Night Play(54)

How many times had she watched the skinny little putas come into her shop, to try on the slinky dresses she sold but could never wear?

Just once in her life, she wished she could wear one of Tabitha's more outrageous outfits and not watch a guy's eyes drift immediately away from her as he sought out someone more desirable.

"You keep talking like that, Vane, and I might be forced to keep you."

"You keep looking at me like that, and I just might let you."

She shivered at his words. "You're too good to be real. There's this voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me I need to run before it's too late. You're a serial killer, aren't you?"

He blinked, then frowned. "What?"

"You're like that guy in The Silence of the Lambs. You know, the one who is making a woman suit who's being charming so that he can seduce and kidnap a woman for her skin."

He actually looked aghast at her words, even offended. Which meant he was either innocent or a great actor.

"You're going to throw me naked into a pit and make me drench myself in baby lotion, aren't you?"

He did laugh at that. "You live in New Orleans, where they can't even dig a grave. So tell me where I'm going to find this pit?"

"It's an aboveground pit."

"Hardly secretive."

"But possible," she insisted.

He shook his head. "You don't give up, do you?"

"Look, I'm a realist and I just had my heart ripped out. I don't want to be involved with anyone right now. You've been so kind to me and I don't know why. It's just that things like this don't happen in real life. Prince Charming doesn't come to the rescue all the time. Most of the time, he's too busy with perfect freakin' Cinderella and her teeny-tiny perfect feet to even notice the rest of us."

She could tell he was irritated at her.

Sighing, he reached for a glass.

Bride frowned as she caught a glimpse of his palm and the strange markings there. Markings that hadn't been there last night or she would have seen them.

Her heart stopped beating.

Reaching out, she pulled his hand into hers and stared at it.

Vane cursed inwardly as he realized he had forgotten to mask his marking when he flashed into her storeroom. Part of him wanted to jerk his hand free, the other part couldn't move as she compared their palms.

"You burned me?"

"No," he said, offended that she would think such a thing.

She was panicking. He could smell her fear.

"I didn't hurt you, Bride, I swear."

She didn't believe him. "Get out!"

Oh, this was bad. He didn't know how to convince her. She got up and grabbed her broom from the corner.

"Out!" she shouted, brandishing it at him.

"Bride!"

She wouldn't listen. "Get out or I'll… I'll call the police!"

Vane bit back a curse. This wasn't going the way he needed it to. But maybe it was going the way it should.

At least he couldn't be tempted by a woman who hated him and thought him insane.

Dodging out the door, he stood there while he heard her lock it tight.

"Bride," he said, staring at her through the glass. "Please let me in."

She closed the blinds on him.

Vane leaned his head against the cool glass and let the war inside him shred his control. The animal part of him wanted her, regardless of reason.

The human part knew it would be better to let her go.

Unfortunately, when the two halves of him warred like this, more times than not, the animal won.

That was usually for the best.

This time it wouldn't be. Sighing, he looked around to make sure he was alone and flashed to wolf form. He just hoped Fury didn't come back as a wolf and blow his cover.

Bride might accept one wolf at her door, but two… that was pushing it.

Bride stood in the center of her room, clutching her broom. She was shaking in terror. She thought about calling her parents, but didn't want to scare them. They lived far enough out that by the time they got here she might be dead.

She thought about calling the police, but what would she tell them? That a good-looking guy was eating with her, making her all hot and bothered, and then he flashed his hand at her and she freaked?

It wasn't like Vane had done anything wrong. The police couldn't arrest him unless he did something to hurt her.

Tabitha…

She swallowed at the thought of calling her friend. If there was one thing Tabitha knew, it was self-defense, and the woman was armed to the teeth.

Bride ran to her cell phone and quickly dialed Tabitha's store. Luckily she was in.

"Tabby," she said, scanning the windows around her to see if Vane was trying to break in. "Please come over. I think my new boyfriend is going to kill me. Really kill me, as in hide-my-body-in-the-woods dead."

"What?"