Read Online Amber Fire by Lisa Renée Jones - Free Book Online

believe you see him differently. He is dangerous, Amber.”
    â€œHow can I pretend I don’t know?” she demanded, her voice a hoarse whisper.
    â€œYou have to,” he insisted.
    â€œI can’t walk away from this and pretend it doesn’t exist,” she assured him. “That isn’t how I’m made, Jareth. I can’t do nothing.”
    â€œBut you cannot do anything now, certainly not here at the hospital, with Chris in ICU. Get through this. Then, we will talk about what comes next.” He brushed a finger under her eyes, his voice softening. “You’re exhausted. There’s a hotel next door—”
    â€œNo,” she said, flattening her hand on his chest. “I can’t leave him. I know what he did, but, Jareth, he’s a kid. And . . . he’s alone. He has no one in this world. There was no family to call. No one. Chris has not a soul who cares that he is in that bed right now.”
    Jareth ran his hand up her back, molded her chest to his. Brought his lips to hers and brushed them in what turned into a slow passionate kiss that filled her with warmth, with the promise of something more. Something that defied a mere month of casual acquaintance, defied the division of their two races. A kiss that claimed, a kiss that possessed. A kiss that said she wasn’t alone. At least not tonight.
    When finally they walked back to the waiting room, coffee in hand, Amber had resolutely blocked out everything but the comfort radiating off Jareth. Comfort that didn’t last long.
    They rounded the corner and came face to face with Mike and Evelyn. Amber felt as if her insides froze. She was awkward in a way she’d never felt with Mike.
    Evelyn cleared her throat. “We’re going to catch a few hours of sleep.” Her gaze shifted between the two men. “The nurse said they won’t allow him any visitors until morning.”
    Thank God, they are leaving , Amber thought. “Fine. Good. I’ll be here.”
    â€œSo will I,” Jareth said, a warning lacing his promise, his eyes clashing with Mike’s.
    A stiff good-bye followed from Evelyn, who managed to rush her husband away.
    Jareth grabbed Amber and pulled her hard against him. “You cannot act as if you suspect him. It is far too dangerous.”
    â€œI can’t pretend I have no contempt for that man,” she said. “If for no other reason—and there are plenty of others it seems—but he shot a jaguar with a real bullet when we only allow tranquilizer guns on the dig site.” She sharpened her attention on Jareth. “He knows what you are.”
    â€œHe suspects,” he agreed. “He does not know.”
    â€œYour very presence dares him to come after you and you know it,” she challenged.
    â€œLet him try. I don’t die easily, Amber.”
    Her hands settled on his arms. “But you’re not invincible.” She didn’t want Jareth to be ripped away from her like her father had been. Walking away, saying goodbye—that was one thing. But not ripped away. “You should not be here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    He stared down at her, his eyes darkening. “Nor I, you,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. The mood shifted, turned warm, sensual. Her body ached with instant awareness. He was hard; she felt the proof pressed to her stomach. “There is much to discuss, but you need rest. Let’s go get a room. You heard Evelyn. You won’t be able to visit Chris until morning.”
    â€œNo,” she said in instant rejection. She wanted nothing more than to escape into this man’s arms, but she could not. The idea of leaving Chris alone wasn’t even remotely okay with her. What if something happened? “I’m not leaving. And stop changing the subject. You’re a walking target here. You’re the one who should leave.”
    â€œI’m not going anywhere without