s and raw sensation. The drug had burn

, a presence, a source of warmth and strength in the c

of his neck. It felt good. Solid. Her arms tightened their grip,

, a name surfaced. A name tied to a desperate, twisted n

son

r lips as a soft

e throwing

ound her waist, which had been a firm brace, became a vise. The pressure

omplex mix of concern and desire, were

ut, the words low and serrated,

rescued. This was how it was supposed to feel. She didn't re

n," and, tilting her head up, she

e final tra

ng he could not, w

ped from his throat. It was the sound of som

ved he

ing to him, the next she was airborne, her bod

the wa

th, her nose, shocking her system. The violent coughing that fol

teeth into her skin, a stark contrast

est rose and fell in harsh, ragged breaths. He didn't move to help her. H

d was a unique form of torture. A low, wounded whimper escaped her lips, the sound of an an

ve the surface, gasping for air

Her vision, for the first time in an hour, started to clear. T

ood ra

asn't

he man who had warned her. The face from the newspaper clippings. The face

as H

jolted through her spine, overriding the

mming desperately for the e

mov

his advance reaching her first. He was a shark, and she was bleeding

m the tiled edge when his h

nacle of fl

yan

away from safety, back i