I felt its warmth, its power and its promise.
So many times I only dreamed you were there.
Then the dream came true . . .
Chapter One
So many dreams and so many years waiting in painful anticipation.
WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA
She couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
Isabelle Martinez watched the male across the bar as he lifted the frosted bottle of beer and drank. He placed the mouth of the bottle at his parted lips, tilted his head back and seemed to relish the cold bite of the liquid.
The strong column of his throat worked lazily before he lowered the bottle, allowing his gaze to sweep the room. As though he hadn’t been watching every movement possible in the small bar before and while he’d taken that drink.
Shaggy blond hair fell to his broad shoulders while the formfitting black of the uniform he wore shifted over his muscles with each move.
Mission uniform, that was what they called it, she thought in fascination. The black material wasn’t skintight, it was simply formfitting, and it set him apart as exactly what he was—a lethal weapon. A creature no man nor beast should be stupid enough to confront.
“I double-dare you,” her sister whispered at her ear.
Chelsea simply had no idea what she was doing.
“Not going to work, Chel.” Liza, her best friend, laughed from across the table. “She doesn’t have the guts to go for it. I told you, Holden drained the courage right out of her.”
The mention of Holden Mayhew had a dark, sickening feeling slicing through her and sent an icy chill down her spine. His gaze slid past hers, then sliced back, his eyes locking with hers for a second that seemed to last a lifetime as he motioned the bartender almost absentmindedly.
Isabella licked her lips nervously, and his eyes were on the action like a cat on a mouse.
A coyote on a rabbit.
Predatory.
Narrowed and dark. Were his eyes black or a blue so dark that the distance made them appear black? From where she sat and the shadows cast from the distance between them they could have been any color from dark brown to blue. One thing was certain, they were intent and gleaming with interest as they met hers.
He held her gaze now, though, as he lifted the ice-filled glass the bartender set at his side and brought it to his lips.
His eyes, narrowed and focused, remained locked with hers, mesmerizing her, holding her as no other man ever had.
Oh sweet Lord.
She could feel her breathing escalate, lust clawing at her senses as his lips touched the rim of the glass and he sipped the liquid before returning the glass to the bar.
Whiskey?
Of course.
The bartender topped off the drink, no doubt hoping for one of the tips it was rumored Breeds were prone to give.
It was one of the finest brands, and her favorite.
“Couldn’t you just eat him up,” Chelsea murmured at her side. And she could. One slow, luscious lick at a time.
“Come on, Isa.” Liza breathed out in awe. “It’s not like you can get a disease from him. Or get pregnant. Remember, their wives have to actually take those pills to get pregnant.”
Isabelle didn’t bother glancing over at her friend.