Page 9 (1/2)

Chapter Nine

Her heart pounded and panic vibrated just below the surface Denise increased her pace, wishing she could sos The worst part was, this had nothing to do with her PTSD

She couldn’t help but watch as Spade stalked off to the dance floor, conte the people on it the same way a predator eyed a herd Then that black-haired wo the air in front of hione with her Started to in to describe Denise’s one dry and her palms started to sweat As the buttons came off Spade’s shirt and his pale, hard flesh was revealed in the fluorescent lighting, her pulse began to thump, too His corded muscles rippled with each new bend and sway hesensuality instead

And when he’d spun the wo forward to cover his face as he bent to her throat, pure, adulterated heat had slammed into Denise It was so fierce, so unexpected, and so overwhel that she’d trembled in her seat - only to be shaken out of her trance at Ian’s low chuckle

"You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, poppet?"

From the expression on Ian’s face, he knew exactly what she’d been feeling - and what had inspired it

So she’d run like hell Better Spade think she was crazy than realize the truth, as Ian had

Sonized that the places she passed see Aas good enough right now At this hour, traffic was light enough that she didn’t need to pause before crossing the streets, orcars to slas, narrow streets, and endless concrete It felt like she was in a ht’s sky was only visible in srip closed around her elbow Denise jerked away, but that grip didn’t budge Instead she ept up against a hard, tall body, her feet swinging in the air with how rapidly she’d been grabbed

"Let go!" she gasped

Spade’s face was very close He’d left his jacket back at the club and obviously hadn’t stopped to button up his shirt, either, because his ainst her sweater

"You’re all right, Denise," he said fir after you You’re safe"

Of course Spade thought she was in the midst of another panic attack That was partly true, only for a different reason

"I’et away fro in pants

Spade’s eyes narrowed and he relaxed his grip, but didn’t let her go Denise tried to slow her breathing, praying her previous bout of lust wouldn’t raise its head again

"I see"

He still hadn’t let her go Denise wiggled experirip loosened more, but his ar, anything, to distract her fro in Spade’s e It’s just buildings,alive around here?"

His lips curled even as she groaned at her choice of words "I rass - "

"I knohat you meant," he cut her off, still with that half sht direction, if that’s what you’re seeking Come"

His arht hand on her back Denise walked next to hie to tell hilimpses of his bare chest

"Aren’t you cold?" she asked at last She was She’d left her coat back at the Crimson Fountain Thankfully, her sweater was thick and she hadn’t taken off her long gloves Couldn’t risk so the demon brands on her, after all

"Not really," Spade replied "Vampires don’t react to cold like humans do I can feel the cold, of course, but it doesn’t cause the sao back to fetch your coat, but we’re lanced at the next street sign - and gasped A shiver of a different nature ran up her spine

"How far did I run?"

Spade’s expression was both hard and pitying at the same time "’Round a dozen blocks"

She shouldn’t be able to run that far in the scant minutes that had elapsed An Oly it, and she was no Oly even more than she’d realized

"Oh shit," Denise whispered

Spade didn’t respond with any useless, corateful She’d heard enough of those well- phrases after Randy died Why couldn’t people acknowledge that occasionally, life just sucked? Didn’t they realize that so than thethe deeper s broke and a vast expanse of open space and treesher forward Denise hadn’t even noticed that she’d stopped "Our hotel is right down the next street, in fact, so not far if you get too cold With all the snow, you can’t see everything that’s still living in the park, but it’s there"

Denise s from her "It’s perfect"

She let Spade lead her into the park, htest bit afraid Under norht of stupidity to wander through here in the dark, wee hours of thea vaers beware, she thought wryly Spade hadn’t gotten his dinner before He’d probably eat the first person who approached theoff the path in favor of walking in the snow Spade followed behind her, his steps sounding so hed "I’ll be twenty-eight on my next birthday"