He wore faded jeans and nothing else. His back was broad and muscular, his arms well defined. His long, dark hair rested against his neck and I had the sudden urge to run my fingers through it.

Or I would've had the sudden urge, except that I was a committed professional with one thing on her mind: satisfying Viola and raking in the rest of my cash. Okay, so that qualified as two things. The point was-work, not play.

Got that?

Ty obviously shared my dedication because he didn't so much as glance up as I walked around the table and slid into the seat opposite him.

Since I'd thought of the p.i.s.sed off were-family angle, he'd been neck deep running background checks on the jealous werewolf's mother, father, sisters, brothers, cousins, second cousins, third cousins, fourth cousins, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, great grandfathers, great grandmothers (what'd I tell ya?).

Out of two hundred sixty-two relatives, Ty had found at least two leads worth pursuing. One of the wolf's brothers had done time for a.s.sault, while a female cousin recently had a restraining order put against her by an ex-boyfriend. Both situations confirmed one thing-crazy a.s.s relatives capable of violence.

I cleared my throat. "Nice night."

He merely grunted.

Distracted. That was good. It meant that he wasn't really listening. So when I announced, very matter-of-factly, that I was leaving to meet Lloyd, there was a microscopic chance that he might not even hear me.

I'd never been one to worry over odds, so I opened my mouth. "I'm-"

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"You're not going."

"I have to go."

He punched a final b.u.t.ton and closed the lid of the laptop. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Muscles bulged and my stomach hollowed out. His gaze roved over me.

"Why didn't you just go out the bathroom window?" he finally asked.

I motioned to the Vivias. "In these shoes?"

"You could have morphed," he pointed out. "Bats don't wear shoes."

"What are you trying to say?""That you could have, but you didn't."

"Surely you're not implying that I have a conscience?" That I might possibly feel some obligation to the one person actually going out of his way to help me? "Yeah, right."

"Then why didn't you?"

"My night vision is acting up." There. That was the truth. Part of it, anyway.

He stared at me long and hard before he seemed to come to a conclusion. Then he reached for a half-empty bottle of blood he'd been nursing and slid it across the table toward me.

The sweet, intoxicating scent teased my nostrils and I felt the sharp edge of my fangs against my tongue. My fingers itched to reach out.

Just one taste and all my worries would be over.

No more wanting and aching and fantasizing.

About the blood, I mean.

As for Ty, I had the feeling I could gorge myself for hours on end and never get enough.

Which was why I kept my fangs to myself and balled my hands in my lap. "No, thanks."

"Come on. You'll feel better."

If only. "I drank earlier."

"I didn't see you."

"You don't see everything."

"Don't kid yourself."

My mind raced back to the previous day when he'd stripped down to his BVDs and I'd eyed him from the loft. Unknowingly, or so I'd thought. Judging from the sudden light in his eyes, I had a feeling he'd been all too aware. Of my stares and what I'd been doing with my...

Easy, girl.

"You're a vampire. You have to drink."

"Look who's telling who. I've been around for five hundred years. I think I know that."

"So what's up?"

"I already told you. I had a few sips here and there. Listen, I have to go tonight. I swear I'll be careful. I'll keep a very low profile and I won't talk to anyone except Viola. And Lloyd. And the other men. And, of course, the NUNS. I'll have to talk to them.

And if Viola has any guests, then I'll be obliged to say h.e.l.lo and be at least civil, but that's it. Once midnight strikes, I'm outa there."

"Send Evie.""Are you kidding? She doesn't know about Viola, or me, or the mating orgy-I should be so lucky-about to commence in less than four hours." When the clock struck midnight and the moon was at its fullest, the werewolves were at their h.o.r.n.i.e.s.t. "And I intend to make sure that my secret stays safe."

"You should have hired a vampire instead of a human." I arched an eyebrow and waited for his own words to sink in. "Forget I said that. You're the only vampire who actually believes that people need to date in order to mate."

I frowned. "I'm not the only one." I was pretty sure that I'd made believers out of Wilson and Nina Two. They had found each other because of me. And then there were Francis and Melissa.

Then again he was a vampire and she was still a human, and so they weren't really mating. Humping on a regular basis, yes.

Mating? That implied commitment, which implied living out eternity and making baby vamps together, and it just wasn't going to happen for them. Ever.

Even so, they seemed happy, which made me think again of Ty and his fabulous pecs and how much I'd really like to run my hands over his hard muscles and...

I shook away the seductive image that pushed its way into my head. Okay, so where was I?

Orgy. Midnight. Must go.

"Give me ten minutes to make the introductions, collect the rest of my fee, and ease the situation with Lloyd. I have to at least make sure he isn't going to be eaten in a fit of anger. Then I'll hang back until things get into full swing and leave. Cross my heart." I made the motion and Ty shook his head.

"You're the d.a.m.ndest vampire I've ever met."

"Does that mean yes?"

"No."

I stiffened. "Okay, fine. I didn't want to have to pull rank on you, but you give me no choice."

"Pull what?"

"Rank. I'm the born vamp here lest we forget. I'm the one in control." I plopped an elbow on the table and motioned to him. "So come. Let's get this over with. Winner chooses whether I go or stay."

A smile tugged at his lips. "You want to arm wrestle?"

I shrugged. "I figure it will be easier on your ego than a full-blown a.s.s whipping."

The smile faded and his gaze darkened. "You're serious?"

"As serious as you are scared."

He braced his elbow on the table and gripped my hand. "You're on, sugar."

I should have drank the blood, I decided several minutes later as I intertwined my finger's with Ty's and did my d.a.m.ndest to hold my own.

I knew I was stronger. At least, I'd thought so. I'm a born vampire, after all, and five hundred years of training and conditioning wasn't going to disappear in a matter of seconds.Was it?

Ty was pretty strong. The muscles of his arm bulged with his effort. The neon glow of his eyes held mine and refused to let go.

He looked determined and relaxed at the same time. The only clue that maybe, just maybe, I was putting it to him in a major way was the frantic beat of his pulse where the inside of his wrist met mine.

I gathered my determination and focused on a mental picture of Viola handing me another check, complete with a big, fat bonus for Lloyd. Then me going to the bank. Me paying my bills. Me heading off to Barney's for that divine Hermes scarf I'd seen a couple of weeks ago- "You're good." His deep voice echoed in my head and shattered the illusion.

"Thanks." I sent the silent reply and gave him a small smile.

"But not good enough." He forced me down a fraction of an inch and wiped the smile off my face.

"Psyching me out won't work," I tossed back at him. "I want this too much."

"It could be a trap. Viola is a werewolf. She was in your office when the police showed up the first time. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"

"She's lived next to my family for decades. She wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?"

"I'm a vampire."

"Vampires read humans. Not Others."

"Maybe I'm different."

"You're telling me you can read Others?"

"I'm telling you that I can sense things about them. If they're creepy, then I get a creepy feeling. If they're honest, then I get an honest feeling from them. If they're perverted, then I get a perverted feeling, followed by the urge to wash my hands." I thought of Rachel the were-Chihuahua. "If they eat dog biscuits and play fetch when the moon is full, then I get the urge to scratch them behind the ears." I clamped my fingers tighter around his and held on. "I know Viola and I know she isn't a part of this."

At least I was ninety-five percent sure. The other five percent? Undecided. She might, indeed, have something to do with what was happening. At the same time, I'd never been one to play it safe, especially with such slim odds.

Besides, Hermes was calling...

"Please." I sent the silent plea.

He stared at me long and hard, a determined look in his eyes. His grip tightened and he started to push- "s.h.i.t." He released my hand and shook his head. "s.h.i.t." He eyed me. "Fine. We'll go. But we're going straight there and straight back. No bulls.h.i.t. Got it?"

"Straight there. Straight back." I bolted to my feet and grabbed my purse before he changed his mind.

"And I'm not riding in a station wagon. We'll fly and Lloyd can fend for himself.""He's nervous. He needs me. Besides, he borrowed a mini van from a friend of his."

"That's as bad as the station wagon."

I thought so, too, but I was trying to look on the bright side. "At least it's blue."

"And?"

"And blue says male."

"Black says male."

"It's dark blue. That's sort of male."

"If you say so."

"I really could use some positive affirmation right now."

"They're werewolves. Once they change, they won't care if they're humping a water buffalo."

"Never mind. So, you know when you said straight there and straight back?" I asked as I opened the front door, Ty on my heels. "I'm sure you didn't mean straight straight. Because there's straight there. And then there's straight there. I'm sure you were just talking about the regular old straight, which implies a minimum number of mandatory stops at low-risk locations."

"How minimum?" He followed me out onto the front porch.

"Two. One at my parents and-"

"G.o.ddammit, Lil." He shook his head and slammed the door behind us. "You're killing me, you know that?"

"You're immortal."

He glared. "Just my rotten luck. Where else?" I gave him my most charming smile. "The nearest Blockbuster."

It was eleven o'clock when I hauled Lloyd up the front steps to Viola's gigantic house and pressed the doorbell. Behind me, the minivan sat idling at the curb. Ty had offered to drop us off down the street to preserve Lloyd's image, but I figured if the bald head didn't hurt-he'd turned out to be allergic to the super-glue-nothing would.

High heels clicked across the marble floor and the door swung open. Viola looked as fantabulous as ever with her long dark hair, crimson lipstick, and a matching crimson dress that clung to her curvaceous body. A strange light glittered in her eyes and she seemed much more breathless than usual.