She was the oneâ¦
As soon as his flesh touched hers, Bren felt as if an electric current had been set loose within him.
No wonder he had been so strongly called to her. No wonder the very sight of her damn near made him crazy.
Miranda Lynch was the only woman in this world he could bond with, the only woman in existence who could save him from being the last of his kind. Heâd thought this special woman his mother had always told him would come one day was a myth, and yet here she was, standing before him with her hand in his.
There was no place in this world for the Korbinians, not any more. Their time had passed. Logically he could dismiss Miranda Lynch; rationally he knew what she promised would never work. But a primitive instinct he could not deny now accepted this woman as his, and he wanted her so sharply that he could think of nothing else.
LINDA WINSTEAD JONES is a New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty romance books in several subgenres â historical, fairy tale, paranormal and, of course, romantic suspense. Sheâs won a Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence twice. She is also a three-time RITA® Award finalist and (writing as Linda Fallon) winner of the 2004 RITA® Award for paranormal romance.
Linda lives in north Alabama with her husband of thirty-four years. She can be reached via www.eHarlequin.com or her own website, www.lindawinsteadjones.com.
âDonât you trust me?â Jessica asked.
âBehind the wheel of a car? Never.â
Miranda gripped the padded handle of the passenger door and held her breath as the car took a sharp curve too fast. The rolling north Georgia mountains were brilliant green with the coming of summer, and the rock formation just beyond the passenger window sped by much too close for safety or comfort. Miranda didnât say anything about Jessicaâs drivingâsheâd given up that futile task years agoâand still her older sister laughed at her reaction.
The setting sun dipped lower on the horizon, coloring the sky pink and yellow and orange on this beautiful April evening. Flowering plants on either side of the road screamed of life that fought to survive in an unfriendly environment, while hearty evergreens on the hills above seemed ancient and indestructible. Soon it would be dark, but this fleeting moment was breathtakingly beautiful.
Mirandaâs design degree had been newly awarded. She and Jessicaâher only familyâhad plans for a new and exciting interior design business in Atlanta, and even if they did have terrible luck with menâthe Lynch love curse, Jessica called itâMiranda knew she should be happy. She should be content. This was a good time in her life.
But an inexplicable discontent gnawed at her, the way it sometimes did. For the past few days sheâd occasionally caught herself holding her breath for no reason at all, and now and then she got the oddest feeling that someone was watching her. Sheâd even turned around a couple of times, thinking sheâd catch someone spying on her. Not that anyone had reason to spy on an ordinary girl like her!
Miranda had had good instincts since sheâd been a little girl, and sheâd learned to trust her first impressions when it came to the people she met. Her initial reaction to a person was usually strong and unmistakable; at first sight, she liked or disliked those she met. On the few occasions sheâd ignored those instincts sheâd later regretted it.
There was something beyond ordinary instincts within her, something she tried very hard to dismiss. Jessica knew about her little sisterâs uncanny intuition, but not even she knew about the other little oddity.
On rare occasions Miranda got butterflies and chills and knots, as well as a peculiar feeling that all was not well when outwardly it appeared that everything was fine. It had been years since sheâd suffered a deep sensation of unidentifiable discontent like the one she was experiencing now; a week after that last troubling incident, her seemingly perfectly healthy mother had passed away suddenly, her kind heart failing without warning.
This time it was just nerves making her feel odd, Miranda told herself. Graduation. A new business. Life! Her future was bright, and nothing would get in the way of her plans.
Jessica took a corner too fast and again Miranda instinctively tightened her grip on the armrest. The bright lights of the truck that had crept into the wrong lane blinded her, much as the sun had not so long ago. The sisters barely had time to scream.
Bren awoke with a start. Something was wrong. Not just a little wrong, but very wrong. Disastrously wrong. In spite of the intense sensation of doom, the fire crackled in the fireplace, and the television played on at a low volume. All was as heâd left it in this half-finished mountaintop house he called home.