“Would you dance for Flo’s party?” Yay, Glory. Got that out in a normal voice.

“Not a good idea.” His eyes lingered on my lips, then swept over my body again, every spot sizzling where they touched.

“Why not? Nadia says you’re very . . . talented.” I didn’t shift so much as a toenail. God, but I was working my self-control.

“You decide.” He abruptly stepped away to pop the CD into the player and turned the music on loud enough so the bass vibrated. I knew the walls were well insulated, but my neighbors wouldn’t care that it was close to dawn. They were night creatures too. I did hear a laugh coming from down the hall. Forget the hall. Rafe shoved me onto the couch and pushed the coffee table out of the way.

“What are you doing?” I sat sprawled where I’d landed and watched him unbutton his shirt, his hips moving to the music. His chest was broad, strong, ripped. I knew that. Shouldn’t care. But combined with that sexy beat and those moves . . . Oh, my.

“Giving you the full effect. I’d take off my pants, but you know how I feel about underwear.”

“Damn.” I flushed from my cheeks to my toes. “I mean, for a really good audition I should see the whole act.”

“Use your imagination.” He moved closer.

No problem. His skimpy towel routine had given me plenty to work with.

Get with the program, Glory. Show him this is no big deal. I jumped up, grabbed my purse and pulled a twenty from my wallet. I waved it in front of me, laughing when Rafe danced closer.

“What does this get me?” I looked to where his jeans hung low on his hips. The arrow of dark hair below his navel made my fingertips itch.

“In a club? Sit back down and I’ll give you a lap dance. But you’d need to add another couple of twenties to that.” He shoved me onto the couch again. “I’ll give you a discount.”

Then he was on the couch, his knees on either side of mine. The bulge between his legs brushed against my stomach as he braced his arms on the seat back. He lowered his head with a heavy-lidded stare before he pushed my hair back with his nose, his hot breath teasing my right ear.

“Gloriana.”

I was surrounded by his heat, the pulsing of the music echoing the throbbing inside me.

“Rafe, I ...”

He wasn’t actually touching me anywhere. Well, unless you counted the occasional bump of his zipper against my sweater. Trust me, I was counting it. And thinking about reaching for that weight that proved he wasn’t unmoved.

The music sped up, and Rafe was off of me again, my twenty between his teeth. What the hell?

He strutted over to the CD player and hit a button. The silence was startling. Worse. You could hear me panting like a teenager after heavy petting.

“So, how do you like my moves?”

“Fine.” Had I really squeaked? I cleared my throat. I tried again. “Great. The ladies will love them. So you’ll do it? Dance for Flo’s bachelorette party?” Flo would go nuts. Aggie would too. No way could she top this.

“Not a chance. Not for a bunch of vampires. One-on-one or in a regular club, no problem.” He picked up his shirt and shrugged into it. Darn. “But get a bunch of female vampires worked up like you were just now, and you’re liable to find yourself drained dry in a Dumpster. You think I can’t see you have your fangs down?”

“I wasn’t all that worked up.” Oh, wait. Maybe I did have a little bloodlust thing going along with the other kind of lust. I struggled to my feet and told my fangs to hide again.

“Yes, you were. I know the signs, sweetheart. Even the ones that aren’t so obvious.” He grinned and laid his hand between my breasts. “For a vampire, this heartbeat is pretty fast, and you didn’t drink enough of that Bulgarian brew to have cheeks that pink.”

“So I’m not immune. But that’s what you were after, wasn’t it? To get me stirred up? Mission accomplished. It’s a party for Flo. You’ll know a lot of us. Don’t you think I can control my friends?” I lifted his hand off me, though, truth be told, I’d have welcomed it a little closer to my tight nipples. Instead, I fluttered my eyelashes and put my hand on his chest, on top of his shirt. “Come on, Rafe. I need this.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but have you ever controlled anybody?”

For a moment I was too fascinated by the speed of his heartbeat (Hah! I wasn’t the only one turned on, now was I?) to realize what he’d just said. Then it sank in.

“Excuse me? That was unnecessary. So I have a few issues. I’ve been working on them, haven’t I? Didn’t I come back to Austin by myself?” I shoved back and headed for the hall.

“Yes, you did.” Rafe was by my side in an instant. “But I smelled Blade on you the minute I came into the apartment. He’s already back and got you where he wants you. Am I right?”

“Damn it. Maybe I’ve got him where I want him.” I blinked back tears. But Rafe was right and I knew it. “We have this connection. It’s in my blood. He’s in my blood.”

“I get it. You can’t say no to him. Too bad.” He glanced down the hall toward his bedroom. “So you do your thing, I’ll do mine. Batting your eyelashes at me to get me to dance at your party is pretty lame, Glory. Instead of worrying about shit like that, you should be taking care of this Westwood threat.”

“I can’t figure out what to do, so I move on to something I can deal with. Won’t you help me out, Rafe?” I didn’t do the flirting thing this time. Rafe was right. It was a cheap ploy, and we were friends who should be able to be straight with each other. I couldn’t play naughty games with Jerry and then lead Rafe on. It wasn’t fair. To which one of them, I wasn’t sure. My body still throbbed from Rafe’s sexy dance moves.

“I’ll think about it. Now if you ask me to help with your security, then I’m in. I’ve got guys I can call. I’m sure Blade will pay the freight again for bodyguards.”

“I don’t want that.” I leaned against the wall next to my bedroom door. “But, Rafe, what am I going to do? I can’t kill two mortals who have the misfortune to have had a crazy father. I feel bad enough that I robbed them of a dad.”

“Westwood needed taking out. This may play out the same way, and you can’t feel guilty about it.” Rafe’s voice was hard. I understood. He’d felt the sting of one of the hunter’s arrows too, after throwing his body in the line of fire.

I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. That night, when we’d had the “showdown” as Rafe called it, was still way too vivid a memory. I’d managed to wrestle Westwood’s crossbow away from him and pull the trigger. Then I’d been hustled away from the scene. My last sight of Westwood had been of him bleeding out with one of his own arrows in his gut.

“You could always run.” He pulled me to him, his look of sympathy making me feel weepy.

“It’s tempting.” I took a breath. “Damn it, Rafe, I don’t want to leave Austin, but if I stay here, I’m risking all my friends. Those vamp-detector glasses will spot every vampire who comes near me. The Westwoods might decide to use them for target practice.” I felt overwhelmed and couldn’t see a way out.

“I’m here for you, Glory. We’ll figure this out together.” Rafe gave me a comforting hug, nothing sexual about it, and I relaxed against him.

“Thanks, Rafe. I like your friend Nadia. I know you’ll make a success of this club.” I pulled back and touched his cheek. “She can stay here as long as she needs to.”

“Appreciate that. But I checked with Damian. He’s got a secure house she can rent, and I’ll set her up there. She likes her own space. And she’ll be bringing in other people to work in the club. Her people. More vamps and shifters she trusts to watch over her during the day.” He glanced in the bathroom. “She use up all the hot water?”

“Yes. But I’ll just shower when I get up. ’Night, Rafe.” I was sinking fast. Dawn couldn’t be very far away. I opened my bedroom door and kicked off my shoes. I hoped Rafe could help me figure out a way to beat these Westwoods. Because right now I felt like waving a white flag and getting it over with.

Five

“Where are you going?” Rafe stopped me the next evening as I was stuffing my cell in one pocket of my jeans and my credit card in the other.

“To work. By way of the roof.” I reached up and patted his cheek. “No worries, pal. I’ve got a plan.”

“Care to share?” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch. “You know Vivien Westwood’s not going to give up after one failed attempt. And her brother will quickly figure out that you’re still in town.”

I’d filled Rafe in about the night before. No choice. He’d threatened to go to Blade and offer up some bodyguard buddies for hire if I didn’t come clean with every excruciating detail, right down to Viv’s hair color and where I’d tossed the arrow I’d pulled out of my shoulder after the attack.

“I get it. So I’m going to go up to the roof, shift into bird form and fly down to check out the alley. If I see it’s clear, I’ll shift back and go into the shop, Glory as usual.” I jumped up, grabbed my keys and stuffed them in with my credit card. Didn’t like the added inches on the hips, but unavoidable.

“And if it’s not clear?” Rafe frowned, obviously trying to decide if I needed him as backup. But I knew he and Nadia had an appointment in a few minutes to sign papers.

“Then I sneak inside. I know better than to take on the crossbow queen and her hulk by myself again, thank you very much.” I smiled. “Relax, Rafe. I can shift now without freaking out. I’ll use that to my advantage. Once I’m inside the shop, I’m sure I’ll be okay. The Westwoods wouldn’t dare do something stupid like attack me in front of witnesses.”