at the bar having a beer with his buddies, he was fighting his way into the freaking teeth of the storm to rescue a group of idiot hikers. Shit, it was really coming down! He couldn’t see a foot in front of him and the wind knocked his car around like it was made of tin. “Dispatch to Car One,” his radio squawked. “Car One, go ahead.” There were only three cars in the entire Sheriff’s Department but Shirley, the dispatcher, refused to just use their names. “The hikers have been found. ‘Parently one of them twisted an ankle before they got more than a hundred yards out and they all came back. They’re at the clinic.” “Roger that.” Great. The hikers were safe in town and he was stuck out here in a blinding snowstorm. He leaned down to hang up the microphone to his radio when a deer jumped out of nowhere. Jake cranked the steering wheel to the side to swerve around the big bastard. A hoof smashed his windshield before the deer clattered off into the swirling white. The SUV skidded all over the road. Visibility was zip and Jake’s heart raced as he tried to straighten out. Suddenly the tire caught a rut in the road and the vehicle spun out of control. The world whirled crazily around him as the SUV rolled over and over again. Coffee cups, pens, and a clipboard bombarded him from all sides. The airbag exploded with a loud pop. Blood trickled down his forehead into his eye as the truck rocked to a stop. The airbag slowly shrank in front of him. It took Jake a minute to realize he was lying on his back looking up at the deflating pillow. Shit. Running a quick internal inventory, he realized he’d gotten off damn lucky. Sure, he’d be sore as hell tomorrow from the tumble, but nothing felt broken.

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Now he just had to find shelter in the middle of nowhere so he could live to see tomorrow. Jake unbuckled the seatbelt and twisted carefully over the broken glass until he could crawl out the smashed window. Stinging bolts of ice pelted him and freezing wind nearly knocked him back down as he struggled to his feet. The SUV was totaled and he was stuck in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard. In April. Why the hell had he ever left Brooklyn? It never snowed in April in Brooklyn, and the only wildlife running across the road was pedestrians. Carefully bending down, he reached for his radio and clicked the transmitter a few times. Nothing happened. Considering the antenna was bent under a ton of scrap metal that used to be his vehicle, he wasn’t surprised. His cell phone flashed the “no service” signal too. Damn piece of crap. What was the use of carrying one of these things if when you needed it there was no signal? He stood and tried to look through the blinding snow for a landmark that might give him a clue to where he was. Pine trees towered over him on both sides, which meant he was somewhere in New Hampshire. Big help. The whole freaking town was covered in pine trees. There was no choice in the matter. He had to pick a direction and hope he came across a house or something. Jake offered up a quick prayer that he’d choose the right direction and started walking. He figured he’d been out around half an hour and gone less than a hundred feet. His toes were numb, he no longer felt his fingers, and his nose could double as an icicle. If he stayed out in this much longer, he’d be dead. The wind howled through the trees like a pack of hungry wolves and pushed against him no matter which way he turned. Ice had formed on his eyelashes and his cheeks burned from the cold. Every breath he took

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felt like knives piercing his lungs and he’d swear on a stack of Bibles his nose hairs had frozen solid. Another gust of wind brought him to his knees and he fell face forward in the sloppy, wet snow. Jake forced himself to get up, even as the freezing glop slipped into his boots and under his gloves. Shivers shook his frame, making it even harder to get his feet under him. As he struggled to stand, he caught a glimpse of light through the trees. Could there really be a house out here? He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his coat and looked again. Hallelujah! There was a house about two hundred yards through the woods. Safety stood just two football fields away. Renewed strength flooded him and he pushed through the thigh-high drifts. He could make it. He would make it, damn it.

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Chapter Two Sera sat curled up on the couch in her flannel pajama pants and favorite beat-up sweatshirt. A glass of white wine sat on the table next to the woodstove and her dog lay at her feet. The smell of chicken soup wafted through the air, and the soothing hiss and crackle of the fire relaxed her. Now if the idiot heroine of the book she was reading would just smack the arrogant Lord of the Manor, life would be good. Wind whistled through the eaves of the house and pellets of ice clinked against the windows but she was cozy and warm inside. A shiver shook her as she thought about getting caught out in that storm. She’d been right. It was the mother of all storms. As she reached for her wine, Cody’s head lifted and his ears perked up. “What is it, boy? Do you hear something?” It was probably just a tree falling from all the heavy snow and ice. Cody got up and ran excitedly towards the door. When Sera didn’t move fast enough, he let out a little yip and ran back to get her. He was practically spinning in circles in front of the door by the time she got there. Nerves prickled along her skin and she reached for the baseball bat she kept in the umbrella stand by the door. Who on Earth would be out in this weather? It could just be a hiker who had gotten caught in the unexpected storm. Or it could be something worse. Cody wasn’t a very

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good judge of character. Huskies never met a person they didn’t like. She couldn’t be sure it was a friend on the other side of the door, because to Cody, everyone was a friend. Sera reached out with her psi-senses but didn’t feel a thing. Whoever was on the other side of that door was either half-dead or shielded tight as a drum. Stupid psychic senses didn’t help when she really needed them. Weak thumps pounded on the door and Sera peeked through the window to see who was there. All she could make out was a heavily bundled form slumped against the wall. Whoever it was, he was in bad shape. Clutching the bat in one hand, she opened the door with the other. A mountain of a man blew in, along with about a foot of snow. It was all she could do to push the door closed and keep her eye on her visitor at the same time. “Who are you? What are you doing out in this storm?” she asked as soon as she secured the door. Puddles had already formed from the snow and seeped through her wool socks. She moved around the man to get a better look at him. Her stomach sunk to her toes and her head spun as she saw Jake’s brown eyes staring back at her from under a layer of ice. “Ser—” he said right before he pitched forward and landed face first on the floor. “Oh, for the love of little green apples!” she swore as Cody hopped ecstatically around Jake. This was just what she needed right now. Trapped in the house with a passed out sheriff who thought she was a freak of nature. It was very tempting to leave him sprawled on the floor like a fallen Sequoia. Too tempting.

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With a sigh, she pulled the hat off his head and unwound the scarf from his neck so she wouldn’t strangle him as she dragged him across the floor. How she was going to manage to get him away from the door and near the stove when he outweighed her by a good hundred pounds was anyone’s guess. She grabbed the collar of his coat and yanked him with all her strength. And promptly fell on her butt. Cody gave her a doggy laugh. “Stop laughing and help me.” Cody liked this new game and chomped down on the shoulder of the puffy down coat. This time Sera managed to get Jake about two feet closer to the living room before she fell again. By the time she got him in front of the fire, her ass would be black and blue! What was he doing out in this mess? He had his sheriff’s uniform on so he must be on duty. But where was his car? His clothes were soaked through so he’d obviously walked a long way. As she got him into better light, she saw a streak of blood on his head. Had he been shot? Fear slammed into her with all the force of a fist in the gut. He couldn’t have been shot! No! There would be a lot more blood, wouldn’t there? She pulled harder until she got him on the rug in front of the wood stove. Scrambling to her feet, she ran to the kitchen and wet a towel with the still warm tea water. Jake hadn’t moved from where she had left him. Carefully she dabbed at the blood streaking his face. More worry lines had formed around his eyes since the last time she’d seen him, she noted absently. There might be a few more gray streaks in his black hair too, but that was it. He still looked more handsome than any man had a right to. The blood came away easily. There wasn’t as much of it as she’d first thought. When his face was clean, she realized he only had a tiny cut on

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his forehead. He wouldn’t even need stitches, and she’d been afraid he’d been shot. Yeah, because people get shot all the time, here in the back end of nowhere. He may not be shot but his skin felt frightfully cold. The real danger was freezing to death, not bleeding to death. She needed to get him out of his wet clothes in a hurry. Oh Lord, how the hell was she going to do that? He was twice her size and completely unconscious. Why should she even bother? He’d left her cold and alone when she’d shared her deepest feelings with him. Why shouldn’t she leave him wet and cold now? Because she wasn’t like that, damn it. As much as she hated him— disliked him—she couldn’t leave any human being in this condition when she was in a position to help. “You’re lucky I’m a forgiving woman, Jake Candellori.” She yanked and tugged and pulled until she managed to get him undressed down to his boxers. They were only slightly damp so she didn’t think he’d mind if she left them on. There was no way she was stripping him completely. This was a mission of mercy, not a peep show! Still, he was a fine specimen of male perfection. Long, muscular legs led up to nicely rounded buns and a tapered waist. More muscles rippled along his back to his mountainous shoulders and ropey arms. A little flutter of appreciation ran through her as she looked at all that bronze skin in the firelight. It was almost a shame to cover him but goose bumps the size of golf balls had formed on his skin. Sera pulled the blanket off the couch and draped it over him. Shouldn’t he be waking up soon? How long had he

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been out in that mess? She wrung her hands together nervously. Could he be faking this to avoid dealing with her? She let her shields drop the tiniest bit and probed his emotions. Nothing. There was a big black pit where Jake should be. He was so unconscious he wasn’t even dreaming. That couldn’t be good. Sera ran to the bedroom and got every blanket she could carry and piled them on top of Jake’s shivering body. She added a couple more logs to the fire while she was at it. In minutes, she was dripping with sweat but Jake’s lips were still blue and violent shudders shook his frame. Crap, crap, crap! She wasn’t a healer—what the hell was she supposed to do now? What would Denali do? All she had to do was touch a person and she could tell what ailed them. Touch! Body heat. Lord knew she was sweating bullets. She’d share her heat with Jake. Sudden fear made her pause in the act of pulling her sweatshirt off. Could she really get almost naked and crawl under the blankets with Jake Candellori? What if he woke up and wondered what the heck she was doing? What if he thought she was trying to get back together with him? Oh get over it, she scolded herself and finished stripping down. She wouldn’t hesitate to do what was necessary to save a total stranger; she shouldn’t balk at helping a former lover. “The things I do for good karma,” she muttered as she slipped under the covers. Jake’s skin was cold and clammy against her hands as she heaved him onto his side. He felt like ice against her. She hadn’t been wearing a bra so she was down to just a tiny pair of lace panties. In Jake’s near death state, she didn’t think he’d care. She reached down and pulled his feet between her thighs.

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Damn, his toes were cold! Her skin flinched at the ice cubes between her legs but she gritted her teeth and squeezed them tightly anyway. She stuck his hands under her armpits and snuggled as close to his chest as she could. Cody burrowed under the blankets as well and snuggled up on the other side of Jake, warming his back. Heat poured over them from the woodstove and the down blankets, making her sleepy. Jake seemed to be breathing a little easier now and wasn’t shaking quite so violently. Tremors still rocked his frame, but they weren’t quite as bad she thought. She’d done all she could to warm him up. The rest was up to God.

777 The smell of lavender was the first thing that hit Jake when he regained consciousness. The smell of lavender and the feel of soft skin pressed against him. Part of him wanted to sink into the fragrant warmth and fall back into oblivion, but his mind wouldn’t let him. Something was wrong with this picture but he was too fuzzyheaded to think of it. A breezy sigh teased his senses and a firm breast pressed against his chest. His cock twitched to life and his pulse hummed in his veins. Heat filled him, surrounded him. He opened his eyes to see who he shared his bed with and saw— A mouth full of sharp teeth with a long tongue lolling out of it breathing doggy breath into his face. “What the fuck?” He sat up quickly and groaned as every muscle in his body protested. “Huh? What?” Seraphina sat up and clutched the blanket to her chest.

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A very naked chest. Cody yipped at him and licked him from chin to forehead. He was in Seraphina’s house. Warm and naked with her. Maybe he was dead? The question was—was he in heaven or hell? “What am I doing here?” he asked as she wrapped a threadbare blanket around herself and stood. He tried to quell his raging hard-on while she added more wood to the fire. “That’s what I was wondering. You showed up half dead on my doorstep and passed out on my floor. You were frozen and bleeding. I did the best I could to clean and warm you up.” Memories flashed through his head as he remembered the deer and the accident. “I totaled my truck on one of the fire access roads.” “What were you doing out on a night like this?” She waved her hand towards the floor to ceiling windows that were covered in ice and snow. “Chasing some hikers that were supposed to be caught in the storm.” “Supposed to be?” “Yeah, apparently one of them got hurt, and they ended up at the clinic instead of on the mountain. They failed to mention that to their parents who were worried sick about them though.” “So you went out for nothing. Poor Jake.” “All in the line of duty.” He wasn’t sure if she was mocking him or not. She’d changed since the last time he’d seen her. Her hair was shorter now, cut in a shiny black cap that framed her gleaming cat eyes. But it was more than that. She appeared…calmer now, more centered. A twinge of guilt twisted in his gut. She hadn’t been back in New Hampshire for two years and it was because of his sharp words. He’d chased her from her home because he’d spazzed out while they were having sex. Not exactly one of his finer moments.

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“Would you like some soup? It should be ready by now. It might do you some good to get something hot inside you.” “Sure. Sounds great.” “I’ll make some coffee too. Wait by the fire so you stay warm. I don’t think you’re fully recovered yet.” He watched as she slipped a sweatshirt over her head, catching a glimpse of her tight ass in a red lacy thong. Suddenly, generating heat wasn’t a problem. “Is that a tattoo?” he asked before he could stop himself. She spun around and yanked on a pair of plaid pants. “A real gentleman wouldn’t have looked.” “I never claimed to be a gentleman, real or otherwise. So, is it?” “If you must know, yes. I got it in Arizona.” “So that’s where you’ve been. I wondered.” He’d contacted all his sources to find her but had come up dry. It was like she’d disappeared off the face of the Earth. “There were some things I needed to take care of. That seemed like the best place to do it.” It didn’t escape him that Arizona was about as different from New Hampshire as possible. “So you left without a word to anyone?” Without a word to me? “My folks knew where I was.” And they hadn’t told him. Not that he could blame them. “So, did you get those things taken care of? Is that why you’re back now?” He wrapped the blanket around himself, noting she’d left his shorts on, and sat in the big chair by the fire. “Sort of,” she said as she handed him a steaming bowl of soup. It was filled with noodles and vegetables and chunks of chicken. It smelled like heaven.

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Neither said anything as they concentrated on eating. Her dog, Cody, had lain back down in front of the fire and snored contentedly as the wind shook the house. Jake looked around, noticing the pile of wood by the stove and several candles spread throughout the house. A glance out the window showed more wood piled up on the porch. She seemed awfully prepared for a freak storm that came out of nowhere. “Why do I get the feeling you knew about this blizzard before the weatherman did?” “I always knew you weren’t an idiot.” She stood and crossed to the kitchen. “What? Did you get a weather report from the psychic network?” he asked sarcastically. “Something like that.” She handed him a cup of black coffee. “Care to explain?” He was surprised she remembered how he took his coffee. “Oh, now you want explanations? As I recall, the last time something out of your realm of experience happened, you didn’t wait around for me to explain.” She curled up in a ball in the corner of the couch. “Cut me some slack. I was a little freaked out.” “A little freaked out? That’s what you call running out of the house like your pants were on fire? I’d hate to see you really scared.” “I

was

not

scared!”

Embarrassment

rolled

over

him

as

he

remembered his flight out of the house. Oh yeah, he’d just covered himself in glory that day. “Whatever.” She took a deep breath and faced him with a tight smile. “It’s all in the past. I’ve moved beyond it.” And you.

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She didn’t say it but her tone was clear. The thought that she could cut him off so completely, when he hadn’t stopped thinking about her over the last two years, rankled. “Then why’d you climb under the blankets with me?” “I would have done that for anyone who landed on my doorstep in the middle of a storm like this. Don’t flatter yourself.” “Consider me duly chastised.” She lifted one sable eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “So, does this mean you’re back for good?” He tried to sound casual, like his entire world wasn’t hanging on her answer. “Maybe. It depends.” Well, that was a real definitive answer. “Depends on what?” He took his bowl to the sink and poured more coffee. It wasn’t easy to hold the mug steady and keep the blanket wrapped around him but he didn’t want Sera to see his raging hard-on just yet. “Lots of things. I’m still figuring stuff out.” She pulled a blanket over her legs and stayed huddled in the corner of the couch. Jake settled at the other end of the couch, more than willing to encroach on her personal space. Maybe if she were uncomfortable she’d talk more and explain what the hell she’d been doing for the past two years while he’d been going insane. “So, Sheriff, what have you been up to? Breaking hearts left and right?” She was close enough he could smell her lavender fragrance and see the shine of firelight on her hair. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent and he could see a light blue vein pulsing rapidly along her smooth throat. Aha, a clue! If her heart rate was that rapid, she wasn’t nearly as calm as she pretended. Good.

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“No, I hung up my heartbreaker status a while back. It started to interfere with the job.” “I can imagine. All those weeping women must have filled your tiny station from wall to wall.” “Aren’t you exaggerating just a bit? I’d hardly call one bawling teenager the legion of weeping women you’re describing.” “How is little Sandy Morrison doing anyway? She must be sixteen or seventeen by now. Is she finally over her crush?” She stood and took her dishes to the sink, creating space between them. “She’s eighteen and off to college. Last I heard, she had the University of Vermont all a-twitter with her antics.” How much longer were they going to talk about inane bullshit? “Eighteen? My, my, how time flies.” Enough of this. “So, are you going to pretend nothing ever happened between the two of us all night, or are you going to blast me for being an asshole?” There, that gave her an opening big as a barn door. If she didn’t take it, he’d eat his boots. Her throaty laughter echoed off the exposed beams on the ceiling and surrounded him, trickling over his senses like honey. “You always were blunt. No, I’m not going to ream you for being a jerk. Like I said, I’m over that. You were taken by surprise—it’s not your fault you reacted badly.” Jake ran a hand over his scratchy jaw and tried to figure her out. This would be a lot easier if she’d just get good and pissed at him. Anger led to passion of other sorts and then he’d have an excuse to get his hands on her again. Just the thought of all that pale skin so close to him made his palms itch and his mouth water. “I won’t excuse my behavior. It was wrong for me to verbally attack you.” No matter how surprised he’d been, it didn’t forgive him pushing

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her away and calling her a freak of nature. “You know, I’ve been researching paranormal abilities since you left, trying to understand what happened.” “Really?” Sera tried to keep the shock out of her voice. This wasn’t going at all like she thought it would. When she pictured meeting up with Jake again she had anticipated feeling a sense of closure at best, renewed anger at worst.

This…this

hammering

need

to

touch

him

destroyed

her

concentration. “Yeah. I was surprised at how much information is available on the Internet. You’re an empath, right?” “That’s my strongest ability, yes.” Damn! He wasn’t feeding her a line. He’d actually looked it up. Her heart pounded in her chest. “So when we had sex, I felt your feelings?” “Uh huh.” All the love she’d felt for him broke through her shields and rushed over him in a tidal wave of emotion she’d had no control of. “You could have warned me, you know. I had no idea you could feel what I was feeling or that something like that would happen.” His eyes held a hint of accusation. “Would you have believed me if I had?” “Probably not.” She decided to take pity on him and tell him the truth. Well, at least part of it. She wasn’t quite ready to tell him everything yet. “To be honest with you, I can’t read your feelings all the time. You block me out.” “Come again?” “Part of the reason I never mentioned it to you was because it wasn’t an issue. You block your emotions so well I never felt them so I didn’t

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shield myself properly. When we made love I lost control, which is why you got hit with everything going on inside me.” He wiggled uncomfortably and the blanket fell open, revealing his naked chest. Sera’s body hummed in appreciation at the muscled abs and ripped chest. Damn, but he hadn’t gotten any less gorgeous since she’d left. “That was part of what freaked me out so much. I felt myself inside you. From your perspective.” Ahh, she hadn’t considered the homophobic angle. “The sensation of penetration bothered you, I take it?” “Just a bit.” She couldn’t help but snicker at his expression. “I happen to like it so that’s why you did too. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to start playing for the other team anytime soon.” He was so ill at ease it was laughable. “I figured that out, eventually. Thanks for sticking around to explain it though.” “Did you want me to chase you down the road? You’re the one who bailed, not me.” If he wanted to get sarcastic, she’d give it right back. “I came back the next day and you were gone. Poof, not a sign of you. I didn’t think a woman could pack for a weekend away in less than a day and you had closed up and disappeared in half that time.” Sera remembered the frenzy of packing to get out of the house before he sent a lynch mob after her. She’d cried her way across the country, heartsick at his utter rejection of her, terrified at what he’d do once he calmed down. If Denali hadn’t heard her mental anguish, she’d probably still be running. “You’re right. I should have stayed to discuss it with you once things calmed down but I was afraid.” “You were afraid?” He lifted one eyebrow.

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“Believe it or not, nothing like that had ever happened to me either. I’d never lost control of my emotions to the point that I pushed them on another person. I was a little freaked myself.” “And I made it worse by swearing at you. I’m sorry, Ser. Really, I am.” He moved closer and pulled her hand out from under the blankets. “It’s all in the past. We both reacted badly. There’s no sense shoveling around the blame. Let’s just let it go.” “I’d like to do that. Really, I would but there’s one problem.” Oh shit. What now? Her pulse pounded through her at his touch. “Oh? What?” “I don’t want to let you go.” Quick as lightning, he covered her body with his much bigger one and swooped down to take her mouth with his. Sera had no time to protect herself, and at the first touch of his lips, no desire to either. God, how she’d missed this. Missed him. Missed the instant fire he could create inside her with just the touch of his mouth on hers. She let out a groan and gave herself over to the pleasure coursing through her veins. Jake’s tongue teased its way into her mouth to duel with her own. His teeth bit her lip lightly, sending heat straight between her legs. Cream flooded her nether lips as her pussy swelled with desire. She could feel his erection pressing into her stomach and knew he felt the immediate desire too. Her breath came out in a gasp as he trailed his lips down her neck to the edge of her sweatshirt. His hands skimmed up the bare skin of her ribs and set every nerve ending in their wake aflame. Her breasts ached for him to touch them, her nipples peaking into hard little points. “I’ve wanted to touch you for so long. To feel you again,” he murmured against her neck as he nipped his way to her ear.

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Bolts of fire shot to her core as he bit down on the lobe. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him too. How she had dreamt about him every night but the words couldn’t get past the lump in her throat. If she couldn’t tell him, she’d show him instead. Sera ran her fingers over his broad back down to his tapered waist. His skin was hot and tight under her fingers and felt wonderful to her starved senses. When she ran into the elastic band of his boxers, she slipped them down without another thought. “Oh God, yes!” he groaned against her mouth as she cupped his ass. She scraped her nails along the smooth line of skin between his cheeks and his thighs. Oh yeah, he was still sensitive there. He yanked her sweatshirt off with more haste than finesse and cupped her aching breasts. His calloused fingers teased the undersides of her creamy mounds, drawing slowly closer to her rigid nipples. She wanted to feel those rough fingers on her so damn badly she thought she’d explode. Why was he taking so long? She arched her back to give him the hint but he only gave a throaty laugh and continued his torturously slow path. Sera squirmed against the couch and dug her nails into his shoulders to encourage him. He didn’t even budge. Heat rolled off his naked chest in waves, burning her straight through. How could she want him this much, this fast? It made no sense, yet she did. She ran her foot along his naked leg and stroked his muscular calves. The hair along his legs tickled the arch of her foot and added more fuel to the raging inferno burning through her body. “You’re so fucking hot,” he whispered against her ribs as he trailed kisses up her torso. “I could get a lot hotter,” she moaned. His soft hair brushed against her breasts and stoked the flames higher.

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“I’m counting on it.” He sucked her hardened nipple deeply into his mouth while he pinched the other one lightly. Sera almost shot off the couch in ecstasy. The warm wet suction pulled on something deep inside her and set off explosions of need in her core. Her head whipped back and forth as the pleasure ripped her from her moorings. Pressure built inside her higher and higher until she thought she’d surely explode. One more stroke of those clever hands and she’d be done for. Suddenly, Cody barked a sharp staccato and ran toward the covered porch. Jake jumped off Sera and followed him. “What is it, boy?” He looked around the room. “Where are my pants? I need my gun.” “On the floor in front of the fire, drying out,” Sera said, her voice thick and husky. She was still recovering from the full body assault of desire and wasn’t functioning on all cylinders yet. How could he go from Mr. Hot and Sexy to Mr. Cool and Collected in a blink of an eye? Her body still thrummed with need even as he picked up his pants and pulled his gun out of the side holster. A shiver of pleasure rocked her as she watched him walk naked across the room. The image of Jake holding the gun in one hand while he followed her dog to assess the danger of the situation would be burned on her brain forever. Jake was a protector—there was no doubt about that. Even butt naked he looked strong and confident. And sexy as hell. She knew she should be worried about what had woken Cody out of a sound sleep but her brain was still swamped with endorphins from Jake. She let her shields dip a little to see if she could get a reading on him— something she hadn’t dared to do earlier.

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Nada. Zilch. He was as still as emotionally blank to her as he’d always been. She, on the other hand, was one great big ball of churning emotions. In the time she’d been away, she’d foolishly thought she’d found a way to safeguard herself from Jake. Yeah, right. He’d stripped away every defense she’d erected to protect herself from him with one touch of his lips. And if that didn’t shake her out of her lust-induced haze nothing would. Sera picked up her sweatshirt off the floor and slipped it over her head. Did she dare give Jake another chance to rip her to shreds? Her hormones screamed a unanimous “Yes!” but her wary heart didn’t join in. Perhaps it would be a good idea to slow things down a bit. “Have you had any troubles with bear out here before?” Jake asked from across the room. He stood to the side of the sliding glass door that led to the covered porch, as if whatever wild animal out there was ready to take a pot shot at him. You could take the cop out of the city but couldn’t take the city out of the cop… “Who hasn’t? I don’t put up birdfeeders and make sure my garbage is securely stored in the garage, but they still amble up for a visit when they get hungry. For the most part, they move on when they don’t find anything.” Jake grunted but didn’t relax his posture one bit. “There’s something big moving out there but I can’t see squat through this snow. It could be a bear or it could be a man.” “Well, if it’s a person then they’ll find their way to the house and we’ll help him. If it’s a bear, he’ll have to find his own way to get warm,” Sera said with a grin. Jake was so paranoid it was funny.

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“Cute.” He pointed the gun at the floor and checked the security of the locks on the door and windows. It didn’t seem to bother him one bit that he was still completely naked. And partially erect. Damn. He should be shriveled up with the cold but apparently normal bodily reactions were beneath the allpowerful Jacob Candellori. He’d passed out from hypothermia mere hours ago but now strutted around in his birthday suit like nothing had happened. Almost dying from exposure hadn’t seemed to slow his sex drive any either. A shiver of pure feminine appreciation ran through her. He might be a narrow-minded jerk sometimes, but damn, the man could kiss. His lips should be registered as a national treasure. Sera’s eyes followed his progress as he checked each window and door to make sure they were locked. If a bear wanted to get inside, he could break through any door or window in the house like it was toilet paper—lock or no lock. “Do you really think those locks are going to keep out a determined bear?” she asked, more to distract herself from his too tempting body than to hear what he had to say. “No, but they’ll give me time to grab a weapon if it’s not a bear out there.” Sera shook her head and crossed to the kitchen to get a fresh glass of wine. “What if it’s just some poor tourist who got caught out in the storm?” “Then he’ll knock first and give me plenty of time to protect you.” He finally seemed satisfied with the security of the house and returned to the couch. She noticed he left the gun close to hand though. Another shiver shook her frame, but this time it wasn’t from arousal. How could she

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forget how dangerous he could be? Just because he didn’t work in the city anymore didn’t mean he’d forgotten everything he’d learned there. He could be ruthless when he wanted. It would probably be a smart thing to remember that before she threw herself headfirst into heartbreak again. “Is there any coffee left?” “Sure, hold on.” Her hands shook as she grabbed the pot and her glass of wine and headed for the living room. After filling his cup and returning the coffee pot to the kitchen, Sera bundled herself up in a blanket. She parked herself in the recliner instead of joining him on the couch. It was definitely time to re-engage her brain. “I take it we’re not going back to where we were before Cody interrupted?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow. He’d pulled on his boxers and had wrapped a blanket around himself too. “The gun kind of ruins the mood for me,” she said, not giving him the real reason for her distance. “Sorry, but if someone comes slamming through that door, I don’t want to have to go searching for it. It stays out where I can get my hands on it in a hurry.” “I understand. I may not like it, but I understand.” “You always were good about that. Understanding the crappy parts of my job. Was that because of your psychic stuff?” “No, it’s because I’m a reasonable human being. I told you, I can’t read you. Not one little bit. I didn’t freak over you wearing a gun on our dates because I knew it was part of who you are.” “Hey, don’t get ticked, I’m just trying to understand you better.” “Why?” “What do you mean, ‘why’?” He leaned forward, his eyes glittering intensely in the firelight.

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Oh great, he was looking for a fight. Wonderful. She hated fighting. When she lost control of emotions, she totally lost it. Everyone in a five mile radius knew how pissed she was if she let her temper go. There was a reason she’d moved to the middle of nowhere. “Why, after all this time, are you so determined to understand me? You can’t tell me that you’ve been pining after me these last two years.” A wild flare of hope surged in her chest before she could suppress it. Could he have missed her as much as she missed him? “And what if I was? Would it matter? You left without a word and then came back just as quietly.” “Look, I’ll take the blame for not telling you about being an empath but I’m not taking the rap for not running up to you the minute I got back into town. I didn’t think you ever wanted to see me again.” “You thought wrong.” “Forgive me if I didn’t instinctively know that. I told you I can’t read you.” She took a big gulp of wine and sat back in the chair. “Okay, truce?” He raised his hand up and waited for her nod of agreement. “You really can’t tell what I’m feeling? Even if you drop your shields?” He knew about shields? Damn, he really had done some research. “Honest, I can’t get a thing off you. That isn’t unusual with cops, you bury your emotions to stay sane.” “Just how many cops have you dated?” “Legions, asshole.” How dare he ask her about her love life when he was Mr. Heartbreaker himself? “Sorry, that didn’t come out the way I meant. Let me try this again. How do you know cops block off their emotions?” “Jake, I get hit with everyone’s emotions. All the time. Constantly. That’s why I moved out here. I’ve learned how to shield—now—but when

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I was younger, I couldn’t do it as well. I know cops and firefighters and hospital personnel lock down their emotions automatically because they were the only people who didn’t batter me when I got near them. I didn’t have to date them to figure that out.” “All right, I get it.” He took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles before looking at her again. “I never thought I’d say this but it would be a lot easier if you could tell what I was feeling without me having to explain it. I’m not very good with this type of stuff.” Figured, the first person who wanted her to read them and she couldn’t. Irony sucked. “Do you know why I took this job?” “The proximity of major hiking trails?” she asked, trying to lighten the intensity of his gaze. It didn’t work. “Not exactly. I grew up in New York. All I ever wanted to be was a city cop. Ever since I was five years old and my kindergarten class took a trip to the local precinct house, I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to be one of the good guys, someone people could call on when they needed help.” “You wanted to protect people. That’s just you.” His need to defend the weak was part of his DNA. It didn’t take any of her psychic powers to know that. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He picked up his empty mug and turned it around in his hands. “I went through the academy as soon as I could. My mother cried as she pinned the badge on me when I graduated. She was so proud of me.” He said it almost derisively. “I’m sure she was.” Sera had no idea what he was feeling and cursed the block he’d put up. She didn’t have a clue where this was going and couldn’t get any inkling from him. All she could do was read his body language and that wasn’t telling her much other than she wasn’t going to like what came next.

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“I started out as a beat cop. Did the usual rookie shit—wrote tickets, busted kids for skipping school, broke up fights—nothing earth shattering but it was satisfying. Eventually I worked my way up to detective and started to get into the big-time stuff. I wasn’t as naïve as I’d been when I first got my badge but I still thought I could do something. Thought I could make a difference.” He stood and stalked to the kitchen where he almost threw the mug in the sink. “What a fucking sap.” “Don’t talk like that!” “Let me finish. This isn’t easy for me. I’ve never told anyone outside of my family about this but you deserve to know the whole truth.” A tremor of fear ran through her as she looked at him. Pain was etched on his face and every muscle was tensed to the breaking point. He stared out the window over the sink and wouldn’t look at her. Acting on instinct, she went to him and pressed her face against his tension-filled back. It wasn’t an embrace, as much as a caress. A way of telling him she was there and he wasn’t alone. “After a few years, I got assigned to the Vice unit. I moved up the ladder pretty damn fast for someone my age. Anyway, my team worked the drug scene. We’d been closing in on a major dealer and things were getting hot. I was so pumped to take this asshole down. It could mean big things for my career. My fucking career!” He swore and pulled away from her. “It wasn’t about getting a drug pusher off the streets, it was about me. I didn’t give a shit about making a difference anymore.” “Maybe it seemed like that on the surface but I don’t believe that was your only motivation.” “Well then you’re wrong. I wanted a promotion so I went after this guy with a vengeance.” “If he was dealing drugs, it doesn’t matter why you went after him.”

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“That’s what I tried to tell myself. ‘The ends justify the means’ and all that garbage. But I was wrong.” Jake stalked the confines of the kitchen like a caged panther— powerful and dangerous and barely contained. “The bust went down with me at the lead. I had everything planned down to the last man except I didn’t count on one thing.” Fear closed her throat but Sera forced the word out, knowing Jake waited for her. “What?” “I expected him to surrender when he was confronted by a superior force. The crazy bastard was so hopped up on his own drugs he grabbed an automatic and let loose.” “God!” Sera gasped. “His pregnant girlfriend was in the room. Bullets flew through the air like fucking confetti. I managed to take him down but not before he got three other officers. Luckily they had on bulletproof vests. His girlfriend didn’t.” “No.” “Oh yes. She was only sixteen years old. Sixteen fucking years old and pregnant. Now she’s dead. And it’s my fault.” “No! You can’t believe that! It wasn’t your fault—it was the drug dealer’s fault. If he hadn’t opened fire, you wouldn’t have returned fire, and she’d still be alive.” She poured out reassurance and caring with every ounce of her psychic energy. He might block her from reading him but he couldn’t stop her from sending him her emotions. “If I hadn’t forced the confrontation, she wouldn’t have been in the room.” The tendons of his neck stood out stiffly as he fought for control. “I could have aborted the bust when I found out she was there but I didn’t. I was so damn conceited I thought I could take him down without a bullet getting fired. Arrogant asshole.”

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Tears rolled unchecked down Sera’s face. He’d been carrying this burden of guilt inside him for so long, it must have eaten at his soul. “It’s not your fault,” she said through her tears. If he couldn’t cry, she’d cry for both of them. “I turned in my badge that day and crawled inside a bottle for about a month. After my mother threatened to kick me to Italy and back, I pulled myself together a little bit and started looking for another job. I wanted to find something where my ambition wouldn’t hurt anyone. This job fell into my lap and here I am.” “I’m sorry that you left a job you loved but I’m not sorry you ended up here.” “You might be when I tell you the rest of this.”

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Chapter Three Jake tried to gauge Sera’s reaction to his story so far. Tears flowed freely down her pale cheeks but she hadn’t shown any of the disgust he thought she would. Maybe she hid that behind her tears? She was so closely attuned to other people’s emotions she could probably hide her own pretty well. That wasn’t making things very easy for him. Shit, why should any of this be easy? First he had to tell her what an uncaring bastard he’d been, and now he had to tell her he was a coward to boot. If she didn’t kick his sorry ass back out into the storm, he’d be lucky. Hell, he had to just tell her before he lost his nerve. If she never wanted to speak to him again he couldn’t blame her. “What is it Jake? Your silence is killing me,” she said as she slid up next to him. His heart gave a slow thud when she cradled his hand in hers and rubbed it against her cheek. Damn, he couldn’t blow this now. “I’m not real proud of this next part. I won’t blame you if you want to smack me after I tell you, but please hear me out.” “Just spit it out. The suspense is giving me gray hair.” Jake took a deep breath and gave up trying to find a good way to put this next part of his saga. “When we were making love and I started to feel what you were feeling, it wasn’t just the physical part that freaked me out. I felt this pure rush of l-love coming from you and it scared the

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hell out of me. All I could think of was if you knew the truth about me that love would turn to hatred.” “Oh, Jake. Never. I could never hate you. Trust me, I tried. It didn’t work.” More tears streamed down her face. “It’s more than that.” Christ, this was hard. “After I started investigating what the hell happened, I got even more scared.” He laughed without humor. “I outweigh you by almost a hundred pounds and carry a gun and I was terrified of facing you again.” “I don’t understand.” “Don’t you see? If I could feel what you felt, it only made sense that you could feel what I felt. Which would mean you’d know how my ambition killed an innocent teenager and almost killed three officers under my command. You’d know that I wasn’t the good sheriff I pretended to be. For the last two years, I’ve been terrified of how you’d react to me but I had to find out. Only I couldn’t, because you disappeared off the face of the Earth.” “I had to go. I needed to learn more about this ability I have and how to control it. I’d never lost it during sex before. It scared me too. It had nothing to do with what I picked up from you—it was about me and my fears. I hadn’t wanted to admit that I cared that much for you.” Cared. Past tense. That wasn’t good. But, hey, she hadn’t kicked him to the curb yet, so there was still hope. After all this time, he wasn’t going to give up because of a verb tense. “And? Does it still scare you?” he asked finally. He died a little inside as she refused to meet his eyes. “Down to my very toes. You hurt me, Jake. I didn’t understand how deep my feelings ran until they exploded. I was raw and vulnerable and you ran out on me.”

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“I’m so sorry. If I had to do it over again, I would stay and explain.” He pulled her to his chest and held her tightly. Her shoulders shook with sobs and guilt raked him over hot coals. “It had nothing to do with you. It was my guilt, my demons, that I was running from, not you.” God, he wished he could find a way to explain how sorry he was. How what happened two years ago had nothing to do with her but everything to do with him and his crimes. He’d been afraid of her reading his feelings before, but now it would make things so much easier. But she said he was blocked off from her. Big surprise there. He’d shut down emotionally a long time ago. He hadn’t even realized he cared about Seraphina so much until she was gone. Now he had her back in his arms and he didn’t know what the hell to do about it. “This bites so hard. There is so much emotion in this room and I can’t touch any of it.” She stepped out of his embrace and wiped her face on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Too bad. If you could feel what I’m feeling, you’d know what I’m telling you isn’t a line of bull. That’s the only way you’ll be certain, right?” “I believe you were completely freaked,” she hedged. “But you don’t believe that I had feelings for you or that I don’t think you’re a freak now. Do you?” She fiddled with her necklace and moved to the sink, not looking at him. “I knew it.” His heart gave a lurch. He was right back where he started. He’d told her everything but it didn’t matter. The damage he’d done two years ago had scarred her too deeply. Unless he could break through this emotional block of his, she’d never trust him. “I want to believe you, really I do.”

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“But?” “But this has come out of nowhere. I came back to New Hampshire with the intention of putting you behind me and moving on with my life. I never expected you to tell me you were sorry. I mean, hell, here I was being magnanimous by forgiving you for being such a jerk and you had to ruin it all by explaining why you reacted the way you did. I had no idea what was going on in your head. It’s going to take me some time to come to grips with all of this.” “Asking for time is just an excuse to hide from what you’re feeling. I know that. Believe me. All the therapists in New York told me I just needed time to get over my feelings of guilt. Well, they were wrong. Time does nothing.” “Damn it, Jake, don’t push me.” Her eyes flashed as she stared him down. “You’ve had two years to figure out how you feel about all of this. You sock me with it and expect me to just accept it at face value. That’s asking a bit much.” “I guess it is.” He stalked to the woodstove and added another log to it. He was asking her to trust him and she couldn’t. An awkward silence fell between them; the only noise in the room was the pop and crackle of the fire and Cody’s soft snores. Whatever had set him off earlier must be gone or he’d still be pacing in front of the window. It probably was just a bear. A bear with really lousy timing. He’d had Sera’s hot body writhing under his hands and mouth and it had felt so good. So right. Like coming home. Nothing and no one had ever felt like that before. She was the missing piece of his puzzle and right now she had no intention of slipping into place. How could he get her to believe he wanted to try again? If only he could get rid of this damn block! And wasn’t that a scary thought? After

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eight years of building that wall up, he was ready to tear it down for just the chance at getting Sera back. The therapist he’d seen in New York would stand up and cheer if he heard that. Shit, there had to be a way for them to connect again. Maybe it was the memory of her breasts in his hands or the way she moaned as he touched her but the only way he could think of breaking down the block was through sex. His cock voted wholeheartedly for that solution. What a shock. But wait, maybe that was the answer. Jake stared deeply into the flames as he thought this through. He hadn’t known she was an empath before until they had sex. No, that wasn’t true. They’d had sex before that last time, it was making love that broke her control. What if they made love again? Would that be enough for her to break through his block? His libido shouted that it was worth a try. Okay, Candellori, think this through. With your head, not your dick. Could he convince Sera to sleep with him for the sake of breaking through his emotional wall or would she just see it as him trying to get into her pants? Which wasn’t necessarily an unfair accusation. He stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She’d curled up in the big chair by the fire and wrapped the blanket around her. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. Dare he hope those thoughts concerned him? Could she be considering his words? Maybe she just needed time like she said? That could have been the truth and not just a way of pushing him away. The problem was he didn’t dare give her that time. Once this freak storm was over, he’d be twice as busy as usual. She could easily slip

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away while he was out clearing roads and checking on the welfare of idiot tourists. Oh crap! He had completely forgotten that he hadn’t let dispatch know what was going on. He’d been so surprised to realize he landed on Sera’s doorstep in his confused struggle through the snow, he hadn’t even tried to call the station. “Can I use your phone? I need to call the station. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me—I didn’t even think to tell them where I was. My head must be up my ass.” “No, your head was passed out from exhaustion and exposure. Cut yourself some slack. And yes, to answer your question, go ahead and try the phone. Chances are it’s out anyway, but you can give it a shot.” Jake pushed to his feet and kept the blanket wrapped around him as he shuffled to the kitchen to use the phone. Damn, he hoped his jeans would dry soon, he was getting pretty freaking tired of walking around in his shorts. “You’re right. The line’s dead. I should have known, my cell phone service was down too,” he said as he hung up the silent phone. “Welcome to the sticks. All the peace and quiet you could want— whether you want it or not.” “That’s why you came here, wasn’t it? The mountains of New Hampshire are pretty different for a Cape Cod girl like yourself.” “Sheriff Candellori, did you do a background check on me? Is that any way to spend the taxpayers’ money?” she asked him as he settled back down on the couch. “I was checking on the disappearance of one of my taxpayers,” he answered with a two-fingered salute. “I’m sure the town fathers would just love that one. But yes, I moved here after college to get away from the constant crush of people on the

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Cape. Off-season it wasn’t bad but come Memorial Day my head would be ready to explode with the assault of emotions. Besides, I like it here. I can still visit my folks on the Cape when I need to be near the ocean.” “And what about Arizona? Any desire to head back to the desert?” He tried to ask casually but his entire being tensed as he waited for her answer. “It’s tempting, especially right now. Do you realize that it’s probably in the nineties there?” she said with a wistful sigh. “Even in the heart of winter, they only dip down into the fifties at worst.” He didn’t like the sound of that sigh. “Yeah, but what’s it like in the summer? One hundred degrees? One hundred-ten?” “Easily. But it’s a dry heat,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t care if it’s dry or wet, one hundred-ten is fucking hot.” “You ain’t lyin’. I’d like to say you get used to it but I never did. I learned a lot and I’ll always treasure my time there but it wasn’t home. I’m a New England girl at heart.” Some of the pressure in his chest eased. At least if she was still around he could try to convince her to give him another chance. “You wouldn’t happen to have any beer here, by some miracle?” Since he was going to be off duty for a while he might as well enjoy it. “As a matter of fact, I picked up a six-pack yesterday for some reason.” “Really? Have you finally come to your senses and started drinking beer?” he asked in surprise. Her refusal to drink anything other than wine had been a running joke between the two of them. “No, I still hate that swill. I don’t know why I picked it up actually. When I went shopping for supplies yesterday, it just ended up in my cart. I must have known you were coming,” she teased.

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Jake watched her hungrily as she got him a longneck. Her breasts shifted freely under her baggy sweatshirt and his mouth watered with carnal memories. Screw the beer—he wanted to consume her. When she handed him the beer, he couldn’t stop himself from grasping her hand and pulling her between his spread knees. “I know you said you needed time but I have to do this,” he said hoarsely. With slow, precise movements, he placed the bottle on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap. He wanted to give her time to stop him if she chose but she fell bonelessly on top of him. Her beautiful eyes slid half closed and her breath came out in little gasps. Jake gently pushed his fingers into her shining cap of hair and pulled her mouth down to his. He had to feel her lips against his one more time. Fuck that. A hundred more times. A million more times wouldn’t be enough. If he could go through infinity with her mouth captured with his he would. She tasted so sweet. The slight tang of wine, mixed with the honey that was her flavor, rolled over him like ambrosia. The sense of rightness he always felt with Sera flowed through his veins with a healthy dose of lust. He couldn’t hold back his groan of pleasure as she opened her mouth and drew his tongue in to tangle with hers. His cock grew hard and long almost instantly. Hell, he’d been partially erect since the minute he saw her. Pleasure drove him with whips of flame to ravish her mouth, to press her against the couch and drive into her welcoming body, but he held back. Sweat dripped down his back as he confined his hands to caressing just her scalp and neck. If she wanted more she’d let him

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know. Until then, he’d take it slow—even if it ripped at his guts with sharp claws. Sera melted into him and her scent flooded his senses. Her legs straddled his thighs and the heat of her pussy felt like lava flowing over him. His hands began to shake as he fought to control the urge to devour her. Instead of tearing off her clothes like the madman he was, he channeled his pent up desires into the kiss and poured everything he had into her. Jake drew her lusciously full lower lip between his teeth and nipped it before stroking its softness with his tongue. Fire ran through his veins as Sera’s fingers pushed the blanket aside and stroked his ribcage. Her nails dug into his chest muscles then teased his nipples. Trails of need followed every touch of her fingers against his skin. He couldn’t take much more of this without attacking her. “Touch me,” she growled in his ear before biting down on his lobe. “Thank God,” he said as a bolt of lust shot straight from his ear to his cock. Jake wasted no time stripping the bulky sweatshirt over her head. Her breasts gleamed in the firelight like two perfect mounds. Their pink nipples pebbled up and begged for him. “Jake! Hurry,” she urged, pressing hungrily against his naked chest. “I’m not going to hurry. I want to touch every inch of you. Lick every inch of you. I want to inspect every atom of your flesh intimately and then do it again. I want to bring you over so many times you beg me to stop, then beg me not to stop. I’m going to make you come so hard you’ll tremble tomorrow and the day after that.” He punctuated each word with a kiss or a lick along her collarbone and shoulder. “I’m ready to come just listening to you.” She gasped as he drew her nipple into his mouth.

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“Good.” He rolled her engorged peak over his tongue before suckling it. Sera threw her head back in abandon. She was so fucking gorgeous it took his breath away. With the flickering light turning her skin to gold, she looked like some pagan goddess come down to Earth to torment him. He cupped her breasts in his hands and held their weight tenderly. As much as it pained him to move her, he wanted those pants and his boxers off. He wrapped his arm around her back and laid her over it until he could wiggle the loose flannel over her hips. She kicked the pants away impatiently and pushed him flat on the couch. “My turn. I want to touch you too.” “You have been,” he groaned as she trailed kisses over his chest. “Not the way I’ve dreamed about for months and months. I have two years worth of sexual fantasies to fulfill.” She pushed his boxers down and nearly ripped them off his legs. “Jesus save me. I must have died and gone to heaven.” The tiny part of his brain not completely wrapped up in the feel of her silky legs tangled in his or her tongue on his chest shouted in triumph at her words. She’d been thinking of him for two years. He hadn’t blown it completely. Any more thoughts were instantaneously destroyed when her tiny hand wrapped around his cock. Sweet God in heaven, he wasn’t going to last ten seconds if she kept this up. Jake ran his hands down her back to her sweet, sweet ass and kneaded those delicious cheeks. He raised one hand and lightly traced the tattoo just above her rear. That was definitely something he’d have to explore further.

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Sera began to slide down his chest but Jake stopped her before she could kiss her way past his navel. If she put those lips against his cock, he was done for. “You had your turn, now it’s mine again.” He flipped her over, kicking the blanket to the floor as it tangled around his legs. “Oh darn,” she said and arched her hips against him. He clasped her hands over her head in self-defense. If he let her fingers stroke him any more he’d die from the pleasure of her touch. Sera’s eyes gleamed with desire and seemed to look right through him to his very soul as he met her gaze. No more secrets. He laid his soul as open for her as she laid her body for him. If it took every last ounce of strength he had, he wouldn’t block her out. “I’ve missed you so much.” “Me too, babe. So much more than I can say.” “Then don’t use words. Show me.” She arched her back. Jake took the invitation and nuzzled her breast. As if he had all the time in the world and wasn’t ready to explode any second, he traced slow circles around and around her nipple with his tongue. Sera writhed beneath him and he could feel the softness of her pussy press against his chest. The urge to lick the cream that ran from her body tore at him. Releasing her wrists, he slid lower on the couch and spread her legs wide. Moisture gleamed on her nether lips like dewdrops in the morning and he had a desperate thirst to catch those honeyed tears on his tongue. Slowly, he feathered his fingers over her gently rounded abdomen and over the curve of her hips. Her womanly musk called to him but he ignored it. This was about pleasing her, not diving headfirst into his desires.

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As lightly as he could, he parted her dark curls and teased her mons. Sera gasped and bucked her hips as his fingers neared her clit. It was dark red and pulsing with need. Her beautiful pearl lay exposed and waiting for his tongue. Slowly, man! Jake’s mouth watered as he slid to the floor so he could kneel between her legs. He wanted to be as comfortable as possible because he planned to spend a good long time there. Her labia were engorged with her desire and slippery with her juices. His hand shook as he traced her plump lips with his finger. Jake smiled as Sera jerked and cried out when he touched her. She was so damn sensitive right now, anything he did would push her closer to the edge. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you? To taste you? Your fragrance haunted me, your flavor would come to me in my dreams, and I’d wake up horny and missing you even more. For two years, I’ve thought of nothing but seeing you like this.” He used a second finger to spread her and gather moisture. More sweat broke out over his forehead as he tried to enter her slick sheath gently instead of driving in like the desperate man he was. Her tight walls gripped his fingers and pulled him in. He could feel them quiver as his knuckles scraped the nerve endings. Oh God, he was going to come right here and he hadn’t even tasted her yet. Biting down on his cheek—hard—he fought for control. Sera’s moans and sighs as she thrust against his hand weren’t helping him any. She was so far gone in pleasure she wouldn’t know if he came or not. Bullshit! He was not going to come early after all this time. He forced himself to clamp down on the pleasure building at the base of his cock. His balls were so full he thought they’d surely burst, but he

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hung on. Moving closer to the sweet torture of her sex, he blew a breath of hot air over her nub. Sera cried out and clenched his fingers tighter. “I’m so close!” “You’re about to get even closer.” Giving in at last to his exploding passion, Jake swirled his tongue over the nerve-filled bundle of her desire. A sharp cry echoed through the house as she flew over the edge. Her pussy milked his fingers and cream rained over his hand as she spasmed again and again. Jake lapped up every drop of her juice and reveled in her complete surrender. “In me. I need you in me.” She pulled weakly at his shoulders to bring him up to her. Jake gave one last stroke before pulling his fingers out. He couldn’t help but lick his way up her beautiful, bare torso as he climbed over her. “I want to be in you so badly but I don’t want to stop exploring your body either.” “Explore later.” She grasped his cock and coated its head with her juices. “Shit! I don’t have any condoms.” “I’m still on the pill and haven’t slept with anyone since you.” She arched her hips, pressing his tip into her welcoming entrance. “Me either,” he groaned and pressed the rest of the way into her warmth. Heat flooded him. Goddamn, she was so hot, so tight. So his. This was what he’d been searching for, this sense of rightness. Sliding into her was like coming home. The puzzle piece that was missing fell in with an almost audible click. “Seraphina,” he growled into her ear. “My Seraphina. My angel. Mine.” Jake drew out of her so slowly it almost made his eyes cross.

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When just his tip remained in the heaven of her body, he drove back in to the hilt. “Yes! Yours. Always yours,” she cried, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her nails dug into his back as he drove into her with slow, sure strokes. The need to increase the tempo rode him hard but he fought against it. He wanted the pleasure to go on and on, to never end. In the vain hope of distracting himself from the blinding pressure building in his cock, he bent over and drew one of Sera’s succulent nipples into his mouth. “Jake!” she screamed and exploded around him. The feel of her spasming and trembling around him was too much for him to deny and he pounded furiously into her quivering heat. Sera twisted and cried out in pleasure beneath him, her body slick with sweat and pink with desire. As the volcano of lust erupted, Jake felt a dam burst within him. Pleasure like he’d only felt one other time rolled over him in wave after wave. As he sank beneath the onslaught of lust he realized, he was feeling Sera’s orgasm too. They’d broken through! Jake’s body shuddered anew with their entangled explosions and he poured all his joy, his love, and his desire for Sera through the hole in the dam she’d created. Sera let out another piercing cry and bucked wildly beneath him. Jake gripped her hips and let her ride his still pulsing cock. A trickle of her feelings seeped into his hormone-soaked brain. Satisfaction, homecoming, and a trace of fear rolled into him. When he didn’t push it away but embraced her phantom touch, her love burst through him like a super nova.

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His heart felt too small to contain the ecstasy he felt, his skin too tight to hold in the rapture that encompassed his entire being. “Oh God, Jake, it’s so beautiful.” Tears streamed down Sera’s cheeks as her face took on an almost holy glow. “I could get lost in it, in you.” Her eyes glistened up at him and he felt her love even as he saw it in her face. “I love you, Seraphina. I always have. I always will.” He forced open the break in his wall until everything he felt poured through. “I never stopped loving you.”

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Chapter Four Sera lay in the cradle of Jake’s arms and watched the fire dance merrily. They’d lost power about an hour ago but they’d been too busy to notice. Complete and utter contentment oozed out of ever pore of her being. It was like she was a sponge that had been dried out but was now saturated with delight. A very satisfied sponge. The light hair on Jake’s chest tickled her cheek as she smiled. “What are you thinking about? I can feel you smiling,” Jake asked, kissing her on the top of her head. “You can? I thought I closed my shields down. I’m sorry!” She sat up quickly and almost cracked her head against his chin. Jake pushed her head back down on her chest with a grunt. “Relax, I felt your lips against my chest. I can’t feel what you’re smiling about. I can just tell you’re amused. Now give.” “I was thinking I’ve never been this satisfied in my entire life. Or this happy.” She rubbed her foot along his muscular leg under the blanket he’d thrown over them. “Good. Me either.” “But?” A shimmer of unease floated off him and she realized he’d never be able to block her out completely again. “But it’s still a little scary for me.” She tensed as she felt the truth behind his words. He felt vulnerable and didn’t like it.

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Time to tread lightly here. “I can only imagine. You’ve blocked yourself off for so long it must be terrifying to be so raw and open,” she said cautiously. Was he worried that she would hurt him now? “I wouldn’t go straight to terrified. Maybe just a little unnerved.” “A-Are you afraid I’ll hurt you this time around?” “I won’t lie and say the thought didn’t cross my mind. But don’t forget, during that emotional free for all I felt what lies inside your heart too. Every time I get nervous, I remind myself of that and it takes the edge off.” “Really?” “Oh yeah. The picture of you coming your brains out as emotions ran amuck makes me so goddamn hot that any doubts I have burn to cinders.” His cock stirred against her and she knew he wasn’t kidding. Desire rolled off him and sparked an answering need deep inside her. Heat blossomed from her core and spread to every cell of her being. “Let’s hear it for the healing powers of empathy.” She pushed the blanket off him and straddled his thighs. Sera stroked his rapidly growing shaft, shivering with pleasure as it hardened beneath her fingers. Letting all her love for him flow through their bond, she slid down until she could pull his cock into her mouth. “Fuck!” He gasped as she pulled him to the back of her throat. Sucking deeply, she slid all the way up until just his tip was against her lips. “That’s sort of what I had in mind.” She wrapped one hand around the base of his cock and slipped it up his shaft. A drop of pre-cum hung on the tip and she captured it with her tongue. His salty flavor assailed her senses and she lapped at the almost purple head for more of his essence.

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“You’re going to be the death of me, woman.” He pushed his fingers into her hair and held her gently against him. “Are you complaining?” she asked before blowing a cool breath against his wet length. “Hell no.” He didn’t say anything else but let out a muffled groan as she pulled him all the way into her mouth again. Feeling him tremble under her touch gave her a heady sense of power. The muscles of his thighs tensed and bulged around her and his abs rippled with her tiniest breath. He was all muscle and all man. And all hers. The thought of it made her gush with lust. The hair on his legs rubbed against her breasts as she moved up and down on his shaft. The touch teased and tormented her over-sensitized nipples. Everywhere their skin met nearly sizzled from their combined heat. “No more! I want to come inside you.” Jake pulled her on top of him with one strong heave. “And I was having such fun too,” she said with a mock pout. Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing and she could barely see straight she wanted him so bad. Her thighs shook as she positioned her entrance over his throbbing cock. “I’m here to amuse.” He grasped her hips and pulled her down on top of him. With one thrust, he was in to the hilt and Sera almost exploded on the spot. “You look so fucking hot right now.” “I feel pretty fucking hot right now too.” Rising slowly, she clenched her inner muscles tightly as she pushed off him. When the emptiness bordered on pain, she dropped down again until he filled her to her very womb. Sera closed her eyes to capture every nuance of his pleasure and hers. She could feel his rapture at her movements, his total bliss at watching her above him.

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His feelings blazed through her like the sun after a storm. She felt beautiful because he saw her as beautiful. The absolute acceptance and love he gave her without reservation filled her to the point she couldn’t contain it one second longer. Love burst from her and rained down upon him. Any control she had over her body or her mind was lost as he reared up and sucked on her nipple while his fingers stroked her clit. It was too much. His pleasure, her pleasure, their love, and their joy tangled together until she didn’t know where he left off and she began. One of them screamed as they went over the edge and she realized it was her. Jake thrust from beneath her, grinding his pelvis against her clit as he finished with a final, gasping stroke. Sera collapsed over him, all strength washed out of her from the ferocity of their climax. “You’ve completely ruined me for any other woman,” he groaned. One hand drifted lightly up and down her back while the other rested on one of her butt cheeks. “Good. Then you won’t even think of leaving me.” “Never. Besides, if I did get the urge to stray, you’d know about it and smack me around,” he teased. Sera bit her lip nervously. Reality was such a buzz kill. It was tempting to hide the truth from Jake but if they were going to make this work, she had to be open with him. She had to trust in the love and acceptance she’d felt and hope it went beyond having sex. With a deep breath, she looked up at him. “I know you’re teasing but I probably will know if you try to lie to me. You’re not going to be able to hide much and in your line of work that could be a liability.” Fear sent a shiver down her spine.

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Jake pulled the blanket over them and held her on his chest when she tried to shift to the side. “I’m not saying there aren’t going to be things I can’t talk to you about. Even being a sheriff out here in the sticks, there are still cases where I’ll need to offer confidentiality. But what I can do is just tell you it’s something I can’t or won’t talk about. Fair?” “Absolutely. And in return, I’ll do my best to keep my shields up so that I’ll keep my nose out of your business and not distract you.” “Honey, just knowing you’re taking air in the same state I’m in is enough to distract me.” He fondled her butt and teased the back of her thighs. “Are we going to be able to make this work? I mean, what if I slip up and blast you with emotion and you’re in the middle of arresting someone or something?” Worry tied her stomach in knots. Everything she wanted was almost in her hands and she was terrified she’d lose it. “Don’t be such a pessimist. You said yourself your control is better now. It’ll be okay.” He cupped her face in his hand and ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “We can make this work. We will make this work. I can’t live without you. I tried—it was an utter failure.” Relief and tenderness washed through her and more tears leaked from her eyes. “I don’t want to live without you, either.” “Then it’s settled. If something comes up, we’ll handle it. I figure I’ll just keep you naked as much as possible and most of our issues will resolve themselves.” Sera let out a laugh and cuddled closer to her love. Staying naked around him wasn’t going to be a hardship. It would be keeping their clothes on that would take some effort. They had the rest of their lives to work on it. The End

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Arianna Hart By day she's a mild mannered mother and high school teacher, but at night Arianna Hart puts on her mask and cape over her size 4 leather cat suit and saves the world from evildoers. Okay, in the real world Arianna lives on the East Coast with her husband and three daughters and is most often seen is sweatpants instead of leather. When not teaching, writing, or chasing after her children and the dog, Ari likes to practice her karate, go for long walks, and read by the pool. She thinks heaven is having a good book, warm sun, and a drink in her hand. Until she can sit down long enough to enjoy all three, she'll settle for the occasional hour of peace and quiet.

Enjoy this excerpt for

Believe The Magic By Melani Blazer

Coming April 2006 in ebook from www.samhainpublishing.com

"Ella, you have to trust me. Please. Sometimes you won't be able to question me, or see the why behind what I say. Just trust me, okay?" "I don't get it, Quen. I just don't get this at all." "You don't have to. Just promise me you'll behave." "You're treating me like a twelve-year-old." His face was suddenly close, too close. "I wouldn't do this if you were twelve." His warm lips met mine, pressing, kneading, coaxing them apart. I leaned into him, letting his tongue graze past my teeth and inject a new kind of heat into my body. I felt much colder when he stepped back. But at least it seemed what happened this morning, or whenever it was, hadn't been a fluke. "No. It wasn't a fluke. Don't even think it." The words worked like fuel on the fire that had started somewhere in my chest. I didn't analyze it, just reveled in it. It got me the last leg of the journey without another peep about the temperature or aches in my bones. Camp was a deserted building just as cold as the barren fields outside it. Thank God the wind didn't slice through the walls. It tried, howling through all the invisible crevices. Did I mention it was dark? Black as pitch inside. "I just bet there's no electricity here is there, brain child?" I wasn't sure where Quentin was in the room, but he was undoubtedly in hearing range. "Nope. I'm trying to find matches."

Matches? Wasn't this a man who could do magic? Couldn't he make fire? "Found ‘em!" he cried triumphantly. Guess he wasn't listening to me. I listened for the scrape of the match and the flare of light. Quentin had found an oil lamp. The inside of the building came to life in a flicker of orange. It was divided in half, one part a cold, empty laboratory area, the other a less than cozy living area. At least there was a fireplace. "You are going to light a fire, right?" "Of course." He strode toward the wood piled beside it. I was way confused. Why wasn't he using magic to get it done faster? With little thought I lifted a log and set it on the half charred pieces that had been left in the fireplace. Quentin sat back on his heels, but didn't turn around. Something was definitely going on. My gems, now a fixture around my neck, throbbed with the use of power. Other than the little push in the snow, I hadn't used them much. Was he waiting to see if I could start it? Could I? If I could, did I want him to know? He didn't answer. I had to guess he wasn't reading my mind. I had done it before, hadn't I? Breathed fire. Well, that's not exactly the effect I needed now, unless I wanted to be the human torch. I thought it best I keep that little trick a secret. I crossed my fingers and reached. Deep, deep down into the energy that was bundled in my cramped toes, aching calves, and stiff fingers. I drew in breath after breath and willed it to a central spot in my chest. It was time. I pointed my finger at the center of the log. With knowledge that must have been the most primitive, because I certainly don't know how I did it, I transferred the power to my shaking fist. I didn't trust myself. "Quentin, you wanna move?" No comment, no glance in my direction, but he got up and stood against the adjoining wall. "All right." I took a deep breath. "Here goes." I swear it was the rise and fall of my chest and the shivers that still pulsed

through my body that caused me to miss. And the recoil. I could blame the recoil. The fireball bounced off the brick wall and landed just about where Quentin had been. Of course. He jumped over and stomped out the red embers on the carpet. I expected something along the lines of "Nicely done, Ella." In pure sarcasm, of course. But he backed up against the wall again. Concentrate, I told myself. I found the strength easier this time, still smoldering. I stoked it up and let it roll down my arm, puddling like lava in my fist. I pointed my finger as if it were a long range rifle. I stepped forward, bent my knees and braced myself. Ready. It's now or never. Aim. Fingers still crossed. Fire. I ducked behind the couch when the log exploded into splinters. Well, I guess we have kindling wood now. The oil lamp was on the ground, a figure curled next to it. Had I hit him? Had those flying pieces flown into him like a hundred tiny wooden stakes? He didn't move when I stood over him. I nudged him with my foot. "Quentin?" I was scared he wouldn't answer. "Are we dead yet?" "No. But it's cold and if we don't get the fire lit, we might have the option of freezing to death." "I thought you were trying to blow this place up." I shrugged. Sorry wasn't really an option, was it? I was too exhilarated with the power I had found to feel very remorseful. "No…I just um, atomized the log. Shall I put another one—" "No," he cut in, waving his hands, and the light, above his head. "I'll do it already. The old fashioned way." He doubted me, did he? I snapped around and tossed another piece of split wood where the other one had sat. For good measure I commanded all the tiny pieces to pile themselves around it. To my surprise, that all worked without a

glitch. I was physically exhausted. It had been a long day. Great sex, two travels and a trek through the tundra had drained me. The two previous fireballs hadn't helped. But I was closer. I might be able to make this one happen. There wasn't much fire left in me. I let it swirl around while I chewed on the idea of Quentin thinking I couldn't do it. Wow. That helped. I concentrated on the small slivers that surrounded the log. They would light easily. They only need a gentle touch. I squinted in the pale light and ran my fingers over the picture of the hearth I had in my head. Spark, I commanded. The light of a match. The heat burned my fingertips. I held steady despite the pain. I envisioned the flames catching, growing. The heat was beautiful. The sun on my face. "Shit, Ella. Holy Shit!" Quentin tackled me, grabbed me under one arm and dragged me outside. "Quentin, the fire, I lit the fire. Why—" He grabbed my wrist and shoved my hand deep in the snow. I wanted to howl from the agony of it. "Damn it. That…it effing hurts!" I shouted. Laughter bubbled up out of Quentin. "It's not freaking funny," I tried to slap at him with my uninjured hand, but he scooted out of the way. "Effing? Effing? Ella, if you're gonna say it, go for the gusto." Oh, I was saying it all right, over and over. Mentally. I couldn't push it past my lips. "You a coward? Think your Sunday school teacher is going to hear you? There's nothing but a few Eskimos for hundreds of miles and you can't bring yourself to say a simple word?" "It doesn't matter what I say, Quentin. It's not going to take the pain away." I thought he was going to fall back in the snow he was laughing so hard. And if he did, I just might feel enough compassion to bury him up to his chin and let him worry about frostbite in his delicate areas. I wanted to simply sit

with my hand buried deep in the snow and writhe with the pain. I could almost envision the tips of those digits tearing open and peeling like a boiled tomato. I bet that's what they looked like too.

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