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Stop!

She straightened up in a flash. Was that her who warned or had it been Michael?

“Don’t think. Don’t think,” she scolded herself.

Don’t think!

She gasped. That wasn’t her.

Scrub yourself and be done,she silently warned herself and shook her head. She had to stop thinking or at least focus on something benign.

Snow. Think about snow; swirling snowflakes, mounds of snow, stinging cold.

Like Michael’s touch.She shivered at the thought, though the hot water pelted her skin.

“Think of something hot,” she admonished in a whisper.

Michael was a hot hunk.

Lara dropped her head back and moaned. What was the matter with her that she couldn’t stop thinking about him?Sex. It all came down to sex. Did she, or didn’t she? She obviously wanted to since she had called out and gone to him in her dream. So, what stopped her? Why not have a snowbound fling with a vampire? He certainly didn’t seem an evil creature, though his fangs could argue that point. But they had felt so...she shivered with pleasure, recalling how sensuous his sharp teeth had felt against her neck.

She realized the danger of such thoughts and ordered, “Wash and get dressed before?—”

The lights suddenly shut off, pitching Lara into complete darkness.

CHAPTER 7

Lara froze under the hot spray, goose bumps eating away at her wet skin like tiny, famished bugs. Was it the storm or had someone turned out the lights? Someone? There was only Michael.

What to do? She couldn’t see a thing.

She slammed her hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp when she caught the sound of movement in the room. Michael was here in the bathroom with her. Had he shut off the light? Had her thoughts inadvertently called him to her again?

She shivered at the thought or was it anticipation that had her body quivering?

“Don’t be frightened; I’m here, Lara.”

“Where?” she demanded remaining under the spray, his voice too clear to be in her head, which meant...

“In the room with you,” he said, finishing her thought.

“Why?”

“The generator to this part of the house shut down. It will kick on again, but not for an hour or so. I didn’t want you to be frightened.”

“A little late, I’m already frightened,” she admitted.

“Of the dark or me?”

“You in the dark with a stark naked me in the shower.” She cringed, realizing she had just put a vivid image of her in his head, not that it wasn’t probably already there.

“Is that an invitation?”

Part of her wanted to scream yes, come join me, but she forced herself to say, “No.”

“Your thoughts not only tell me differently, but so does your body. I can feel the quiver of passion stirring in you. I can hear the soft hum of your sensitive nub waiting to be touched and smell the intoxicating scent of the wetness that grows between your legs.” He laughed. “Tightening your legs will not keep me from touching you, though I would much prefer to explore your unique taste with my tongue.”

Her legs buckled and she spread her arms out, one hand bracing against the wall and the other the shower stall glass door to keep herself from collapsing.