Page 8 of Yearning For Her

The provocative seriousness in his tone finally drew her full attention to him. Her breath caught, and her eyes widened when they locked with his.

Oh God, it’s him.

“Hi,” he practically purred, lips curling into a sultry smile. Light glinted on his lip piercings, but it was nothing compared to the almost preternatural glow of his blue eyes. “Lovely to see you again.”

Her skin pebbled, and a shiver ran through her body that had nothing to do with the breeze. She stood upright, gripping the railing so hard her knuckles turned white. She’d been taught it was rude to stare, yet there was nowhere else to look but at him.

There was nowhere else she wanted to look.

He straightened to his full height and turned toward her. Her eyes fell to his open shirt, which granted her quite a view of his sculpted chest.

The stranger reached toward her and brushed the back of a finger down her cheek, leaving warm tingles in its wake. “Breathe, Violet.”

Willow released a slow, shaky breath.

He stroked her other cheek. “That’s a good girl.”

Heat pooled between her thighs.

Oh God.

She never would’ve imagined being called a good girl could be sexy, but hearing it from this man? In that voice?

That finger didn’t retreat when it reached her chin. Instead, he trailed the tip of his nail—his long, black, pointed nail—under her jaw, down her throat, and slowly, so slowly, along her collarbone. The warmth of his touch spread through her like wildfire, burning straight to her core.

Willow, you just broke up with your boyfriend. This is because of the champagne.

So what if it is? What does it matter?

He’s a complete stranger!

A stranger who’d seen her going into Eden, who’d followed her when she’d left. A tall, strong, dangerous looking man with eyes she could lose herself in forever, with fingers that sparked electricity on her skin, with a scent that had suffused her and teased at all her favorite things. Just these little touches produced so much more sensation than Eli had ever made her feel.

But this man was still a stranger.

It took everything in Willow to make herself step backward, to cut off that physical contact and put a little distance between them. The path he’d traced over her skin went cold. She glanced past him and brought her hands up to her middle, wringing her fingers. “Why did you follow me?”

“You looked distressed.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned his hip against the railing. “I’m not going to hurt you, Violet. No need to be afraid.”

Willow tilted her head and stared at him blankly. “That’s what they all say before they kidnap you, cut you into little pieces, and hide the evidence at the bottom of the river.”

He arched a brow and glanced down at the water. “Is that what happened? He promised not to hurt you, then cut up your heart and threw it away?”

Tears again stung her eyes, and she fought hard to keep them from falling. She faced the river and returned her hands to the railing. “You could say that.”

He shifted to stand beside her, curling his hand next to hers. Silver rings of varying size and design adorned his fingers. One was set with a ruby gemstone, and the full knuckle ring on his middle finger was shaped like a claw.

“Sounds like a piece of shit,” he said.

Willow let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, that’s Eli.” She rubbed the toe of her shoe against the curbing. “And I stupidly thought that piece of shit was going to propose tonight.”

“Contemplated revenge yet?”

“No. I just… I don’t want anything more to do with him. I already gave him three years of my life, I don’t want to give him anything more.” Willow cast him a sidelong glance. “Why do you care? You could be doing anything right now, so why stand here listening to some stranger’s relationship problems?”

The man snickered, and his hand inched closer to hers, rings lightly scraping the railing. “I keep my plans malleable. When an opportunity arises, I take it. And tonight, I’m going to help you get forget him.”

Willow looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

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