Free Sinful Magic by Jennifer Lyon Page B

Then she’d seen the kid shoved aside, the man show his gun, and Kieran explode into action. He’d leaped over that table like he could fly. He’d moved so fast, she could barely track him. He’d looked every bit as fierce and frightening as the dragon he drew.
    She’d reacted when that man put the knife to the boy’s throat, rushing over there, planning to distract the man. She hadn’t anticipated the thug on the floor getting up and grabbing her, but it had worked.
    Even when he’d pressed that knife to her throat, she’d been scared for only an instant. Then Kieran turned around, she’d seen his eyes drain to gray menace, and she’d known he’d free her. She hadn’t expected him to throw a knife that landed two or three inches from her arm. Was his aim that good or had it been luck?
    She looked up to see him staring at her from two feet away. Wearing a black shirt and jeans, he filled the elevator, dominated the space with his powerful male presence. He was so
    capable. “How did you know you wouldn’t hit me? With your knife, I mean.”
    “I don’t miss.” The doors opened; he stepped out and then held the door.
    “Ever?” She went into the hallway. For any other man, she’d say he was bragging. But she’d seen Kieran in action today.
    He fell into step beside her as they walked down the hall. “Not in a long time. You weren’t in any danger from me.”
    But she was. And she was playing with fire by prolonging her contact with him. Questions bubbled up, her desire to know more about him, learn everything she could. Where he came from, how he learned to fight like that, what his skin felt like, what it would feel like to let herself go in a hot, deep, wet kiss with him.
    Stop it! She had to control her thoughts. She grabbed her key card from the side pocket of her purse and fumbled to get it into the slot.
    Then he moved up behind her, one of his hands taking the card from her fingers, the other reaching for the door handle. The heat of him sank into her from all sides.
    “Nervous?” he said against her ear.
    She shivered and watched as he lined the card up and slid it in. Slowly. His long fingers pushed the card down a fraction at a time. Holy vibrators, she was in trouble if she thought a key card was sensual. “Hurry up!”
    “Impatient to get inside with me?” He rammed the card home and pushed the door open.
    Roxy took a step to get some distance, then turned, took off his jacket, and held it out for him. “Thanks, I’m safely to my room now.”
    He ignored the jacket, reached for her arm and pulled her behind him where she was safe. Then he walked into the room.
    “Damn it, you can’t
    ”
    He paid no attention to her protest. First he checked the bathroom, then the closet, and finally the room. This one had two queen beds. He walked around them both to make sure no one was crouched and waiting for her. Then he turned back and saw her standing there holding the door open. She arched one delicate eyebrow and said, “Done playing superhero?”
    He walked up to her. The closer he got, the more her natural honey-almond scent deepened. He knew desire when he scented it. It’d been growing since they got into the elevator. It was tantalizing, seductive, and beginning to get an edge that suggested she was going to be in pain if she didn’t follow her urges.
    He wouldn’t leave her in pain. Not when she obviously desired him and he wanted her with a desperation that was growing by the second. He dropped his gaze to her breasts, so lush and full, beneath the flirty little silk shirt. His body began to hum. Then he saw her shiver. Lifting his gaze, he reached out and caressed her wrist. “Close the door, Roxy.”
    Her eyes widened. “After you leave.”
    He drew his finger up the inside of her elbow. “Now,” he said gently. He wasn’t leaving her hurt, cold, and alone. He sure as hell didn’t want to leave her unsatisfied, although that was ultimately up to her. But he could be persuasive.
    She shook her head and then winced. Raising