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  She listened to the metallic sound of a lock being turned, then the door pulled open, and her breath froze in her lungs.

  Ohmygod. He was so impossibly gorgeous, and she wanted him so very badly—wanted him with every fiber of her being. If she’d had a white flag, she’d have waved it in surrender.

  Jeremy’s hazel eyes darkened when he saw her, the grooves around his mouth tight with strain. “What’s wrong, Jillian? Is everything okay?”

  She opened her mouth, but her throat wouldn’t move. She barely managed a nod, the grin playing at the corners of her mouth feeling shaky and off balance. God, she was so pathetic. Why couldn’t she just grab him and demand he put an end to it?

  Reaching out, Jeremy grabbed her upper arm and pulled her into the small entryway as he kicked the door shut with his foot. “Jillian, say something,” he commanded, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that way that she found so sexy, so intense. “What are you doing here?”

  “I have to talk to you.” She licked her bottom lip, flinching from the chill of her skin, so at odds with the hot burn of anticipation in her cheeks. “I’m sorry for what happened before, at the cabin. I’m just…I mean I…The only thing I know is that I need to be close to you, Jeremy. I’m so tired of being alone. I don’t want to keep fighting it—I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

  His eyes narrowed, the hazel all but lost in the glittering darkness of desire…in the savage burn of a decade spent in hunger. “Are you sure?” he demanded, the set of his mouth grim, determined. “I can’t do this if you’re going to turn away from me again. You have to be sure, Jillian.”

  “I am,” she promised, her voice breathless. “I’m so nervous, Jeremy, but I won’t run. Not again.”

  “It’s about damn time,” he groaned in a ragged tumble of words, sounding like a man who’d been tortured for far too long, and then his strong, powerful arms wrapped around her back, pulling her into the shocking heat and hardness of his body with an urgency that made her cry out. “Shhh,” he crooned, pressing soft, tender, reverent kisses to her lips, her cheekbones, her tear-damp lashes. “I swear, I won’t hurt you, Jillian.”

  The scratchy stubble of his morning beard teased her skin with every word that he spoke, and she lifted her arms, winding them around his strong neck as she tried to climb her way up his body.

  “Shh…” he told her again, when a low, husky moan broke from her throat.

  She blinked up at him. “Wh—”

  “I don’t know if they’ve bugged the house,” he whispered, nipping her chin, the fragile line of her jaw. “And I don’t want anyone but me hearing those sexy little sounds you make.”

  She blushed, and he buried his nose in the curve of her throat, breathing deeply. “God, you smell good.”

  Jillian shook with silent laughter, her eyes hot with tears that surged up from that warm, liquid glow pouring through her, until their surroundings were nothing but a hazy, buzzing nothing. The only point of reference in the world was Jeremy. Her anchor. The thing she kept swimming toward, like a beacon, a light. The source of everything that could make her feel alive. “I t-took a shower before I came over,” she breathed out, the words almost soundless. “It’s my soap. My shampoo.”

  “Uh-uh,” he growled huskily, taking a playful, provocative lick of the sensitive skin beneath her ear. “It’s you. Your skin, your hair, that creamy piece of heaven melting between your thighs. It gets me so hard, I feel dizzy from lack of blood to my brain.”

  She smiled, trembling as a breathtaking burst of happiness welled up inside of her, like the rising of a phoenix from his ashes, making her feel reborn. Jeremy pressed his mouth to hers, kissing his way into her, his tongue wicked and hungry and bold, and then he pulled away with a low, fractured groan. “I don’t want to leave,” he panted, his breathing ragged, “but if I don’t go now, Dylan is going to show up looking for me and I don’t want you to be embarrassed.”

  Shaking her head with confusion, she struggled to make sense out of what he was saying. “You’re leaving? Now? But I thought we could…I mean, I thought we were…”

  “I’m meeting Dylan in town and we’re heading to the Alley for a meeting with Mason,” he whispered in her ear. “I think Mase intends to pressure Dylan about getting more involved with the investigation.”

  “I just…I can’t believe you have to go.”

  “I know, but…maybe it’s for the best.” His voice was rough with lust, and yet soft with tenderness, his lips even softer against her ear. “I’m not taking you like this our first time, up against a goddamn door. I need hours with you, Jillian. Days. Go back home and wait for me. I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Okay,” she said shakily, wondering if she looked as disappointed as she felt. She lowered her gaze and finally noticed that he was wearing a jacket, his long legs already wrapped up in jeans, scarred hiking boots on his feet. If her head hadn’t been in the clouds when he’d opened the door, she would have realized he’d been getting ready to head out.

  His fingers speared into her hair, cradling her skull, and she lifted her gaze to his, trapped by the searing intensity of his stare. “I won’t let you change your mind,” he warned her in a deep, sexy rasp. “Not this time, Jillian. I’m not letting you run away from me anymore.”

  “In case it escaped your notice,” she whispered back, “I ran to you this morning.”

  His dark eyes practically glittered with victory as he stared down at her, the primitive look as possessive as it was male. “And don’t think I’ll ever forget it.” He pressed another tender kiss to her mouth, then lifted his head, a pained expression settling over the rugged beauty of his face. “God, they owe me for this big-time.”

  “Yeah, and you owe me,” she teased.

  Jeremy went completely still, his breath suspended, and the look he gave her all but buckled her knees. His eyes…burned. There was no other word for it. “You better be ready to back those words up when I get back.”

  She didn’t even bother playing coy. “Don’t worry. I will be.”

  He moved in to kiss her again, when a low knock rattled against the door, making her jump. “Do you think that’s Dylan?” she asked, blushing as she slipped to the side so that he could open it.

  “Probably,” he said with a grin, winking at her as he reached for the door.

  * * *

  Standing so that she would be behind the door when it opened, Jillian quickly combed her fingers through her hair, trying to restore it to some kind of order. A wry smile began to curl across her mouth as she thought of what Dylan’s expression would be when he found her at Jeremy’s house so early in the morning, until she heard someone say, “Are you happy to see me?” The words were spoken in a soft, sultry voice, and Jillian froze, blinking in surprise.

  “Happy to see you?” Jeremy repeated, sounding confused.

  “I know you said to call first,” the woman murmured, “but I couldn’t wait to be alone with you again. What we had the other day was too good not to repeat.” Her voice lowered, and she said, “Don’t worry. I made sure no one saw me, since I know you don’t want Jillian to know about us.”

  A shiver slipped down her spine. She knew that voice.

  “Elise,” Jeremy growled, “what the hell are you talking about?”

  “Wh-what do you mean?” she stammered. “Did I come at a bad time?”

  “Looks like it,” Jillian said tightly, stepping out from around the door.

  Elise’s eyes went wide the second she saw her. “Oh god, Jillian, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, her face so pale, she looked like a ghost. “I didn’t know you were there.”

  Elise pressed her hand to her mouth, turned around and ran away from the house, the morning fog swallowing her form by the time she’d reached the end of the drive.

  Jillian stared after her, feeling dead inside. Elise was gone, and now she was left to deal with the man who’d destroyed her for the last time. Her hand pressed over her heart, as if
she could will it to keep beating, despite breaking apart.

  “Jillian, it’s not what you think,” Jeremy said in a low, urgent voice, touching her shoulder.

  “Oh, that’s a good one.” She laughed, hating the thickness of tears she could hear in her throat. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. Didn’t want to let him see how damaged she was. But she was caving in on herself.

  His eyes narrowed, skin tight over his cheekbones. “Just what the hell do you think is going on here?”

  “I don’t have to think anything, Jeremy.” She lifted her arm and pointed at the spot where Elise had disappeared into the fog, and the heavens opened, the rain coming down in a hard, vicious downpour. “I saw it with my own eyes. Heard it with my own ears!”

  “Did you now? And what exactly did you see? A woman I barely know standing at my door, putting on one of the worst acts I’ve ever seen? Jesus,” he growled, ripping his hands through his hair. “Tell me you weren’t buying that load of bullshit.”

  “It didn’t sound like bullshit,” she shot back. “It sounded as if she came here expecting some action.”

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he rasped bitterly, something dark and ugly and painful flashing through his eyes that made her cringe. “Just the neighborhood stud, at your service. If you have an itch, I’m the faithless half-breed who’ll be more than ready to scratch it.”

  “I think I should go now,” she said, the words so soft, they could barely be heard over the slashing rain hammering away at the side of the house.

  “Don’t do this, Jillian.” His voice was low, rough, stripped down to raw emotion.

  “I’m not doing anything, Jeremy. I’m just leaving.”

  His jaw locked, hands fisting at his sides. “Ten years ago, I asked you to believe in me, to have faith, not to turn your back on me, and you did it anyway. I won’t ask you again, Jillian. If you walk out that door, I’m leaving. And this time, I’m never coming back. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  She could feel the salty sting of tears spilling down her face, but couldn’t stop them. His urgency tugged at her heart, but she didn’t trust herself. And obviously, she didn’t trust him. “There isn’t any other way.”

  “When you realize how wrong you are, it’ll be too late.” His words rang with solid, uncompromising finality, making her flinch. “When you learn the truth and want to come after me, don’t.”

  She nodded and stepped out the door, the first drop of rain settling on her cheek like a tear. “Do me a favor and be careful,” he said to her back, his tone brittle and cold. “Until this nightmare is over, Shadow Peak isn’t safe, not even for you.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  A bitter sound jerked past his lips, angry and hard. “Yeah, you do that.”

  Jillian walked down his drive, down the street, making her way home cocooned within a thick, impenetrable bubble, not even feeling the rain that soaked through her clothes, drenching her. She walked up her front steps, opened her front door and locked it behind her.

  Then she slipped to the floor in a wet, sodden puddle, and buried her face in her hands.

  Chapter 14

  Dragging her wilted body through her front door the following afternoon, Jillian dropped her jacket on the living-room floor, not even bothering with the peg on the wall. Not wanting any interruptions, she managed to make it to the kitchen so that she could take her phone off the hook, then powered off her cell and tossed it onto the table along with her keys. After that, she kicked off her rain-soaked shoes, stumbled into the living room and collapsed on her sofa. Staring at the blank screen of her television set, she shook her head in amazement at the day she’d already had.

  She’d awakened that morning feeling like death warmed over. After standing beneath the burning spray of the shower until the hot water ran cold, she’d wrapped herself up in her robe and cuddled up on her sofa, staring at nothing…while her mind tortured her by running through yesterday’s wrenching scene, over and over and over.

  She didn’t know how long she might have stayed like that, if Sayre hadn’t come knocking at her door. She hadn’t seen her little sister since the night of the challenge fight, and it seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then, so much had changed, and yet, so much had remained exactly the same.

  Jillian had no doubt that rumors were flying around town about what had happened the morning before, so she guessed she should have been expecting her sister to stop by and check up on her. Like a merciful angel, Sayre had come bearing fresh baked cinnamon rolls, steaming cups of coffee and a friendly face to take her mind off Jeremy.

  Of course, once they’d finished their breakfast, she’d learned that Jeremy was exactly what Sayre had wanted to talk about. Amazingly, her sister refused to believe that Jeremy Burns wasn’t madly in love with her, and argued her case with the same boundless energy that she did everything in life.

  By the time Sayre had left, Jillian had felt more confused than ever. She’d just gotten dressed and cuddled up on her sofa again when another round of knocking, this one pounding and hard, had rattled her door. Praying it wasn’t her mother, she’d shuffled to the door, blinking in stunned surprise at the sight of Danna Gibson standing on her front porch.

  “If you’re here to try and kill me again—” she’d sighed “—can it wait ’til tomorrow?”

  “I know you have every right to hate me, and I don’t blame you,” Danna had said in a low, ragged voice, and Jillian had suddenly realized how devastated the other woman looked. “But…I need your help.”

  Jillian had blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You need my help?”

  Danna had given a jerky nod, her expression strained while dark circles gave her eyes a hollow appearance. “It’s about Carly, my little sister. She’s been missing for over a week. We didn’t tell anyone, because we…we didn’t know what she was doing and we figured she was with a friend of hers named Melissa who went missing at the same time.” She’d rolled her shoulder in an angry gesture, and pushed both hands back through the tangled mess of her hair. “Melissa brought Carly home last night, and she’s hurt. I can’t get the bleeding to stop and I don’t know what to do. I know I’ve been a bitch to you and that you must hate me, but I need you to come and help her. Please.”

  “Where’s she bleeding?” she’d asked, already grabbing her sneakers from beside the front door and pulling them on her bare feet.

  “I think she’s been raped,” Danna had said, her voice breaking as a dry, choking sob broke from her throat. “She says she was with some human guys down in Covington, but I think it was…I think she was with some of the rogues everyone’s whispering about. The guy she was dating, he got in tight with Simmons before Simmons turned. I warned her to stay away from him, but you know how well teenagers listen,” she’d groaned, while Jillian grabbed her jacket and pulled it on.

  “Did you drive here?” she’d asked, grabbing her house keys. Danna had nodded, and Jillian had locked her front door behind her, the brutal chill of the morning freezing her to the bone as they’d run to Danna’s car parked on the side of the road. They’d made it to Danna’s parents’ house within minutes, and the rest of the morning had gone by in a gruesome, nightmarish blur. Carly had been in bad shape, but Jillian had finally been able to stop the bleeding and get the teenager’s condition stabilized. She’d tried, while healing her, to get an idea of who was behind the crime, but the details had been fragmented in Carly’s mind, nothing but a chaotic jumble of brutal, horrifying images.

  The young Lycan was going to be weak for a while, but her body would heal, and with the support of her family, hopefully her spirit would, as well.

  Since the rain was coming down hard again, Danna had driven her back home. After they’d pulled to the curb in front her house, she’d reached for the door handle, ready to climb out, when Danna had leaned over and grabbed hold of her elbow.

  Casting a questioning look back at the Lycan, Jillian had lis
tened with a wary sense of caution as Danna had said, “There’s something I want to tell you.”

  Hoping like hell the woman wasn’t about to challenge her to a fight on her front lawn, she’d asked, “What is it, Danna?”

  The other woman had swallowed, her complexion turning a sickly shade of green, before croaking, “I didn’t…I’ve never…Hell, this isn’t easy. I’ve never been much good at apologizing, but I want you to know that I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted.”

  Jillian knew she couldn’t have been more shocked in that moment if she’d been whacked upside the head with a shovel. “Uhh…thanks.”

  “There’s more,” Danna had muttered, taking her hand from Jillian’s elbow and crossing her arms over her bountiful chest.

  “Okay.”

  Her mouth grim, Danna had growled, “Burns never touched me once you came back to town.”

  Jillian had blinked, shaking her head in confusion.

  “Not once, and believe me, I used to try everything to get him to break. We all did, even most of your so-called friends. But after you came home from school, he wouldn’t even look twice at any of us. I just thought it might help for you to know that. You deserve the truth, after everything you did for Carly.”

  Somehow, Jillian had managed to struggle past her shock long enough to stammer, “I—I don’t know what to say.”

  Danna had given a weary laugh. “Hey, like I said, I owe you the truth after what you did today. And who knows. Maybe your boy is one of the few exceptions to the golden rule that men are pigs.” A wistful look had entered her weary eyes, and the corner of her wide mouth had actually tipped in a smile. “God knows it’d give me hope to think that there’s at least one man out there who knows how to keep his pants zipped when away from home.”

  “Thank you, Danna, for telling me the truth,” Jillian had murmured numbly, and finally climbed out of the truck.

  Now, as she sat on her sofa, exhausted from the long hours spent healing Carly, Jillian accepted that she didn’t know with any certainty if Danna’s story was true—and if it was, then she had to accept that the person who’d told her about Danna and Jeremy all those years ago had lied. For all she knew, Danna felt guilty and was simply trying to ease her conscience. She had no proof, no evidence. No, the only way she would ever truly know the truth was if she looked into Jeremy’s mind, but that was never going to happen.