Dark Ice by Connie Wood

analysis taking its toll.
    “Are you alright?”
    Dane’s voice pulsated through her, it was a deep baritone that was almost physical. Every time he spoke, heat raced through her, followed by a flood of emotions. For a woman who spent her life living in her mind and psychoanalyzing everything, it made her very uncomfortable.
    “Yes. No,” she replied, rubbing her eyes. “It’s been a very long and strange day.”
    “Yes, it has.”
    The car slowed and pulled alongside the curb in front of Lea’s house. Dane switched off the car, but made no movement to get out.
    “You’re home.”
    “Yep,” Lea replied, suddenly awkward. “Are you coming inside?”
    “That is up to you.”
    Lea saw the intensity of his face and knew it really was up to her. Real or not, Dane had plagued her dreams and her waking thoughts to the point of obsession. He had travelled, god knew how far, fought his way into the hall tonight to rescue her. And he would leave right now if she asked him to.
    Lea reached out a trembling hand, just as she had done in her dreams, and touched his face. Her dreams felt real, but nothing compared to this. Her fingers burned with the heat of his skin as she caressed his stubbled cheek. It intensified the ripple of lust that ran from her fingers down her arm and through her entire body.
    “I want you to come in, Dane,” she said, the roughness of her voice surprising her.
    Dane’s eyes widened for an instant before he nodded. Reluctantly, Lea removed her fingers from his face and turned toward the car door. She started as Dane reached out and gripped her arm, gentle yet firmly, she could feel the restrained power through his tense fingers. She turned back to him, confused.
    “Are you certain?” The pain in his voice made her wince. He must have mistaken her expression, because he released her immediately. “Our dreams are one thing, but this is another,” he rasped out.
    “You would come all the way from wherever you were to rescue me and then gladly leave?”
    “Not gladly, no. But I will see no harm come to you.” He shook his head in agitation, reminding Lea of the animal in him.
    She swallowed. He was right, dreams and reality were very different. But he was here now and seemed very real. As were the feelings he was conjuring inside her. She was sick of living her life by the right and logical thing to do.
    “I am sure no harm will come to me while you are with me. Please come inside with me.”
    Pain crossed Dane’s face before he nodded and Lea exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Dreams and reality were merging and a slight thrill of trepidation caught Lea off guard. Sitting next to her, Dane was more potent and fierce than she could have imagined. But the thought of him leaving was even more terrifying.
      

 
     
    Chapter Nine
     
    The street light reflected against the cut-glass door panels as Lea stepped up onto the porch. The scent of flowers filled the still night air and made her light headed as she took a deep steadying breath.
    “I don’t have my keys,” she said as she glanced at the door. “Damn, I can’t believe it. I must have left my bag at the hall. We left so quickly it didn’t even cross my mind. Great, there goes my wallet, phone, keys.”
    “Okay, give me a moment.” Dane stepped off the porch and disappeared into the darkness of the garden leading toward the side of the house. He made hardly a sound for a man his size. Lea waited for a bang or the sound of breaking glass to show that Dane had broken in. She heard nothing. A moment later the front door clicked open to reveal Dane.
    “How did you get in?” she asked.
    “I have my ways,” Dane replied, stepping aside to allow Lea to enter.
    Lea brushed past him and the bolt of adrenaline that shot through her took her by surprise. The door shut and Lea heard the deadbolt lock. Memories of this afternoon’s confrontation with Sebastian surfaced at the feeling of being closed in, leaving her tired