Danica fought not to let her hand shake. Dammit, why couldn’t she flip a badass switch and go all Buffy on this dude?

This very hot, enticing dude.

“There’s no phone, like, anywhere. But there are all these handy, decorative knives hanging all over the walls outside this room,” she rambled. Inwardly, she winced. Way to sound intimidating and not take any shit, Danica.

Gage stared at her. “As I said, my predecessors collected antiques. And we don’t have a landline. It was disconnected years ago when we moved to using cell phones. Why? Were you wanting to call your family?”

“I wanted to call the police. I know I’m not drunk,” she said, proud she’d kept her voice steady. “I don’t feel drunk. I’ve pinched myself silly out in the hall after hearing you guys talk, and I haven’t woken up yet. The only thing I can deduce is this is real, and I want you to let me go, right now.”

Gage didn’t reply for a long while. He stood there, staring at her, an amused sparkle in his eyes. “Is that really what you want?”

Hell, no, that wasn’t what she wanted. Her raging libido wanted him to strip her naked and take her on the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace a few feet away.

“Yes,” she finally said, throat tighter.

“You hesitated.”

She blinked. “I did not.”

Gage took a step forward.

Danica stood her ground. “Stay back!” she said, brandishing the knife like a circus performer would a chair at an angry lion.

Gage smiled. “Make me.”

Danica swallowed as he pressed his chest against the tip of the knife. Her heart pounded in her ears as he trailed his finger along the blunt side of the blade. “No one’s drawn a knife on me in a long time,” he said.

“Why? Because you’re some big, scary mob boss?”

That bemused sparkle returned to his eyes. “Something to that effect.”

His eyes, she noticed, were vibrant blue tinged in gold around the pupils. The firelight caught the gold in his eyes, enhancing it. Her breath quickened, and she licked her lips. “You don’t scare me.”

He raised a brow. “No?”

“No.”

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, she was fantasizing what he would look like without his shirt on, and the next, he’d disarmed her and had swept her up in a passionate kiss.

Danica’s eyes widened, startled. She started to protest when his tongue began tangling with hers, and she forgot how to think. His kisses were hungry, desperate, like he was starving for her taste. Losing herself, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he shoved her up against the wall. His rough palm moved along her thigh, gripping behind her knee and hoisting her leg around his hip. His hand trailed to her ass, squeezing. She moaned, nipping at his lip, and he chuckled.

“You’re demanding,” he said. “Good. My mate needs to be.”

There he went with that mate stuff again. She was about to demand an explanation when his head dipped lower, trailing kisses along the crest of her breasts. His mouth hovered over one of her nipples, tonguing and teasing it through the fabric. Her back arched, and she pressed her breast into his mouth, wanting him to remove the barrier between it and his tongue. He pulled the night gown’s neckline down, baring her chest before squeezing her breasts together and sucking on each nipple, teasing them until they ached.

She clawed at the wall with one hand as his tongue worked, slipping her fingers into his hair and holding him to her breasts. He lowered his hands and they roved her body, stroking up and down along her sides, feeling her curves through the soft robe. It was so thin she could feel the heat of his hands wherever they went. God, he was hot, like an inferno. One hand cupped her, and he rolled his thumb along her sex, pushing her closer to the edge. An ache built deep within her, the need to spread her legs and invite him in growing as he sucked and nipped and rubbed. She reached down and stroked him through his pants. A feral groan rose from deep within his throat as he pressed himself against her hand, rubbing, as if he wanted to be inside her just as badly. He kissed her again, more roughly this time. His hands slipped inside her robe, leaving trails of fire along her hips and waist. Agitated, he ripped open her robe, exposing her nightgown-clad body. For a moment he paused, going still as he took her in.

She blinked, dazed at first, then returning to her senses. Gasping, she quickly covered herself up, knotting the belt tightly. She crossed her arms, her face as flushed as the rest of her body. It took a few seconds to compose herself and calm her quick breathing. She sounded like she’d run a marathon. It sure felt like it, from the way her heart was racing. “Look, I don’t want you to think I’m easy.” She groaned. “I know it probably seems that way, but I’m not usually the one-night-stand kind of girl. Hello, are you listening to me?”

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. Gage shook his head and blinked, then looked at her. “Sorry, I was distracted,” he murmured. “Yes, I’m aware you’re probably behaving a bit… outside your sensibilities.”

“That’s one way to put it,” she grumbled. She shifted her weight, feeling the slickness along her inner thighs. Good grief, she was horny. She hadn’t had it this bad for a man in a while.

She looked at Gage, at the noticeable bulge against his crotch, reconsidering. Her mind filled with the image of his muscular body, dripping in sweat, hovering over hers as he slowly pushed himself into her, again and again, stroking her core while she brought her hips up to meet him…

You know what happened last time you fell into bed with a man on the first date. Seth ripped out your heart later.

That cheerful thought promptly dried up her lust. “You’re not good for me.”

He frowned, going still. “Why not?”

“Because… when I’m near you… I don’t know. I can’t control myself.” She looked away, letting her hair hide her face.

Gage tenderly grasped her chin and turned her gaze. “Passion is not a bad quality.”

“Ha. I’m not sure I’d call this passion. Lust maybe.”

“What do you think it is?”

She met his gaze. “I don’t know.”

He reached up and caressed her cheek, eyes intently burning into hers. She’d never had anyone look at her that way. It made her knees shake.

And it scared the hell out of her.

“I’m not sure what this is, either,” Gage said slowly, “but I can tell you feel it too.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “That spark.”

His eyes flicked to her hand.

That’s right. How could she have forgotten about that weird mark? After figuring out she wasn’t dreaming, she’d ran to the bathroom. The mark hadn’t washed off in the sink, and she’d scrubbed it raw. “I don’t know what any of this means. I don’t know why I’m acting this way.” She looked at him. “I don’t know you.”

Fear pumped into her heart. Walk away. She took one step back when he grabbed her wrist.

“Would you like to?” he asked softly.

Her heart started pounding, but not from lust, as her stomach did a little flip that made her insides tingle. Her throat ran dry.

What do I say? What do I say?

Seth used to whisper such sweet things too, used to make her feel this way.

A chill went through her. “I… need some air. Stay away from me, kidnapper.”

With that, she jerked free and ran, praying he wouldn’t follow her, yet hoping at the same time that he would.