His touch opened up something inside her. The barest flicker of recognition deep within. The sense of familiarity was back and she knew, in her soul, that he was telling her the truth. Maybe she would remember him, eventually. But the question was, what exactly would she recall? Was he to be trusted as he said? Or would her memories tell her to stay as far away from the sexually charged man as possible?
“No,” she said softly, meeting that strange gray stare. “I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. I just want to leave.”
“And go where?” He slid his hands up until he was cupping her cheeks in his big palms. She felt the overwhelming rush of heat slicing from his body into hers and she nearly trembled at the force of it.
But she wasn’t going to give in to something that made zero sense to her. “That’s none of your business.”
“Everything about you is my business, Shea.”
She sucked in a gulp of air and the fear she tasted was dark and bitter. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything,” he admitted, “and I will accept nothing less.”
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To Mark, because in one way or another, all of the
books are for you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are a lot of people I’d love to mention here, but then the acknowledgment page would be as long as the book.. . .But some names must be named.
To my husband and family, a huge thank-you for putting up with me when I’m on deadline and for always believing.
Great friends Susan Mallery, Kate Carlisle, Christine Rimmer and Teresa Southwick—as a plot group, you’re all amazing. As friends, you’re all irreplaceable. Thanks so much for keeping me on track.. . .
Thank you to the practicing Wiccans I spoke to during my research. I appreciate all of your time and advice. And thanks for understanding that a fiction writer takes the facts and then spins them the way she wants them to be for her story.
Many thanks to my agent, Donna Bagdasarian, who loved this story and pushed me to make it even bigger—then went out and fought for it.
And a big thank-you to Kerry Donovan, my editor, who helped make this book the best it could be, by asking all the right questions. To Claire Zion and everyone at NAL for all their hard work and their belief in this series. And to the art depertment for the amazing cover—thank you all.
Prologue
After centuries of waiting, Torin’s patience was long dead. The woman he craved was,