Chapter 25

It was destined to be another sleepless night, with his body once again at the mercy of his frustrated hormones. That had happened a lot since he'd met Lori just a few days earlier. Eric couldn't remember ever wanting a woman with the same instant intensity that he felt for Lori Tremain. It wasn't just physical, either. The way he wanted to be with her, laugh with her, protect her scared the hell out of him.

He was screwing around on-line, trying to decide whether or not he should send Lori flowers, when the little mail icon popped up on the corner of his screen. He clicked yes on the bunch of daffodils he'd been debating over, roses just seemed too clichéd, like something her ex would have sent. Then he surfed back to his in-box, wondering which of his lunatic friends or students was e-mailing him at one o'clock in the morning.

The message he received caused conflicting reactions. First the implied threat made his blood run cold. Then anger heated it right back up again.