The Heart of Brody McQuade by Mallory Kane

Author:Mallory Kane [Kane, Mallory]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Contemporary romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, Fiction
ISBN: 9781426818332
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2008-05-31T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Victoria couldn’t breathe. Invisible hands closed around her throat and a soundless voice rasped in her ear. “He used you as bait, but I caught you.” The hands squeezed tighter.

Victoria gasped. She flailed her arms, trying to fend off the faceless attacker. Her chest burned. Her throat hurt. She couldn’t breathe.

Then she woke up.

It took her a couple of seconds to ground herself in reality. She was in Brody’s bedroom. She was safe.

But her face was bathed in sweat, her mouth was dry and her body radiated heat. The tiny bedroom was closing in on her. She needed to get out of there.

To do that she’d have to go past Brody, who was asleep on the couch in his sitting room.

She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. Her heart fluttered in rising panic. Throwing on her kimono, she quietly opened the bedroom door.

The solar lights from the pool area seeped in around the lined curtains and bathed the sitting room in soft golden light. The empty sitting room. Her heart skipped a beat.

Brody wasn’t there.

Settle down, she admonished herself. He was probably in the bathroom or had gotten up to get some water.

Victoria opened the suite door and stepped into the conference room. Cool air swirled around her. She took a long breath—and coughed.

“Vic?”

She jumped. Brody.

“You okay?”

He was standing at the sink, dressed in those truly sexy jeans and no shirt. Shadows planed his long, sleek muscles and the strong bones of his face.

Looking at him, she couldn’t help but remember hearing him earlier, when he’d come into the sitting room. He’d tried to be quiet, but she’d woken up when the door closed.

She’d heard the rustle of clothes and the sound of boots hitting the floor, one at a time.

Finally he’d sunk onto the couch with a soft groan. It had taken her a long time to stop thinking about him lying there not thirty feet away in—what? Those jeans? Boxers? Nothing?

So now she knew the answer to that question.

“I just—” her hand flew to her throat “—just needed some water.”

He opened the under-counter refrigerator, retrieved a bottle and loosened the cap. When he handed it to her his hand brushed hers and her heart fluttered again.

“Couldn’t sleep?” His sleepy voice rumbled through her.

She shook her head. “I had a bad dream.”

“About your attack?”

“And then the room started closing in.” She walked over to the sitting area where she plopped down with her feet tucked under her.

She turned up the bottle and let the cool water slide over her aching throat. “What about you?”

He shrugged and gestured with the bottle in his hand. “Thirsty.”

“I’m sure that couch is uncomfortable. I’m sorry for kicking you out of your bedroom.”

“You’re not kicking me out. I can sleep anywhere.” He propped a hip on the high, overstuffed arm of the leather couch opposite her. “Now, tell me about your dream.”

Victoria touched her throat. “It was nothing. I guess my throat was hurting, so I dreamed that he was choking me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.