“At what cost?” she muttered aloud. Erin examined the hideous brown that engulfed her arm down past the wrist. She understood what the stranger must have seen, why he’d disappeared as quickly as he’d come. But his lack of interest was what she wanted, she reminded herself.

It was another one of her rules. Survival wouldn’t allow for dating or relationships or falling in love. Men rarely looked below the surface, so she made her surface as unappealing as possible.

Gone were the clothes she’d once dressed in. Ones that emphasized her generous bust and shapely hips. The flattering haircut worn by Analise had grown shaggy and unstructured, no longer highlighting the refined bones or drawing attention to the sherry-brown eyes. Rubbing the nubby fabric again, she grimaced, then pulled the jacket more firmly around her. Shapeless clothes and isolation were her only guarantees of anonymity. Of independence.

“Whatever it takes,” Erin vowed fiercely to the empty room. If she had to drape herself in worsted wool in the dead of summer, she would. Hadn’t she already proven she’d do anything for her freedom?

The chiming of a clock in the university courtyard reminded her of the hour. Her mouth settled into grim lines as she took the steps out of the classroom two at a time. If she didn’t leave now, she’d never go. Erin urged her legs into a swift jog and hurried out of the room.

And promptly plowed into a man heading in the opposite direction.

Chapter 3

“Oof!” As a brown missile collided with him midchest, Gabriel automatically braced himself to keep them both upright. A satchel bounced once on his foot, then sprawled at their tangled feet.

Shifting to steady himself, Gabriel saw his attacker was the dull-looking professor with the sensuous voice. When she swayed, his quick hands slid beneath rough fabric and grasped smooth silk. The span of her waist allowed Gabriel’s fingertips to meet at the small of her back. He set her on her feet and stared down.

“Hello,” he offered, simply because other, more complicated words stalled in his head as he examined her at close range.

Skin the color of coffee skimmed with cream shaped a flawless oval tightened in apprehension. White teeth bit apprehensively at a curvaceous mouth, making tiny impressions on its heavy bottom lip. Arresting eyes, a rich, vibrant brown, studied him from beneath a dense fringe of lashes. Their shape was slightly exotic, tip-tilted at the corners.

It was the hint of caution mixed with reluctant interest in the bright orbs that nudged his brain into gear. “You have wonderful eyes,” Gabriel murmured, the first thought to scuttle into focus. “Do you have a name?”