"Take me to the women," she said. "I need to see them."

"Are you jealous of them?" he asked hopefully. "Do you want to kill them for having a go at me? Darling, we just met. That's silly. It's the girls after you that you should want to slay." He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, leaving a trail of fire. "Not that I'll be able to find one as lovely as you."

Frustrating man. "Of course you won't find anyone as lovely as me," she said, adding dryly, "No one compares to me. I'm all you'll be able to think about for the rest of your life. You'll be heartbroken that you let me get away, and perhaps you won't ever recover. Now that we've got that established, let's talk about those women you were with. If you won't take me to them, fine. At least tell me where you left them. I'll check them out myself."

One corner of those gorgeous lips twitched, as though he were fighting a grin. Of course, he ignored her demand. "You forgot to mention that all the women I've been with were merely practice for the day I met you."

"That's so obvious I wasn't sure it needed to be stated. Now. Where did you leave the women?"

His head tilted to the side as he studied her, those lips still twitching. "You don't desire me, do you?"

"No." Truth. He was gorgeous, as he'd said, the egotistical bastard, but his attitude grated.

Of its own accord, her gaze dropped once more to his neck. Well, maybe she desired his blood. He wasn't human but he was equipped like one, his vein fluttering faster than before. The hunger she'd battled all day increased exponentially. You can't drink him here. Too public. Besides, you're with him for a reason, remember?

Perhaps she could force him to tell her where the women were. Even if they were gone, their scents would have lingered. For a while, at least. And if Leah had been there, and the scent still remained, Bride could follow her trail.

"I've lost you, darling," Devyn said, his amusement intensified for some reason.

"What? Oh, sorry." When she pulled herself from her musings and focused on him, a gasp escaped her. No longer did the night sky and golden moon frame his erotic face. Somehow he'd moved them both to an empty side street. To her knowledge, they'd never taken a step. Silver stone stretched all around them, lines of gang graffiti warning them away.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" He blinked, acting harmless, those long lashes like feathered fans. "Move us." As if he didn't know.

Rather than try and deny it, he waved his fingers, saying, "Magic. Now, why don't we go somewhere cozy and get to know each other, hmm? We'll have sex and discuss your friend."

Her second offer of the day, though this one was more blatant. She wouldn't run away from this one, however. "How long ago did you leave those women?"

He uttered a long-suffering sigh. "I lied when I told you I liked persistent women. I'm this close," he pinched two of his fingers together, "to spanking you. Would you like that?"

"Enough!" Exasperated, Bride reached up and cupped his jaw, forcing his gaze on hers. "Listen, you. You're going to do everything I tell you to do." There was power in her voice now, soft thrums that wafted between them. "You're going to—"

"Wait." He frowned again. Even stiffened. But his eyes didn't glaze over, and his muscles didn't slacken, as was supposed to happen. "Say that again."

Frustrating. "Stop talking and listen to me. You will—"

"Do everything you tell me to do. Yes, I know. You're a vampire, aren't you?" he asked, and there was disappointment in his tone.

First, why wasn't he obeying her? Second, he knew what she was without seeing her bare her teeth? Disappointment wasn't the usual reaction she received. Terror, yes. Awe, sometimes that, too. Intrigue, even. Third, now would be a good time to beat feet. He knew what she was and could try and stake her.

Bride remained rooted in place, though, fury sprouting, growing, burning through her. She would face him and she would hurt him if necessary, but the bastard was going to tell her what she wanted to know. "Like I told you, I'm human. So just tell me where you left those women, damn it! I mean them no harm. I only want to talk to them."

"I've had a vampire," he said, ignoring her. Again. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and lowered her arms away from his body. "I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere for dinner."

Wait. He'd had a vampire? That meant there were others out there. That meant she wasn't alone.

Her mouth fell open as excitement returned and blended with her fury, this time billowing through her on a cloud of astonishment. Each emotion was so strong, the thorns in her chest sharpened, joining the fire, but she hardly noticed them. There were others out there! Blood drinkers, just like her. People who could tell her why she now sickened when she drank. People who could teach her how to use her powers without weakening.

"You're not going anywhere," she told Devyn, once again grabbing onto his shirt. Her nails cut past the material and into skin. "I have questions, and you are going to answer them."

"It would have been my pleasure, if you had been what I'd thought. I collect different species of

women, you see, sad like I said, I've had a vampire. A few of them actually. I don't need another." Again, he jerked from her hold. One step, two, he backed away from her, almost upon the crowd. "A pity. I enjoyed your resistance."

"What do you think you're doing? You're staying here." Jaw clenched, Bride moved toward him. Her voice of compulsion obviously didn't work on him, but she'd grown up on the streets and had had to learn how to defend herself. Taking him down wouldn't be a hardship. "Tell me about the vampires of your own free will or I'll force you. Then I'll drain you."

He arched a brow. "I thought you were human?"

"Now I'm just pissed." She kicked out her leg, knocking his ankles together. He stumbled to the side, and she reached out and captured the back of his neck, using his momentum to swing and bash him against the brick wall. Breath whooshed from him, his eyes going wide with shock.

"Now you listen to me, you piece of shit." She slapped her hands at his sides, getting right in his face.

"I've had enough of your flirting and denials. You will tell me what I—"

"Stay still," he said, and every muscle in her body locked down. "Sorry, darling, but even though you took me unaware and I'm highly impressed, this restaurant is closed. Besides that, you can't force me to do anything I don't want to do."

She couldn't move. Her body couldn't freaking move. "What the hell?" she shouted, trying with all her might to uproot her feet. It was as if her boots had been glued to the pavement. "What did you do to me?"

"It's a little trick of mine. But don't worry." Grinning, he ducked under her arm. "You'll be able to move soon enough."

"I need to talk to you, damn it, and ask you some more questions. Questions you will answer."

"I only answer questions when the one doing the asking is naked, and as we won't be getting naked anytime soon ..." Another of those disappointed sighs. "If I wasn't in a hurry, you might have been able to make me forget I prefer variety. As it is, I'm late and have to go. But do dream of me, darling."

That dirty, rotten bastard! How dare he! "Leave, and I'll come after you. I swear I will.”

“Won't do you any good, I'm afraid." And with that, he disappeared amid the churning crowd.

Bride was unable to follow and all the madder for it. He's going down, she thought darkly. In every possible way.

CHAPTER 2

Devyn, king of the Targons, released the delightful woman from stun the moment he was too far to sniff out and find. It was difficult. Her energy molecules were like nothing he'd ever encountered before. Glimmering, almost overpowering ... probably addictive. Already he craved another taste of them. But he prevailed, letting them go with only the slightest twinge of remorse.

The ability to force bodies to obey their every mental command was one of the reasons his people were so prized as warriors here. They could literally stop an army in its tracks and slit the soldiers' throats before a single fist or sword was raised.

Most humans were frightened by the skill. Some, like the agents of AIR, Alien Investigation and Removal, liked to utilize it for their own gain. The vampire, well, there'd been fire in her eyes. The girl had wanted answers—and perhaps his blood—in a bad way. His skill, not so much.

He grinned. She'd been hungry for answers, yes, and he'd denied her ... there at the end she'd wanted to gut him, he was sure of it.

Only once before had a female resisted him with such fervor. Only once before had a female radiated such fury at him. Only once before had a female gotten the better of him and manhandled him with such force. That another had intrigued him, on all counts.

What's more, this one had mentally left the conversation a few times, and he'd wondered what thoughts drifted through her head, distracting her. Women simply did not dismiss him like that. Not since his father had died and he'd gone a little wild, doing everything he'd ever fantasized about doing to the females in his household—and so much more.

It might have been fun, bedding the vampire despite her origins, he thought, then shrugged. Nah. The more time he spent with her, the more she would have become like everyone else.

You sure? First moment he'd seen her, he'd meant to leave her without engaging her. Everything about her was designed to blend into a crowd. From her mousy brown hair to her unassuming hazel eyes. From her pale skin to her average height and curves.

Until he'd begun to see beyond the mask.

As he well knew, some races were able to "glamour" themselves, hiding their beauty with the commonplace so that no one would pay them and their actions any heed.

The more he'd looked at Bride, the more he'd seen the truth of her. She was a mélange of colors. She possessed long, jet-black hair, and her eyes were like dazzling emeralds. Her skin was dusted with rose, and her lips were a brilliant scarlet. A lush and dewy, ripe-for-a-kiss scarlet. And the energy swirling inside her... it was stunning, as bright as the sun and unlike anything he'd ever encountered.

That's what had gained his notice and convinced him to stay. That delectable energy, snapping and sizzling around her. Then she'd rebuked him, hadn't even wanted to know his name. In that moment, he'd become determined to win her. A challenge had seemed like a nice change of pace.

Then he'd discovered she was a vampire. Devyn sighed. He hadn't lied to her. He'd already had a vampire, two actually, and more of the same held no appeal to him.

If only The Voice hadn't given her away, he might have continued to convince himself she belonged to a race he'd never before come across. But her sweet timbre had gone low and husky, a hypnotic hum pulsing from every word, beseeching him to listen, to do everything she asked.

Unfortunately for her, he'd encountered The Voice before, and hers was weaker than most. When Devyn discovered an ability that could potentially bring about his downfall, he worked and trained until he learned to defeat it. Exactly what he'd done with The Voice. It had taken months, but his mind was now immune to secret suggestion.

Oh, the expression on her face when she realized he would not be doing as she'd wanted. Priceless. He chuckled, remembering.

What was she doing topside? Vampires lived underground, hidden from the rest of the world. They only emerged twice a year to collect food—aka humans—and not even their exiled were sent to the surface to live. Because of this, most people still considered them the stuff of myth and nightmare. Devyn only knew about them because he'd once participated in slave auctions, buying females for his collection.

And no, he'd never forced his purchases to sleep with him. Anyone reluctant to be with him, he set free. So far, though, there'd been only one who'd rejected him. Eden Black, a golden-skinned Rakan and the woman he'd remained on Earth for, hoping to bed at least once. The woman who loved him —like a goddamn brother. His chuckle was wry this time. One day that would change; she would leave her lover and seduce Devyn. He was sure of it. Until then, he would simply continue to play with the vast supply of females here to distract himself.

Bride, with her don't-touch-me attitude, was a lot like Eden, he realized. Maybe he should have bedded her. He could have pretended he'd finally won Eden's affections.

He frowned. I've had vampires, and I don't want anymore, remember? Even if I'm pretending they're something else.

One of the auction traders had managed to snag two bloodsuckers who'd been on the hunt, and high bidder that he'd always been, Devyn had acquired them. Actually, the two had worn those glamoured masks of plainness, and no one else had been interested in them. But they'd dropped those masks for him and him alone, which was how he'd learned such things existed.

They'd spent several weeks with him, and they'd told him much about their society. Very archaic, he thought, much like his own world had been. There was a royal family, and everyone else lived to serve them. Those who broke the rules were harshly punished. He wondered if the current vampire king knew of Bride's whereabouts.

Surely not. Living among the mortals was forbidden because it could leak the secret of their existence, bringing humans and otherworlders to their door. Perhaps war. If little Bride was discovered, she would most likely be killed for placing her brethren in danger. Oh, well. It wasn't his problem.