"Stop," I protested when he held his bloody wrist against my mouth, but that and swatting at his arm made no difference.

"Swallow," he said sternly.

I did, cursing vampires and their highhandedness the whole time. When he finally removed his wrist, I shoved him, but it had as much effect as a fly trying to bring down a brick wall.

"What the hell?" I snapped.

He flicked my nose before showing me his red finger. "You started bleeding. I wasn't waiting to see if your heart stopped again, too."

Another nosebleed? But I hadn't been using my powers -

My gaze darted down. Yep, the gloves were still on, plus there was that whole impossibility factor with connecting to someone in my sleep. Still, the coincidences were piling up.

"Call Vlad," I said, seized with a near desperate urge to be proven wrong.

Both his brows shot up. "Why?"

"To see if he" - threatens your life, tells you to put me on the phone, anything like that - "sounds weird," I finished lamely.

Maximus stared at me, skepticism written all over his face.

"It's important," I said, gripping his upper arm.

After another penetrating stare, he went over to where he'd thrown his coat and pulled out his cell phone.

"Vlad," he said after a brief pause. "Sorry. I must've unintentionally redialed the last number that called me . . ."

I waited with indrawn breath, expecting to hear my name amidst an explosion of threats. But although I could make out Vlad's voice on the other line, he spoke too softly for the words to be clear. After a minute, Maximus hung up and shrugged.

"He sounds fine."

I let out my breath in a sigh that seemed to come from my soul. Only a dream! trumpeted across my mind. No matter how it felt or my spontaneous nosebleed, if it had been real, Vlad would've torn into Maximus as soon as he heard his voice -

I froze, claws of doubt skittering up my spine. Or would he? Vlad told me to get away from Maximus and then contact him. If Maximus knew the jig surrounding my purported death was up, he wouldn't let me out of his sight long enough for me to do that. Vlad also insinuated that Maximus might be the one behind the gas line bomb. If he believed that, would he tip his hand about my ability to contact him in my sleep?

No. Vlad was cunning to the point of being a sociopath. He'd never reveal such an advantage until it was too late.

Of course, there was another possibility. Vlad might not reveal that I'd contacted him in my dreams just to mess with me.

"Going to tell me why I just crank-called my sire?"

Maximus's wry voice cut through my musings. Even though I didn't believe the insinuations Dream Vlad had levied, niggling doubts kept me from replying with the truth.

"I, um, had a dream that his plane crashed," I said, managing to hold his gaze despite feeling like I had "Liar!" written in neon lights on my forehead.

A grunt. "You need to get over him. You'll only make yourself crazy if you don't."

Make myself crazy? I thought bleakly. All signs indicated that I was already there.

Chapter 13

Sweat dampened my clothes and my muscles screamed, but I kept lifting and lowering my legs in a smooth, controlled rhythm. One hundred thirty-nine . . . one hundred forty . . .

"You've got to stop. This isn't healthy."

Maximus's arms were crossed, his handsome features creased into a scowl. I ignored him, continuing my leg lifts.

Cool hands locked around my ankles, keeping me from my next set of lifts. "I mean it, Leila. Stop."

I glared up at him. "Let me go."

His grip only tightened. "Not until you tell me what's been eating you the past few days."

Laughter came out in pants from my exertions. "Should I start with my best friend being blown to smithereens, or skip to the part where you think his killer may be my ex-boyfriend?"

Or maybe even you? my nasty inner voice added.

I tried to ignore that voice, but it had been growing louder. Maximus claimed he hadn't known about my being fireproof, but he could've overheard that while I'd been living at Vlad's. He'd helped me find the bomber, but what if that was because he knew Adrian would already be dead? Since then, he'd been adamant about me holding off on looking for the female vampire, citing concerns for my health. But what if the heart attack never happened? What if the only repercussions from me overusing my powers were a nosebleed?

"Something else is bothering you," Maximus said, letting go of my ankles. I sat up and carefully picked my words.

"Exercise helps keep me strong and I'll need that to link to the female vampire tomorrow. I've waited long enough."

Maximus grunted. "Some days, you remind me of Vlad."

"Meaning?" I asked sharply.

"Your obsession with revenge. Next you'll want to drive a pole through that vampire once you find her."

The thought was appealing, but . . .

"It's not just revenge. My family will have targets on their backs as soon as the killers find out I'm alive." Then I switched tactics. "Besides, I keep having nightmares about Vlad finding us. Exercise helps me sleep without those."

All true. I'd let myself off easy last night and regretted it when Dream Vlad told me he was closing in on me. It wasn't real, but I woke up with a nosebleed and a sense of foreboding anyway, both of which I hid from Maximus.

His gray gaze became tinged with green. "There are other ways to tire yourself out before sleeping."

This was the first time since our sidewalk kiss that he'd made a pass; pretty chivalrous considering we'd been locked in the same room for the past three days. I was about to let him down gently when that inner voice roared to the surface.

Now's your chance! Take your gloves off and touch him. If the brunette's essence is anywhere on him, he's guilty as hell.

I paused. Could I be so ruthless?

You're swimming with sharks, that pitiless voice snapped. Either grow some teeth or get eaten.

Maximus's gaze grew brighter. Little did he know why I was considering his offer. Guilt competed with cold practicality. Maximus had been nothing but kind to me, but how well did I truly know him? For that matter, Vlad had known him for centuries, yet Maximus was still going behind his back now.

Marty's face flashed in my mind, followed by my dad's and Gretchen's. Someone had murdered my best friend and would hurt my family to lure me out. I couldn't afford to be naively trusting when I could be sure instead.

Very slowly, I stripped off my gloves. Maximus's eyes gleamed brighter, bathing the room in a soft emerald glow. Then he came over and knelt, each movement deliberate, as if anything sudden would startle me into bolting.

It might. My heart beat so fast it made me slightly dizzy. I was about to play a sensual version of Russian roulette with the nearly thousand-year-old, six-and-a-half-foot vampire crouched in front of me. There was a fine line between survival and recklessness, and right now, I wasn't sure which side my actions fell on.

Maximus came closer with that slow, leonine crawl. When he was only inches away, he inhaled, and a frown stitched his brow.

"What's wrong?"

Damn vampires and their ability to decipher emotions by scent. I glanced at my hands and then back at him. Lies were more convincing when peppered with the truth.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to put my gloves back on." I swallowed a lump that wasn't entirely made up of nervousness. "I - I want to touch you."

A low growl sent icy-hot chills up my spine. Before my next breath, I was in his arms. He kissed me with an intensity that briefly made me forget my objective. Then he pulled me onto his lap, shifting until I straddled him.

A large bulge jutted between my thighs. He grasped my h*ps and rocked me against it, that hard length rubbing my most sensitive spot. I gasped, but with a touch of despair. It felt good, but also . . . meaningless. With sudden clarity, I understood the difference between lust and lovemaking. If I had sex with Maximus, I'd enjoy it the same way I enjoyed Chinese food - with the knowledge that too soon, I'd feel empty inside again.

Damn Vlad! Even in another man's arms, the memory of that hardhearted vampire tormented me. I tore my mouth away.

"Maximus, stop."

His hands stilled, but he gave my neck a long, hungry lick.

"What's wrong?"

For starters, you're not the man I'm still in love with. Besides that, I'm not sure I can trust you. "I . . . it's too soon."

I dropped my head as I said the words, letting my fingers play over his shoulders as if in apology. No trace of foreign essences there. Then I sat back with a sigh, trailing my hands down his arms. An all-too-familiar essence thread popped up, making me silently curse Vlad again. He wasn't only embedded in my skin; he was in Maximus's, too.

His hands slid over my thigh. "Too soon for sex, perhaps, but there are other things we can do."

I stopped his hands by working down his arms to grip them.

"Sorry. It's, ah, too soon for that, too."

His disappointed sigh made me feel guilty. Tease! my conscience mocked. That devious inner voice didn't care. It urged me to grasp Maximus's hands in a pretense of concern while I searched them for incriminating essence traces.

"It's fine." Wry smile. "I'm not getting any older."

Another essence trail was imprinted on his right hand, but it didn't belong to the brunette vampire or to Vlad. Whoever it was felt very guilty when he - or she - touched Maximus, but if it wasn't the female killer, it wasn't my business.

"Thanks for understanding," I said before dropping my hands and rising. "I, ah, think I'll hit the shower now."

I wouldn't even need to make it a cold one. For the third time, I cursed Vlad. It wasn't fair that he'd been the only man to inflame my heart and my body. Wherever he was, I hoped my memory still burned him inside and out, too.

Maximus got up, too. Then his head cocked as if listening - and I was on the floor, his big body protecting mine from an explosion of glass. Over the noise from our window shattering, I heard him groan. Felt him shudder so violently that his grip became excruciating, but before I could scream, he let go. Then he grabbed several knives and leapt up.

I did, too, voltage surging to my right hand from a double shot of fear and adrenaline. Vlad must have found us! This was the same way he'd stormed a hotel room when we first met. I expected fire to soon surround us, but it didn't. Instead, another volley of gunfire sounded. Maximus knocked me down and shielded me once again, but this time, he didn't leap up after the barrage stopped. He slumped forward, agony streaking his face as vividly as the bloody holes all over his body.

"Bullets are liquid silver," he rasped. "Run!"

I was horrified. Even a vampire's regenerative abilities wouldn't be able to expel that, and not only would it near-paralyze Maximus, it would feel like acid burning all through him. I shoved him off me, but not to run. To slice an electric bolt through whoever tried to shoot him with that poison again. I yanked my gloves off, grimly satisfied at the unearthly glow suffusing my right hand. Then I held it up while letting loose a snarl of my own.

"You want to kill him, Vlad? You'll have to go through me!"

Mocking laughter met this statement. The door didn't open - it flew across the room to smash against the bed. A cloaked figure appeared in the door frame, face in shadows, but I caught a glimpse of dark hair. I tensed, my heart twisting even as the electricity channeling into my hand became more intense. Could I kill the man I loved to protect the man I didn't?

"If you want him to live, don't move."

Moonlight fell onto the cloaked man's face, revealing short black hair, a smooth jaw, and a wide, full mouth. Not Vlad, I realized, or anyone else I recognized. Who the hell was he?

The stranger smiled, showing fangs. "You have questions, but we only have time to answer one. Will he live or die?" Belittling nod at Maximus, who writhed in agony. "If you want him to die, fight me. You'll lose because I didn't come alone, and then we'll take you anyway and kill him. Leave with me willingly, however, and I'll let him live."

"Don't listen to him," Maximus managed to grit out.

I didn't glance his way because that would require taking my eyes off this stranger; a mistake I wouldn't make.

"I should trust you why?" I asked with heavy sarcasm.

His eyes flashed green. "Because I'd rather not lose my best leverage over you."

That single sentence spoke volumes. Whoever he was, he wasn't stupid. He also wasn't one of Vlad's men. Vlad wouldn't attempt to use Maximus as leverage against me. He'd know it was pointless since he'd already told me he was going to kill him.

Sirens sounded in the distance. The stranger sighed. "Time's up, little bird. Which will it be?"

My hand ached with the overload of currents coursing into it, but slowly, I lowered it. Now wasn't the time. Maximus cursed between ragged moans of pain. The stranger smiled.

"I heard you were smart. Let's hope your friend is, too."

Something hard jabbed me in the chest. I glanced down, seeing what looked like a dart sticking out of me. By the time I glanced back at the stranger, my vision was already starting to blur and my legs felt like they'd been replaced with jelly.

"Make sure you get her gloves" was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

Chapter 14

When I came to, I didn't open my eyes or alter my breathing. Instead, I took inventory while pretending I was still unconscious. Headache, no surprise, but other than that I felt okay. My arms were behind my back. Thickness around my fingers was gloves, tightness around my wrists and ankles was restraints. Uncomfortable gag in my mouth, self-explanatory.