Waiting in the dark of an entryway, Haven bided his time. The sound of a door opening made him turn his head. Kimberly was unmistakable in her pink dress and blonde locks. She exited the building and walked into the dark alley with another person. Haven had made sure it would be dark by knocking the streetlamp out with a stone.

Despite the darkness, Haven recognized the other person’s face. He took a surprised, involuntary breath: Yvette was by Kimberly’s side. Was it a coincidence? Maybe the two had been working on the movie together. He craned his neck to look for her bodyguard, but nobody else came out. The door fell shut behind them, the sound echoing against the high walls, mirroring the hollow sound in his heart.

Haven cursed silently as he watched the two women approach a dark limousine. Now that he observed them closely, he noticed how Yvette scanned their surroundings, how she barely listened to Kimberly’s chatter and instead seemed to evaluate each entryway and each passerby.

Under the sexy halter dress that fit her like a second skin, her toned body was tense and on guard; he could see it in the way the muscles in her upper arms flexed. Had she sensed him yet?

Shit! This wasn’t what he’d expected. Had the witch gotten it wrong? Was the girl not protected by a vampire bodyguard after all?

He’d spoken to Yvette inside the ballroom, and nothing in her demeanor had suggested that she was anything but a beautiful woman. He’d felt the heat her body had emanated, the passion radiating through her, and it had ignited his own body. How could he have reacted to her like that if she were a vampire? All he’d ever felt for vampires was disgust and hatred. It was impossible that his body got it wrong, that it would react to a despicable creature like it had.

But the more he watched, the more the telltale signs of a vampire were there: the fluid grace with which she glided down the street; the sharpness of her eyes that seemed to register everything around her; the way she seemed to pick up every sound, just like she did now when she lifted her head upwards to look at a window which somebody had just closed. Oh yes; she was alert. And it could only mean one thing: she was Kimberly’s bodyguard. She had to be the vampire the witch had spoken of.

And damn it to hell if he didn’t feel a twinge of regret at what he had to do. If she was the bodyguard vampire, she had to die, attraction or not. He shouldn’t feel the scruples that started bubbling up in him at the thought. He’d never before had doubts about what he needed to do. His mission had always been clear: to kill every vampire he came across until he found the one who’d robbed him of his sister.

Swallowing his misplaced scruples and trying to bury them in the deep, dark recesses of his mind, Haven stepped out of the entryway he’d been hiding in and slowly walked toward the two women. He plastered a fake smile on his face and raised his hand in greeting. “Miss Fairfax, an autograph please.”

Yvette’s face showed only momentary surprise when she recognized him, then went back to her indifferent and businesslike mask. Haven’s gut twisted. He forced himself to think back to the day his mother was murdered, knowing the hatred he felt for vampires would help him carry out his task and forget the other side he’d seen of Yvette: the sensual woman ready to meet him for some uninhibited fucking.

Kimberly smiled broadly as she stopped and waited for Haven to come closer. Yvette bent her head to her and spoke a few words. Haven only picked up the tail end of it. “… stuntman from the movie set?”

When Kimberly gave Yvette a confused look and shook her head, he knew his time was up. Yvette would know that he didn’t belong to the crew and had lied to her. But he didn’t need much time. He was only a few feet away when Yvette issued her order.

“Get in the car, Kimberly, now!”

But Kimberly didn’t move. She simply gave Yvette another confused look. “But he only wants an autograph. You shouldn’t be so rude to—”

Yvette shoved her aside toward the limousine, her body now in attack stance. “NOW, Kimberly!”

Then Yvette jumped toward him. Haven barely had time to react. The sultry seductress from earlier was gone. What was left was a lethal fighting machine. If he’d ever had any doubt that she was a vampire, it was erased on impact—no woman could be this strong.

Yvette knocked him to the ground in one swoop. He landed hard on his back. But he was no pushover. He captured her legs between his and twisted, bringing her down onto the pavement. But he hadn’t counted on her agility. Like a gazelle, she jumped up and kicked him in the side just as he’d risen from the ground. Her karate kicks were high and graceful. A seam along her thigh ripped several inches of her dress as she kicked higher, allowing her more movement. And hell, if he didn’t have to admire the way she fought with those powerful and sexy legs.