Maggie stood rooted to the spot. She didn't knowhim. She was positive she had never seen him before. But he was staring at herasif… asif shewere the most important thing in the universe tohim, and he'd been searching for her for years untilhe'd almost given up hope. She was too astonished to moveashe suddenly erupted from stillness. In three long steps he was in front of her, his handsclosing on her shoulders.
Gently. Not possessively. Butasif he had theabsolute right to do this, andasif he needed toconvince himself she was real.
"It worked. I got through," he said.
He was the most striking person she'd ever seen.Dark hair, a little rough and tousled, with a tendency to wave. Smooth fair skin, elegant bones. A mouth that lookedasif it normally might be proud and willful, but right now was simply vulnerable.
And fearless, brilliant yellow eyes.
It was those eyes that held her, arresting andstartling in an already distinctive face. No, she hadnever seen him before. She would have remembered.
He was a whole head taller than she was, andlithe and nicely muscled. But Maggie didn't have a feeling of being overpowered. There was so muchtender anxiety in his face, and something nearpleading in those fierce, blacklashed golden eyes.
"Listen, I know you don't understand, and I'msorry. But it was so hard getting through-andthere isn't much time."
Dazed and bewildered, Maggie latched onto thelast sentence almost mechanically. "What do you mean-getting through?"
"Never mind. Maggie, you have to leave; do youunderstand that? As soonas you wake up, you getout of here."
"Leave where?"Maggie was more confused than ever, not for lack of information, but because she was suddenly threatened by too much of it. Sheneeded to remember-where had she gone tosleep? Something had happened, something involv ing Miles. She'd been worried about him….
"My brother," she said with sudden urgency. "I was looking for my brother. I need to find him."Even though she couldn't remember exactly why.
The golden eyes clouded over. "You can't thinkabout him now. I'm sorry."
"You know something a-"
"Maggie, the important thing is for you to getaway safe. And to do that you have to go as soonas you wake up. I'm going to show you the way."