* * * *
Tyr Collins leaned back, rested the heels of his A. Testoni shoes on the windowsill and plucked lint from his slacks. It became impossible to hold back a smile. Worried that the stretch of his cheeks might add wrinkles to his near flawless skin, he concentrated on relaxing the major muscles in his face.
Grayce, his little dove, was finally coming back to him. The wait had been torture, but he’d set the wheels in motion, and soon her addictive energy would be his again. Unable to ignore the annoying erection that strained painfully against his trousers, he reached down for a quick rub and adjust.
Three years had passed. Slippery little slut. His spine tingled with anticipation at the imagined look of horror on her face when she’d realize he’d claimed her once again.
God, she was going to pay. Dearly.
Binoculars raised and focused, he scanned the gym parking lot to make sure his latest game piece was in place. This was going to be fun. It would’ve been much easier to grab her himself. But why? There was much more pleasure to be gained in toying with prey before you strike. And the fear, oh yes, the fear made it so much more satisfying in the end.
* * * *
Certain the steam screaming from her ears was visible to everyone, Grayce stormed toward the exit doors. Distance is what she needed, and mere miles wouldn’t be enough. The familiar ache ignited by his presence consumed every inch of flesh. Intense attraction, need, lust. Emotions not welcome in her world forced their way through an obsessively guarded wall.
Her long lost libido had come back with vengeance and completely betrayed the memory of the hell she’d lived through at the hands of men. With temper rising to near nuclear proportions, she struggled against shaky fingers to unlock the door to her rundown VW Rabbit.
“Don’t turn around.” A sour stench filled her nostrils before the words registered. Tobacco and skunk. A heavy hand weighted her shoulder. “Get in the car and slide over.” The raspy voice and wheeze with each breath were a dead giveaway the man had held a thousand too many coffin nails between his lips over the course of his lifetime.
Oh hell no. Bravery, fueled by intense anger, filled Grayce with an unexpected sense of power. With a quick turn she swung her right arm at the man. Damn gym bag. Its weight slowed her momentum, and the strike barely fazed him. No way in hell was she going to allow the fat bastard to bully her into the car.
Before her bag hit the ground, her foot met his shin with force enough to evoke profanities. Freak may as well have been Superman and she a toddler for all the good it did. Putrid stench brought the sting of tears to her eyes as he grabbed both shoulders and shoved her into the front seat.
Scream damn you, scream. “You fucking bastard, get off me!” The strength in her voice came as a surprise, as did the new wave of adrenaline that pumped through her veins. Desperation guided her movements as she batted, kicked and successfully thwarted his efforts at getting a solid hold on anything other than her clothing. What had the self-defense class taught her? Crap, who could remember? Should’ve paid better attention.
Frenzied attempts at kneeing his groin had her awkwardly positioned, half in, half out of the car. Four kicks in, she found her target. The man wore a fearsome grimace as he doubled over, spit, and stumbled backwards in pain.
Pure evil flooded his bloodshot eyes.
Seizing the opportunity, Grayce lifted her legs at a feeble attempt to strike again. Her butt slid down the edge of the car seat and landed with a thud on unforgiving pavement, knocking the wind clean out of her lungs. Stunned and struggling to regain her bearings, she looked up in time to see a dirty, hairy-knuckled fist shoot straight for her nose. Except, it didn’t make contact.
Playing out like a slow motion scene from an action movie, the perp was violently jerked back by the nape of his neck. Arms and legs flailed in front of him as he was lifted off the ground, eyes wide with disbelief. Tossed like a rag doll across the parking lot, he bounced off the chain link fence, wrapped around a street lamp and landed with a thud. His body twitched, then lay ragged and motionless, slumped in a heap on the cement.
Grayce fought to draw breath as her gaze traced the length of the figure towering with protective intent. Hmm, muscles and more muscles. Horrified and dazzled simultaneously, she stared into the face of the man she’d tried so hard to avoid.
2
Well Z, helluva way to make a first impression. Nothing like bringing out the big guns on a first date.
Acting on instinct, he squatted to brush tangled hair from his woman’s face. Intense, powerful vibrations passed between their flesh. He didn’t flinch. Knew it was coming. She however, did not.
Holy hell, she felt it.