A Shiver At Twilight Read Free

would hardly have left her if he had. But he answered in the same even voice, as if her question was perfectly rational.
     
    “No, I didn't see anyone. But we’ll look again on the way out and we’ll get the police down here to really search.”
     
    Carly nodded. A plan. It was good to have a plan.
     
    Outside, thunder boomed with window-rattling intensity and lightning lit up the hall where they stood. It brought into sudden, chilling focus just where she was and what had transpired on this awful night. Her eyes began to burn again.
     
    “Thank you. Getting out of here would be great,” she said and burst into tears.
     
    He stepped closer and pulled her into the solid warmth of his chest. He smelled of soap and some elusive cologne that made her want to bury her nose in his heat and take his scent deep into her body. He rubbed her back and murmured soothing words while she cried, her entire body shaking with delayed reaction. Each little touch set off sparks on her nerve endings. His long fingers traveled up to the sensitive skin of her nape, brushing over the bare skin in a teasing caress that finally distracted her from her terror. Her sobs slowed and came to a hiccupping stop, leaving behind only the sound of their breathing and an awareness that stretched tight between them.
     
    Wow, this night had gone from crazy to flat out unbelievable.
     
    He leaned back, bending his knees so he could look into her face. His eyes gleamed a beautiful golden-green. “Okay?” he asked, his voice deep, a little husky. The sound rubbed against her heightened senses.
     
    She nodded, embarrassed by her own thoughts. He’d come to help and suddenly she was entertaining ideas of stripping those layers off that muscled chest and running her fingers over the hot skin she’d find beneath. Shock, she told herself. It had to be shock.
     
    She’d smeared mud and dried pine needles on his sweatshirt and tried to brush it off.
     
    “Don’t worry about it,” he said, watching her hands move against him with an intensity that made the gesture somehow intimate.
     
    Carly stilled but she couldn’t seem to pull her palms from where they rested just over his heart. As if guessing at her inner struggle, his arms tightened fractionally, keeping her captive.
     
    He cleared his throat. “What’s your name?”
     
    “Carly,” she said, and her voice held that same, husky invitation that his had. She gave herself a mental slap and tried again. “Carly Ryan.”
     
    “I’m James Dover. People call me JD.” He took what felt like a reluctant step back, letting his arms drop. Cold rushed in where the heat of his body had been. “Let’s get you to that doctor.”
     
    Feeling like a fool, she followed him to the door. “Wait,” she said, before they stepped through. “I want to thank the man who let me in.”
     
    JD looked startled. “What?”
     
    “I don’t want to leave without thanking him.” She faced the gaping darkness in the house, wondering when and why he’d turned out the lights. “Hello? Excuse me?” Her voice echoed back, unanswered. She waited. “Sir? I just wanted to say thanks. I’m going now.”
     
    The silence felt thick and insidious. Carly backed up until she bumped into JD. His arms came up and steadied her.
     
    “I guess he had something to do,” she mumbled.
     
    “Sure,” he said, his voice once again bewildered.
     
    As they stepped onto the porch, lightning flashed overhead in a bright and angry display that made Carly jump. It illuminated the white pickup truck parked out front before it cracked down on the towering pine tree beside it. A harsh scent filled the air as flames jumped from the point of impact.
     
    The fire tried to take hold and fear seized Carly as she imagined this hellish night going from bad to worse to horrifying. But the pine’s bark was sodden, the tree heavy with the weight of it and the flame doused before it could burn. Then the massive giant swayed in a