Her Wild Protector. Naomi Bellina

      “What are you doing? I need to go back to my car.”

      “You’re not going anywhere until I figure out what’s going on. I have to check in with headquarters.”

      “Where are you taking me?”

      “My house. It’s not far from here.” He settled back with a grim expression on his face.

      “I don’t want to go to your house. Let me out of here right now.” Tara tugged the door handle. In retrospect, hopping into this stranger’s car had not been the best idea, but she’d been so pissed and anxious to catch her assailant she hadn’t thought of the consequences.

      “This is for your own safety. Stop pulling that, you’re going to break it. The door is locked. Now be quiet so I can concentrate.”

      Tara opened her mouth to protest further, but a look at Marshall stilled her. He frowned with cold fury and though he still had his sunglasses on, she was sure his eyes were as dark as a moonless night. She leaned back in the seat and focused on getting her breathing back to normal. Her heart raced, and to her annoyance she felt tears prick her eyes as the reality of the situation hit her. She could have been killed! She bit them back, determined not to show weakness in front of this man.

      After several minutes of slow inhalations, a degree of calm settled in.

      “Can you at least tell me who you are?” she asked as they sat at a stoplight.

      To her surprise, he took off his shades, turned in her direction and looked at her with those remarkable green eyes. Though his mouth was still tight, his expression softened a bit.

      “I will, I promise. Right now I want to get you to my house where you’ll be safe. What exactly did you see at the coffee shop?”

      “A gigantic cat, sort of. It looked like a cheetah, but still like a man.”

      Marshall sighed and put his glasses back on. “Not good.”

      The rest of the short trip was spent in silence.