The night air had grown cooler since they had arrived and Sam was glad Holt's arm lay across her shoulders. She felt protected as he guided her to his patrol car parked at the curb. After helping her inside he walked around to the driver's side and slid in behind the steering wheel. Her thoughts were chaotic and she tried to calm the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. Fear that her stalker was back warred with her common sense which was telling her Holt would keep her safe.

Sam knew she could go to her aunt and uncle but Holt's earlier argument that they might get hurt if the stalker came after her again was logical. However, that was not the reason she was letting him take her home with him. Holt could just as easily be hurt by the stalker too but Sam realized she wanted to be with him. She needed to be with him as much as she needed to be able to rely on his strength and protection. She had gone it alone for so long she knew the fragile threads that were holding her together were slowly unraveling and she needed someone there to keep her from coming apart.

"So, can you talk about what happened?" Holt asked quietly beside her.

"Yes, though I haven't much." Sam wrapped a strand of auburn hair around her finger and twisted it distractedly. "I don't know what he looks like, he wore a stocking mask. I might recognize his voice but I was so scared I blocked out a lot. Sometimes I remember something new. Little things, like the color of his eyes and the way he moved."

Sam broke off. It was funny how the mind worked. During the months right after the attack she had remembered more and more detail but those memories had not all been blessings. Everything she could remember with regard to physical characteristics might eventually help the police but the things he had said to her in the dark of her bedroom and the feel of his hands on her body only added to her nightmares.

"Sorry," she apologized. Sam felt the tears surface in her eyes and brushed them hastily away. She could not afford to give in to weakness.

Holt reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "We will find him and stop him, Sam."

He pulled the car into a driveway and Sam realized they were in a residential part of town she had never seen before. It was a narrow street lined by older homes she guessed were built sometime in the nineteen thirties, craftsman-style with lots of wood and rock exteriors. With her overnight bag in his hand, Holt led her up the sidewalk to the front door. The house was flanked by tall trees with a wide porch and well-maintained yard. The neat, tidiness was impressive. Holt unlocked the door and leaned in to switch on the interior light.

The interior was impressive, too, with its dark oak furnishings and rich jewel toned fabrics. It was certainly not the bachelor pad Sam half-expected and she was inordinately pleased. This house was not just a place to hang his hat, it was a home and just another layer of the man she was finding out was multi-faceted.

"It's lovely," she complimented.

"I'm glad you like it. When I moved here I decided I wanted to make this town my home, not just a stopping off point on my way somewhere else. When the real estate agent showed me this place I knew I wanted it. Luckily, the previous owners had put a lot of hard work into restoring it."

He locked the front door behind them as he spoke and started down the central hallway. Holt led her to what she recognized right away as the master bedroom. His signature was everywhere, from the freshly cleaned uniforms still hanging in plastic on the closet door, to the boots standing under the window. He laid her bag on the bed and turned to face her.

"This is the only bedroom downstairs and since I don't want that much separation between us, I'll take the sofa in the living room." Holt explained. "There are fresh towels in the bathroom through that door. What time do you want me to wake you in the morning?"

Sam stood and stared at him a moment trying to absorb everything he said. The one thing that stood out was the fact he did not plan on sharing the bedroom with her. Unable to conceal her disappointment, Sam closed the distance between them until she was close enough to reach out and touch his arm.

"I usually get up at six and the bed looks large enough for two," she offered. His arm was warm but she felt the muscles beneath her hand tense.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sam."

"Why not?" Sam's voice communicated her bewilderment. She needed him in a way she had never needed anyone before. She wanted to feel safe and protected but most of all she wanted to forget all her fears and worries, if only for awhile. Sam knew Holt could make her forget. She wanted to get lost in him.

Holt ran a weary hand through his dark hair before drawing her slim body closer. "Don't think I don't want to make love to you, Sam, because there's nothing I want more, but not here, not now. You're vulnerable..." Holt raised an unsteady finger to her lips when she would have protested. "You're too vulnerable right now and when you let me make love to you, Sam, I want it to be for the right reason, not because you're scared and feeling alone."

Sam stood quietly and listened to every word he said. He was only partly right about her reasons for wanting him right here, right now, but she could not argue with his logic. He wanted her and that was the important thing. She could wait.

"Okay." Her voice was reserved but her smile told him she really was okay.

Holt moved away from her. "I'm going to set the alarm. If it goes off I want you to head for the bathroom and lock the door. I'll find you there." Holt moved to the bedroom door and paused. "It's late, try to get some sleep, Sam."

"Good-night, Holt. And thank you."

After Holt closed his bedroom door, he moved along the hallway to the living room. He gathered together a pillow and blanket before he set the house alarm. He double checked the doors and made sure all the windows were locked and the curtains drawn. Stripped down to his boxers, Holt lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes, certain sleep would elude him.

His reasons for not taking Sam up on her offer to share his bed were many but not a single one was able to extinguish the hunger that kept him restless and unable to sleep. He knew, even now, if he ventured back to his bedroom she wouldn't turn him away. That made him unable to think of anything other than her slender body lying naked between the smooth satin sheets on his bed. It didn't take much imagination to place him in bed with her.

The clock hanging over the fireplace chimed two o'clock when Holt's cop-radar alerted him to the sound of a door opening. A full moon created an eerie opaque glow through the filmy curtains at the windows and Holt was treated to the sight of a vision in pink satin baby doll pajamas coming toward him. Surprised into stillness, he remained motionless on the sofa as Sam advanced down the hallway. He couldn't believe she was coming to him but the hunger that rushed into his veins left him in no doubt that he wouldn't turn her away a second time. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he watched her turn and step into the kitchen instead of continuing into the living room. He slowly expelled the air in his lungs and wished he could expel the desire coursing through him just as easily.

Holt heard her open a cabinet door and then another. She was searching for something and although it was evident she was doing her best to be quiet she was not succeeding. He sat up and pulled on his shirt before making his way into the kitchen to assist her.

"Looking for something?" he asked from the doorway where he propped himself.

The startled look on her face as she turned was almost comical. "Holt! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you but I woke up thirsty."

Even in the moonlight he could see the dull flush of color that stained her cheeks. "The glasses are in the cabinet right over the dishwasher. And I wasn't asleep."

As Sam turned and opened the cabinet and reached for a glass, Holt walked up softly behind her. When she turned back it was to find Holt's tall frame trapping her against the countertop. She was tall but without her high-heels she was dwarfed by him. Holt watched the emotions that chased across her face as he slowly took the glass from her hand and turned to fill it at the kitchen faucet.

"Here you go," he whispered as he handed the full glass back to her. He watched her drink from the glass, conscious of each and every swallow and the way she licked her lips when he removed the glass from her hand once more. "Better now?" His eyes regarded her steadily.

Sam didn't answer him but she nodded as he took a few sips from the same glass before setting it on the counter. Holt placed a hand on each side of her gripping the counter, imprisoning her and cutting off all avenue of escape. The soft desire in her eyes warred with indecision and Holt could almost physically feel the battle raging within her. He knew she wanted him but, like him, common sense was telling her the timing wasn't right.

The sight of her tongue nervously wetting her lips and Holt knew he had no intention of letting common sense win out. He slid one hand along the counter to her waist and drew her against him. The mouth that closed over Sam's was rough and demanding. Surprise mingled with hunger when he felt her return his kiss with a searing appetite of her own. Holt's lips softened and began a slow calculated assault as they urged her lips apart allowing his tongue access to the sweet recess within.

Holt groaned and without lifting his head pulled her willing body fully against his as he pressed her back against the counter. It was impossible for Sam not to be aware of his hard body with every nerve ending. She was trapped between his warmth and the unyielding rigidity of the counter but all she was conscious of was what his tongue was doing to her. Its slow invasion was wrecking havoc with her senses and washing away all restraint. Holt felt her wiggle closer trying to press as much of her body as possible against his. His groan and the shudder that passed through him left her in no doubt of the affect she was having on him.

Hot kisses were being rained down her neck and Holt's exploring hands were sending a swath of fire rippling through her. He managed to break away from the kiss, his instincts telling him he had to stop now or he wouldn't be able to. Sam was already past the point of no return and with urgent hands she brought his face back to hers for another deep shattering kiss. It was her tongue that invaded and explored his mouth this time and Holt gave in to the inevitable. He felt need well up in him and he realized he would never be able to get enough of her. He couldn't get close enough either and the ache inside him was steadily growing stronger, deeper.

Sam tore her mouth away from his and tried to find his eyes in the darkness. "Holt, I want..."

She let her words trail away not sure how to tell him what she felt. Want wasn't a strong enough word but she dared not use the word that truly expressed her feelings. In the pitch black that surrounded them it was impossible to see his face clearly or the expression in his eyes but Sam could hear his ragged breathing and feel the quick hard thud of his heart against the hand she pressed to his chest.

"I know, Sam." His words were warm, evocative and reassuring, all at the same time. "I want you too, but this isn't the time or place."

His last words sent disappointment spiraling through her. His feelings couldn't be as strong as hers after all or he wouldn't care where they were. How could she explain how much she wanted this? She didn't think it was possible for her to turn back now. Brazenly she took the hand she had rested against his chest and trailed it lower until it reached the waistband of his boxer shorts.

Holt's hand closed over hers to stay its movement. "Darlin', don't," but his words were thick, unsteady and half-hearted.

Sam slowly ran her hand through the thick mat of hair that covered his chest. She let her fingers travel from navel to collarbone and back before leaning forward to press her lips against the warm flesh of his neck. She marveled at the silkiness of his skin and the ripple of hard muscle that came alive beneath her touch. She lightly trailed her lips down past his collarbone to his chest and would have traveled lower but with a fierce groan and a single fluid motion he picked her up and headed out of the kitchen.

The sound of shattering glass shocked Holt into stillness. He lowered Sam quickly to the floor and pushed her back into the kitchen as the alarm went off sending a sharp, strident wail throbbing into the night. "Stay here."

"Holt..." Her voice was filled with fear and concern.

"Sh-h-h, just stay here."

Holt silently retrieved his .45 from beneath the pillow on the sofa and started down the hallway. The crash had come from his bedroom and he moved stealthily toward the door Sam had left open. He kept his back against the wall until he reached the doorway and then crouching low swung into the room.

The curtains at the window were blowing eerily in the darkness and the moonlight illuminated the splinters of glass sprinkled over the carpet. In the middle of the big king-sized bed there was a bottle bomb that has gone out before it had a chance to explode. Holt checked the room thoroughly before moving to the window. The glass window had shattered but the hole was too small for a human to crawl through.

Careful of the glass, Holt switched on the overhead light. He moved to his closet and withdrew an evidence kit. After pulling on a pair of latex gloves he retrieved the bottle and removed the fabric that had been stuffed into the top to act as a fuse. Only about half of the fabric had burned and the bottle was still intact. He hoped forensics would be able to come up with something that would lead them to whoever was terrorizing Sam.

Holt turned on the hall lights as he made his way back to the kitchen. Sam hurled herself against him as he stepped into the still-dark kitchen.

"It's him, isn't it?" she asked fearfully.

"It's a possibility, but whoever it was is gone." Holt held her against him for another moment before gently pushing her away. "A cruiser will be responding to the alarm any second. It might be a good idea for me to call your uncle and let him know you're okay. As soon as the first officer walks through that door, Oscar's going to know you're here."

Holt dialed Oscar's home telephone number really hating to wake them up but he'd rather they hear it from him. Anyone picking up the report on a police scanner could be calling Sam's uncle at any moment. An alarm going off and officers responding was one thing, when the address given was that of a fellow officer every available unit in town would respond. Sam's aunt answered the phone and was the one to tell him that Oscar had already responded to a call at Holt's home. She sounded groggy and Holt decided not to tell her Sam was home with him. Better to let Oscar handle that call.

The second unit to arrive was the sheriff's. Holt watched Oscar walk into the house slowly and at ease with other officers already on scene. His eyes scanned the room and Holt watched as his eyes took in the fact that a blanket and pillow were laying on the sofa. He saw surprise register when Oscar noticed Sam seated with her back to him at the kitchen table wrapped in Holt's robe. Oscar didn't stop to talk to her but walked on past the kitchen door and proceeded down the hallway with Holt not far behind. Oscar's observant gaze did not miss the fact that the bed had obviously been slept in. Holt just hoped it was as obvious to Oscar as it was to him, that just one person had been sleeping in it.

"I have a feeling this is going to be one heck of a story," Oscar turned and addressed him at last.