Sinful Instincts (Woodland Creek) Read Online Free PDF Page B

never do see her, but I can sense she is important to me. This makes me want to push harder and harder to swim. It always ends the same, though—I struggle to stay afloat and at one point, she lets me go. She wants me to swim, but I cannot. So as I struggle to focus on her face and learn her identity, I end up drowning.
    I wake up choking. As always, I’m sweaty and struggling for oxygen, trying to fill my lungs with the air they’ve been denied. As my breathing calms, I realize it was a dream and attempt to pull myself together.
    “Just a dream... Just a dream,” I coach myself. I’ve been having the same dream my whole life, but it never gets easier. I don’t know whether it’s the desperation of wanting to see the woman’s face or the fear of downing, but it’s always the same. What’s more unnerving is that I haven’t had this dream for years. The door to my bedroom door suddenly erupts; once again, I’m watching another lock being destroyed. As I grab for my blanket to protect me, my new roommate storms into my room. My eyes go wide. “Jesus Christ, what are you doing? Get out!” I holler, my heart about to burst from my chest.
    Apparently not understanding basic English, he continues to walk toward me, not stopping until he reaches my mattress. “Hello! Are you deaf! Get out!” I yell again, with no comprehension. His next move sends me into complete shock. Without invitation, he climbs into my bed beside me and presses his rock-hard body against mine. Placing his thick arms around my quivering waist, he pulls me closer into his chest, aligning my body so it fits perfectly against his.
    I’m about to freak the frack out. I’m just waiting for my lungs to start working. Once I learn how to breathe properly again, I am going to fight. Like it’s my job . His voice, sounding tired, causes a layer of goose bumps to cover my skin. “I would leave, but I cannot get any rest with you all worked-up in here.”
    What? What an ass. Just because he’s smoking hot and may be the sexiest man walking planet Earth, it doesn’t mean I’m in here all panting over him! “I am not worked-up. You are truly insane, you know that, right? Get out.” That jer—
    “No, I’m tired. I can sense your distraught mind, and it’s so loud it’s deafening. You were having a bad dream, and your heart is racing. Although alluring, the overwhelming scent of emotions pouring off you is practically choking me.”
    “W-What?” That’s it. The Nutso alarm is totally going off at full volume right now.
    “It’s my animal instinct, Emma. I am syncing to your emotions. Which is frustrating because it is keeping me awake.”
    Syncing? Newsflash! iPhones sync, not people.
    “Oh, okay, so…what you mean to say is that you forgot to take your meds. Well, great. I’m not having bad dreams, so please, get out!” I attempt a mediocre struggle because seriously, his arms around me feel kinda amazing. He does nothing to acknowledge my rebuttal and snuggles me even tighter.
    “Shhhh, Emma. Sleep.” His voice is strangely comforting, and the way his arm holds me tightly while his thick thumb begins to brush up and down my navel… God, I am two seconds away from sticking my butt out into his junk. Geez, who’s the feline now?
    And shit! Why am I enjoying this?
    Before I have a chance to mentally slap the shit out of myself and remind myself that he is a stranger and not human, his soft lips touch my earlobe, sending a sexual current of excitement down my spine. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he whispers into my ear. He pauses, waiting for my senses to digest his words before he continues, “I can sense your fears—your nightmares. I am only here to calm you. You are not the one I want, and I have no interest in taking advantage of you. I just want some sleep.” His confession is so soothing up until that last part. You are not the one I want . My mood and hormones take a nosedive, realizing he just denied anything I was