Lian/Roch (Bayou Heat) Read Free Page A

Her inner debate of whether or not to try and contact the man she’d been chatting with online for the past few years was brought to a sharp and painful end as arms wrapped around her and she was tossed onto the nearby bed. “Eek.”
    She slashed the letter opener toward her attacker only to have it knocked out of her hand as the man leaped on top of her, pressing her into the mattress.
    “Not so fun being trapped, is it?” he rasped, his eyes darkening as she struggled beneath him. Heat abruptly sizzled between them as his body hardened. “Although I’m beginning to realize there are a few unexpected benefits.”
    A combination of fear, and anger, and potent arousal exploded through Sage.
    “Get off me.” She slammed her hands against his chest, panic thundering through her.
    Regret softened his harsh expression as he gazed down at her, but he refused to budge.
    “Where is Dr. Parker?” he demanded.
    “Why?”
    “I need to speak with him.”
    “About what?”
    He hissed in frustration. “Do you always answer a question with another question?”
    “No.” Sage grimaced. Even being held hostage by a stranger she found it impossible to lie. “Okay, maybe I do. It’s a habit.”
    “Look, I have no intention of hurting you, but this is important,” he said, an unmistakable sincerity in his voice. “Can you just tell me how to find the scholar?”
    Sage cleared her throat. If Xavier had sent the man, then he couldn’t be looking for her father. And it was obvious she wasn’t going to get rid of him until he’d spoken to ‘Dr. Parker.’
    “You already have.”

 

     
    Chapter 2
     
     
    Sage watched shock tighten the man’s expression, something in the back of his eyes making her stiffen in alarm.
    What the hell?
    She could have sworn…
    The thought wasn’t allowed to fully form as the stranger pushed himself off the bed, glaring at her in disbelief.
    “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
    Sage pushed herself to a seated position, her body still carrying the heat and scent of him.
    “Why would I joke?”
    He scowled, folding his arms over his chest. “You’re the expert in ancient languages?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’re—” He halted, giving a shake of his head.
    “I’m what?”
    “Young.”
    “Not really. I’m thirty-two.” She tilted her chin. This was a familiar argument. “And not to boast, but I had my doctorate by the age of twenty so I’ve had more time than most to concentrate on my own research. Plus, I’ve been an adjunct professor for the past ten years.”
    He glanced around the room that was nearly overrun with books.
    “You live here alone?”
    She absently rubbed her hands over her bare arms. His presence seemed to fill the entire room.
    “I think it’s your turn to answer some questions.”
    He pressed his lips together, impatience crackling around him. Then, with an obvious effort, he leashed his temper.
    “Ask.”
    Her hands gripped the handmade quilt that covered the bed. “Who are you?”
    “Lian.”
    “Just Lian?”
    He shrugged. “Just Lian.”
    She narrowed her eyes. He might be gorgeous, but he was clearly a jackass.
    “You’re a friend of Xavier?”
    “More of a relation.”
    Hmm. There was something in the way he said relation that made her think he wasn’t talking traditional brother or cousin.
    “What do you want from me?”
    “Xavier has several scrolls he wants you to translate.”
    Okay. That didn’t seem so…creepy. She was contacted several times a week by people who wanted her expertise in decoding ancient texts.
    She was, without false modesty, the best in the business.
    Still, most of her potential clients didn’t send someone to break into her house.
    “Why didn’t he just ask me? I would have had him mail them to me.”
    “The scrolls are too fragile,” he said. “They can’t be moved.”
    Sage was prepared for the complication. Her work often dealt with fragile parchment.
    “He could scan them or even take a picture and send me