Free Mine by Brenda Huber Page A

deliberately crowding her, Cole stuffed a throw pillow behind her back and nudged her back to relax against it. He held the makeshift ice pack on her injured ankle while his free hand ran over the top of her uninjured foot.
    His deft fingers released the strap and removed that shoe as well.
    Protest bubbled in her eyes, but she remained silent, easing back against the cushion, eyeing him with wary resignation. Everything about him screamed dangerous predator, and yet she wasn’t afraid of him. Wary, yes…but not afraid. He marveled at that.
    Long, callused fingertips feathered over her 63
     

     
    legs, lowered to massage her injured ankle gently.
    A shiver ran through her veins, one he’d have felt even if he hadn’t been Vampyre. How would those sexy legs feel wrapped around him while he buried himself deep inside of her?
    Chagrined at his own wayward lack of mental control, he forced himself to look away from her legs. However, the alternative didn’t seem to be any safer to his equilibrium. Her trim waist and delicious breasts called him to look…and touch…and taste.
    Cole dragged his gaze upward, until his eyes locked on her face. But even her face held inherent perils. Sensuous lips, mesmerizing eyes, and an enticing splash of color filled her cheeks.
    The warm surge of blood pulsing beneath her satiny skin made his fangs throb again. Tousled hair invited his fingers to tangle.
    The hand tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear was every bit as unsteady as her breathing. “So, what now?”
    “Now…” His long, long fingers eased up the length of her leg, languid and full of purpose, from ankle to calf to knee. And higher. His voice dipped, low and seductive, as the very tips of his fingers edged beneath the hem of her skirt. “I have you completely at my mercy…” 64
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6
    His hands were nothing short of divine on her skin. His smoldering stare was strangely compelling.
    Swallowing convulsively, Alex trembled. Her eyes went wide, incredulous, at his suggestive innuendo. Laughter, deep as the night and rich as velvet rumbled up in Cole’s chest.
    Before she could scramble away, Cole tightened his grip, pulling her more securely onto his lap.
    He leveled amused eyes on her then.
    “Now you have to talk to me.” His grinned turned wolfish. His hand caressed its way down her leg, allowing her a much needed breath. It didn’t take long for that hand to make its way back to her knee, or for her lungs to freeze again.
    “That is, unless you have something else in mind?”
    As Cole’s fingers began toying with the hem of her skirt once more, Alex’s lungs screamed for air. She was an attractive, financially secure, modern woman who knew her own worth. She’d fended off far worse than the brazen, single-minded purpose of the man beside her. But the way he kept shooting those intense, concentrated stares her way, sent shiver after shiver down her spine. Never had she been so tempted in all her life.
    Not even Griffin had been able to…
    Griffin!
    The enchanted haze evaporated in the blink of an eye. She seized his wrist and pushed it away with an icy hand. “Let’s talk.” 65
     

     
    Disappointment flickered in his hypnotic eyes, but he gave a slight shrug, settling his hands on her calf with a defiant grin.
    “Hey, Slim…” Styx voice broke over them as he pushed the door open and strolled inside. “I looked all over, but I can’t…” His voice trailed off when his gaze landed on the couple nestled with such intimate familiarity on the sofa. His grin widened, a devilish glint darkened his golden eyes as he thrust his hands deep in his back pockets and cocked an eyebrow.
    “I rest my case.”
    Her companion shot the drummer an irritated glance. “What are you yammering about?” Styx pointedly eyed Cole’s hands where they rested on Alex’s legs—legs draped across Cole’s lap—and he grinned, smug. “I told her you always get the best