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  Sabrina had never been a jealous person before. She had dated men and not cared who looked at them. That had all changed when she started dating Eric. She hadn’t liked the female attention he garnered and often found herself glaring at women who looked at him a little too long. Why did he have to look the way he did, move the way he did and act the way he did? Everything about him touched her in a way she couldn’t seem to control.

  Chapter Six

  Sabrina made dinner while Eric perused the outside of her house. He didn’t explain what he was looking for, but she thought he might be checking her windows for ways to get in. She could have reassured him that she had taken the necessary precautions to protect herself and her privacy. That was of the utmost importance to her. Not only did she have an alarm system on her home and surrounding yard, but she also had the security company who installed the equipment do periodic checks on that equipment, all her locks and the various points of entry throughout her house.

  But she said nothing. She knew Eric. He had a stubbornness about him that she had become familiar with during their time together. And once he got something into his head, he pursued it with a single-minded purpose that was almost obsessive.

  She prepared turkey sandwiches and heated up some vegetable soup she had made earlier in the week. She wanted to just make something for herself but couldn’t do it. It was one thing to tell Eric to make his own food, it was another to prepare something just for herself and eat it in front of him.

  While she was in the kitchen, Eric came back inside and found her.

  “Being domestic, Sabrina?” he asked mockingly.

  She wanted to throw the sandwich she was making at him, but held back, barely.

  “Don’t get used to it, Eric. This is a one-time exception to my rule.”

  Eric’s grin widened, and he shook his head slowly back and forth but didn’t respond to her statement.

  “I’m going to go through the interior now,” he said. “I’ll be looking through each room in the house.”

  That got Sabrina’s attention.

  “Not by yourself you won’t. I’m coming with you. Just give me a minute.”

  She put the soup on low so it would heat slowly and put the sandwiches on a plate in the fridge.

  Sabrina let Eric check through each room, making sure he didn’t look at anything she didn’t want him to. She knew he wouldn’t dig through her things, but she wanted to be there just in case. Her privacy was of great value to her, and she protected it always.

  She was relieved to see that his inspection was thorough but non-intrusive, mainly checking windows and their locks. The last room he looked through was her bedroom. The minute he entered, her mind screamed for him to get out. The thought of him anywhere near her bed brought up feelings she didn’t want to examine too closely. Just looking at her bed made her uncomfortable.

  Her bed!

  Sabrina cringed as she noticed the fact that her bed was not made and clothing was strewn here and there. She had been running late that morning and more than a little at odds with the thought of seeing Eric that night. So she had rushed through getting ready but still managed to try on several outfits before deciding on the right one. She felt a blush creep into her face as she noticed the various undergarments she had tried on and discarded as well.

  The fact that she had taken time and put thought into dressing that morning was more than a little telling. She could kick herself. Why had she worried so much about seeing him? Why had she been so concerned about what to wear both on the inside and the outside?

  She wished she could push Eric out of her room and straighten up her things, but it was too late. The damage was done. All she could do now was act as if she didn’t notice the mess. Maybe he wouldn’t comment on it.

  She became hopeful when Eric didn’t say a word as he checked the locks on the windows and French doors in her room. As he turned to leave, she realized her reprieve was short-lived. She watched with dawning horror as his face transformed. His serious, professional expression changed as he spotted something on the floor. His eyes narrowed lazily and a slow, sexy smile spread across his lips. Bending over, he picked up the panties she had worn yesterday and discarded that morning before showering. He held it out in front of him. It was a pink, sheer and lacy thong, one of her favorites.

  Sabrina enjoyed wearing thongs. They made her feel sexy and feminine, and she found them extremely comfortable. But right now she was feeling far from comfortable as she watched Eric hold and study her panties as if they completely and utterly fascinated him. She wanted to be outraged by the fact that he was touching something so intimate, especially in light of his promise to be professional, but instead her body grew warm with desire. An image of him sliding that slip of lace and silk off her filled her head and her womanhood began pulsating with need. “I definitely like pink, Sabrina.” His gaze heated up several degrees as he met her stare. “Especially on you. I can imagine just how good this looks.”

  Then he did something she would never forget.

  Everything turned slow motion. Eric brought her underwear to his face, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her knees got weak. An ache low in her belly blossomed to life and spread. Her nipples tightened and she lost the ability to breathe. Lowering the panties, he opened his eyes and pinned her with his intensely hot gaze. His eyes had changed. The golden heat in them was so bright she almost couldn’t meet his stare.

  “I love your scent, Sabrina. I always have. It calls to me, turns me on, draws me to you. So sensual, so sweet, yet spicy at the same time. Innocence and sexuality mixed together perfectly,” Eric said in a low husky voice. The sexy sound of it sent tingles of awareness up her spine.

  Something in his eyes warned her. Sabrina began backing away as he closed the distance between them. She bumped into the wall just as he was practically on top of her. He was so near she could feel his breath on her cheek and see the pure gold in his eyes. He leaned still closer and whispered in her ear.

  “Care to try this on for me, gatita? I would love to see if it looks as good on you as I imagine it will. The sheer lace would wrap around your womanhood perfectly, allowing me to see how swollen and wet you become from my touch. And the back would fit your body just right, enhancing your beautiful curves and touching you in a place I long to run my fingers and tongue along.”

  As if to emphasize his words, he blew lightly along the edge of her ear.

  Sabrina gasped. His hard, firm body was too close, his warm breath tickled her ear, his words brought to mind delightfully decadent thoughts, and the touch of his tongue was too intense. Her knees gave way beneath her.

  The moment Eric saw Sabrina’s panties on the floor, his body sprang to life, hardening to the point that his pants became painfully uncomfortable. And when he breathed in her special scent, all thoughts of restraint deserted him, replaced by a desire so strong it slammed into him like a fist to his gut. Sabrina’s fragrance filled his senses. It called to him. Like a moth to a flame, he wanted, needed, had to get closer.

  Primal need replaced coherent thought as he stalked her. She backed away, becoming the prey. The predator in him loved that, gloried in the chase. But it would be a short one. He would make sure of that.

  Closing the distance between them, Eric moved so close to her that she had to press herself back against the wall. He moved still closer, letting her feel the heat of his body pressed against her and his breath on her cheek. She was well and truly caught. He knew it, she knew it. Satisfaction filled him as the alpha male he was gloried in catching what belonged to him.

  Sabrina did belong to him. A part of him knew that, had always known that. She was his for the taking, just as he was hers—any time, anywhere. They had a connection like no other Eric had ever experienced.

  He shuddered with need when Sabrina gasped. He felt her nipples tighten against his chest and her hips tilt forward toward his. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

  When her knees gave way he gent
ly grasped her waist, holding her up. Pulling slightly away, he looked into her eyes. Her gaze was dazed and unfocused and her lips parted as she took in small panting breaths. She looked like a woman lost in the throes of passion. Male satisfaction filled him. He was doing this to Sabrina. His words and his touch. They caused this reaction in his little cat.

  Eric could have her now if he wanted to. He could tell by the way she lay docile in his arms, the way her eyes had darkened to the color of a deep forest at night and the way her body tightened and pressed against him. He could even tell by her scent. Taking a deep breath, he noticed that it had changed, becoming muskier, richer and much stronger. Her body was teasing him, calling out to him with wave after wave of pheromones.

  Sabrina was his for the taking.

  That knowledge hit him like a bucket of cold water.

  This was Sabrina. Not some woman he could slake his lust on and move on. What was wrong with him? He knew better than this. He had promised not only Sabrina but also Vlad that he could and would act professionally. And his promise was his word, his word his honor. Eric pulled away from her but kept his hands on her hips, steadying her before releasing her. He backed up several steps and took a few deep breaths to get himself back under control. Sabrina closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the wall. She let out a long, loud sigh.

  He remained silent, waiting for her to say something, struggling not to touch her even though his body raged at him to do just that. He thought she would yell at him, blame him for their encounter and tell him just how much she didn’t want his touch.

  She did none of that. Instead she slowly opened her eyes and calmly met his gaze. None of the turbulence of a few moments ago showed on her face.

  “I’ll go finish preparing dinner. Please close my door when you’re done in here,” she said in a voice that was a complete monotone. She betrayed no feeling or expression as she turned away from him and walked out of her bedroom without another word.

  Eric was at a loss. He had never seen this side of Sabrina. He had seen her get angry. He had seen her in tears. But he had never seen her like this, so emotionless, so calmly indifferent, so cold. He didn’t know what to make of it.

  It was probably the best thing that could happen. They needed to keep things on a professional level. He had promised. She depended on that promise. If she could maintain this calm indifference, than so could he. It could work.

  It had to work.

  Walking out of her bedroom, Eric realized he still held her panties in his hand. He debated putting them back in her room but quickly dismissed the idea. Instead he stuffed them in his pants pocket. It was probably the closest he was going to let himself get to Sabrina from now on.

  He’d take his pleasure where he could.

  Sabrina carried the tray of food into the dining room. She had already set places for Eric and herself. Outwardly she was calm and collected, but on the inside her mind was chaotic. Somehow she had managed to appear unaffected by Eric’s touch. Not completely, but in the end, enough to make him wonder.

  She had never been able to do that before. In the past, his touch would send her over the edge, into a place where she lost her ability to think. She had summoned that part of her that was always there. That part of her that was so much more. And it had helped her. It had steadied her in a way she had never felt before.

  In the past, she hadn’t trusted that side of her. She had been wary of it, struggling to avoid it at all costs out of fear of what might happen. But this time it had been different. This time she had called out to that part of herself for help, needing to trust it for her own emotional survival. That trust had been well founded. It had responded in a way that had saved her, pulled her together to the point that she had been able to detach ever so slightly from the chaos Eric’s touch had created.

  As she had finished heating the soup and took the sandwiches out of the fridge, she had been in awe of this new form of empowerment. And that’s what she felt, empowered. The fact that she could trust something so intrinsic to who and what she was brought her to a new level of awareness. It was a lesson she wouldn’t forget, and one she wanted to speak to her parents about in detail.

  Sabrina was having dinner with them tomorrow night. She would speak to them about it then. In the meantime she’d have to get through the rest of the evening with Eric unscathed. Normally that would have been a daunting task, and she was still nervous about it, but now she felt different, more confident. She could do this. She would draw her newfound power around her like a protective cloak and use it as she needed with trust and confidence.

  “Soup’s on!” she called out.

  Sitting at the table, Sabrina tried not to stare too much as Eric walked into the dining room. It was difficult because, just as always, he drew her attention again and again. She felt the pull between them like a moth to a flame. The way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he thought and the way he looked. It was as if he had been made just for her.

  But obviously, for him that was not the case. Although she didn’t have to like it, she had accepted that fact. She had fallen in love with a man that felt little more for her than friendship and some attraction. Damn, unrequited love really, really sucked.

  “So does my house pass the test?” Sabrina asked between bites of food.

  She needed to get her mind back on track and away from Eric.

  “It looks pretty good. Your alarm system is up-to-date and your motion detectors are all working properly. The locks on your windows are all functioning adequately as well. You keep things fairly secure around here, Sabrina. You always have. I wonder why that is?”

  His question was innocent enough, but the look he gave her wasn’t. His stare was curious in a probing, get-too-personal kind of way.

  “What do you mean?” she asked. If he wanted to know something, he was going to have to ask her straight out. Then she would decide whether or not she would answer him.

  “Why is your security so tight? You’re an anthropology professor at ASU, not a diplomat, political figure or celebrity,” he explained, keeping his penetrating gaze pinned on her. “It just seems a little out of the ordinary. Why all the technology? What are you afraid of?”

  Sabrina felt like squirming under his intense stare but managed to keep still, just barely.

  “I’m not afraid of anything in particular. I just highly value my privacy and don’t want anyone invading that without my knowledge or permission.”

  “Okay. Then let me reword this. What are you hiding?”

  Eric’s words made her eyes widen in surprise as a blush crept up her cheeks. Her heart began pounding out of control. How did he know she was hiding something? She struggled to keep eye contact with him, but Eric’s gaze left her feeling like he could see right into her soul, into who and what she was. But that was impossible, wasn’t it?

  “Hiding? What do you mean?” she asked as calmly as she could with her heart in her throat. Her voice came out little more than a weak croak.

  “What I mean is that I think it isn’t so much that you’re protecting your safety as much as you’re trying to keep others from finding out something about you.”

  Sabrina couldn’t take it. He was hitting too close to home. Trying hard not to appear shaken, she calmly stood up. Her composure slipped slightly as Eric rose also. Looking across the table at her, he was trying to hold her in place with his probing stare.

  “Well?” he asked.

  Feeling interrogated unfairly, and in her home no less, Sabrina let anger replace the fear that was eating away at her.

  “That doesn’t even warrant an answer,” she said, picking up her dishes and leaving the table. “I’m going to grade some papers in my room then go to sleep. I’ll clean my dishes tomorrow morning. You can clean your own. Good night.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she was glad to see that Eric didn’t try to follow her into the kitchen. But his gaze followed her very closely. And the narrowing of his eyes told her he suspect
ed she wasn’t being completely straightforward with him. Well, that was too bad for him. Sabrina didn’t need to share herself or her life with him any longer, because they didn’t mean anything to each other any longer. They weren’t even friends. Eric was here to protect her as a security specialist would any client. That was it. She looked forward to the day he got out of her life once and for all.

  Although she managed to grade all the papers she had brought home, it was difficult to keep her mind on task. Thoughts about Eric’s probing questions kept running through her mind. What did he know? Had he found out something about her through his search of her house, but hadn’t told her? Had he discovered clues to what she really was? By the time she was finished grading, she was exhausted. The day had been a little more than full.

  As her head hit the pillow, sleep pulled at her, yet still she tossed and turned. Memories of Eric and their time together rose in her head and no matter how hard she tried to push them down, they kept coming up again and again. It was like trying to push a beach ball under the water. No matter how many times you submerged it, it popped right up again. Eric’s face kept appearing, one instant smiling and laughing, the next looking at her with the heated gaze of a man who wanted her. And finally the look of disdain he gave her as he told her goodbye. The look that showed nothing of his emotions, that made her feel like he had felt absolutely nothing for her. That look brought her only tears and heartache. That’s what Eric represented to her now, tears and heartache. And she didn’t need that. Not now. Not again.

  So she would keep Eric at a distance. She would keep her heart safe. She would keep her life safe. And then he would be gone. But as fatigue finally caught up with her, the same questions ran through her mind again and again. Is that what she really wanted? Was it enough for her to be safe? Is that all there was?

  As sleep claimed her, the word “no” kept echoing through her mind.

  The next morning Sabrina woke up bright and early. She immediately went in the kitchen to make coffee because she was a dragon without it, and stopped short at what she saw. Eric already had a pot brewing and was cooking something that smelled a lot like eggs and bacon. As he removed the pans from the heat, he put the food he had prepared on two plates. He was making breakfast for both of them?