Free Worlds of Obsession (Celtic Otherworlds) by Kella McKinnon Page A

alley. 
    Sudden anger made her fists clench.  “I can’t believe it, he friggin’ drugged me!”  What the hell kind of vacation was this turning out to be?  Okay, now she was woozy and pissed .  Why would he do such a thing, unless… a spike of adrenaline hit her as she realized she had woken up in a bed, and had no recollection of what had happened there. 
    Oh . My. God .  Shit!  Panicked, she did a quick inventory of her body, but nothing seemed sore or even tender, and all of her clothes were still on, except for her shoes, which were on the floor by the bed.  She drew in a deep breath and relaxed a little.  The dizziness had passed quickly, so Liv stood and went to the door.  With a slightly sick feeling in her gut, she tried the knob.  Big surprise, it was locked from the outside.  The sick feeling quickly turned into righteous indignation.  How dare he lock her in here!  She began to pound one fist against what turned out to be a very solid oak door.  “Hey!  Let me out of here… hello?”  She kept it up until suddenly the door opened and there stood the man from the alley, only he had traded the black leather for jeans and a black t-shirt that hugged the taught muscles of his chest like a second skin.  Oh yeah, she could see now why she had gone with him willingly.  He was the epitome of tall, dark and sexy.  She abruptly took a step back, and watched in silence as his dangerous, piecing black gaze moved over her body.  She found herself wondering absurdly if he liked what he saw. 
                  Eventually, her mind came back on line.  “You locked me in here”, she said accusingly.
                  He nodded slightly, placing one hand on the doorframe and leaning, which drew her gaze to the perfectly sculpted muscles of his arm.  “Yes.”
                  “And you drugged me, too.”
                  He nodded again, still watching her.  “Yes.”
                  “Why?”
                  “It was necessary.”  This time, he gave her a little shrug, as if that was the only explanation she needed.
                  He was seriously going to drive her crazy in less than five minutes. “You’re not really a conversationalist, are you?”
                  He looked at her, and the corner of his mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile.  “You’re safe here.”
                  “Safe?  Safe from what?”  And suddenly she had to know… she just had to ask…  “Did… did anything happen last night”… her gaze flicked to the bed, then back to his face.  “Between you and me?  I mean, did we… did you…”
                  Something flashed in his eyes at her implication.  Something dark and dangerous and… incredibly sexy.  It was only there for a second before he slowly shook his head.  “No.  I didn’t touch you, other than to carry you up here, if that’s what you mean.”
                  “Oh.  Okay.”  Because she would hate to have not remembered a man like him naked and on…  Liv!  Good lord, what is wrong with you?   She mentally shook herself, hoping she wasn’t blushing.  “Then why did you drug me?  And don’t say it was necessary…”  Another thought suddenly occurred to her.  “Wait, did someone else touch me?”
                  His eyes flashed again, this time she could have sworn it was with anger.  “No. While you are with me, I would never allow anyone to harm you in any way.  I told you, you’re safe here.  You’re safe with me.”  He pushed away from the door and walked into the room before turning back to look at her with his arms crossed over his chest.  “I had to drug you so that you wouldn’t know where this place is.”  He motioned to a sofa against the far wall.  “Sit down.”  When she only frowned at him he tilted his head slightly and added,