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tingly all over her. Heat coiled in her stomach. He had to be the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. Unable to break the stare, a feeling of rightness filled her. Spending the evening with Ivan had been the right thing to do. She felt so safe in his presence. Maybe Ivan could even help her with her search. He was obviously doing well and possibly had access to resources she didn’t. In the past, he had always helped her and been supportive. Opening her mouth, she was once again about to unburden all of her problems to Ivan.
    A loud “No” reverberated in her head. Closing her eyes, she could almost hear a voice shouting in her mind. What in the hell just happened?
    Ignoring a stab of fear, she gathered her courage and opened her eyes. Funny, Ivan’s eyes didn’t look so warm and inviting now. Instead, they’d gone cold and dark.
    “I haven’t been up to much recently,” she said, lying smoothly as she shifted away from him. “I’ve always wanted to travel to the South, and I needed to get away after my mother died. I planned on taking the train tour of North Carolina and to be honest, I was running out of money. So I decided it was time to go home.”
    “Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me?” Ivan’s smooth tone belied the blaze of heat in his eyes.
    Clearing her throat, she swallowed. Lying always made her nervous. “Nope, I’m pretty boring. I’ve been up here for a few weeks, living off savings.” In an effort to look convincing, she shrugged her shoulders. “And that’s about it.”
    His only response was an hmm. “Would you like something to drink?” He got to his feet and went to the far corner of the kitchen where a wine rack had been built between the cabinets. “I have from super dry to semi-sweet.”
    She gave an audible yawn. “Thank you, but no. I think it’s time I turn in.” No way could she be in his presence any longer. Ten more minutes and she’d be blabbing about everything, including the strange voice in her head. He’d probably call Bellevue. Maybe that wasn’t a bad answer. Maybe she was cracking up. “Could you please show me where I’ll be sleeping?”
    “Follow me.” Ivan led her down a wide hallway and gestured. “You can use the first one on the right. Go ahead. I’m going to be up for awhile.”
    “Okay.”
    An awkward silence filled the air.
    “Well, then, goodnight.” She had her hand on the doorknob when he called her name.
    “Yes?”
    “I’ll wake you up around six, so you can catch your train on time.”
    Pausing mid stride, she turned around, surprised by his thoughtfulness. A stab of guilt pierced her conscience. This was Ivan. Her dear friend whom she hadn’t seen in forever and she was practically running away from him.
    She met his dark gaze and the strange sensation of something filtering through her mind began again. No. She couldn’t do it. She had too much at stake. She turned and headed back toward the guestroom. Slipping into the room, she closed the door and leaned against its back, feeling like she’d had a narrow escape.
    What in the world was she going to do?

Chapter 10
    Victoria shifted on the bed, then stared at the ceiling. She sat up, fluffed her oversized pillow and placed it beneath her head as she leaned against the headboard and scanned the room. It was beautiful. It even smelled woodsy, just like Ivan. The cream-colored sheets on the queen-sized bed felt like silk against her skin. The comforter was cream-colored as well and felt wonderfully soft. It had to be down. The carpet was just as plush as the carpet in the living room. A room like this room would have usually wowed her. But not tonight. Her mind was buzzing, and she was unable to relax enough to sleep.
    Ivan dominated her thoughts. Since she had met him at the train station, her whole body felt alive, like white-hot electricity was flowing through her. Being around him for an evening had invigorated her, making her forget all of her