Nevermore. Maureen Child

      “Hours.” One word. Clipped.

      “I was tired.” Exhausted would be a better word, but he didn’t need to know that she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. Shoving one hand through her hair, she pushed it back from her face and let her gaze slide from his. He was too intense. Too…focused on her. Her body stirred under his direct stare and she didn’t want to think about that at the moment.

      Instead, she took another look at the room where he’d brought her. A fire burned in a stone hearth and before the fire rested a small table in front of a pair of bloodred wingback chairs. On the table rested a covered dish and her stomach growled again, this time loud enough for him to hear it.

      From the side of the bed, Santos sighed and she whipped her head around to look at him. “You are hungry?”

      “Starving,” she admitted. What was the point of denying it?

      “There are cold sandwiches,” he said, lifting one shoulder in a careless shrug. “The tea is no doubt long cold, but I will arrange for more.”

      “Thanks, but more tea is not necessary.” She scooted off the bed on the opposite side from him. He wasn’t looking any too friendly and she needed something to eat before delving into the reasons why she was here.

      Heading for the table, she lifted the silver cover off the plate and almost groaned upon seeing the thick, roast beef sandwiches. Grabbing up a half of one, she took a big bite, then turned abruptly as she sensed him directly behind her.

      She almost bumped right into him. In her defense, he took up a lot of room. Up close, his shoulders and chest were even broader than she remembered from her first glimpse of him. His eyes burned with a dark fire that seemed to singe every nerve ending in her body.

      Erin swallowed hard, took a breath and said, “God, you move quiet.”

      “So I have been told.”

      “Could you back up a little? You’re making me nervous.” Not completely true, she thought. He was making her a lot more than nervous. She hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t been prepared for the rise of desire so thick it nearly choked her. She hadn’t anticipated the incredible want building inside her. And she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. She needed his help. She didn’t need him in her bed.

      Keep that in mind, Erin. She took another bite of the truly excellent roast beef, chewed and swallowed, stalling for time.

      “I can wait. Take as long as you like to eat and drink, to regain your senses. But you will not leave this room until I know why you are here. And how you come to appear before me at odd moments with no warning.”

      God, that voice. Soft and dark and compelling. He spoke with an Old World sort of formality, which tugged at something inside her. Plus, there was the accent. A hint of Spanish flavored his words and made him all the more hard to resist. He could probably have been a very successful hypnotist or something. Send women into hormone-driven comas just by speaking.

      “Do you hear me?”

      “Yeah. I hear you.” All too well. That voice of his was a weapon, designed to bring women to their knees. And boy, did it work well.

      She took a breath and tightened her hold on the sandwich. Get a grip on yourself, Erin. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by the lush swell of sexual attraction—though God, it wasn’t easy to ignore. Still, he was right. Stalling was pointless. After all, she’d come a long way to talk to this man. In her vision, she had felt unerringly that he was the one person who would be able to help her.

      Forcing herself to look up into his eyes, she fought to not lose herself in those dark depths swirling with impatience and suspicion. Because strength was also there. Strength she needed.

      So much had happened over the last few weeks. She had felt herself surrendering to fear that seemed to color every breath she took. And now, when she had finally found the one man she was sure could keep her alive, she had to throw caution to the wind. She had to take a firm stand. Tell him who she was and what she needed. Then she would tell him that she knew he would help her.

      Because he had a secret he protected.

      And thanks to her visions, she knew what that secret was.