Free One Night Forever by Marteeka Karland Page B

yet he left you here
    all alone with me.”
    “That’s funny.” Ariel rolled her eyes, taking a
    tentative step away. She wanted to be brave, but her
    heart was breaking all over again. She refused to shed
    a tear over that sorry excuse for a man, but her
    hormones were working against her in that regard. “I
    was thinking the same thing.”
    He stuck out his hand in greeting. “Damien
    Carter.” That was all he said. There was no apology for

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    his actions, only a calm civility as if this were an
    everyday occurrence.
    “Ariel Wilson.” She took his offered greeting and
    strong fingers closed around her much smaller hand.
    Ariel was struck how much it looked like a child’s hand
    in an adult’s, he was that much bigger. His grip was
    firm, but gentle and all too brief. In the perfect spot
    under the street lamp, the stranger gave her a great
    view of exactly whom she was dealing with. Ariel
    admired the sculpted muscles of his arm, the veins
    curling around his forearm and biceps. His chest was
    heavily muscled and his abdomen rippled with
    strength when he moved. A dark dusting of hair teased
    his skin and made her wonder if it was as silky as it
    looked. She was so lost in admiring his masculine
    beauty, she missed his question until she looked back
    at his face. His eyes danced with amusement. Damn
    her hormones. She was torn between sorrow for the
    lost life she’d had with Tom and desire for an absolute
    stranger. Ridiculous. She was definitely losing her
    mind.
    “I beg your pardon?” Ariel’s face heated. Grateful
    for her dark skin, she ducked her head hoping her hair
    would cover her embarrassment. Lord, the man was
    seriously fine! She had noticed the way he put his body
    between hers and Tom’s car. Now, though he stood

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    close, he was careful to keep out of her personal space.
    Obviously, he was a considerate man, maybe even a bit
    protective. That thought sent another wave of heat
    coursing through her, and she was immediately
    ashamed of her reaction. Tom might be the kind of
    person to sleep with anyone who’d let him, but she
    wasn’t.
    “I asked where you were going.” He didn’t seem
    perturbed or annoyed that she hadn’t been paying
    attention to his words, only slightly amused. Ariel was
    certain her reaction wasn’t unusual to him. Women
    probably fell all over this man all the time.
    “To my sister’s,” she finally managed, pulling
    herself together. It was too bad, really. Under different
    circumstances, she would have liked to meet this man.
    He had a look about him. A look that said he protected
    what was his with his life, and never betrayed those he
    loved. Something Tom would never understand.
    Unshed tears threatened to spill once again, but she
    swallowed hard and held on to them by sheer
    willpower. “It’s just a couple of blocks down the
    street.”
    “Let’s go then. The sooner you get there, the
    sooner I can get back to bed.” There was amusement
    in his voice, but also a sexy gleam in his eye. The
    image of that big body sprawled between satin sheets

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    sprang to mind and Ariel’s knees went weak. She
    seriously needed to take a cold shower. She could only
    attribute her wayward thoughts to an over-infestation
    of hormones and a healthy dose of disappointment in
    the male species as a general rule. She wanted this
    man to be different because he was so seriously good
    to look at. It would be a waste of a good man for him
    to be the same kind of asshole as Tom.
    She sighed and let Damien escort her down the
    block to her sister’s house. He stood at the bottom of
    the steps leading to the porch while Ariel rang the
    doorbell. A couple minutes later, her sister, Gretta
    peeked through the curtain before flinging the door
    open wide. “What the hell are you doing out at this
    time of night? It’s dangerous for a woman out by
    herself!”
    “Not to worry, Gretta. I looked after your