Burned. Sarah Morgan

got together—you probably felt the ground shake—I’d had it to myself quite a bit. I didn’t mind that. It meant I could practise in the living room without accidently kicking her or getting yelled at when I knocked a lamp off the table. Normally coming home soothed me. Tonight I was officially freaked out.

      ‘Good night, Hunter. Thanks for the lift.’

      ‘Is Hayley home?’

      ‘How do I know? And why do you care?’

      ‘You had a blow to the head. I’m not leaving you alone.’

      ‘I want you to leave me alone.’ I was fumbling with my seat belt, fingers slippery and shaky with nerves. Turned out I couldn’t even do that without help and I felt the warm strength of his hand as it covered mine.

      His fingers were warm, strong and totally steady and it irritated me that he had so much control when I had none.

      He leaned forward and his jaw, dark with stubble, was only inches from my eyes. I looked at the sensual curve of his lips and the urge to press my mouth against his was almost painful.

      And then he looked at me and I knew he was fighting the same urge.

      For a moment we sat there, the moment of intimacy disturbed by the flash of headlights from a passing car.

      Mouth tight, he unclipped my seat belt. ‘You’re bleeding. I should have taken you to the E.R.’

      ‘It’s nothing.’ I was struggling to focus, but it had nothing to do with the blow to my head. There was something about being close to Hunter Black that made the most level-headed of women dizzy. ‘I’ll be fine. Good night. Great to catch up with you again after all this time. Have a nice life.’

      I never was any good at delivering sarcasm, a fact confirmed by his smile. It was a slow, sexy, slightly exasperated smile that acknowledged everything that lay between us. I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I preferred to step over it with my eyes shut.

      Desperate to get away from that smile, those shoulders, the man, I virtually scrambled out of his car and sprinted to the door.

      ‘Stairs or elevator?’ He was right behind me and I gritted my teeth. When I was eighteen, he’d left me at acceleration speeds that would have left his car standing, but now I couldn’t shake him off.