“Watch it!” a man yelled as I darted around a corner in the hospital and slammed into him. I rebounded off his formidable frame, felt a splash of liquid hit my face, then, unable to keep my balance, tumbled to the floor.

My ass took the brunt of the fall but I was too stunned to notice. The man deliberately removed his sunglasses to take in the carnage.

I held my breath, hardly caring if I ever breathed again.

Above me, glaring down, were two bright piercing green eyes. Furious. With me. And I could see why. A suit that must’ve cost thousands of dollars was ruined. Dark patches of scolding hot coffee were soaking into the threads, the fine white shirt peeking out in between his jacket no longer white. It had the look of a shirt from the seventies, a tie dye that had gone very wrong. Stained brown beyond repair.

“You silly little girl,” the man reprimanded. “Look at what you’ve done. Look!”

Little? Girl? I swallowed, his firm tone sending a surge of shivers down my spine.

“Well? Are you just going to sit there? What are you going to do about the mess you made?”

Who the hell did he think he was speaking to? But though the irritation was bristling beneath my skin, the combination of how he filled out his ruined suit, those eyes, and oh god that commanding voice, I was momentarily speechless.

“You’re going to pay for this, one way or another,” he continued.

Crap. Just what I needed.

There was barely enough money in my bank account to afford to clean my own shabby work suits, all bought on sale; there was no way I was going to be able to get that suit fixed up or have it replaced. He literally looked like a million bucks; well, apart from the stain of course, which funnily enough made him seem less like an untouchable, unobtainable fashion model, and more human. Damn right sexy.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, not knowing what else to say, still on the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with him for too long.

He let out a small sigh and reached for my hand. I didn’t take it.

“I’m not going to bite,” he said, but his tone sounded like he would do just that. “Take my hand, get up. Now. I don’t have all night.”

Illogically, I obeyed him. It was probably better than staying on the freezing cold floor, and he pulled me to my feet. So close. Too close. I could smell him. A deep whiff of spice, expensive, luxurious. Out of my league. It had me wanting to step even closer so I could bathe in it.

I got a hold of myself and backed up a step, but even then he was still so near, within touching distance. Our bodies were almost locked together, so much so I had to angle my neck up just to get a good view of his face. Not that I was able to glance at him for long. I dropped my head again as his eyes found mine. In front of me all I could see was where the hot liquid had penetrated the fibers of his shirt, and yet he hadn’t winced at all.

“Are you okay?” I said, hoping on top of everything I hadn’t managed to scald him with the coffee I’d picked up en route for my mom. If there was one thing I knew my mom needed after a fall it would be coffee; she was practically addicted to the stuff.

“I’m fine. But you,” the man—the drop dead gorgeous and very intimidating man—said as he proceeded forward, “you are in a lot of trouble.”

“Shh, baby girl,” I whispered. “Daddy’s here to make the scary nightmare go away…” I let my words sink in for a moment and after a second her eyes, no longer filled with tears, shined with something other than fear. Instead, there was pure need.

“Were you dreaming of me? I bet you were. Wondering when I would come for you. And now I’m going to take what I came for.”

With that I restrained her, grabbing her wrists before she realized what was going on and tied her arms to the headboard of her bed. She lay helpless her arms spread wide, looking up at me, her mouth slightly parted as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Are you going to touch me?”

“Baby girl, I’m going to do more than touch you. I’m going to make you scream.”