Page 45 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

I set my mug on the counter and straightened everything out before cinching the sash tighter. “Better?”

“Much better,” he said. “Andworsebecause I like to look at you.”

That answer was even more evidence for the dream theory. Nobody talked like that in real life, even if they were a little drunk. “Reese?”

“Sarah.”

My teeth chattered as nervous energy wriggled through me. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure exactly, and I’m wondering if I want to find out.”

“Find out what?” I asked.

His gaze rose from the front of my robe to my eyes. A beat of silence passed between us before he said, “You know what.”

Damn. I was totally dreaming. Those sleeping pills werepowerful, and the one I’d taken tonight was doing a total number on me.

I’d obviously imagined the animal scratching outside my window.

And this explained Toby and his midnight chores too. Iknewthat hadn’t made sense. Who worked in the dark?

And now this…

Yep. I was totally dreaming. No surprise really. If I wasn’t having one of my DaBruzzi nightmares, then my dreams were the fantasy kind where Reese held the starring role.

It was the only way for me to act on the desperate longing I felt for him during the day.

This particular fantasy, however, was a doozy. Way more realistic than normal.

“You and me. It’s probably not a good idea,” I said, even though I knew from all my other dreams that I was going to ride this sucker out, all the way to its deliciously erotic end.

“Probably not,” Reese agreed. “But you’re turned on by the possibility.”

“Yes.” I was definitely turned on. My pajama shorts were wet and getting wetter.

He’d been watching my mouth as I voiced my agreement, and he repeated the word back, his voice pure silk. “Yes. I thought so.”

“I can’t lose this job,” I whispered, even as I felt the first cracks in the dam of my self-restraint.

“After what you accomplished today, why would you think I’d ever let you go?”

“I can think of a few reasons.” Like the fact my life was a lie. If Reese ever learned I’d deceived him… That I couldn’t be trusted…

“Sarah,” Reese said, brushing my hair back with both hands. “Tell me what you’re hiding.”

18

REESE

I’d been several shots into a bottle of whiskey when I’d heard Sarah leave her bedroom. I’d warred with myself, wondering if I should finally give in to temptation and follow her.

Thanks to the whiskey and my stellar lack of self-control, that war had lasted less than two minutes. Now here I was, and I didn’t know what side of the war was winning.

Instinct and desire kept leading me to her. But on the other hand, Sarah was right. One midnight tryst could make our working relationship untenable.

I also knew that if I let things go further with Sarah, one midnight tryst would lead into two. She could never be a mere fling. The lion that prowled my mind wouldn’t allow it. It had sensed her importance immediately, and little by little the man was being convinced.

But humans were dangerous. Ones with secrets were doubly so.

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