Donna Grant

SMOLDERING HUNGER

Coming soon from

St. Martin’s Paperbacks!

It was his eyes.

Yes, his eyes. Those deep orbs the color of rich, dark chocolate. He hadn’t tried to be glib or charming. He simply was.

Was that what drew her? Was it because he told her the truth, uncaring what she thought of him? She hadn’t known men were capable of such things.

He hadn’t flirted with her or tried to be charismatic. In fact, he had said very little the first time and nothing at all the second.

Instead, his large hand had cupped the back of her head and held it while he kissed her mindless. Her senses had been assaulted with his taste, his heat, his desire, and his smell. Even now she had only to think of sandalwood and chills raced over her skin.

Sophie blinked and found herself staring at her reflection through the small mirror in her locker. Her eyes were dilated, her lips parted, and her chest heaved.

Her sex ached to feel Darius’s length slide inside her once more, to have him thrust hard and fast. Her breasts swelled and moisture soaked her panties.

My God. What was wrong with her?

He rode you good.

Sophie slammed her locker shut and turned on her heel. It was past midnight, and she wanted a few hours of sleep before she was back at the hospital for her next shift.

On her way out, she stopped by to check on the woman whose husband had beat her. The woman refused to press charges or to realize that if she didn’t take some kind of action, she could end up dead.

Sophie paused by the door when she heard voices within. She peered around the corner to see a man with her. He was crying, swearing he would never do it again.

How many times had he said those same words? By the woman’s medical records and all her broken bones, it had been many, many times.

Sophie had done her part. She gave the woman the same advice they gave every victim of domestic violence. The ball was in the woman’s court. Sophie could only pray that she took a stand and got her life back.

As she walked out of the hospital, Sophie felt the wind hit her face with a blast of cold air. A light snow had fallen two days ago, and more was on the way. Even after seven years, she still wasn’t accustomed to the harsh Scotland winters.

Still flushed from her thinking of Darius, she didn’t bother to button her coat. Her heels clicked on the cobblestones as she made her way to the street.

Unable to help herself, she glanced to the spot where she and Darius had given in to their passion. The shadows hid the location, but she didn’t need lights to know where it was.

For a short time, Sophie had forgotten her past and the betrayals that had shaped her into who she was. For a brief space she had just been Sophie. A woman who craved Darius’s touch like she needed air.

And it had felt so good to give in to that.

She looked at the ground and swallowed. Damn Darius for showing up again. And damn her own mind for not being able to forget about him.

When she raised her head, her eyes clashed with chocolate ones. Sophie halted inches from running into Darius. She gripped her purse in one hand and her bag in the other while she wondered what to do.

“Walk around me,” Darius said.

She frowned, anger cutting through her. Hadn’t he been the one to come to the hospital, her place of work? Wasn’t he the one in front of her now?

“Keep walking, Sophie. I’ll find you later and explain,” he said in a low voice.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, making sure she ran into him hard enough to throw him off balance. Why had she romanticized their dalliance? Why had she once more found herself making a man into something he wasn’t?

Darius had told her he wasn’t a good man. Yet she had gone and made him out that way in her mind. All those nights dreaming of him, of the passion and desire, had created a man in her head who couldn’t possibly exist.

After this run-in with Darius, Sophie was sure he would be well and truly out of her mind for good. She didn’t have the time or inclination for men like him.

She opted to walk home instead of taking her usual cab. The air was brisk, and with the snow coming, it might be her last chance for a while. The walk felt good despite her feet hurting from two back-to-back shifts.

Sophie was beyond exhausted by the time she entered her flat. She tossed down her keys, purse, and bag at the entryway table. Then she hung up her coat and kicked off her shoes on the way to the bathroom.

She was unbuttoning her shirt when she paused to turn on the water for the bathtub. After her clothes were in the hamper, she walked naked to the tub and poured a large portion of bubble bath in before lighting the candles set all around the claw-foot tub.

While the water filled, she turned on some music and shut off the lights. Her newest favorite was the soundtrack to Outlander. She climbed into the tub with the haunting melody playing in the background.

Sophie sighed as she leaned back and let the water and bubbles surround her. When the water was high enough, she turned it off with her foot.

Her eyes were closed as she relaxed. Slowly the tension and stress began to ease from her muscles. Her head lolled to the side. She was so tired she could fall asleep right there. The only thing that would’ve made everything perfect was wine.

And Darius.

With the music playing, Sophie couldn’t help but think of Darius. She had come across a few Highlanders while in Edinburgh, but none of them compared to Darius. She hadn’t even had to ask him if he was a Highlander.

It was in the way he held himself, the way he spoke. It was a look upon them that couldn’t be faked or copied. Whatever made a man a Highlander was in his blood, in his very soul.

Movies and romance books loved to have Highlanders as heroes. Truth be told, Sophie had always found herself drawn to such men. Highlanders valued loyalty, honesty, and family. The alphas who would give their very lives for those they loved.

At one time she had dreamed of finding such a man for herself. She hadn’t actually thought it would be a Highlander, however. She had been content with finding her man closer to home.

That’s what she got for thinking men were like those portrayed in film and books. Those were characters written by those who crafted them. They weren’t real people.

Darius was the closest she had ever come to finding those heroes she used to read about. Then he proved he was as flawed as she was. Which was a good thing. She needed that so she didn’t find herself wanting him in her life.

She didn’t need anyone. Hadn’t needed anyone in seven years, and that wasn’t going to change. She lived her life the way she wanted without having to answer to anyone or take their bullshit.

It was just the way she wanted it.

Liar.

Sophie silenced her subconscious with a vicious kick. She knew exactly what she wanted, and though a quick tumble with Darius had done wonders for her mentally and physically, she knew better than to think of more.

She shifted in the tub and saw the candles flicker through her closed eyelids. Sophie opened her eyes, her mouth falling open when she saw Darius leaning against her sink watching her.

“What…? How…? There’s no…” she began, only to find her brain had shut off.

His gaze blazed with unreserved longing while his hands gripped the sink tightly. Despite his lounging, his body was strung as tight as a bow.

How long had he been in her bathroom? How had she not heard him come in? And what did he want?

Regardless of the questions running through her head, none made it past her lips. Sophie fought against the tide of desire that swept over her. It didn’t help, by the way, Darius looked at her as if he were about to throw her over his shoulder and take her to the bed to make love to her.