Page 27 of When He Hunts

I’ll be the dead one.

He stalked toward the bathroom door. Glanced at his watch. Okay, seriously, enough. How long did she intend to stay in the shower? His hand lifted and rapped against the door.

Nothing.

Just the thunder of the shower.

Suspicion curled in his gut. Surely, she wouldn’t. The woman wouldnotleave the shower water pouring in an attempt to trick him as she fled through the narrow bathroom window. Surely…not. “Luna?” Another pound with his fist. “Luna!”

Shit. She just might have. And I was so blindsided by her charge that I didn’t plan for this screwup.He grabbed the knob of the door, twisted it, and threw the door open. “Dammit, Luna?—”

“Ah!”Luna’s scream.

Her scream as she spun in the narrow shower with the glass door and stared at him, wide-eyed. One hand rose to try and cover her breasts. Another dipped down to the V between her legs. The water poured over her. Steam drifted in the air. And, sonofafucker, the woman was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He took a step toward her.

“What are you doing?” Luna cried. She kept her hands in place. They did not hide much. “You can’t just bust in here! I’m naked!”

Yes. Beautifully naked. And he was gaping. And his dick was way too hard and ready. And this wasnotwhat any gentleman would do. The problem was that Ronan had not been a gentleman in a long time. “Thought you’d run.” Rasped.

“What?” She did a little hop in the shower as the water cascaded over her body. That wonderful body. “And could you lookup?”

His gaze shot up. “Thought you’d run,” Ronan repeated. Rougher. Louder. Would that shower be big enough to hold them both? Because she’d very clearly told him that she wanted him, and he…

Yes, he wanted her. So badly that his whole body ached.

He’d thought the night had been torture. It was nothing compared to seeing her wet, naked body. And knowing that the only thing that separated them? That thin piece of glass.

“I’m naked, Ronan.”

Yes. Indeed. One hundred percent naked. And wet. And sexy.

“I’m not running anywhere naked. Grayson said you were my best bet of staying in the land of the living. I don’t plan on trying to escape from you.”

“You can’t.” Why was speaking so hard? He pulled in a breath. “You can’t escape. I’d just find you.”

“I’mnaked.”

Again, yes. Indeed.

“Be a gentleman. Go out. Shut the door.”

Yes. He should do that. He actually even managed to take one whole step back. But then he had to warn her, “I’m not a gentleman.” Something she should have already realized. Probably when he drugged her. Or handcuffed her.

Their gazes held.

Her lips parted.

Before he gave in to the savage need slicing through him, Ronan finally dragged his ass out of the bathroom. He hauled the door shut. Whirled. Marched the hell out of the bedroom and through the cabin and out onto the porch where he sucked in deep gulps of air because holy hell, the lust that held him in its grip was red-hot. He could not ever remember wanting someone so badly.

She’s a target. A target. You are not supposed to cross that line with her. This is just business.His head understood this vital bit of information. His dick? Not so much. But his dick had never exactly been a thinker.

Ronan sucked in another deep, bracing breath. The sunlight trickled through the trees around the property, and he could hear the call of a dozen different insects, as well as the deeper, harder croaks of the alligators that waited nearby.

He still wore the pants he’d had on yesterday. Shoes, socks. An old, black shirt that had been left behind in the cabin. She’d takenhiswhite dress shirt into the bathroom. She’d been wearing the damn thing and looking sexy as fuck as he talked on the phone.

The bastard wanted me to cut off her finger and send it to him.

Yeah, that tracked with some of the whispers he’d heard about Marcus Constantine Aeros. The guy was rumored to be cold-blooded as hell. Untouchable. And as sadistic as they came. But the whole finger collecting business? That reeked of being a trophy routine. Did the guy always keep mementos of his kills? If so, that would be one interesting bit of news to pass along to Gray. Because if they could find the bastard’s stash, they would be able to tie him to so many crimes.

---