Page 36 of At the Edge of Surrender

Muscled body hard and packed.

Rippling with that intimidating strength that radiated from him like an omen.

Covered in swirling designs that crawled down his veined arms and onto the backs of his big, big hands.

Light brown hair, short on the sides and longer on top.

As I stood there, I realized he was far more intimidating than I remembered.

His aura fierce.

Feral and untamed.

Caught in the shock at finding him there, the only thing I could do was stumble back at the power of it, gasping for breath as I leaned against the mirrored back wall of the elevator.

In one instant, his expression morphed through a thousand things.

Surprise and a charge of relief. Possession and confusion and a steely determination that knocked my knees.

The worst was the scourge of lust that scraped over my flesh as his eyes flashed over me.

I needed to dart around him. Get out of this elevator.

Run.

Freakingdosomething.

But I was stuck. Pinned to the wall as he pushed all the way into the elevator, blocking my path.

A rugged refuge that towered.

Or maybe he really was the dragon.

There to fly me away to his dungeon where I’d be trapped.

Everything about him muddled my senses.

Because I should have screamed and fought my way out when he reached over to the panel and pressed the button that sent the doors gliding shut behind him, but I was silent.

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

He pushed a second button for the top floor.

Severity ricocheted through the cramped space as the elevator began to ascend. A rush of dizziness had me canting to the side, fingers digging into the slick surface of the mirror to keep myself standing.

“What are you doing here?” I finally managed to rasp, the words thin and shaky.

He emitted a sound of disbelief.

Dark and decadent.

As dark and decadent as his voice. “Guess we must be on the same page considering I came here to ask you the exact same thing.”

He took a single step forward. The floor rumbled beneath my feet.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I defended.

The elevator kept rising, flicking through the lights on the panel. When we were near the top, he reached out and pounded the heel of his fist on the red emergency button.

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