Embraced by Lora Leigh Read Free Book Online

heirloom glassware shattered. Some of the
items Marey knew she would never be able to replace.
    She stared around at the destruction,
dressed in jeans and a sweater to ward off the chill that filled her body as
the sheriff and his deputy filled out their reports and called the security
company. Within hours, the house was filled with people, and all Marey could do
was stand and stare around in confusion at the mess her ex-husband had made.
    “You need to find a hotel, or stay with a
friend for a few days, Marey.” Sheriff Richards stepped around the mess in the
entry hall as he moved from the living room. “The security system is intact,
but he obviously has the codes. You’re not safe here.”
    Duh. No shit.
    Marey kept the sarcastic comment to herself
as she stared back at the sheriff.
    “What are you going to do about him?” she
asked him carefully. “They let him out on bail. He could terrorize me further,
Sheriff. Now what the hell are you going to do about it?”
    He sighed roughly, propped his hands on his
hips and shook his head. As handsome as the man was, right now, she wanted to
kick his teeth in. He was being of no help whatsoever.
    “We’ll pick him up. He’s violated the terms
of his release, so the bail will be revoked. But until we catch him, you’re not
safe.”
    “She will be.”
    Marey froze at the dark, dangerous voice
behind her. She turned slowly toward the open front door and stared back at Sax
Brogan with a sense of fatal resignation.
    Now, why hadn’t she guessed he was going to
show up?
    A man shouldn’t be so sinfully sexy, she
thought. He shouldn’t steal a woman’s last breath with a frown, or make her
knees weak from one of those hot little looks from dark, chocolate brown eyes.
And he sure as hell shouldn’t make her pussy burn in the middle of a situation
that was precarious to say the least.
    “Hello, Sax, it’s good to see you again.”
Sheriff Richards nodded back at him as Sax stepped into the house. “I hope
you’re going to convince her to get out of here until we pick up Vince. She’s
getting a bit testy on me.” He cast her an amused look.
    Marey frowned back at him.
    “I am neither testy, nor a child, Sheriff,”
she snapped. “And I don’t need a man to take care of me. I can make decisions
fine on my own.”
    She hated it when men acted as though a
woman was only safe if she had a man in front of her. In Sax’s case, if things
went the way he wanted, she would have one behind her as well.
    “Of course you can.” The sheriff nodded.
“Which means you’re going to take my advice and get the hell out of here until
I let you know we’ve caught Vince Clayton. Aren’t you, Marey?”
    Why did men always think they were
right and she was wrong?
    “Pack some clothes, Marey,” Sax said
easily, though she read the tense readiness in his body. “I’ll take you to
Terrie or Ella’s, but you are getting out of here. If I have to carry you out.”
    His dark face was set in lines of
determination and resolve. Marey glanced away, knowing that if she left with
him, he wouldn’t leave her anywhere else. She would be going to his house. His
bed.
    She glanced back at him knowing she was
losing a battle she didn’t really want to fight any longer. She had set this in
motion when she made that trip to the motel, when she had let her desires and
her needs overcome her common sense. She had no one else to blame but herself.
    “Go on, Marey,” the sheriff urged her. “We
have an APB out on Vince, we’ll have him in custody soon. Until then, protect
yourself. Get the hell away from the house.”
    Like she had a choice at this point? She
was well aware of the fact that she couldn’t stay at the house, and she wasn’t
endangering her friends either.
    Gritting her teeth in fury, she slanted Sax
a fulminating look as she turned and stalked to the curved staircase.
    “You’re taking me to a hotel,” she snapped,
though she was careful to keep her back to him. “No