healthy shade of blue, but her mind was sharp. She found a thick, white bathrobe and a towel laid out on a marble b

eyes closed. He'd taken off his jacket and loosened his tie. Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the strong column of

makeshift bandage he'd applied was a crude wrap of a handke

of her. She went back to the bathroom, found a first-

ent amplifying the sound of her own heartbeat. Carefully, her fingers

uckles. This was no accident. It looked like a de

he wound. The moment her cool fingertips, holding the

at her was something wild, primal. His pupils were dilated, his expres

her throat. He moved with brutal efficiency, slamming her back

wrist, but his grip was like a vise. Through the growing darkness, she saw the

asped, the words a despe

, and for a moment, confusion warred with the violence in his expression. Then, slowly, t

sed her

her burning lungs. He stared down at her, his chest rising and falling hea

e ordered, hi

throat raw and bruised, she picked up a fresh wipe and returned to his hand. Her fingers trembled

eigning relaxation, ready to strike at the slightest provocation. She understood now. This man

secured the bandage and

e," she w

dark, angry shape of his fingers was already beginning to bloom into a bruise. His