Broken Heart 09 Only Lycans Need Apply(20)

“Good evening,” I said. I felt electrified in his presence, as though I were standing near a live wire and should tread very, very carefully. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“Ah, now there’s a question.” He studied me closely. “You don’t remember, do you?” He bent his arm under his waist and swept into a graceful half bow. “My name is Karn.”

His name was Karn? Last? First? Or was he more like Cher or Madonna? “I’m Dr. Moira Jameson,” I said, even though he apparently knew my name.

He extended his hand. “Dance with me.”

“It’s kind of you to ask, Mr. Karn,” I said, as though he had politely queried instead of quietly demanded. I resisted the urge to bat his hand away, “but I’m leaving.”

“Just Karn,” he said, in nearly the same severe way that Dove often introduced herself. He dropped his hand and offered a thin-edged smile. “A dance, Dr. Jameson.” He leaned close, the smile growing sharper still. “I’m afraid I must insist. Especially if you hope to see your darling little Dove again.”

“What?”

He kept a polite, distant expression while he took the champagne flute out of my hand and set it onto the tray of a passing waiter. “I’m quite sure you don’t have problems with your hearing, Dr. Jameson.” He once again extended his hand. “Shall we?”

This man had kidnapped Dove? Why would anyone take her? I gripped his hand, resisting the urge to twist his fingers enough to break them. For a moment his eyes gleamed with challenge, almost as though he’d guessed my thoughts and welcomed my defiance. I gritted my teeth, ignored my impulse to hurt him.

He led me to the dance floor.

He placed a hand at my waist and I reluctantly put my hand on his shoulder. Then he lifted my other hand in his and whirled me around.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“The world,” he said, flashing that awful sharp smile. “And everything in it.”

The world? Really? “Well, you can’t have Dove.” I felt chilled to my core. Was she okay? Had they hurt her? Why, why, why would someone take an orphaned, smart-mouthed college undergrad?

“I already have her.” He executed a turn. I twirled away, and then returned to the slimeball’s arms. “If you want her back, Dr. Jameson, then you’ll come with me and do what I ask.”

Oh, was that all? Grrr! I wanted to kick him in the shins. Hard. But terror, not retribution, crawled through me like a thousand marching spiders. I pressed my lips together to keep them from trembling. If something happened to Dove . . . oh, God.

“If you hurt her,” I said, “and I mean, if she even stubs her little toe in your care, then I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” He pushed his face close to mine, daring me to threaten him. Aggression rolled off him in waves. He wasn’t a gentleman at all. He was a beast hiding in a fancy suit. Fear slicked my spine, and I got the distinct impression he wanted to tear out my throat with those sharp white teeth of his.

“I will kill you,” I said.

He drew back, and sighed. “How clichéd. I was hoping for a far more clever response—especially from you, Dr. Jameson. You’re very much known around here for your . . . hmm . . . I suppose some might call it wit.”

“Occasionally it’s best to stick with the classics,” I said between clenched teeth. “Is it money, then? Ransom?”

“You really do like her, don’t you?” He looked at me blankly, as though he didn’t fathom the concept of friendship. “It’s useful—this connection you humans have to one another.”

“Us humans?” I asked, unable to keep the horror out of my tone. Great, Karn was crazy. I mean, I’d figured out he was ruthless, mean, and greedy . . . and those qualities, though heinous, did denote a villain who was at least purposeful in his nefariousness. But a man who was driven by the demons of insanity? And hel-lo, I understood emotional demons. And being mentally cracked. But not evil. Not like this man.

“You have so much to learn. And I promise that the world I will reveal to you is worth the price you must pay.” He twirled me again, and when I came back to the starting point, he whisked me off the dance floor.

He grasped my elbow and led me across the ballroom, past the food-laden tables, and toward the doors that led to the kitchens. My heart started to hammer in my chest. Where did he plan on taking me? What tasks did he want me to perform? And was Dove okay?

“Doctor Jameson.” Doriana Zimmerman stepped into our path, effectively blocking our exit. “I need to speak to you about the program funding for our sea urchin research.”