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The wo olves, there weren’t a lot of rule books Nowhere did it say I couldn’t become different, even from what I was Damien had

Of course, he’d been cursed Blessed Hell, I didn’t know anymore

But since sex is a normal, physical function of both hu, I’d done ood

See, I could rationalize with the best of them

"Jess? Will called "We’re supposed to check in with Sheriff Stephenson"

"Keep your pants on, Slick" Jessie moved past me and into the hall "Or maybe take them off," she murmured so only I could hear "He looks much better that way"

A muffled thump at the front of the house announced they’d left, and weariness washed over ain I stumbled into the room that was now mine, dumped my sweat-stained clothes, then crawled beneath the chilly sheets in nothing but Jessie’s T-shirt

The ere covered with heavy curtains - a J��ger-Sucher staple, issued right along with silver ammunition and fake IDs, since ht

Considering that, a vareat olf hunter, if you could trust the bloodsucking undead I’ that you can’t

I awoke much later, rested but stiff I’d slept so heavily my body was in the same position as when I lay down Unusual for me I was an active sleeper Lucky I slept alone

Except I wasn’t alone The instant I woke up, I heard so it open

In an attempt to fool whoever had invadedexcept my eyes

Near thestood a man

I tried to pin his scent, but he’d showered so recently I caught only a whiff of soap and damp hair New clothes that smelled of the plastic they’d come in, new shoes so fresh I could taste the rubber

Best defense and all that, I bounded out of bed and had my elbow around his neck before he could turn

He tried to talk but I was cutting off his air

This close I didn’t need to smell him I knew the shape of that body, the texture of the skin I loosened my hold, and he turned

"Miss me, sweetheart?"

It was a rare occasion when I didn’t knoas coot there Those few seconds of not knowing had scared me

"Do you have a death wish?" I snapped

I stalked across the roo lalow barely reached into the corner where he hovered

"No one throws me out of town," Nic said

"I think someone did"

His eyes narrowed "I’m here, aren’t I?"

"And when Edward sees you he’ll have a temper tantrum I don’t want to watch"

Edward’s te, bodies bursting into flames

Nic crossed the room and crowded intoI’m sure he meant it to be Instead, I found his nearness, his atte

Why did he have this effect on o away

As if he’d heard ave asp, not of shock, but excitewas Nic

"I’htened as I tried to get away I could have, easily, if I hadn’t been enjoying the struggle so much

"What hold does Mandenauer have on you, Elise? What is it that he knows?" I froze, eyes going wide

"Who is he to you?"

"M-my boss"

"There’s ht, but I couldn’t tell him so

"When you disappeared," Nic murmured, "I asked everyone if they’d seen you, but no one had"

Trust Edward toin froy test"

Uh-oh

"He saw a beautiful blonde leaving with a skinny, scary old man"

I sed "So?"

"Now I’ve met the skinny, scary old man and I wonder He wasn’t your boss then, so why did you leave with him?"

My head tilted; my hair, loose and wild, brushed his arm and his nostrils flared, even as his lips thinned

He was furious

And as aroused as I was

"I left because I wanted to"

That et away from a place where everyone had suddenly sy," I blurted "You were pushingI wasn’t ready for"

So sparked in his eyes, and for an instant I was afraid of him, which was foolish He couldn’t hurt me At least not physically

"You mean this?"

His mouth crushed down Our teeth clashed I tasted blood Mine? Nic’s? I didn’t care The taste, the scent, only teive in to the wildness I kept trapped inside

My lips opened I welcoues dueled - touch, spar, retreat I shuddered, fighting the urge to drawmy head back so he could trace a heated path down ainst ers strokedpeak

Had he come back for me, or for this? Didn’t matter I wanted hi or fall, so I clutched his shoulders, then became fascinated with the thin line of his collarbone and the shape of his biceps

So the line he’d discarded the suit and found a bright, white T-shirt and a pair of jeans; his holster and his gun were gone The lack of dress-up clothes and a weapon - his new, yet somehow old, outfit - reminded me of the boy I’d fallen in love with

Happier, led together, studying, kissing, unable to resist the fury of first sexual awareness

Nic’s hands fluttered downwhen he encountered nothing but skin His fingernails scraped the sensitive area where hs sloped into ether

I wanted to wrap s around his waist and ride the tide As if he knew hts, he lifted me, settled my knees over his hips, and buried his face between my breasts

I crossed ainst hi, he whirled and dumped me onto the bed, then he lost the jeans and the T-shirt