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He approached her slowly and watched her for what felt like an eternity. His presence alone penetrated deeper than even physical touch.I’m here,he seemed to convey without saying a word.It’s alright.
Weakly, Loren turned toward him. Though she couldn’t make out any of his features, she had no doubt who the man above her was.
And as concerned as he seemed to be, one fact would tarnish any pity he might have felt toward her.
“He’s dead,” she croaked, watching those silver eyes flash in response. “I…I-I killed him.”
8
Wait here.
He didn’t say so out loud. He didn’t have to. One look conveyed the order and more.Wait for me.
Though, it wasn’t like she had any place left to go…
She lay there, freezing, as the horror of what she’d done set in.
Murderer! You killed him.
It didn’t matter that he seemed intent on killingher.Though, she never confirmed it for herself. Maybe she’d only injured him?He could still be alive…
“Shit.” The gruff curse came from nearby—McGoven. He didn’t sound like a man confronted with a still-living victim. No, he sounded horrified.
Dejectedly, Loren stood and stumbled toward the stream, driven by an impulse to put as much space between herself and anyone else. She was a monster. The icy water felt like a slap against her bared toes, but as the water reached her calves, she sank to her knees and attempted to…what?
Gather her senses? She didn’t have any damn senseleft.
Nothing but the overwhelming horror of what she’d done.I killed him.Not only that, but she had shown up practically on an officer’s doorstep, complete with the body, murder weapon, and all.
McGoven would drag her to the precinct before the blood on her hands even dried. She would spend the rest of her life behind bars—and how damn ironic was that?
Out of all the monsters who’d done her wrong,shewould be the one punished in the end. There was only one way out…
Slowly, Loren eased herself forward, and the Autumn chill biting into her skin faded away. The scent of the rain-drenched forest, marred by the metallic odor of blood, drifted into oblivion.Bye-byewent the sounds of approaching footsteps.
She just sank beneath the ice-cold water of the stream and let it drown out everything else. The frigid temperature knocked her sideways, even as she allowed her body to go limp, submerging her head completely.
What the hell are you doing?a part of her cried as her lungs screamed for air.Are you insane?
Probably.
But she was so damn tired…
“What are you doing?” The shout accompanied a harsh grip that dragged her back from the water, pulling her higher up on the stream’s bank until she landed on her back in the mud.
Breathless, all she could do was stare into endless silver.
Officer McGoven stood over her, though he looked far from an officer now. He must have been in bed. His hair hung loose instead of slicked back—as if he’d run the whole way there, through the wind and rain. Though, that wasn’t all Loren realized as her eyes tiredly glanced him over. He was…
Naked.
Completely. He wasn’t even wearing shoes.
Thick, sinewy muscle coiled under every single inch of golden skin. Sculpted limbs branched from the broad expanse of his chest, down…to where Loren attempted to keep her gaze from traveling.
It did anyway, catching sight of a dark trail of black hair leading from his navel down to… Mercifully, there wasn’t enough light to see where. Faint moonlight pierced the cloud cover, glinting off the rest of him. Each strip of muscle stood out in definition. The man resembled a carved statue more than a living, breathing being. Every inch of him seemed rock solid.
Lethal.Dangerous, a part of Loren whispered. Though on second glance, he wasn’t entirely perfect. Scars speckled nearly every inch of his body, adorning the brawn. They were thin, jagged lines, glimmering like streaks of silver. Ten. Twenty. More. Too many to count. Was he whipped? Either that or fed to tigers—the only animal Loren could think of capable of leaving such brutal marks. Even her own many scrapes and bruises paled in comparison.
