Dark Admirer Read Free Page A

Trent, isn’t it? You always like a visit from him, don’t you? You’re always such a damn flirt when he’s here. I’ll say this for you, Liz, you got good taste. The kid’s gonna be a looker when he gets to be eighteen.”
    Reaching for the latch, Eve slid it aside, and threw open the door. Lizzy sprang outside and Eve followed her, only to slide to a halt on the slippery asphalt. In the middle of the alley lay a prone, black haired man. His face was pressed into the snow and his bare hands outstretched, as if he had fallen flat on his face. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, black biker boots and a long black wool coat that looked like something from the Matrix movies. He wasn’t moving. Even when Lizzy went up to him, cowering and shivering and sniffing at his hair, he didn’t move.
    Eve coughed and waited for a response. Nothing . Taking a cautious step forward, she bent at the waist, trying not to get too close to the guy. There were homeless in the area, most of them were harmless, but you never could be too careful.
    But this guy didn’t look like any of the street people who frequented her rubbish bins. She would have remembered a homeless guy who was that tall, that built.
    “Hey,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper. “You okay there, bud?”
    Nothing. Gripping the edges of her sweater together to ward off the frigid blast of wind that raced down the alley, Eve took one step closer and glanced down at the still body. God help her if he was dead. What a drag that would be. She’d never get to Gemma’s before the storm hit if she had to call the police. And how damn insensitive was that towards the guy lying frozen at her feet?
    “Hey,” she said again, gently toeing his hand with the tip of her shoes. She glanced at the pale hand. Clean nails and manicured, too. Not homeless, then. Maybe someone just down on their luck? Too much H or a bad batch? It wasn’t like it was difficult to find drugs in this area of the city. This guy wouldn’t be the first OD of the year, and certainly not the first one to be found in this particular alley. But he just didn’t look like the druggie type. Maybe he’d been ringing in the New Year early and had gotten sidetracked on his way home from the bar.
    Whatever was up with this guy, Eve felt compelled to do something. As long as the something wasn’t getting too close to him.
    There was no movement when she nudged the pale hand again. “Okay, let’s do this,” she muttered. It was time for the cops.
    When she stepped away, she nearly toppled backward, her shriek of surprise echoed off the bricks. Her arms flared out, striving for balance before she landed her ass on the cold asphalt. She wondered if she’d slipped on some black ice, but when she looked down, Eve saw that the lifeless hand was now wrapped firmly around her ankle.
    Holy shit!
    Her heart leapt up to her throat, and she fought the urge to vomit. Oh, God, he was awake—semi alert, and holy mother of God, he was moving towards her, using her ankle as leverage as he dragged himself closer, his shoulders heaving and rolling beneath the wool coat.
    Eve swallowed, wanting to back up and away from the guy, but she was afraid to move, afraid she’d fall back, and then what would she do? The guy was huge—at least six five—maybe even taller. And while she was a sturdy girl, she had nothing on him. And to make matters worse, Lizzy had turned tail and run back into the shop. She was all alone in an alley during a snowstorm with some half conscious stranger.
    Not good.
    The man made no sound has he heaved his upper body up from the cold ground. Slowly, his dark head rose from where he was looking at her shoes. Up his face came until she caught a glimpse of strong pink lips and a masculine jaw. Up to a pair of breathtakingly beautiful green-blue eyes, the kind of colour you’d see in a travel brochure for an island in the Caribbean. Holy cow, she’d never seen eyes that colour. But then she saw