No One's Angel

Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.

When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.

But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it—and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.

Read an excerpt:

Arion reaches for my hand but catches only air. I freeze. And then I

shiver. Without the warmth of the blankets, I remember I'm not

wearing anything but his shirt, and given the look he's giving me

now, I'm not the only one who's noticed. That expression I can

read just fine.

"You aren't going anywhere, Angel."

I suck in a sharp breath, hearing his words in someone else's

voice.

But I did. I'm here. I left.

My eyes dart around the room like a moth fluttering against a light.

My pile of clothes, which should have been by the door, is missing.

"Did you take my clothes?" The tightening in my chest makes my

words breathless. I try to tell myself not to panic, but that's

like telling a dog not to wag its tail. Acknowledging it only makes

it worse. I gulp for more air as my head starts to spin.

"Would only seem fair. After all, you took mine." His tone is

tense, but beneath it I can hear his familiar teasing. I try to tell

myself I don't have to be afraid. This is Arion. The one person I

trust. I know him.

But I don't, and to tell myself otherwise is a lie.

If he wants his freaking shirt he can have it. I've got to get out

of here. My fingers begin undoing the buttons without me really

thinking about it, and then I'm shrugging my shoulders free.

His eyes go from warm pools of interest to sexy oceans of desire in

the time it takes me to remember I don't even have a bra on.

I manage to catch the shirt just before it falls away from my hips,

and I quickly wrap it around me, covering myself. I tilt my chin

toward him defiantly, daring him to say or do anything even as I want

to beg him to let me go. At the same time I want to beg him to pull

me close. My emotion is a giant see-saw, and I'm tottering on the

edge with him in the middle. If he takes one step toward me, it will

tip the balance.