Excerpt:

Turning on her side, Natalya closed her eyes, willing herself to push all thoughts of the investigation to the back of her mind. A sound coming from the window made her jolt upright. Sniffing the air, she caught a whiff of a demon. Her fangs elongated. Before she could get to her feet, a hand covered her mouth.


Her instincts kicked in. Thrusting up with her knee, she aimed for the groin. She rolled off the bed onto the wood floor, taking her attacker with her.


They both landed with a thud.


“Watch it, Dubrosky. You don’t want to damage the jewels. Keep it up and you’ll wake the whole damn house.” Teague’s masculine scent invaded her nostrils, a combination of sandalwood and pure male. The familiar scent comforted her, and sent a shock of heat up her arm, melting through her pj top.


“Teague? What are you doing sneaking into my room? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” His warm body pressed against hers and unwanted arousal left a hot tingle along her skin.


“I need to talk to you and it couldn’t wait.” She looked up into his blue eyes and they filled with storm clouds.


“How did you get in here?” Her voice came out huskier than she intended. For some reason the question seemed to make his horns turn darker, accentuating the broken one right at the tip. The imperfection made him even more attractive, and gave him character. She’d heard once upon a time that he’d been a fearsome warrior on another plane. Her fingers curled at her side with the urge to run her fingers over the tip. Had he injured himself in battle?


“Through the window. I knew I’d find you awake. I expected to find you hanging upside down.”


Very funny. “If you came here to insult me then maybe you should go out the way you came. What’s wrong with you?” She couldn’t think straight having him this close. He radiated a palpable sexual energy that was hard to ignore. Teague stayed pressed up against her body. She could hear the rush of his blood and the hiss of his breath.


“Do you want the short list or the long one? My apologies for the drop by, but there’s a lead I’m following up on and it couldn’t wait. I should’ve called first. You’re right by the way. I’m an asshole, but the reports prove I’m not a killer.” The sincerity in his voice took her by surprise. Did he make jokes as an outlet for his pain? A better question, why wasn’t he moving? And why didn’t she want him to?


“You never mentioned that you had a history with the vic.” He could’ve let her rot in prison, but instead he pushed to get her into rehab? In Natalya’s experience, there were only a select few in law enforcement who cared enough to go the extra distance.


“I didn’t think it was important at the time. We go back a long way.” A deep sigh fell from his lips. “I can’t believe she’s gone.” The vulnerability in his eyes drove a stake through her last shreds of caution. Her pulse quickened by the confidant way he held her, like he had every right to keep her there for as long as he wanted. And more importantly, like he’d never hurt her, but go out of his way to protect her at all costs.


If he’d helped Andee turn her life around, then maybe she’d been wrong about him after all. Could there be some chinks in his hard-ass armor? Her head spun.


“This was too important to talk about over the phone.”


When he didn’t make a move to get up, she cleared her throat. “If you want to keep those ‘jewels’ you seem to be so fond of intact, I suggest you let me up.” Natalya could read his expression in the dark. His lips twisted into a smile. In most cases when a man was this close, let alone on top of her, she’d feel trapped. Panic would set into her limbs, but not with him. Her body became flushed, hot all over. Her breath came out in short little puffs.


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