Lover Beware

the night and just sort of scout around his house. If you say so, of course I’ll believe it. Is that telescope up on the battlement directed toward his bedroom?”
    “Don’t you dare look,” Sarah ordered.
    Hannah studied her face. “You’re laughing but your eyes aren’t. What’s wrong, Sarah?” She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Tell me.”
    Sarah frowned. “He carries Death on him. I’ve seen it. And he read it in the mosaic. I don’t know whose death, but I’m drawn to him. His heart is broken and pierced through, and the weight of carrying Death is slowly crushing him. He saw a red ring around the moon.”
    “Violence and death surround him,” Hannah said softly, almost to herself. “Why are you going alone?”
    “I have to. I feel…” Sarah searched for the right word.
    “Drawn. It’s more than a job, Hannah. It’s him.”
    “He could be dangerous.”
    “He’s surrounded by danger, but if he’s dangerous to me, it isn’t in the way you’re thinking.”
    “Oh my gosh, you really do like this guy. You think he’s hot. I’m telling the others and I’m going up to the battlement to check him out!” Hannah turned and raced into the house, banging the screen door so Sarah couldn’t follow her.
    Sarah laughed as she blew a kiss to her sister and started down the stairs. Hannah looked wonderful as always. Tall and tanned and beautiful even after traveling across the sea. If her wavy hair was tousled, she just looked in vogue. Other women paid fortunes to try to achieve her natural wind-blown style. Sarah had always been uncommonly proud of Hannah’s genuine elegance. She had a bright spirit that shone like the stars overhead. Hannah had a free spirit that longed for wide-open spaces and the wonders of the world. She spoke several languages and traveled extensively. One month she might be found in the pages of a magazine with the jet-setters, the next she was on a dig in Cairo. Her tall slender carriage and incredibly beautiful face made her sought after by every magazine and fashion designer. It was her gentle personality that always drew people to her. Sarah was happy she was home.
    Sarah made a little sound as she made her way down the small deer path that cut through her property to Damon Wilder’s. She knew every inch of her property. And she knew every inch of his. Her hair was tightly braided to keep it from being snagged on low branches or brambles. Her soft-soled shoes were light, allowing her to feel her way over twigs and dried leaves. She wasn’t thinking about Damon’s broad shoulders or his dark, tormented eyes. And she didn’t believe in romance. Not for Sarah. That was for elegant Hannah or beautiful Joley. Well, maybe not the beautiful, wild Joley, but definitely for most of her other sisters. Just not Sarah.
    Damon Wilder was in trouble in more ways than he knew. Sarah didn’t like complications. Ancient prophecies and broad shoulders and black auras were definite complications. Moonlight spilled over the sea as she made her way along the cliffs, following the narrow deer path that eventually wound down the back side of Damon’s property. The powerful waves boomed as they rushed and ebbed and collapsed in a froth of white. Sarah found the sound of the sea soothing, even when it raged in a storm. She belonged there, had always belonged, as had her family before her. She didn’t fear the sea or the wilds of the countryside, yet her heart was pounding in sudden alarm. Pounding with absolute knowledge.
    She was not alone in the night. Instinctively she lowered her body so she wouldn’t be silhouetted against the horizon. She used more care, blending into the shadows, using the foliage for cover. She moved with stealth. She was used to secrecy, a highly trained professional. There was no sound as the branches slid away from her tightly knit jumpsuit and her crepe-soled shoes eased over the ground.
    Sarah made her way to the outskirts of the house. She knew all about Damon Wilder. One of the smartest men on the planet. A government’s treasure. The one-man think tank that had come up with one of the most innovative defense systems ever conceived. His ideas were pure genius, far ahead of their time. He was a steady, focused man. A perfectionist who never overlooked the smallest detail.
    When she read about him, before accepting her watchdog assignment, Sarah had been impressed with the sheer tenacity of his character. Now that she had met him, she