Beyond the Edge Read Online Free PDF Page B

knew for certain Kane wouldn’t hurt her, she’d toss the gun aside and let him have her.
    “Deny me all you like.” His gaze swept over her flushed face and lingered on her lips, lips that suddenly burned for a kiss. “Your body tells a different story.” He advanced another step, his eyes telling her oh-so clearly that he wanted her. “Imagine giving over complete control to me. You will have no decisions to make, no choices. Just the freedom to enjoy whatever I decide.”
    “No.” The protest came out automatically, but his words shot heat straight to her core. He was a stranger. He’d kidnapped her.
    “Yes,” he insisted.
    In another step, he’d be close enough to disarm her.
    And Fallon pulled the trigger.

3
    I N THE SMALL ROOM the shot sounded as loud as a cannon and the scent of powder burned her nostrils. If he hadn’t egged her on, she might not have found the courage to pull the trigger. His words had been too enticing, too tempting and for a moment she’d feared yielding to him more than she feared taking a life. He’d gotten to her with his sexy smile, hot eyes and compelling promise of taking away all her responsibilities by fulfilling her fantasy. Only she’d never fantasized about giving up control of herself. That was his interpretation and she wasn’t buying it for a second. So what if her body had turned on at his words? Or that the heat in his gaze was real? She liked reading about crossing the country in a covered wagon but that didn’t mean she wanted to do it. She enjoyed watching ski jumping at the Olympics but that didn’t mean she wanted to try it. So maybe his words made her insides go all mushy, but she was way too strong-willed to turn over her will to him—no matter how badly she wanted a vacation.
    So she’d pulled the trigger and kept her eyes wide open, expecting to have to steal herself for the sightof blood and mangled flesh. But Kane was gone and she couldn’t prevent a shiver of relief that he’d pulled his dematerialization trick again.
    He couldn’t have gone too far, or she’d be sick. Fallon extended the gun in both hands and spun, searching for her target. She held her breath and listened, but only the whisper of a breeze ruffling the miniblinds and the clock ticking above the convection oven interrupted the haunting silence.
    Every female instinct told her to throw down the gun and agree to an exciting fling. Yet her mind told her he was dangerous. She couldn’t leave so she had no choice but to stay and fight. Too bad she was spending so much effort fighting her own desires.
    How had a connection arced between them so quickly? Even as she searched for him she already knew he wouldn’t be angry. Another man would be furious that she’d tried to shoot him, but not Kane. He seemed to understand her fears—of him, of herself, of what might happen between them if she let it.
    As a trained agent, she could ignore her attraction. And his. No matter how enticing she found his heat, she couldn’t succumb to an absolute stranger.
    She longingly eyed the phones he’d collected and piled on the glass dining table. Dare she take a moment to plug one in and call the Agency for help? But even if a fellow CIA agent arrived, he would never believe the truth. She imagined what kind of reaction she’d receive after she described a man who moved faster than the eye could see, a man whomade her desperately ill when she tried to escape from him. A man who thought she would give him everything he asked for. A man who thought she would put him in charge of her.
    Kane might not have specified his exact intention, but the heat in his gaze had clued her into the notion that he aimed to dominate her physically, sexually, mentally—and he actually had the conceit to expect her to agree.
    At the thought, her hands shook. Because his idea so appealed. What woman wouldn’t want to put herself in the hands of a man like Kane and accept all the pleasure he could give? And for her