Lian/Roch (Bayou Heat) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the classroom on fire.
    After that little incident her mother had decided it was safer for her to be homeschooled and she’d retreated into her father’s library.
    Even then she’d been harassed by her mother, who’d been convinced her ‘gifts’ could somehow be used to increase the family income.
    “That’s easy to say when you’re not…”
    “Different?” he helpfully offered when she hesitated. “Trust me, sweetheart, I know all about being different.”
    Okay. That was true enough. Still, it wasn’t the same.
    “But at least you know what you are, and you were raised with people who are just like you.”
    A wicked smile touched his lips. “Oh, sweetheart, no one is like me.”
    She rolled her eyes, even as her heart gave a leap of excitement.
    He was just so…gorgeous. And charming. And sexy.
    Sexy enough to melt a reclusive spinster into a warm puddle of aching need.
    “You know what I mean,” she forced herself to accuse. “You didn’t have to worry that someone was going to think you were weird or—”
    Her words were cut off as Lian unexpectedly pressed a finger to her lips.
    “Shh.”
    She watched in confusion as he moved with a blurring speed to press himself against the far wall, tilting his head to peer out the French doors.
    Sage froze, speaking in a whisper. “Did you hear something?”
    “An intruder outside the house.” He gestured toward Sage, waiting until she hesitantly moved to join him. “Do you recognize him?”
    She glanced out the glass door, a sharp fear clenching her stomach at the sight of the large man with a shaved head and multiple piercings. Wearing a black motorcycle jacket and heavy leather boots, he looked so much like the typical ‘bad guy’ she couldn’t believe he was real.
    “No.” She gave a shake of her head. “I’ve never seen him before.”
    They watched as the stranger pulled a gun from beneath his coat, unaware he’d been spotted as he began to wrestle his way through the tangled overgrowth of her yard.
    For once Sage was happy she didn’t have interest in keeping a neatly tended lawn. It would take him at least a few minutes to reach the house.
    “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but time just ran out,” Lian said on a low growl.
    Her brows lifted as he turned back to reveal his obstinate expression.
    “What do you mean?”
    “We have to go.”
    She bit her bottom lip. “Go where?”
    She knew the answer before he ever said the words.
    “The Wildlands.”
    “No.” She gave a violent shake of her head. “No way.”
    He reached to grab her shoulders, his grip firm enough to warn he was barely resisting the urge to toss her over his shoulder and force her to leave with him.
    “Do you want to stay and see if he’s in the mood to shoot you?”
    Panic skittered down her spine at the mere thought.
    “You could get rid of him.”
    He held her gaze, allowing her to glimpse the predatory cat that lurked just below the surface.
    “Yes, but I don’t think you’d like my methods.”
    She glanced back toward the man creeping ever closer.
    Shit. He was right. She didn’t want to force Lian to kill the intruder.
    But the mere thought of leaving the security of her home and traveling across the state with a man who stirred her most primitive needs sent a flutter of nerves through the pit of her stomach.
    “I can’t,” she breathed.
    His hands lifted to cup her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks with a tender caress.
    “I promise I’ll take care of you, sweetheart.” The heat of his hands scalded her skin, his musk wrapping around her to offer a drugging sense of comfort. “Nothing’s going to hurt you.”
    Did she really have a choice?
    There was no way in hell she was going to stand around and wait for the scary man dressed in leather to break into her home.
    But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
    “You’ve already put me in danger,” she accused, assuming the man had to have followed Lian to her house.
    She hadn’t had a problem with