Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances

by Nicole Morgan

  Terror gripped her. It was him. The murderer.

  The fight or flight response was so strong she almost caved in to it. For a split second, she toyed with twisting the doorknob and getting out. In another brief second, she thought about throwing herself at him and plunging the knife into him. But the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked had her standing stiff. She could only hope that Nick knew the intruder was here.

  Nick had always thought of himself as a patient man, keeping his head cool under extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, when it came to Summer, his calmness was out the window. He knew he should keep focused on taking out the killer any way he could, but all he could think about was finding her and getting her the hell out of here.

  Upon awakening outside, he’d managed to stand. Barely. Thankfully he hadn’t passed out again, but he’d come damn close. He realized he could only stagger, compliments of the blows he’d taken to his head and neck. So he’d swayed along the cabin wall until he’d fallen. Then he’d crawled around to the back of the cabin hoping to hell the intruder had left the door unlocked. He had.

  How the hell had this murdering son of a bitch found them? he thought as he sifted through the envelope that contained the spare key to the rental. He’d placed the key on the top shelf of the closet by the front door. Had he somehow gotten to Ryan? That question would have to go unanswered for now. All he needed was that key to the rental and—

  In the darkness, he reached up, groped around the shelf and almost fell over as a wave of dizziness rocked him. Okay, so no more reaching. Breathing hard, he slumped against the inside of the closet and waited for the gut-rolling lightheadedness to pass. It was then he saw the light turn on in the living room and realized the intruder must have climbed back in through the bathroom window.

  Dammit!

  He tried to reach up for the key again, but the dizziness roared over him making him sway dangerously.

  Oh, shit.

  Terror iced Summer’s veins as she heard the killer come closer. His footsteps were just the same as that night he’d come into the gallery. Slow and deliberate.

  She stood as still as a hunted animal and held her ground, slowly removing her hand from the doorknob and repositioning the knife in her other hand, hoping he hadn’t seen it.

  She swore she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She wouldn’t let him rape her or torture her. She was sure the other women he’d attacked were thinking the same thing and look what had happened to them. Swallowing back the bitter bile that jolted up into her throat, she forced herself to inhale slowly and deeply.

  “Now I finally have you don’t I, Summer?” The killer was chuckling, the grating sound of his laughter sent chills screaming through her. She shook harder. Held tight to her cane and to the knife.

  “I have been watching you and wanting you for so long.” His voice didn’t sound right. Tight and lusty. Aroused? The man was obviously a sicko. “When you didn’t come home the other day, I was worried you’d been badly hurt in that fall. You can imagine my surprise when I called the area hospital and found you’d already been discharged.”

  “W-Who are you? What do you want with me?”

  “Ah, Summer. Sweet, sweet, Summer. Your red hair glows so beautifully under the lights. May I touch your hair?”

  Was this guy for real?

  “Keep your distance,” she growled in anger. Holding the knife tighter behind her back, her fear increased.

  He took a step forward. She saw his shadow now. He was about ten feet away and to her right. He looked about her height. But wider than her.

  She had to keep him talking. Keep him focused on her. It would give Nick a chance to get away. God, she hoped he was able to get the car keys and go out the front door undetected. She prayed he didn’t stick around to play the hero. This guy had Nick’s gun for crying out loud. Besides, Mary had called the cops. They would come. Wouldn’t they? If Summer could just keep this guy calm and talking, the cops would come. They had to!

  Think, girl! Think!

  How could she, a blind woman, protect herself? She just had to stall him. But how? Her mind was racing so much, she could barely form a thought. What did finally form in her mind was an idea. Didn’t they always say in a hostage situation to make the kidnapper aware of you as a human being and not as an object? Or something to that effect? Gosh, she hoped she remembered right.

  “Do we know each other?” she asked. Her voice was shakier than she was.

  “I’ve seen your pictures in the art magazines of course. And I visited your website. I was awestruck to discover you’re blind. I’ve never made love to a blind woman before.”

  Oh God. She was starting to feel lightheaded and sick to her stomach.

  “And what about those other girls? Why did you go after them when you have me?”

  Oh sweet Lord, she hoped she wasn’t getting herself killed by saying that.

  He chuckled softly.

  “Ah, my angel. You’re not jealous, are you? They didn’t mean anything to me.”

  She bet he said that to all the girls. This guy was one sick puppy.

  “Why would you bother with those girls if they meant nothing?” she snapped.

  He didn’t say anything. She stiffened as he took another step toward her.

  “And what’s with the gun? Why would you make love to a woman with a gun on her? Is that some macho thing? Because it really doesn’t turn me on. I want romance. And I want to know your name.”

  Okay, she was totally nuts going down this avenue. Focusing his attention on the gun would most certainly remind him to attack her. Oh boy, she really wanted to puke now.

  “You don’t need romance, Angel. You’re already trembling for me.” Despite not wanting to, she shook harder. Her heart was pumping terror straight through her and she swore she was going to faint.

  He took another step toward her. He was now around six or so feet away. She wanted to run. Oh God, she wanted to run so bad, it hurt. The fear was so intense her knees were growing weak. But she stood her ground. She would wait until he got close enough. Timing. It was everything.

  “What’s your name? At least tell me that before you make love to me,” she said. She was surprised her voice sounded so firm and not as shaky as she felt.

  Make love? Okay, she’d flipped her lid for sure.

  “Don’t you recognize my voice? We’ve spoken several times on the phone. When you placed orders for your art supplies? I loved the sound of your voice the minute I heard you. Your voice turned me on so much. I asked you if you were a true redhead and you said yes. And you look so much like her. It’s uncanny.”

  She didn’t remember any such conversation. She was easygoing and always joked with people on the phone.

  “Who? Who do I look like?”

  “Her.” He spat out the word in anger. He took two steps forward. “Don’t talk about her.”

  Another volley of shivers scrambled through her. How could she deal with this? This guy needed major shrink time in a cell.

  “Can’t you give me your name?” she managed to say between her chattering teeth. Oh sweet mercy, she’d been dumped into a nightmare. All because she’d agreed on a telephone conversation that she had red hair and because he thought she sounded nice? It was crazy!

  The psycho moved fast, grabbing her arm so violently, she nearly fell. Her heart staggered in her chest as he pulled her against him. She screamed. Struggled against his vise-like grip, suddenly remembering the knife in her hand. He held her so tight, she couldn’t so much as move her arms. Thankfully, she managed to angle the knife and push it against him. And into him.

  A sharp inhalation of his rancid breath seared against her face. She felt the slightest release on her arms but then he only gripped her tighter. He was squeezing her so hard, she could barely breathe. He was crushing her chest and her arms until faintness swept through her. Until her fingers became numb and she automatically dropped the knife.

  No! Any hope she’d mustered, vanished
.

  The sound of a gunshot seared her ears.

  Oh God! He’d shot her. But she didn’t feel anything. Shock. It had to be the shock.

  Another gunshot sliced through the air. Warm liquid sprayed against her face. Blood. Her blood? Or his?

  His tight hold loosened and she grabbed blindly for his gun. Cool metal slapped against her palms. She had it!

  “Get away from him so I can get a clearer shot!” Nick shouted.

  Another shot echoed through the air. She felt her captor lurch.

  Grabbing the gun, she pushed against him with all her might. But he didn’t let go.

  “You…little slut,” he growled against her ear. His breath smelled bad. Of onions. She cringed as he licked her chin. “You deserve to die for screwing…around on me. You deserve…to die, my fallen angel.”

  She aimed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

  Suddenly he let go of her.

  “Run! Summer! Go! Go! To your left!”

  She ran through the darkness toward Nick’s voice and then veered to the left as his instructions sunk through her fear.

  Another gunshot rang out. It was quickly followed by the unmistakable sound of someone falling.

  “Nick!” she screamed.

  “I’m here, baby. I’m here.” She was being embraced by a couple of very strong arms and she shook even harder as she tried to sort out everything that had just happened.

  “How did you…get…a gun?” She was shaking so hard she couldn’t even form sentences.

  “I had another gun in the car. Locked in the glove compartment.”

  He held her tighter, kissed the tears running down her cheeks. She was so happy he was okay.

  “The emergency keys were in the jacket. I had to go out to the rental…I didn’t know if I would have enough time…”

  Nick cursed violently and she absolutely loved the sound of his swearing. He was safe and he was alive.

  “Is he?” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Just the thought of the insane guy made another volley of shivers rage through her. Was she ever going to stop all this shaking? Or would she be a nervous wreck for the rest of her days?

  “He’s got four slugs in him. I couldn’t get a clear shot because he had you too close to him. I winged him the first couple of times, but he’s out of commission now. You’re safe. Shh, try to relax.”

  Terrible possibilities of what could have happened if Nick hadn’t shot him when he did, ran rampant through her mind. Icy sweat covered her and her knees melted. That lightheadedness made a comeback. Big-time.

  “It’s okay. I got you.”

  She allowed herself to sink against him and he staggered. In all this commotion, she’d forgotten he was injured.

  “I can’t believe this happened. I just can’t believe it.” She just couldn’t stop herself from shaking.

  The faraway sound of police sirens zipped through the living room.

  He led her to the living room couch, which they both fell onto. She loved that he held her so close. Loved him when he kissed her.

  “I love you, Summer,” he whispered after he pulled back from the kiss.

  “I love you,” she sobbed and curled her arms over his shoulders, holding on tight.

  “I think we’ve lost way too much time. How about we get married?”

  Love swelled inside her heart. “Thought you’d never ask.”

  Suddenly, she laughed, finding it odd that with a dead guy in the room, she actually could laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “I was thinking after what just happened we can handle anything life decides to throw our way.”

  “What the hell is going on in here?” Ryan’s horrified voice broke through the living room, moments after the door burst inward.

  “Except maybe Ryan,” both Nick and Summer said in unison.

  Despite both of them shaking uncontrollably, they burst out laughing.

  Epilogue

  A warm salty breeze drifted into Summer’s partially open bedroom window, nudging her awake. Beside her, an erotic warmth rolled off Nick, and she could feel the pressure coiling inside him as he held her in his arms.

  Sexual pressure. Hot, lusty and so very nice. The fantastic tension was there between them every morning when she woke up and as always, her body immediately reacted with a burst of sweet moisture between her thighs and an overwhelming urge to merge with her man.

  Six weeks had passed since that awful night at the cabin. Ryan had been dumbfounded and at a loss for words at Nick hooking up with her. But he seemed to accept their new relationship without too much trouble. He was probably relieved because Summer now had a full time “babysitter”.

  She wasn’t complaining.

  Since that night, Nick appeared to have gotten over his fear of losing her. He seemed happy. He’d suffered some nasty head and neck wounds but the doctor said he would be fine with lots of tender loving care. That was her department, of course, and she’d been dishing out love big-time.

  He’d quit his overseas job by selling his share of the bodyguard business to Ryan and then moved in with Summer. She’d finally told him about her eyesight and as she predicted he’d set up appointments to have tests.

  Although she still did see the shadowy figures and different shades of lighting, it hadn’t gotten much better since their time at the cabin, so she decided it was best to learn to accept whatever came her way regarding her blindness.

  The killer was dead because of the gunshot wounds suffered in the altercation. The police discovered he’d tapped Mary’s phone as well as finding a sophisticated military listening device placed against the wall of her apartment building. Police also discovered he’d been a security analyst in the military, discharged due to mental instability.

  He’d also been working many years ago as a salesman at his father’s art supply store in Florida. His father had rehired him as a salesman when he’d been released from an asylum where he’d been put for thirteen years until a combination of new medications had seemed to calm his instability.

  The store was one where she ordered her favorite type of Swiss-made wood carving knives. According to the killer’s stepmother and father, he was a quiet loner who stuck mainly to himself. Family members admitted that fifteen years ago he did have one girlfriend. The only girlfriend he’d ever had that they were aware of.

  She was a sweet, gentle woman. A kind-hearted artist. A very pretty redhead with blue eyes, but she disappeared one day. He’d never been the same since.

  Shortly after being released from the asylum, he’d found another girlfriend, who looked eerily similar to his first. Realizing he was stalking her, she’d broken off their relationship almost immediately. She’d gotten a restraining order against him and then she’d moved out of the country, not giving a forwarding address. It seemed her rejection had prompted him to stop taking his meds, triggering his latest killing spree.

  Reaching out, Summer settled her palm on Nick’s warm chest and heard him inhale. His heart beat strong against her fingertips and happiness filled her heart.

  “You’re awake?” he asked, his voice sounded low and sultry. So damn sexy.

  “Awake and ready for you,” she breathed and smoothed her palm farther down over his flat stomach to clasp his hard cock.

  “Just as I suspected.” She held his swollen flesh, testing its heaviness.

  He laughed in answer and curled her tighter into his solid embrace. She snuggled her face into his bulging arm and squeezed his swollen member.

  “I want you bad, babe. Climb on top of me. I missed you all night.”

  “You missed me? Or your cock missed me?”

  “Hmm, now that’s a tough one to answer.”

  Her mouth dropped open in a mock gasp at his sultry answer and her eyes opened.

  That’s when white-hot shock seared through her whole system and she forgot to breathe. She blinked at a man she hadn’t seen in over ten years.

  He was grinnin
g widely, enjoying teasing her. His gaze was on her face and unmistakable love poured out of a pair of the most gorgeous brown eyes. She’d forgotten how breathtakingly handsome he looked. He’d changed little since she’d last seen him.

  His brown hair was short with sprinkles of silver here and there. He even had that sexy five o’clock shadow she always found so irresistible.

  She couldn’t stop staring at his face and she knew exactly the moment he realized she was actually seeing him. His grin softened those crinkles at the sides of his eyes. His dark brows twisted downward into a frown and oh man, his lips were so full and still so kissable, the sight of them sent a spear of longing racing through her.

  “Summer?”

  He was turning toward her now. Those luscious muscles bulging in his arms were tearing excitement through her like a live wire. But she just couldn’t stop staring at him, taking him all in. Insane happiness bubbled through her as his frown turned upward back into a heart-stopping grin.

  “You can see me?”

  She nodded.

  He cursed softly and broke into a rough laugh. Then his warm mouth branded hers and she was experiencing the most toe-curling kiss of her life.

  Oh yes, she was the luckiest woman alive.

  About the Author

  Jan Springer writes full-time at her home nestled in cottage country, Ontario, Canada. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, gardening, reading and writing. She is a member of the Writers Union of Canada and the Romance Writers of America.

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