Sweet Temptation

David’s words simmered in her consciousness. Someone bumped into her, and she panicked, shoving away. She yelled hoarsely and fell to her knees. She crawled and pushed herself up, fighting to stay conscious.

Where were Julie and Nathan?

The room was a blur and going darker by the minute. She ran into a hard back, bounced off and went down again.

“Angelina?”

The voice boomed in her ear, and she went weak with relief. Strong hands hoisted her up, and she latched onto Nathan’s arms with fervent desperation.

Nathan and Julie’s worried faces swam into view. Her knees buckled again, and Nathan caught her. He swept her into his arms and hurriedly shouldered his way off the dance floor.

The room passed in an indecipherable haze. Her head lolled back, and she lay limp and unresisting against his chest.

What if it had been someone else? Another man? She would have been powerless. A tear slipped down her cheek.

Nathan burst out of the club into the cooler night air. He stopped at his truck and stared urgently down at her.

“Angelina, can you hear me? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Someone ... someone drugged me,” she slurred.

More tears slid helplessly down her cheeks. Then everything went black.

CHAPTER 16

Nathan stared down at Angelina’s unconscious form in shock. “Son of a bitch! Julie, get my keys out of my pocket. You’ll have to drive. Get us to the damn hospital.”

Julie fumbled with his jeans and yanked out the keys. She unlocked the passenger side first so he could climb in with Angelina, then she hurried around to the driver’s side.

“Is she going to be okay?” Julie asked in a quivery voice as she pulled out of the parking lot.

Nathan smoothed a hand over Angelina’s cheek and then her neck, almost afraid he wouldn’t find a pulse. When it beat strong and steady against his fingertips, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“This could have been you, goddamn it,” he seethed. “Never again, Julie. You don’t ever go in a place like that without me. You got that?”

It was a testament to how frightened she was that she didn’t argue. She nodded and didn’t give him any grief over his dictate.

“Will she be okay?” Julie asked again.

She took a corner too fast and fishtailed as she overcorrected.

“Slow down, honey,” Nathan said in a soothing voice. “She’ll be fine I think. Her pulse is strong. I don’t know what she was given.”

Julie shuddered. “You think it was one of those date rape drugs? God, Nathan, what if she hadn’t found us?”

“Shhh honey, don’t torture yourself. The important thing is she kept her wits and did the smart thing. We’ll take care of her.”

“We should call Micah,” Julie said anxiously. “He’d want to know even if he’s avoiding her.”

“Of course he wants to know. He’s hooked. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

She shot him a curious look. “Sort of like you when you kept ignoring me?”

He made a low sound of amusement. “There wasn’t ever a time you didn’t have me hooked.”

She smiled, her entire face lighting up. Hell. Did she still harbor doubts as to whether or not the sun rose and set at her feet?

“When this is over, you and I are going to have a long talk,” he said. “With you underneath me. Naked.”

If possible her smile became even more brilliant. Then her gaze dropped to Angelina, and her eyes dimmed.

“Who could have done this to her, Nathan?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Micah is going to be furious.”

Micah strode into the emergency room so tense he was about to explode. He stopped at the front desk and uttered two words.

“Angelina Moyano.”

The clerk looked startled, but she clicked around on her computer. “She’s still here in the ER. There’s someone back with her already, though. You’ll have to wait out here.”

“The hell I will,” he muttered.

He walked toward the door leading to the exam rooms, ignoring the clerk’s cries for him to stop. He nearly bumped into a nurse.

“Angelina Moyano?”

“Room eight,” the nurse said as she continued on her way.

Micah hurried down the hall and stopped outside the room. The door was slightly ajar, and he could see Nathan sprawled in one of the chairs.

He shoved open the door, his gaze searching for Angelina. He ignored Julie and Nathan and went straight to the bed where Angelina lay.

Her eyes were closed, but she looked anything but at peace. Her forehead was wrinkled and a frown turned down the corners of her mouth. Her fingers clutched at the thin sheet as if she was seeking protection. She looked afraid and so very vulnerable.

He laid his hand over her forehead and gently threaded his fingers through the strands of hair falling over her face. He stroked gently, trying to ease the lines of strain furrowed into her skin.

Something inside of him unlocked. Dark and primitive. Possessiveness roared through his system like an out-of-control train.

Mine.

The word rolled over his tongue, begging for release. It shook him to his core. She wasn’t his. She couldn’t be his, but on some level he recognized her.

His.

No one else would have her.