Ghostwalker 06 - Predatory Game by authors_sort Page B

realized just what he intended to do. His seed had been smeared all over her face and on her protesting lips at the very moment she’d understood he would have her life too.
    “No, honey, you didn’t please me nearly as much as you thought you did,” he whispered aloud and glanced up at the window, smiling with a cold, dark promise.

CHAPTER 4
    Saber opened her eyes slowly, reluctantly. Beside her, the bed was empty. She felt achy and sore, but the fever was gone. What in the world had happened to make her so sick? She was never sick—never—and it had been a shock. She hadn’t handled it very well either.

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    She rolled over and caught the sides of the pillow to inhale deeply Jess’s distinctive male scent. It flooded her lungs and made her stomach do a strange little flip. He had lain beside her, holding her in his arms, singing her to sleep. Her mouth curved at the thought. He said he couldn’t sing, but she loved his voice. The thought of it, of his song to her, had a warmth spreading quickly through her entire body.
    She took another quick sniff of the pillow, wondering whether she should wash the pillowcase immediately before she became obsessive over it, or leave it forever, slip it into her emergency pack so if she had to run fast she would always have it. No one was around to see her, so she rolled like a cat over the spot where he’d slept.
    Jess. He smelled so good all the time. He smelled safe and clean and so very male. With a little sigh she forced herself to get up. She had awoken earlier than usual. She tended to stay up all night and sleep in the mornings and early afternoon. Having no idea what she was going to do with herself, she forced her body into motion, taking her time in the shower, savoring the feeling of the hot water on her skin.
    She couldn’t get Jess out of her mind. The feel of his hard muscles, his enormous strength, the tenderness in his voice. For a moment she closed her eyes, allowing hot water to cascade over her head and just dreaming. Letting herself believe, just for a moment, that she could have a life. A home. A man.
    She wanted to belong to Jess Calhoun. Her eyes flew open in shock. Oh God. She was in trouble. She had to get out before it was too late. How had she let this happen?
    She pulled on her clothes as she tried to calm her wildly beating heart. Her mouth went dry. Jess Calhoun was not for her, no matter how much she wanted him. When had it happened? When had she allowed herself to believe her own fantasy? She stared at herself in the mirror while she blew her hair dry, trying to make her mind focus on what to do next. A sane woman would leave. Self-preservation would dictate that.
    As she turned off the dryer she heard the soft murmur of Jess’s voice. Something—some note in it—caught at her, raising every alarm. He sounded stressed. Not a lot, but she knew him now, she paid attention to every detail, and Jess was upset.
    Her heart slammed hard in her chest as she carefully set the blow-dryer aside and reached beneath her mattress for her knife. It wasn’t there. She swore under her breath and crossed to her pack, placing her feet with care so that she made no noise. Her mouth firmed and her hands were steady as she put on her belt, gun sliding into the holster smoothly and throwing knives slipping into each loop. If Jess was in trouble, she was going to be prepared.
    She had promised herself she was through with killing, but…She couldn’t let herself think about that. It would only mess her up. Moving without sound, Saber kept her back to the wall, making the target small as she eased through the bedroom door to the upstairs balcony. There were two places where the boards squeaked. She avoided both, although the stairs would be more difficult. She should have fixed them, but she thought it was a good warning system if anyone tried to sneak up them while she slept.
    “It’s so