Chapter 4

Tourmaline fought the temptation to roll her eyes, thinking they certainly grew them breathtakingly big around here, not to mention gorgeous, but obviously not too bright.

“What. Do. You. Want?” she asked slowly, enunciating each word with patronizing precision. She hoped that he would understand that she was not at all liking this situation. After all, this condition could not be to anyone’s liking at all.

He blinked, and then the corner of his mouth suddenly twitched, and a smooth spill of surprise warmed her insides at the fact that he’d reacted to her sarcastic tone with humor, rather than anger. Not that she wanted him angry, mind you.

No, all she wanted was for him to leave her alone, so that she could get some sleep, and then get on with her search…while doing her best to forget this fluttery feeling he’d put in her belly. It felt good, damn it—dangerously  good—and that made her more nervous than his primal intensity ever could. Sexual desire was a dangerous trap that couldn’t be trusted any more than the male species could be. She had to find some way to ignore it, no matter how good the rush in her pulse felt, as if she were stretching to awareness after a long, heavy slumber.

Part of her wanted to shout So this is what it’s all about!—while the other part snarled For the love of God, what kind of idiot starts thinking about having sex with a total, behemoth-size stranger?

Apparently her kind, she realized, since she couldn’t get the thought out of her head of what it’d be like to be covered by this sexy-as-hell hunk.

Thunder suddenly rumbled in the distance, signaling an approaching storm, bringing with it the crisp scent of rain. Tourmaline glanced toward the swollen sky, and then softly, in a tone completely unlike her, she heard herself  say, “It looks like a storm’s coming. You wanted to talk, so talk, before it starts to rain.”

He looked up, staring at the sky…at the moon, and when he lowered his head, once again trapping her in the piercing intensity of his stare, the look in his eyes burned even brighter, as though that silver gaze was somehow  glowing, fired with heat from within. Glowing eyes?

She blinked, shaking her head, knowing she needed more sleep. God, she’d been pushing herself so hard, she was getting delusional.

After what seemed like forever, he finally asked, “What are you doing here?”

The gravelly sound of his voice raised chill bumps on her arms, and she resisted the urge to reach out and smooth the deep furrows between his brows, then the harsh lines of frustration bracketing his sensual mouth.

Instead, she reached up to the visor and took down Sapphire’s picture, holding it up for him to see. “I’m looking for this girl. She’s my sister. Have you seen her?”

He glanced at the photo that had been taken on Sapphire’s last birthday. “No. Never set eyes on her before. She isn’t here.”

“Well, I’m not leaving until I’ve found her.”

He drew in a slow, deep breath, taking a step closer to the bus, bringing the details of his ruggedly gorgeous face into a sharper focus. The ink-black hair, cut severely short, emphasizing that spectacular bone structure. The dark, mesmerizing glitter of those heavy-lidded eyes. The strong line of his nose, as well as the shadowed hollows of his cheeks. Each detail was almost painfully beautiful, and yet, perfectly masculine.

The air seemed to crackle between them, as if something was building…growing stronger, layer upon layer upon layer, each one gaining in intensity. Something powerful and electric that you couldn’t see—that you could only feel…sense. His breathing grew deeper, his chest rising and falling as if he were exerting some kind of physical effort, when he only stood there…staring…watching.

The way he suddenly shoved his hands back in the pockets of his jeans caught her attention, and she could have sworn he was struggling for some kind of control over himself as he asked, “What makes you think your sister is here, on our mountain?”

Instead of answering his question, Tourmaline returned the photo to the visor and posed one of her own. “Our mountain? What, you own it?”

He shrugged those impossibly broad shoulders, and her eyes snagged on the intricate design of the tattoo swirling over his right biceps, just visible beneath the tight stretch of his sleeve. It made her heart beat even faster. She had seen handsome men before but they did not even hold candle to the guy who was standing right in front of her, it was just like every female’s fantasy of the night come true in the best way possible. He was a yummy and delicious combination of such sexiness that he should be banned from the sight of women.

“In a way, yes. This is private property.”

A sick feeling swept through her stomach. “Your boy soldiers over there claimed the same thing, but I don’t see how you can own an entire mountain. And I was on a public highway,” she argued.

“Which you then turned off of,” he explained, his voice a low, mesmerizing rumble, “and onto a private road.” He arched one dark brow as he added, “I assume you missed the clearly marked signs when you exited the main highway a few miles back?”

“Must have,” she said tightly, wondering what the hell  she was going to do. “So what now? Are you going to waste your night trying to kick me out of here, or go back to wherever you came from and leave me alone?”

“I’m not going to try anything,” he murmured, while something that almost looked like regret flickered through those beautiful gray eyes. “I am kicking you out of here.”

With a tired sigh, Tourmaline shook her head again. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but you aren’t leaving me much choice. In fact, you’re acting like a complete and total ass.”

Then she lifted the pistol from her lap…and pointed the barrel right at him.