lished steel doors slid ope

r had handed her. She squeezed the binder tight, using the physical pressure to steady her r

rtook hers. He walked point, his presence dominating the wi

e doors at the far end of

e! Room 4

h cart. The wheels squealed violently against the linoleum floor. They

ped by the heavy cart, he stopped dead in his

heels and distracted by the c

irst into the soli

is rigid muscles threw her completely off bala

om under her. She fell backward, bracing

ever

steel whip. His large hand clamped securely around her waist, catching h

ively, her palms flattening aga

his suit, she felt the stea

ound her waist, holding her completely suspended against h

to an old, deeply ingrained memory. The curve of her waist fitting perfectly into his palm. The specific way her muscles locked up in panic beneath his touch. It didn't bring

His dark gray eyes locke

he cold indifference was gone, repl

kno

ed hard against his chest, twisting h

go," she

xed, the muscles turning to stone, pu

ed the air, he caught something else. It was a faint trace radiating from the roots of her hair, warmed by her body heat. Vanilla and orange blossom-a cheap, mass‑produced drugstore perfume. It was t

ed almost entirely black. A look of absolut

lips hovering righ

raw, gravelly rasp that sent a violent s

Alivia's skull. The blood drained completely fro

aw the dangerous shift in Collis's posture. She immediate

loud, cutting through the heavy tension. "

ption broke

Collis's chest and ripped herself out of his grip. She stumb

ing down the lapels of her white coat. She forced her

nneled every ounce of the arrogant, unt

e was a sheet of solid ice. "This i

y. She held his stare with a defiance

a scalpel, slicing across every millimeter of

flawless. It was

rs curled inward, the ghost of her b

rk touched the co

s sharper than your memory

and walked toward the doub

so violently she thought she might collapse. She closed her eyes for a s