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darkness. Her search yielded nothing more than a
few spots of blood that housekeeping had missed.
The subsequent exploration of rooms two and
three were a bust, also. Her jitters had calmed down,
but she still wanted to hurry back to a more
populated area.
She crossed the corridor to the last suite and
raised her hand to connect to the entry panel but
stopped. A muffled noise behind her stalled her
heartbeat, then sent it racing as she struggled to
breathe. The terror that coated her skin in goose
bumps refused to go away.
She turned her head slightly to the left and
found nothing out of the ordinary. When she turned
in the opposite direction, her knees threatened to
buckle. Someone or something moved in the shadows
surrounding the wing s entry doors.
Miranda closed her eyes and prayed her legs
would support her shaking body. She discarded the
idea of calling security. In the first place, she felt
sure her imagination had run amok and second, she
felt sure she would be pulling one of the guards
away from something more important.
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Faith V. Smith
Although her limbs seemed only imitations of
muscles that worked and her heart still had not
climbed back up from her feet, she knew she had to
move.
Her first steps felt surreal, as she turned in the
direction of the corridor. She didn t know if pure
terror caused her legs to feel numb or not. It didn t
really matter. She had to get out of here.
The more she moved the easier it became. One
shadow materialized into a cabinet. Another turned
into a fire extinguisher. She hit the exit button. The
resounding slap sounded better than a slot machine
dispensing its coins.
Lingering fear and relief pricked her as she
waited for the electric doors to open. She raced
through them before they completely opened. Her
rush sent her straight into a hard body.
 Miranda?
Zacke s voice washed over her. The previous
control she had exercised over her fear crashed and
burned. She buried her head in his chest and reveled
in the arms he locked around her.
 Sweetheart, I don t think you can get any closer
without us making love, so come up for air and tell
me what has you so frightened.
 Zacke, someone was in the O.R. suite. No one
should be back there this time of the night.
Miranda s voice sounded shaky even to her own
ears. Zacke replied with nothing more than a bone-
wrenching hug. Maybe he had not understood her.
 Zacke did you hear me?
 I heard you, Miranda.
The guttural tone exploding from his throat
rumbled through his chest. Zacke untangled her
limbs from his. He placed a kiss on her lips before
thrusting her behind him.
 Stay here. Do not move from this spot.
 Where are you going?
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Kensington s Soul
 I am going to see if anyone is still there.
Miranda bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.
Zacke s eyes filled with that alarming color of blue
before he entered the O.R. suite. He disappeared
into the darkened corridor. Miranda s first inkling to
how close she had been to following Zacke was the
doors closing almost on her nose. She stood alone
and frightened of only God knew what.
****
Zacke melted into the shadows, cloaking himself
with molecules of cool air drifting from the vents. If
his suspicions proved true, Gabriella had been the
one frightening the daylights out of Miranda. He
wanted to surprise her if she still lingered provided
she didn t detect him first.
He moved through the metal door of the first
operating room. The air held a sharp smell of
antiseptic and a faint smell of copper but not
Gabriella s cloying scent of gardenias.
The second and third rooms appeared the same.
He wondered if the hollow sound of her own
footsteps might have spooked Miranda.
He rematerialized into flesh upon entering the
corridor. One room to go, and then he could go back
to Miranda. He closed his eyes and listened to the
air around him.
He heard nothing but the tick of the clock in the
room behind him. He reached out with his mind
sought and found Miranda where he had left her.
A smile touched his lips. It seemed his ladylove
had little patience when it came to waiting. She
stood shifting her weight from one foot to the other
and kept glancing at her watch. He would have to
teach Miranda that patience could be a virtue
especially when making love.
He pushed open the door of the last room, but
again nothing had been disturbed. If Gabriella had
been here, she was gone.
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Faith V. Smith
Zacke turned on his heel, exited the room, and
strode down the hallway. His mind roamed the other
floors of the hospital but still nothing denoted a
disturbance of Gabriella s kind. His senses went
from red alert to amber, his neck muscles relaxed,
and his breathing slowed.
For the moment, Miranda remained safe.
He resisted the urge to seek her thoughts.
Miranda would not appreciate this particular gift if
she were to find out about it.
His slightly mellow mood darkened. Someday
she would find out about his gifts and his curse. His
transformation was not something he could keep
from her forever; it would not be fair to hide what
type of creature she would be taking into her bed
when he convinced her to marry him.
His breath hitched. What if she said no?
 Zacke, if you re not out of there in two minutes,
I m going to hurt you.
Miranda s threat held both fear and annoyance. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]