Tuesday, October 19, 5:15 a.m.
She had a power over him.
In this room, alone with her, words failed him. Here he followed her lead, moving with an economy of motion, undressing quickly and falling into bed before reason spoke. Their sex was always urgent. Hot. And it left his heart punching against his ribs.
This time, like every time before, she rose out of bed, his scent clinging to her, and dressed in silence. He knew what would follow. She’d manage a quick fix of her tousled auburn hair, they’d share obligatory, if not embarrassed, pleasantries, and she would leave never suggesting that there should be a next time.
However, this time when she rose, Daniel wasn’t content to just let her leave. He rolled on his side and watched her trembling fingers smooth the bunched cream silk slip down over her naked hips. She moved to the mirror and inspected once well-applied make-up now sinfully smudged and pale skin, crimson with sex’s afterglow.
He wanted her back in bed, curled at his side, but he hesitated to ask. She’d been clear from the beginning that she’d only signed up for good, hot sex. She didn’t want a lover or a boyfriend or anything that involved commitment.
That first time he’d agreed to her terms, counting his lucky stars and fully expecting little more than satisfaction and a pleasant memory. But from that initial release until now, he couldn’t get enough of her. The more she gave, the more he wanted.
And the line she’d drawn between professional and personal had entirely faded—for him.
Manicured fingers slid over the slip as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand, sighed and collected her scattered clothes from the floor.
He made no effort to hide his fascination with her. They’d shared his motel room five other times now but he’d yet to see her fully naked. She had a long sleek form, creamy skin, narrow tapered waist and a nicely rounded bottom. He wasn’t sure what she hid from him, but found the mystery more consuming each time they had sex.
Last time he’d seen the scar marring her side and thought he’d discovered her secret. He’d asked her about it she’d shrugged and said, “I was shot.”
Curious, he’d pulled the police file and read the details of the shooting. It had occurred three years ago. She’d been working late. A client’s hit man had entered her office and shot her because she’d been considered a loose end. Bleeding and alone, she’d escaped to a bathroom and locked the door. The shooter, unable to reach her, had barricaded her inside and left her for dead. It would be another eight hours before she would escape and call 911. The crime scene photos had stirred primal anger in him.
From BEFORE SHE DIES. Copyright © 2012 by Mary Burton. All Rights Reserved. Published by arrangement with Zebra Books/Kensington Publishing Corp.
The word WITCH tattooed on the forehead of a woman who was first drowned then staked to the ground sets the chilling opening in Mary Burton’s Before She Dies. For homicide detective Daniel Rokov, the murder points to a killer obsessed with the occult. For his lover, district attorney Charlotte Wellington, it triggers a long-suppressed nightmare….
Charlotte hasn’t told Daniel of her misspent childhood reading palms in her stepfather’s traveling carnival, or that her older sister, Mariah, was murdered. And now, like a bad omen, a carnival has arrived in town along with a young woman, a psychic, claiming to be her niece. As Charlotte’s fears mount and the body count rises, a madman draws closer to the temptress who got away….
Hardcover : 416 pages
Publisher: Zebra Books ( February 07, 2012 )
Item #: 13-506904
ISBN: 9781617935282
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 1.04inches
Product Weight: 16.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

I have read all of Mary Burton's books and loved them all. This one is so great!! I loved how she mentioned the characters from the other two books so we knew what they were up to but she developed the characters in this book so, very well. I couldn't put it down and neither could my mom and grandma. All three of us really enjoyed this book and it's rare for the three of us to completely agree on a book. Usually someone has a different opinion but not this time. I look forward to more from this author!
Reviewer: candy
Reviewer: letane
Kept me interested till the end. Great series of books.
Reviewer: Fern
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