Read Temptation in Shadows for Free Online Page A

to the stuff. Drank it every chance he got. Hell, he sported a hard-on if he even spotted the yellow fruit.
    At night he thought about pouring lemon juice over her lean body, sprinkling that liquid with sugar, and then feasting. She’d come, he’d come, and then they could do it all over again.
    Seriously. Lemonade was like his own personal brand of cocaine now—which he’d once been addicted to, had spent years in rehab combating, and had sworn never to let himself become so obsessed with a substance again.
Good luck with that.
    “I’m getting nowhere with her,” Rowan said. “You, she watches. You, she kissed.”
    “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” Gabby’s car passed his and he accelerated, staying close enough to her that anyone trying to merge into her lane wouldn’t clip his car because they couldn’t see him. Not that anyone was out and about at this time of night. “She’s mine. I don’t want you touching her.”
    “Finally. The truth. Which is a good thing, because I already called Bill and told him you were gonna be the one to seduce her.”
    “Thanks.” This was one of the reasons he and Rowan were such good friends. “But I thought you were here tonight to keep me
from
her.”
    “First, you’re welcome. Second, I lied. Third, what about that shit about women not being able to trust you?”
    “I’ll deal. She’ll deal.” She would have to. He wanted her, had to have her.
Would
have her.
    Sean had kept his distance from her these pastfew weeks for the mission. Rose Briar needed her secrets, her abilities, after all, and Rowan had been their best bet of getting them.
Had been.
Not anymore. The thought of another man touching her filled Sean with rage.
    A rage so dark even his precious shadows trembled in fear of him.
    Gabby
would
be his. She might be a creature of secrets and gloom, hiding from the world, running from what she could do and what others would do to her if they knew, but there was a better way.
    He would teach her that things could be different. He would prove she wasn’t alone in this. And she would trust him, just as Bill wanted. Sean would not feel guilty about earning that trust, either. He wasn’t only doing it for the job; he was doing it for Gabby. He was going to improve her life.
    She merged onto the highway, accelerating. He followed.
    “What’s the quickest way to gain a person’s trust?” he asked, thinking aloud. He’d never cared enough to try before. But with her, skittish as she was, he would have to do something. Something that would kick-start their relationship without scaring her into self-destruction.
    “This a trick question?”
    “No.”
    “Well, that would be saving their life. You do it once, and they belong to you forever.” Rowan shuddered, as if he had a few clingers he now regretted saving.
    Sean nodded. “That makes sense.” However, he didn’t have the time to wait for real danger to strike. More than that, he didn’t like the thought of Gabbybeing in any sort of peril. A single scratch on that delectable body and he might kill someone.
    “So . . . what are you thinking?” Rowan asked.
    There was only one way to go about things, keeping Sean in control and Gabby safe. “We put Gabby in supposed danger, not for very long, of course, we don’t want her to self-destruct, and I rescue her. We can even create a mystery she can solve, like who wanted to hurt her, forcing her to tell me what she can do with computers.”
    Slowly Rowan grinned. “How devious you are. Wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove. I like it.”
    “Call Bill. See what he thinks. At this rate, a year could pass before she opens up enough to even go on a date with me.”
    As they exited the highway, Rowan withdrew his cell and made the call. Sean tuned out his friend’s voice, concentrating instead on Gabby’s car. He wondered if she had the radio up, if she sang aloud to the songs. Her head was swaying from side to side, as if she was