So beautiful…
But there was nothing feminine about him. A beautiful warrior. A towering wall of unyielding muscles, the only thing missing was a sword. Power stamped his tough body and etched the hard lines of his incredible face. His pale, moonlit hair was tied back to reveal the sculptured lines of his jaw. Eyes like midnight skies, stroked with a slash of indigo, remained cold. Flat.
Eve faltered at the complete lack of emotion on such a handsome face. She snatched her hands back from the soft leather of his burgundy coat, heat streaking her face at gawking like an idiot and lowered to her knees to gather her strewn things. Lipstick, brush, tissues...
She started in surprise when he hunkered before her in a rustle of leather, and in fluid moves, collected the rest of her things. The man smelled incredible. Wild and crisp like the forest after the rain. Without a word, he dropped her stuff into her bag, handed it to her, then picked up his cell and slipped it into his coat pocket.
It took her a moment to collect her scattered wits, aware of his cold, dark eyes studying her. Uneasy, she pushed to her feet and closed her bag. “Er, thank you.”
Still silent, he rose, too. And startling all heck out of her, he reached out and touched her ear. Eve jerked away and winced, pain simmering to life once more, then she saw the blood smeared on his fingertips.
Oh, wonderful, she was bleeding. Before it dripped down her neck and her friends called 911, she hustled for the restroom again. She tore some paper towels from the dispenser and examined the wound in the mirror when another image joined hers. Her breath strangled her throat.
Him.
She swung around, wariness overriding her attraction when she looked into that cold, unforgettable face. “You can't come in here?”
“I just did.”
Chapter 2
Her voice—just the sound of her voice—and it eased his edginess, soothing the nightmares and constant pain riding him. It shook the solid foundations of the walls he’d built around him after he’d escaped from Hell so long ago.
“What are you doing—this is the ladies?”
Her horrified voice hauled Reynner back to the dank bathroom and feminine whispers. He issued a silent command for the gaggle of females eyeing him like some damn prize to leave.
“And so it is,” he said as the door closed behind the women, turning the loud music from the club into a muted thumping.
She blinked her thickly fringed forest-green eyes. With skin a dusky gold, she appeared as if she’d wandered out from one of the desert climes. Nervous, scarred fingers brushed back hair the color of black coffee. The silky strands fell in a seductive sweep around her face to settle on her shoulders. Blood dripped down her neck from her injured ear.
“You’re hurt.”
“I know that, but you can't be in here.”
In response, he reached out and tugged free the paper towel she clutched to her chest like armor. “I hurt you, I’ll aid you.”
“It was an accident.”
Yeah, one he’d instigated. He cupped her delicate face, angled her jaw to examine the wound, and found her lobe had torn a little. Gently, he dabbed the blood.
She gasped, recoiling in pain. He didn’t let go. Her pulse beat rapidly beneath his thumb as he wiped away the blood on her neck and scanned her psyche for that unexplained pull.
Nothing. So what the hell was it that drew him to her?
Except for his body’s reaction to her, he could pick up no false reading from her emotional grid. If anything, she seemed wary of him.
He met her suspicious eyes. “This is hardly a come-on. If I want a female, this is the last place I’d take one to for a tryst.”
Color rushed across her cheeks at his blunt words and her gaze lowered. A spark of remorse pricked his conscious. He didn’t care for this feeling of guilt—didn't like being enclosed in this claustrophobic place with its overflowing trashcans. But her essence enfolded him in sunshine. Light. All he’d need to survive. It made him uneasy.
Why would a human affect him this way?
Empyreans didn’t do well when trapped in darkness for prolonged periods. They lost control and became raging beasts…
Reynner shut off those dark thoughts and concentrated on his task. The pale blue light of his healing powers streamed from his fingers and coalesced on the injury. This wasn’t his strongest ability, but he’d do what he could and be on his way.
Her smooth brow puckered. She probably sensed the slight heat from his healing. Her slender fingers grabbed his wrist, barely circling it.
