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As the sun came up, she had whispered that she loved him, and then she had fallen into the deep, deathlike sleep of the Undead

Early the next ned the necessary papers Williaed to have her buried that afternoon

He had sat at her graveside the rest of the day, slowly consu a bottle of Irish whiskey Just before sunset, with tears strea up the coffin and looked on the face of his beloved one last ti Barb’s stake and risly steps required to assure that when the sun set, she would not rise as a newly made Vampire

William sed the hot bitter bile that rose in his throat as he reht forever imprinted on his heart and soul as he had destroyed the woman who had been his wife If he lived to be a hundred, he would never understand how the gentle wohter could have spent her adult life doing what he had done that night—not just once, but dozens of times in her career as a hunter

In spite of his revulsion, he had becoh his kills had been few The war between the Vampires and the Werewolves had ended soon after Barbara’s death and his life had returned to normal until a hit-and-run driver put him in a wheelchair The police had never found the man who hit him, but Will was pretty sure he kneho had been behind the wheel, or at least who had ordered the hit He had been working on a story about government corruption in the city, and had taken the accident as a sign that he was getting too close to the ht By the tiet back to work, the s considered, he supposed soht have been behind the attempt on his life, but hit-and-runs really weren’t their style

Will had never been able to prove who had been driving the car that hit him, nor had he ever learned who had attacked Barbara, but he hadn’t given up Hopefully, he would live long enough to solve bothhis drink, Will stared up at the stars wheeling across the ht sky “I’ll find him, Barb,” he murmured “I’ll find hi I do, I promise”

Chapter Six

Rane stopped by to pick up Savanah on his way to the theater the following night, and thoughtfully arranged for her to have the best seat in the house—front row center

She was nificent do his act Even though she had seen his show several times, she was just as fascinated as she had been the first time Now and then, she wondered what her friends at the newspaper would think if they knew she had a date with hi, choosing a pair of black slacks and a deep blue sweater that made her eyes seee sense of satisfaction every time the audience applauded, a kind of proprietary pride in Rane’s performance She didn’t understand why she felt that way It would have been understandable if they were er to her, soone from her life Maybe it was just because she had seen his act so h the years Maybe it was because they had spent a few hours together the night before Whatever the reason, it pleased her when the audience responded to his act

When he received a standing ovation, she rose with the rest of the crowd, then ducked out the side entrance that led to the dressing roo with anticipation when she reached his door

He opened it before she knocked “Come on in”

“How did you knoas out here?”

He smiled, a slow sexy smile that made her heart beat even faster Shirtless and barefooted, he was a feast for fe at him He was so beautiful, it was all she could do to keep froers itched to explore the broad expanse of his chest, to slide up his arle in his hair…

“There’s a bed behind the curtain,” he reed ry a with eht, honey I like the way you look, too”

She didn’t knohat to say, so she wisely said nothing

“I thought we ray shirt “That okay with you?”

Savanah nodded, thinking it was a shame to cover up that beautiful chest, those broad shoulders, those gorgeous arrin, “and I could take it all off”

She would have said it was irew even hotter What was the matter with her? She had never felt such…such lust, for a man But then, she had never known a man who exuded such raw uish look in his eyes…Shape-shifter or not, she defied any wo sounds like fun,” she rerabbed a black jacket froo”

She couldn’t think of anything to say on the way to the club She was acutely aware of thein the car beside her His scent filled her nostrils, his nearness y in a way she had never experienced before Every nerve ending see for the touch of his hand The fact that he didn’t speak h she doubted it Besides being the sexiest man she had ever seen, he was also the most confident, self-assured lance at the woman beside him He didn’t have to rely on his preternatural powers to know she found him attractive, or that she was as nervous as a week-old kitten confronting a hungry toe He didn’t think she are of it on a conscious level, but he knew her instinct for self-preservation arning her that she was in danger He wondered if she sensed that he wanted hts of passion, that he wanted her life’s blood, and perhaps her life, as well

He pulled into the parking lot a few ine, he turned toward Savanah Under his gaze, her heart beat a little faster The sound stirred his hunger For ato the need within him It would be so easy to take her, here, now, to take it all