She saw their eyes, felt their pain, their fear. It would be hard not to. Those photos had been graphic in their detailed imagery of the children’s suffering.
Stepping back from the spray, she opened her eyes quickly, unwilling to see more.
Her parents had always told her she felt things too deeply, that she let things bother her too much. That vulnerability had caused her to get hurt more than once.
She’d never fallen in love though.
She was a virgin, and she had no idea what it felt like to want a man so totally and so completely that she was willing to give up her independence as well as her sense of self for him.
She wasn’t certain she could do it either. She’d spent far too many years holding herself aloof. She wasn’t certain if she could let go now and give herself to any man. And unfortunately, she wasn’t certain if she could give him her body without giving him her heart.
Even for a Breed who stared at her with black-blue eyes and an expression that assured her he held all the secrets of pleasure, and he was more than willing to share.
He was more than willing to show her all the sensual, dominant secrets she dreamed of, and all the fiery pleasure she ached for.
For a price.
Always for a price.
Nothing came for free, her mother had warned her.
There was always a price.
A price for laughing, for loving.
A price for living.
Now she wondered, exactly what was Stygian Black’s price?
CHAPTER 5
Liza hadn’t imagined the situation with Stygian could worsen. Surely she would have had a few days to settle her nerves.
Instead, the next morning he was on her doorstep, dressed in snug jeans and a dark T-shirt, that wicked black Harley parked in her driveway.
She guessed he hadn’t been lying the night before about having one. Not that she had really believed he was.
“Why are you here?” Gripping the door with desperate fingers, she stared back at him with a frown.
A grin curved his lips. “I hoped I could convince you to come out with me this morning.” He glanced at the white shorts that barely covered her thighs before his gaze drifted to the light peach cotton camisole top she wore. “Come on, Liza. Slide some jeans on and live dangerously for a few minutes. You know you want to.”
Oh, she wanted to, more than he could know.
“Not today.” Shaking her head, she backed up and prepared to close the door.
The slight smile on his lips shot a surge of sensation straight to her womb. It clenched with a heavy punch of need and sent that weakening spill of moisture between her thighs once again.
“I’m not dealing with you this morning.”
Releasing the door, she stalked back into the kitchen, searching desperately for a way to fight her reaction to him.
Turning to face him as she reached the sink, Liza’s lips parted breathlessly to find him so close her nose was nearly buried in the cotton of his shirt.
Lifting her eyes, she watched as his arms extended around her, his hands bracing on the cabinet behind her as he blocked her in.
Yeah, there was that dominance that both turned her on and warned her she was walking into the path of more danger than she could have ever imagined.
Her eyes jerked upward, becoming locked with his as his arms remained braced at each side of her, his gaze intent as he watched her closely.