Solstice Surrender Read Free

passed. “That’ll do,” he declared with a tone of satisfaction.
    He slipped sideways into a deep door recess and pushed open an elegant art-deco door with a brushed steel handle that swooped in a shallow arc the length of the door.
    Warmth bathed their faces as they stepped inside and Jenna drew a long slow breath, feeling the air reach the bottom of her lungs.
    It was a clothes store selling outerwear—luxurious stuff way out of her financial reach. Racks and store dummies were draped with furs, suede, glowing wool, and leather garments while more shelves, boxes and tables were spread with accessories and smaller items.
    The store was hushed and still, with the peculiar sort of muffled quiet that seemed to belong only to ridiculously expensive retail stores.
    He pulled her between the stands and shelves toward the back of the long, narrow store, glancing left and right.
    “Ah!” He dropped her hand and strode over to a wall of long coats. Rifling through them, he reached between hangers to check the size tag, then looked around for a sales assistant.  
    A perfectly groomed and well-dressed middle-aged woman was hurrying toward them. She had a tiny gold metal name tag on her shirt.
      “I would like my friend to try this coat on, please,” he told her as soon as she was close enough.
    “Yes, sir.” The assistant pulled a bunch of keys out of her pocket and unlocked the long chain that wove through all the garments and hangers.
    Jenna stood back, letting the man take charge for she understood his purpose. He wanted to disguise her and change her appearance. By changing her coat and putting on a hat, she could adjust her appearance enough to fool most observers.
    Instead, Jenna watched him, hoping to see his face at last. When he had the coat in his hands and turned to face her she finally got her first look.
    He had black eyes that matched the black hair. He was tall—taller by a good six inches than anyone else around him. Clear pale skin and a square jaw. His gaze was steady.   So steady.   He was staring at her.   She knew that gaze in some far distant way.   It came out of memories.   She recognized the source of that steadiness. It touched on dreams and jumbled impressions from her past. It invoked a memory she could not bring into focus.
    Time hiccupped and jumped out of its deep groove of consistency, then paused to let her catch up. In that endless moment, her senses turned around and inside out. Everything she knew, all her hard-earned experience and wisdom, her knowledge of how the world worked and her place in it, shattered in reaction.
    For the balance of that timeless moment, she struggled to find a way to deal with it. Her knees had weakened and wouldn’t lock. She trembled. Her insides turned watery.
    But that was just the superficial stuff. What slammed into her and took most of her attention was a ravening, compulsive need .   Lust. Hunger like she had never felt before.
    Her wanting for him raced through her body like hot acid, creating the trembling, and the shuddering heart. Her clitoris swelled and throbbed, demanding attention. She grew wet, slippery and ready.
    He was still staring at her. He was standing closer to her than she normally accepted, but not nearly close enough to suit her now. She had to tilt her head back to look at him, aware of how it exposed her throat. She was abruptly aware of the thrust of her now sensitive breasts against her sweater. Would he notice her erect nipples pushing against the material? Would it be enough of a signal for him to touch her? She wanted him to try. She ached for him to try and would not stop him if he dared.
    With that reckless thought, the moment she had thought to be endless came crashing to a close and time bumped back into its usual channel.
    Cold fright touched her again, shadowed by amazement. This man was a stranger. She had never met him before. Yet…. “You.” She took a laboured breath. She had to work to draw it in for her