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THE French Quarter, the nerve center of do Orleans, was overfloith people, and yet thefollowed Living in Los Angeles, alorking late, taking the bus everywhere or walking home, her instincts had been tested, proven and finely honed Just seconds after leaving the hospital, she&039;d felt so pace with her, but she hadn&039;t stopped or turned around That was an aet the looker hurt or killed

Don&039;t ever let the bogeyman know you know he&039;s there

Her mother&039;s words, back when she&039;d still been able to coht after a late class, Julia had found herself on the terrifying and ill-prepared end of a er&039;s switchblade The lesson had cost her a computer, medical school books, ID, credit cards, cash and a week&039;s worth of sleep Fro reeyman know you know he&039;s there until you&039;re ready to either lead him directly into the path of a cop, you have a clear and realistic way to ditch hi hioddamn stink

The hair on the back of Julia&039;s neck prickled and she quickened her pace, heading directly into the eye of the NOLA bar crawl

Just a few blocks to the hotel

As the sound of cool jazz, and the scents of body odor, grilling crawfish and stale beer came at her on the warm air, her eyes searched the massive crowd for a cop, but came up empty

What did he want? she wondered, the concentrated sounds of revelry enveloping her, driving up her adrenaline,her senses incredibly keen Didn&039;t he know she had nothing?

Shit Less than nothing?

Didn&039;t he know she&039;d already been robbed this week? Of a life, a future, a proth, and the crowd thickened Instead of fear, anger started to stir within her Anger that had been festering in her chest, waiting, squeezing, aching to find release Maybe this was it The tieyman

It was in that moment she felt a hand brush her waist Her pulse jerked in her blood and instinct fed her already jacked-up rage Co to a sudden halt, she whirled around and faced the bastard who had just dared to touch her

Eyes the color of er leaking frout like a punctured balloon All she could do was stare at the creature before her He was stunning, incredible, unlike anything she had ever seen before Around her, the crowd noise dissipated to a dull hu the length of hi in his predatory stance and powerful muscle and tanned skin He wore plain clothes; jeans and a black T-shirt with scuffed co from plain she&039;d ever seen Far over six feet tall with broad shoulders and long, ink-black hair that was tied back at his neck A few stray pieces had escaped and were licking at the ridges of his sharply drawn features His face was shockingly handsome, tan and sht ear and ht about running her index finger over the srowl sounded, but Julia didn&039;t register where the noise was co from Her head was far too fuzzy, and her skin felt uncomfortably warm It was only when a heavily muscled arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close that she snapped out of the haze enveloping her

"I like the way you look at me," he said, his voice a dark, sensual rumble "For once, I aainst her face turned her legs to rubber What the hell was going on here? What rong with her that she was reacting like this? She brought her hands to his chest and pushed like hell, but he didn&039;t budge

"You don&039;t have to be afraid ofaway for a s "I would never hurt you"

The man&039;s dark, erotic scent rushed into Julia&039;s nostrils and she whi in terror? That coveted ability she thought she possessed, the one where she kept her shit together in the face of danger, lay coolden eyes, now flecked with blue and gray, returned to hers and all but urged her to relinquish her very soul to hiround, the drunk New Orleans crowd just continued to party around the to knee him in the balls and run, she actually wanted to ainst the steely wall of his chest

His lips curved into a sexy s out to her as he spoke "I understand Raphael&039;s need for his human woh Julia&039;s brain, tugging at her rational thought, waking her fear center Oh shit Her pulse jumped in her throat and she sed For the first time since she&039;d laid eyes on this o," she whispered

The gold in his incredible eyes receded for a , she eased back froain, far more firmly this time Her heartbeat was so loud now she heard it in her ears "I&039;ll screaoddamn loud the cops will be on you in a second"

The man&039;s face fell He looked completely taken aback by her words, o "There&039;s no reason to be afraid, Doctor Cabot"

Julia&039;s insides went cold with terror He knoho I ale, panic causing her skin to prickle "Why are you following me? What do you want?"

"I was sent to find you"

Sent? "By who?" she de she could use

"You need to cal around her waist as, once again, he looked around, up at a few buildings, then into the crowd "Your heart beats too fast"

Who would send someone after her? She didn&039;t know anyone outside the hospital She didn&039;t have fa and stared up at hi?" she said hoarsely as a group of drunk college girls stuod That bastard He&039;d told her he would hire a lawyer if she didn&039;t go away quietly-if she tried to stake a claim to the house or any of its contents "Are you a private detective or so me followed? Because that would be both incredibly shitty of hi from him"

"Gary?" The man&039;s nostrils flared "Is this your male?"

"My h "Gary was my boyfriend until I found him in our bed, balls-deep in one of my nurses Or didn&039;t he tell you that part?"

Dark brows lifted over those extraordinary eyes

"You can tell that jackass that there&039;s no reason to followfrom him" Her voice broke Goddamit She hated tears They orthless and made a person look weak "Except my cat I want e hand moved slowly up her back and held her possessively between the shoulder blades "You don&039;t wish to return to this Gary?" the ht snarl "This male who betrayed you?"

"I&039;d rather eat ritted her teeth "And you can tell hi sos"

"Who is Fangs?" he asked

"My cat"

She saw a flicker of a grin on his dark, rugged face "The female likes cats"

Before Julia could say another word, the man pressed her closer to his chest and took off into the crowd He moved so quickly that all she saw before she passed out was a blur of city lights, and all she felt were his ar over her skin

"What the hell where you thinking?" Raphael adlanced up and flashed his canines at yet another Diplomat "I did what I was sent to do"

"You were supposed to talk to her-"

"I did talk to her," Parish cut in He continued to pace It bothered him to look at the woman, unconscious and pale behind the white sheet He hadn&039;t meant for this to happen He hadn&039;t known she would pass out froet them out of the crowd and on their way to the Wildlands "She has quit her job and has no fas off with a bastard rowled softly, his cat itching to spring free and hunt down this hu around when he has so beautiful and perfect in his bed"

"Dareen eyes flashed with irritation "Gathering personal infornment You were supposed to talk with her about Ashe and the child You were supposed to explain our situation and our offer Invite her to co her unconscious in the process"

"I aive your prey the opportunity to say no"

Even as he said the words, Parish&039;s gaze cut to the woman on the bed Asat all to hi inside of him that had already connected to her She was the most beautiful female he&039;d ever seen Her smooth, pale skin called to him, as did her full pink mouth She had to wake She ain, see her eyes flash in anger and heat as he held her against him

He turned from the bed with a frustrated snarl