Page 29 of Dark Embrace
Killian was there, on her right, though an instant ago he had been on her left. She hadn’t seenhimmove.
“He does not approach you?” There was tension inhistone.
“He shrinks back when I face him, as though he is wary of confronting medirectly.”
Killian’s lips drew back, baring his teeth and he prowled around her, blocking her view of the street, using his body as a shield. He made a sound such as she had never before heard—a snarl, a growl, a bestial warning. It made the hackles rise on the back of her neck. He seemed to grow in size, his shoulders broader, his chest wider. Here were threat and power. Here was the man she had sensed lurking beneath the façade. But none of the threat was aimed at her. It was aimed at the street and whatever danger lurked in thedarkness.
“Do you see him?” she asked, hervoicelow.
“Inside, if you please, Sarah,” hesaid. “Now.”
Deciding that she was destined to lose any further argument, she turned and led the way to the front door. It seemed that Killian Thayne would be accompanying her to her room. Modesty, propriety, her good name...she might have presented any of those as reasons he must not come inside. But, in truth, what was the point? The other lodgers in the house on Coptic Street would have no care if she brought a man to her room. She knew for certain that one of the girls did exactly that on a regular basis and slipped Mrs. Cowden an extra shilling each week so that she would turn ablindeye.
Pausing at the door, she looked back at him over her shoulder.Killian.He bid her call him Killian, as she had a thousand times in herdreams.
“You are safe with me,Sarah.”
No, she did notthinkso.
But she knew he meant to reassure her that he was not the one who had chased her through the alleys, andthatwas thetruth.
“You havenohat.”
His eyes narrowed at her observation. “Does the lackoffend?”
Sarah made a soft, chuffing laugh. “Taking offense at some nicety of fashion is a luxury for which I have no use.” She pressed her lips together. “It was only anobservation.”
“Because your pursuer woreahat.”
“Yes. You seek to reassure me, but such reassurance is unnecessary. We already established that you were not mypursuer.”
Killian caught her wrist as she reached for the doorknob. “I am not he. Had I chosen to hunt you, Sarah, you would not have known I was there.” He paused, his lips curving into a dark smile. “And I would havecaughtyou.”
Had I chosen to hunt you.A chill crawled up her spine, one that had nothing to do with the wind or the cold. She looked beyond him to the street once more,thenaway.
“Is it your intent to make mefearyou?”
“Fear me?” He looked appalled. “Quite the opposite, though I have clearly made a hash of it.” His laugh was low and devoid of humor. “Once, I had skill at this. I knew the rules of the game.” The way he looked at her made her breathcatch.
She was left with no doubt that the game he referred to was flirtation. A thrill ran through her, equal parts attraction andwariness.
Seeking to alleviate the tension of the moment, she said, “I shall be lucky if Mrs. Cowden kept a plate for me this evening, but if she did, I will be glad to share my mealwithyou.”
An indecipherable emotion danced across Killian’s features. “Your offer is most kind, but I have...alreadydined.”
The slight hesitation did not go unnoticed, and she wondered what his words masked. He offered nothing further and after a moment, she turned back to unlockthedoor.
She led him inside. The hallway was dark, musty, the paint yellowed and flaking, the floor a tiled geometric pattern of gray and black. Sarah thought that once, many years ago, the pattern might have been white and black, but layers of wear and use and grime had altered the shade. Mrs. Cowden occasionally swiped a mop over the tile with halfhearted interest, but that only served to shift the dirt from left to right and back again. The hallway was so cramped that they could not stand side by side, and Sarah went in first with Killian closebehind.
She felt glad that she was notalone.
No, more than that, glad thathewas here. It was a dangerous and inappropriate gladness that bubbled inside her like the effervescent spring water her father had insisted was good for thehealth.
Turning back, she was confronted by Killian’s cloak-draped form, so broad and tall. He unnerved her. Drew her. Appealed to her on some level she could not explain. His presence made her feel safe. How long since she had feltthatway?
Hoping that her expression betrayed none of her inappropriate thoughts, she reached around him to draw the door closed, an action that brought them far closer together than they ought to be. He was warm, the heat coming from him beckoningtoher.
“How are you so warm?” she asked. “It’s bitingly cold outside, and you’ve been in the wind just the sameasI.”