Free Wrapped In Shadows by Lisa Eugene Page B

starting to shiver. I stopped and looked around the dark street, barely making out the row of large colonial homes. I had no idea where I was and the street light was stingy with its illumination. My cell phone was in my purse and I fumbled inside, intending to call a cab.
    “You shouldn’t be out in the darkness, beautiful.” The voice came from behind me, barely a whisper.
    I jerked around in surprise, my scream silenced in the tight grip of my throat. I swallowed hard as a large figure separated from the shadows and materialized before me. Now that I was away from the noise of the party and the pungent scents from the Hibachi grills, a faint sandalwood teased my nose. Instantly my body responded, my insides liquefying.
    “ You! ” I whispered, staring up in shock. “ Oh, God, it was you that night! ”
     
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    I stared into the bottle green eyes of Luke Davenport. They were swirling with chips of soft yellow from the street light and the effect was almost hypnotic. I had to blink a few times to cast off my dull haze.
    “You shouldn’t be out here by yourself,” Luke said, his voice almost admonishing. “It’s dark and cold.”
    I shook my head, still in disbelief that he’d been the man I’d slept with. “I—I don’t understand.”
    “Well, in the winter it gets cold, and at night it gets dark. Hence dark and cold.”
    I saw a smile tilt his lips and a small dimple appeared at the side of his shapely mouth. I blinked again and looked away. God! I’d devoured that mouth, and that mouth had devoured me… everywhere . In one fluid motion he shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but inhale deeply.
    Sandalwood.
    I glanced down then looked up at him through my lashes, still distracted. “I thought you worked there.”
    My words produced a soft chuckle. That rumbling sound jostled my insides. “Oh, no. Why would you think that?”
    Because you are an amazing lover….
    I caught my bottom lip between my teeth and my gaze skittered away, afraid he’d read my unbidden thought.
    “It was actually my first time there too.”
    My head swung back at him and my gaze had to travel to reach his face. He was a tall man, taller than Josh by a few inches, I imagined. He had a strange look on his face, a distant expression I couldn’t read.
    “How do you know it was my first time?”
    That dimple appeared again and his gaze latched on to mine, holding it captive. “I could tell.”
    I felt my cheeks heat and was glad for the darkness. My body still quivered under the coat and I knew it wasn’t from the cold.
    “Not for any reason other than the fact that you were nervous,” he added. He seemed about to say more, but then decided against it.
    I took a deep breath. “How did you know it was me? It was so dark in there.”
    He was quiet for a long moment and I thought he wouldn’t answer.
    “I’d know you anywhere,” he responded at length. I sucked air into my lungs and forced myself to look away. He continued, “Did you know it was me?”
    “No. I…I thought it was Bruce.”
    “Disappointed?”
    “No… yes! I mean Oh God, this is so… ” I gulped, still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was here, talking to him. He was supposed to be a pleasurable indulgence, a man I’d never see again. A temporary fix for my aching heart.
    “Awkward?”
    “To say the least. I um… recognized your coat at the party.”
    His eyebrow quirked.
    “You have a pink smudge on the cuff.”
    He tilted his head and smiled slightly, causing the dimple to reappear. “I had been finger painting.”
    I frowned and gave him a quizzical look, but decided not to pursue my curiosity. The less I knew about him, the better. Fuck, he was Josh’s boss!
    He held my gaze. “I see I’m not the only one who pays attention to detail.”
    I felt my throat go dry. I swallowed and looked away, trying to ignore the sudden buzz in my body as the moment dragged