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compassion of this total stranger. She’d been a fool, a pathetic, needy fool to agree to marry him.
    You deserved better.
    Annie sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, not sure which was more shocking—the thought itself or that this was the first time she’d had enough pride in herself to think it. Either way, her inner voice was right. She did deserve better, a hell of a lot better.
    “Are you all right?” Namtar asked, moving his hand to cup her cheek.
    “Yes. I’m fine.”
    “Yes, you are. You are too fine a woman for him, for many men.” Namtar let his thumb trail over her bottom lip, sending a sizzle of awareness down between her legs.
    Annie looked up, way up, into his face, tempted to pull him down for a kiss—despite her no-doubt morningish breath—when she saw the sadness in his eyes. It looked as if Namtar might be including himself as one of the many. Strange, considering he had seemingly appointed himself her protector, but a sign she would be stupid to ignore.
    “Do you still want some clothes?” she asked, stepping back, distancing herself from the man in front of her. This wasn’t the time to think of kisses, let alone whether or not Namtar considered her “too fine” for him or not. She needed to attend to the business of getting one man out of her life before she even considered taking on another.
    “Yes, I will wear the sweating pants.”
    “Sweatpants,” Annie corrected, her logical mind sending up an alarm once more. No matter how sexy he was or how sweet he seemed, there was something off about Namtar that couldn’t be explained away by the exotic accent.
    “Yes, of course. They will do until we can acquire proper clothing.”
    “I’m sorry, Namtar, but we are not going to acquire anything.” Her voice was soft, but firm, and Annie hoped he would get the message.
    She wasn’t up for a shopping excursion this morning, definitely not accompanied by a giant of a man in too-tight sweatpants. She could only imagine what would happen if she was spotted by someone she knew in the community. Explaining why it was no longer Roger by her side was not something she was ready for after the past hellish day and a half.
    “You’re right, you will have to acquire them. I have none of what passes for money here, but I will repay you fourfold once we reach—”
    “You don’t understand. I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m not sure I’m going anywhere at all. I might stay in the house all day,” Annie said, hands on her hips, forcing herself to sound tough.
    Namtar might be enormous, but he wasn’t violent—unless you counted his urge to arm himself against Roger. Having been on the receiving end of Roger’s temper, she realized that was quite natural. He wasn’t going to hurt her, even when she made it clear their one night stand, or first date, or whatever it had been, was over.
    “Listen, I had a wonderful time last night, but I’m not in a place where I can make any kind of commitment right now—even one to go shopping together. I have a lot of things to sort through with moving Roger out and canceling the wedding, and—”
    “I understand, we will talk about our possible future together later. Perhaps while we are on the road in your transport. They are called cars, are they not? I have not been to the surface for many years, but I have heard of—”
    “It’s time for you to go,” Annie said, opening the door. She couldn’t handle any more crazy talk this morning. She had enough on her plate.
    “Nonsense. I will not leave you here to the mercy of this Roger. He is a villain of the worst sort.”
    “He’s a lawyer!” Annie laughed; she couldn’t help herself. The sound didn’t seem to please Namtar in the slightest.
    “I care not what a lawyer is. He intends to punish you, to bend your will to his until there is nothing left of your soul. I read that truth in his aura, one of the blackest I have seen outside the demon realms.” A stormy look flared in