“No judgment,” he murmured. “There’s no anger in your eyes, no rage or disgust at me for being a cold bastard. No pity for the kid I was who got beaten in a dirty alley and left to die.”
“Don’t be too sure you understand what I feel.”
“Why not? I actually think I understand you very, very well.”
Sarah backed up a step.
A faint smile curved his lips. “It was there from the first time I saw you. That instant connection. Doesn’t happen often. Actually, it’s never happened to me before. I looked up, saw you, and thought—”
Sarah pretty much ran for the door.
But he caught her. His hands wrapped around her and Jax pulled her back against his body. His hold wasn’t hard or rough. Oddly, it was infinitely tender.
“Do you know what I saw when I looked in your eyes?” he whispered into her ear.
Sarah shook her head.
“You were hurting. Trying to hide your pain, but I could still see it. I looked at you and thought—I never want her to hurt again.”
Tears stung her eyes. “You don’t know me. Or what I’ve done.” Jax thought his past was bad? It was nothing compared to hers. She still had nightmares that had her waking in the night, choking for breath, and begging for help.
Help that hadn’t come. Not in time.

“Tell me why you came to see me tonight, Sarah.”
She sucked in a quick breath and decided to go with the truth. “Because I didn’t want to lie in bed and be afraid. Because I didn’t want to think about the past or the future.” Because she’d felt that insane connection between them, too.
The first time she’d seen him, she’d looked into his eyes and thought—
He can handle all my darkness. He won’t ever be afraid of what I tell him.
Because his gaze had told her that he’d already looked into hell … and hadn’t given a damn about the demons there.

He turned her in his arms. She made herself look up and into his eyes. He was so warm and strong against her. And he made her … want. Yearn for things that she’d denied herself for so very long.
Because she hadn’t wanted anyone to get close. She hadn’t trusted anyone with all her secrets.
She didn’t trust him, either. She’d be a fool to do that. But—she did want him. And every instinct Sarah possessed screamed at her that Jax Fontaine could give her the sensual oblivion she craved.
A few hours to forget. A few hours to just pretend that I’m not the freak in the room. The monster that everyone else fears.
“What do you want from me?” Jax asked her.
Just a night. She’d be leaving New Orleans soon, flying out on a plane and heading back to her little house in the suburbs of Atlanta. They wouldn’t see each other again. So no one else would know about what happened tonight. Just her.
Just him.

Review (5 Stars):  I’m a big fan of this series and Shattered had me in its grip from the very first page. Sarah Jacobs had a horrifying childhood facing a familiar evil that still haunts her to this day.  Now, her job is help catch the monsters before they hurt any more people as part of the Last Option Search Team.  On an assignment in New Orleans, Sarah finds that a killer has her in their sights because of her past and will do whatever it takes to make her their next victim.  Hopefully, Jax can save her before it is too late.

I was so impressed with Sarah during this story because of her childhood experience.  She faced one of the worst kinds of evil and was still haunted by that every single day of her life.  She was so focused on helping other people not become a victim of the same kind of evil that she didn’t realize that she was being hunted until it was almost too late.  I loved Jax because he was exactly what she needed at this point in her life.  He was sexy, charming and definitely someone that you didn’t want to mess with.  The chemistry between these two characters was so intense that you knew it was just a matter of time before Jax won her heart as well.

Shattered was an amazing romantic thrill-ride and I absolutely love this series.  There was so much emotion and pain with these two characters that I was so glad that they were able to find a place to heal from the wounds of the past in each other’s arms.  Ms. Eden is such a talented author and I hope that everyone will pick up this series because it will be definitely worth it.