Seduced in Shadow (Magical Seduction, Book Two)

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An Excerpt From: SEDUCED IN SHADOW

Copyright ? STEPHANIE JULIAN, 2008

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.

Ellie gasped and nearly passed out from shock when a
man?tall, dark and dreamy?stepped out from behind the trees.

?Whoa, hey, I didn?t mean to scare you.?

The man?s voice was deep, a little raspy, completely
mesmerizing. He held up his hands as if in surrender but when he stepped
forward, she screamed. And fell backward off the bench in her haste to get
away.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Heart pounding, Ellie scrambled to her feet, keeping the
bench between them.

Oh holy shit. This was it. This was what they warned
women about in those running magazine articles.

How could she have been so stupid? Alone in the woods at
six o?clock in the morning with no one around to hear her scream for help.

The man looked long and lean, a little over six feet
tall she guessed. With those legs, he?d catch her easily if she ran. His
arms bulged with muscle under the short-sleeved green t-shirt that clearly
defined his broad shoulders and flat stomach, while his thighs filled out
his worn jeans.

Despite her fear, she could appreciate the sheer
masculine appeal of the man. He was gorgeous.

Straight, shaggy-cut black hair hung to his shoulders,
long bangs off a side part nearly obscuring light-colored eyes?maybe gray.
He wasn?t close enough for her to tell the exact color, and if she had her
way, he wasn?t getting any closer.

His face was all angles?chiseled
cheeks and chin and straight, pointed nose. Hell, she thought she
even glimpsed pointy ears beneath that silky-looking hair. A slight smile
turned up the corners of his wickedly sexy mouth but it was the scattering
of freckles on that nose that capped his appeal for her. Hell if she knew
why.

The real question was why he was lurking in the woods,
stalking innocent women. With his looks, he?d be able to seduce any woman
he wanted.

Which made the situation all the more
surreal.

Okay, play it cool. You can get out of this.
?Wow. You scared the hell out of me. I wasn?t?expecting to see anyone out
here this early.?

?You?re right.? His smile kicked in again and this time
her breath caught in her throat at his pure masculinity. ?There shouldn?t be
anyone out here this early.?

Right. Maybe she was reading this situation
completely wrong. What if this guy was a park ranger? She?d gladly take a
ticket for trespassing instead of rape and murder any day.

Playing on her blonde, violet-eyed looks for all she was
worth, Ellie fluttered her eyelashes at him and turned on the bright smile
that had gotten her out of many high school scrapes.

?I am so sorry. I didn?t realize? I mean, the sun
is up and I just wasn?t thinking. Am I in trouble??

His smile widened and she felt heat that had nothing to
do with the air temperature begin to pool low in her stomach.

How inappropriate was that? From terrified to horny in
two minutes.

?