One of Annie's patients is found dead in her office. And now the killer is after her. Marshall is a sexy detective who makes it his mission to protect her, and he's not afraid to break the rules. Drawn together by close proximity, it isn't long before they're facing a different kind of danger.

Excerpt -
She tripped and fell to the floor, letting out a startled cry as she went down, the flashlight flying from her hand to roll beneath her desk. For a second she lay there stunned, watching the beam of light bounce off the walls as it twirled around and around on the floor until finally coming to a stop.

At least she was alone in her office. That alone should have calmed her fears but didn't change the fact that someone had vandalized the place. She crawled to her desk and reached under it for the light, and that's when she saw the body. The ray of light shone directly on his lifeless form.

It was Martin Strong.

She clamped her hand across her mouth to stifle the scream that rose in her throat. He had to be dead, just sitting against the wall with that open-eyed stare. His frozen expression reminding her of the figures she'd seen in a wax museum once, as a school girl on a field trip, only he wasn't wearing a sign on his chest telling her what historic character he represented. Instead he had a hole in his chest the size of a marble.

She had to get out of there and call the police. Grabbing the flashlight, she jumped to her feet and ran to the outer door. She opened it and came face to face with a tall, dark form. She screamed, trying to slam the door in his face, but with one shove the man sent it flying back against the wall and Annie with it.

He was upon her in a flash. Screaming, she raised her flashlight to use as a club. It was chopped viciously from her hand, flew across the room, and slammed against the wall. Annie turned, heading for the exit door at the back of the building, but realized she was trapped. He blocked her only avenue of escape.

She heard the man's breathing close behind her and knew he was upon her an instant before his hand closed on her shoulder. Twisting free, she released a string of ear piercing screams to scare him away, grabbing things off nearby desks to use as weapons. But he was much too big and strong and the items she threw recklessly at him bounced off his body with little effect. He grabbed her and swung her around.

"No!" she shrieked, trying to break away. The classes she'd taken in self-defense came rushing back, and she raised her arm to deliver a chop to his throat. He expertly intercepted it, causing her hand to bounce harmlessly off hard biceps. Swearing, she raised her knee, aiming for his groin.

The man twisted the lower half of his body, letting out a vicious curse when her knee came in jarring contact with the inside of his muscular thigh, just missing vital parts. His hands were everywhere in an attempt to subdue her. Adrenaline pumped through Annie and a mixture of fear and anger gave her unusual strength. She knew she could very well be fighting with the murderer and didn't stop to consider what she was doing when she picked up a letter opener.

She raised it threateningly."Oh, no you don't!" his deep voice rasped, full of anger and slightly out of breath. His fingers curled around her wrist and for a brief second they struggled together until the weapon was wrenched out of her hand and tossed aside.

She heard it hit the floor. "Damn it!" This time she was the one doing the swearing. With super-human strength she broke away from him, changing tactics and running for the open front door. She barely took two steps when she was tackled from behind. Losing her balance, she landed with a frustrated shriek, hitting the floor hard. And even though the breath had been knocked out of her, she found the strength to turn on her backside and raise her legs, kicking out at him in the hope of catching him with the pointed tips of her heels.

His grunt of pain gave her little satisfaction. The man threw himself on top of Annie, pinning her down with his superior weight. She screamed, tangling her fingers in his hair and trying to hurt him any way she could.

"Damn it, stop!" his voice boomed above her.

She ignored him, raking her nails down the side of his face instead. The sound of something ripping split the air, spurring her on all the more. Was he going to rape her first and then kill her? God help her! She couldn't fend him off much longer; her strength was sapped. Before she had a chance to draw another breath, she found her wrists seized and slammed against the floor above her head, his body crushing hers against the unyielding floor.

"Please don't hurt me!" Annie knew she was begging, but under the circumstances figured she had nothing to lose. Especially if he'd killed Martin Strong.

She could barely breathe and the man pinning her down seemed to be having the same problem. His warm breath slapped her in the face, his heaving chest was smashing her breasts. At least his hands weren't roaming."Please..." She decided to try again. "I'll give you whatever you want!" Well, not quite everything but she figured at a time like this it was okay to lie.

"You don't have anything I want," he rasped. He hauled Annie roughly to her feet, dragging her arms behind her back where he locked her wrists together with one of his much larger hands."But if you keep fighting me, I'm not making any promises about not hurting you." He pulled her with him to where the flashlight had landed and while holding her against him, bent and snatched it from the floor. "I just want to know what the hell is going on around here." He started to shine the beam of light around the room, searching for God knows what.

It began to dawn on Annie that maybe he wasn't the killer after all. Perhaps he was with the Security Company that took care of the building complex. Or, worst case scenario, he'd just been driving by and noticed a strange light flashing around the office and stopped to investigate, sticking his nose in something that was none of his business. Maybe he was an off duty police officer...

"Are you going to answer me?" the man growled.

"I have nothing..."

He snorted, dragging her around the room with him. "Nothing? You sure put up one hell of a fight over nothing."

"You frightened me," she said, her eyes darting to her office door and praying he didn't insist on checking it out. She tried to will her body under control but her heart was pounding like a jackhammer inside her chest. "Are you with security?"

"You might say that."Annie started to drag her feet when he headed straight for her office. If he noticed, he didn't say anything, but continued pushing her ahead of him in that direction. When they reached the threshold, she actually leaned against him in an unconscious effort to keep him from entering the room.

"Please..." She couldn't get the words out. The thought of Martin Strong on the floor on the other side of her desk made her stomach churn. "I can't go back in there!" She struggled to break the hold he had on her wrist. He was too big and strong to win against in a struggle, but if she could manage to pull away speed might be on her side.

"Why not?" He pushed her further into the room. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing..."

He gave a dissatisfied grunt. "Let me be the judge of that. Something's going on and I intend to find out what it is.

"Helplessly, Annie watched as he shined the flashlight around the small office until the beam landed on a pair of shoes. Her heart sank. The more he pushed her into the room the more she strained against his unyielding form. He halted when they were close enough to see Martin's body slumped against the wall, the beam of light zeroing in on the nice neat bullet hole in his chest.

"Damn..." he whispered against her ear as they stood above Martin.

Unbelievably Annie felt his hold around her wrist begin to relax. She took advantage of his momentary lapse and slammed her heel down on top of his foot. He swore a blue streak when she pulled away from him. She heard the flashlight drop to the floor, and it was over before it began. He caught up to her at her office doorway. She let out a blood-curdling scream when his hand tangled in her hair, before she was hauled back into his arms.

He slammed her against the wall and pinned her there with his body. Breathing hard, he took a moment to catch his breath. "No wonder you were in a such hurry to get out of here," he rasped, close to her face. "Who's the stiff, honey?"

"You don't understand!" Annie cried out desperately. She strained against his hold. "I was going for the police." She had to make him understand.

"Yeah right, and I'm Santa Clause. That's why you were running away..."

"You scared me! I thought you were the killer!" She arched her body in a pitiful attempt to push him off her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the wall above her head, his movements rough enough to reveal he was growing tired of her persistent struggles. She felt every sinew of his powerful body against her. He was built like a mountain, everything about him hard as granite."You're hurting me!" she gasped in outrage, raising her knee in an attempt to hurt him any way she could.

He transferred both her wrists to one hand and his other dropped down to her thigh to hold it in place. "I wouldn't advise it! That's twice you've aimed for that particular spot, and I'm getting damned tired of having to worry about it."

"Then I suggest you let me go!" Annie ignored the anger in his voice. If she was going to die it wouldn't be without a fight.

"Who the hell are you, lady?" He gave her a little shake. "That's a stiff over there and until I get to the bottom of this you aren't going anywhere."

Annie began to tremble violently as reaction to her predicament finally set in. Her weak struggles were useless. He didn't hesitate using his body and hands in whatever manner it took to subdue her. There was nothing sexual about anything he was doing to her though she couldn't help but be aware of the sculptured muscles crushing her breasts, and his masculine scent.

Something spicy yet mild, blending well with his body chemistry.

Stirring her senses.

She accepted the fact she couldn't win against him, but the awareness zinging through her was betrayal of the worst kind. "This is my office." The silence that followed was unnerving. Annie wondered if he believed her.

"And you are?" His hard voice was laced with mistrust.

"Doctor Annie McCall," she said quietly, relaxing against him. What else could she do?

The lights flickered on and for the first time their eyes met. She caught her breath, meeting the fierce glare in his dark, sensual eyes. He made her think of as wild animal, lying in wait for his prey. No, his mate. She felt her heart beat flutter wildly in her throat.

A strong premonition washed over Annie that her life was about to change.




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