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knew the exact moment he became aware of her stare because he stilled, his large frame visibly tensing. The hand on his thigh reached for his sunglasses so he could push them up. As they lifted, they caught the overly long lock of glossy black hair that fell over his brow and took it with them.
    Their eyes met. Electricity arced through the space between them. She shivered. The bottle of glass cleaner fell from her nerveless fingers and thudded on the linoleum floor.
    “Wow . . .” Janice’s voice breathed the awe Eve felt. “He’s got to be famous.”
    Eve didn’t break eye contact. She couldn’t. “Why?”
    “No normal guy is that fucking hot.” Janice blew out her breath. “Hey!”
    Fingers snapped in front of Eve’s face.
    “Huh?”
    “Stop staring at him. You’re going to give him ideas.”
    “Maybe I
want
him to have ideas.”
    Janice yanked her around and glared at her with narrowed green eyes. “Evie, no. First off, that guy is way out of your league. Second, he’s too old for you. Third, everything about him screams bad news.”
    The rumble outside stopped and Eve looked back over her shoulder. He stood beside the bike—watching her.
    “Listen, Eve. You have the worst luck with guys, worse than me, and that’s saying something. But this guy—hunky as he is—is serious trouble. Look at him. Men that look like that . . .” Janice snorted. “I see him, and I see teen pregnancy and welfare.”
    That’s not what Eve saw when she looked at him. She didn’t know what it was, but something inside her was so drawn to him that she felt an invisible string pulling her, urging her to close the distance between them.
    Hi,
she mouthed, trying to smile, but failing. There was nothing to smile about.
    His jaw tensed, his hand fisting at his side. His dark gaze was hot. Burning. No man had ever looked at her with that level of intensity. As if nothing in the world existed but her.
    Biting her lower lip, she willed him to come closer.
Talk to me. Come on.
    She saw the nearly imperceptible shake of his head. He yanked his shades back down, shielding his eyes. He ignored her as he remounted his bike and restarted the engine. But she knew he still felt her stare.
    He rode away without another glance in her direction.
    The feeling of inexplicable loss stayed with Eve for days after he left.
      A wet cloth swiping over Eve’s skin brought her to a distant awareness. The whirring ceiling fan blew air across the lingering dampness, cooling her fevered skin. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth and her hand lifted to her parched throat. As her forearm crossed her chest, she realized she was naked and groaned, hating the feeling of helplessness.
    “Here.” A thickly muscled arm slipped beneath her shoulders and raised her to meet the edge of a drinking glass. Her lips parted gratefully and ice water filled her empty stomach, causing her to shiver. Burning hot outside, freezing cold inside.
    Inhaling a spicy exotic scent that was unmistakable, she croaked, “Alec?”
    “In the flesh.” He mantled her body, his hip pressed to hers as he sat on the edge of the bed.
    “I-I don’t want you to see me . . . l-like this. Go away.”
    Pressing a kiss to her brow, Alec followed her down to the pillow. Silken strands of his hair stroked over her hypersensitive skin. Pleasure flowed through her. Familiar pleasure. Longed-for pleasure. Contradicting her order to leave, her hand lifted to his thick hair. Her fingers slid deep into the glossy locks, her palm cupping the back of his head to keep him close.
    “I feel like shit,” she muttered.
    “I know. I’m sorry, angel. Women always take the Change hardest.”
    “What . . . what change?”
    “Hush,” he soothed, wiping her forehead with the wet washcloth. “Sleep now. I’ll take care of you.”
    Her nipples throbbed as if pinched by clamps, the ache boring deep. Her hands moved to them, covering the puckered tips with her palms. A large, warm hand