was, she thought, quite the most compelling face she had ever seen.
He was studying her, too, and it made her decidedly uncomfortable. After all, what did she really know about this man? For the first time, it occurred to her that he might be hiding from someone, maybe the police. Why else would he be holed up in this old house? Oh, Lord, her mother always said she was too trusting. Just because Micah was tall and handsome didn't mean he wasn't capable of murder and mayhem.
Suddenly, her imagination running rampant, she visualized him raping her, strangling her, burying her body in the backyard.
She made a big production of looking at her watch. "It's later than I thought. Maybe I should go."
Sensing her sudden apprehension, he backed away from her, hoping the distance between them would ease her mind. "I will not hurt you, Lainey St. John."
"What?"
"I will not hurt you."
Lainey stared into his silver-blue eyes, eyes that reflected a deep sadness, and wondered how he'd known what she was thinking.
"I..." She forced a smile. "I know, but it's late, and I..."
She was going to leave, and he would be alone again. He held out his hand, palm up, in entreaty. "Stay. Please."
As quickly as they'd appeared, her doubts and fears seemed to vanish. "What is it?" she asked, concerned by the odd expression on his face. "What's wrong?"
"I want..." He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and she saw them tighten into fists.
"What do you want?"
"I want very much to hold you."
"You do?"
"I don't wish to offend you, but..."
Lainey's heart skipped a beat as she gazed up at him. The light from the fire played over his face. Never, she thought, never in all her life had she seen such longing, such melancholy, reflected in a man's eyes. "All right."
"You're sure you won't mind?"
"I won't mind," Lainey assured him. Indeed, she had been wishing he would touch her all night.
Feeling as though he were walking through the quicksands of Orizzon, Micah crossed the short distance between them, then gently enfolded Lainey in his arms.
The minute he touched her, Lainey experienced the same sense of peace, of belonging, that had suffused her when she first entered the Grayson house. With a sigh, she pressed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.
He held her close for a moment, and when he would have released her, she wrapped her arms around him. "Don't go."
"I don't want to... to..."
"To what?"
He muttered something in a foreign language, something Lainey thought sounded very much like a curse.
"You don't want to what?" she asked again.
Micah swore under his breath. It was frustrating sometimes, not knowing exactly what word he was looking for. "I don't want you to think the wrong thing."
Lainey smiled up at him. "Are you afraid I'll think you're trying to take advantage of me?''
"I... guess so."
"Oh, Micah, you're so naive. I've been wanting you to hold me all night."
He looked surprised. "Have you?"
Lainey nodded. "I know it's crazy, but I..." She felt a wave of heat wash into her cheeks. "I'm very attracted to you."
His mouth turned up at the corners as the meaning of her words became clear. "I am... attracted to you, too."
Attracted was putting it mildly, he mused. Never before had he held a woman in his arms, or felt the hot stirring of passion as strongly as he did now. But then, there were many emotions he had never truly felt until he came here, to this place. This woman.
He wondered again if his people were still looking for him, or if they had given him up for dead. He had never been truly happy at home and yet, it had been home, as different from this place as sunlight from moonlight.
Answering some deep primal urge, he lowered his head and brushed his lips across her hair. Such wondrous hair. Long and soft and curly. And dark. So dark. So different from his own. So different from that of any woman he had ever known.
He drew her closer, molding her body to his, marveling at the riot of sensations her nearness aroused within him. His breathing grew erratic; his groin fell full and heavy. He was besieged with a violent urge to mate, a desire so strong that it frightened him, just as it would surely frighten her if she became aware of it.
Closing his eyes, Micah commanded his body to relax, commanded his mind to think of something else, something other than the smooth, soft