Montegard Trilogy 1: Shadow Demon by Diane Taylor

Heat Rating: Fire

Content Warning: Moderately explicit sex scenes. Violence.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but for Terri Montegard, it's a death warrant.

My attack was short lived, however, as he shifted his weight around and captured my left hand with his own, squeezing the tendons so the weapon dropped. He moved back to his original position on top of me, roughly maneuvering my hands to completely immobilize me. It's frustrating when you can't move or do much else but lay there quietly. The hand still covering my mouth turned my head to one side to view the danger, missed in my struggle. A shadow, furtive and seeking, moved from tree to tree. Then he turned my head to the other side, lifting my face slightly to give me a limited view of the area there, holding my head still long enough for me to recognize the camouflaged mound for what it really was. Danger, if I made any more noise. Freezing in place, I nodded my head a tiny fraction of an inch.

I felt his lips move extremely close to my ear. "I'm going to remove my hand now. If you value your life, and that pretty face of yours, you will remain absolutely still and don't scream."

His voice sounded strangely familiar to me. Relaxing into the loam, I inhaled through my nose, blinking in surprise. Sandalwood. Great. Just great. First the bad guys and now this. Not in any position to argue, my head lowered a fraction of an inch. The hand slowly left my mouth. My imagination must have been on overdrive as I felt his fingertips caressing my lips, then along my cheekbone.

Then again, maybe not. The harsh breathing next to my ear told me this was no dream. More like a molten fire that ignited the heat in my blood. It was a battle not to shiver as his hands found the sensitive area below my ear. Tiny electrical shocks zapped my nerve endings as he caressed and felt my skin. I buried my head in the fabric of my shirt to stifle a moan of pure lust. The danger we were in and the primal sensuality of the moment made everything seem more excruciating.

Once I had myself under control, I licked my lips and whispered softly. "Why?"

He didn't answer me at all. Instead, he forced my face into the dirt and tucked his head into my neck. Not a moment too soon, as footsteps came perilously close. Close enough to make me break out in a cold sweat. My mystery man's lips began moving along the line of my neck, causing my blood to go from volcanic to nuclear meltdown in zero seconds. Whether deliberate or not, his lips mixed with the fear of discovery sent my hormones into overdrive. Those same lips moved, placing tiny kisses, nipping and tasting my flesh as they burned their way closer to my ear. A small shift in his weight brought hard evidence of his arousal pressing against my backside. Slowly, his hips began to move in minute ways, as if to ease the pressure. It was so erotic, I had to bite my lip until it bled to keep from making any noise that would alert whoever was out there.