Frostbound by Sharon Ashwood

wanted to shrink away—not just because he was taking her captive all over again, but because he was simply too much . Too alive. Too male. She wanted to be alone with her grief, because that was all that seemed real.
    Worse, with both of them on the landing, it was crowded. He had her trapped against the wall. She turned her face away, wishing she could sink into the hard concrete behind her.
    “Come on,” he urged, giving her arm a light tug. “The last thing we need is for Baines to walk through this door.”
    Talia finally looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She’d expected anger, but instead saw sadness. Not pity, but a tightening around the mouth and eyes that mirrored the ache in her throat. He saw her grief, and that dulled the hostility between them.
    A part of her wanted the anger. It was easier to navigate. It would be simpler to strike out, push him down the stairs, leap over his body on the way out into the snowy night. Yet she couldn’t—not when he was looking at her like he could read her soul. “Are you going to lock me up again?”
    “Probably.”
    “Why?”
    “I still don’t know if you’re telling the truth. And now there’s another vampire prowling this building. Can’t you smell him?”
    The moment he said it, the trace of another’s presence penetrated her fog of distress. Talia shivered, suddenly freezing cold. “I heard the cops talking. There’s a registry for rogue vampires. Maybe my sire figured out where I am and sent a bounty hunter.”
    His eyebrows twitched together. “Then what are you doing standing here?”
    “I . . .” She couldn’t answer. She’d been completely derailed by the scene playing out in her old home, which was now anything but a haven. All she could see in her mind’s eye were scattered images of the cops, the gurney, the body. She gripped the wall, light-headed. Vampires can’t faint, can they? Do we go into shock?
    Lore gave her a grim look. “Trust me, you’re safer downstairs. I’ll make sure you’re protected.”
    “I don’t trust anybody.” It had been her mantra for a long time. Michelle had been the exception.
    “Suck it up. They have all the exits covered. Unless you’ve got that vampire hypnosis thing down pat, you’re not getting out of here for a few hours.”
    He wrapped an arm around her waist, both supporting her and effectively capturing her against his tall body. She wasn’t ready for that. She pushed him away, putting distance between them. He let her, but kept an iron grip around one wrist.
    They went cautiously for the first few flights, but then picked up speed once the sound of their footsteps wouldn’t carry to the crime scene.
    “So what was so vital you had to risk your life to go get it?” Lore demanded once he closed his condo door behind them and steered her back into the bedroom.
    “My personal laptop. My money. My driver’s license. My everything.” Talia pulled away and turned to face him. She was feeling steadier, but not by much. “Maybe I needed to say goodbye.”
    Oh, God, I’m back in his bedroom. Ugh! The thought suddenly gave her back her anger. “Don’t you get it? My life just crashed and burned. Again.”
    He leaned against the door, blocking her exit with his body. The posture showed off the worn softness of his jeans. “Again?”
    “What do you think?” She folded her arms and walked toward window. “There’s a lot of starting over involved when you wake up a monster. A lot of losses. And they just keep coming.”
    Her mother. Her humanity. Her family. Her vampire clan. And now this. Her head was starting to clear, and a low, dull throb of anger was building. Someone had stolen her last ray of light, and she was going to make him pay. Michelle needed justice. That was something Talia the Hunter and Talia the vampire could agree on. No, not justice. That was too soft. Vengeance .
    I am not a victim. I am the avenger.
    Outside, the snow was still falling, but she barely saw it. She was