Amber Fire Read Free Page A

her. The fantasy came to her with such brilliant clarity, it was almost as if he were there, by her side. In the water.
    Abruptly, a warning, sharp and daunting, sliced into the fantasy. Her chest tightened. Fear shimmered across Amber’s skin in a rush of goose bumps that sent her bolting upright, hands fluttering in the water as her gaze did a quick sweep of the woods. Amber opened her mouth to call out and quickly pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to demand who was there. And someone was there—she could feel the heavy weight of being watched.
    The woods carved a circle around the water, greenery flickering wildly as something brushed harshly against the undergrowth along the edges. A low sound—a growl followed, then another. Jaguar! Amber’s heart jumped as she launched herself forward, swiping her hands wildly through the water in a path toward the gun. Good Lord, she was a fool. She’d allowed the cats’ absence to let her forget just how dangerous they were.
    She’d made it about halfway to her destination when she froze in place at the sight before her. From the center of a thickly wooded area came a male form—tall, dark, lethally sexy and dressed in black jeans and a tight black T-shirt.
    Jareth strode forward, a dominant force, silently claiming ownership of everything around him. Commanding order. Commanding control, just as she thought he would do in bed . . . Silence slid through the woods, not even the sound of a bird could be heard. She, herself, didn’t dare breathe.
    He stopped when her weapon and clothes rested at his feet. Bent down and lifted her black silk panties on one finger. “Not much on bathing suits, I take it?”
    A breath trickled past her lips at the gentle taunt, the tension of seconds before sliding away with its escape. “The swim was spontaneous.” Somehow she doubted he would be a man who did anything on a whim. Not even kiss her. Which meant his dare had been as planned as the kiss.
    He dropped her panties, leaned his arm on his knee. “Did you know that jaguars are excellent swimmers? That they, in fact, love the water?”
    Amber swam away from him, to the rocky ledge to the left of the waterfall and held on. “I don’t see a jaguar,” she countered, a challenge in her voice. “And we both know they won’t come around as long as you’re here. They’re afraid of you.”
    He arched a wicked, sexy eyebrow, not bothering with denial. “Are you afraid?”
    Instinctively, the words made her look for her weapon. It was gone. He’d taken it, no doubt. And so she said, “I should be,” and wondered why she was not.
    â€œYes,” he said, his voice a sensual caress. “You should be afraid.”
    And yet she had never wanted a man more in her life, and after losing her father, she’d seen how short life could be. “I’m not.” Certainty filled her. This place was what she’d been looking for. And so was this man. Five years of searching had led her to this place, and to this man. She wasn’t letting him slip away.
    She pushed herself up onto the rock, water pouring off of her boldly displayed naked body as she settled on top of it and pulled her knees in front of her. “Jaguars love the water,” she said, the pool of water separating them. “Do you?”
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    Jareth had come here to do more than fuck Amber Green, more than bury himself deep inside her and finally find blessed relief from the raging hard-on she’d given him since the day he’d met her. He planned to wait until her most vulnerable moment and demand the answer he sought. Was she one of the generations of Hunters—like her father before her, like Mike and so many of her crew were now—who tracked down and killed the Yaguara? Who judged them by race, not actions, and murdered them in cold blood? Because if she was a Hunter, seducing him to find the secrets