Salvatore studied her for a long moment, as if reevaluating just how to deal with her. A fairly common occurrence.
"I know you were taken against your will by the vampire," he said. "I intend to rescue you."
She regarded him warily. She didn't believe for a minute that his idea of a rescue would match her own.
"Now?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Actually, yeah. It's a problem."
"Why?"
"Because I don't trust you."
His features hardened. There was a restless energy that hummed about him and filled the air with heat.
"And you trust the vampire?"
She smiled wryly. "I think it's more a matter of the 'devil you know.' So far he hasn't harmed me."
"So far? Are you willing to risk your life on a vampire's whim?"
Darcy shrugged. It sounded incredibly stupid when he said it like that. Then again, would it be any less stupid to allow herself to be rescued by a werewolf who had started all her troubles in the first place?
"Why would you want to rescue me?" she abruptly demanded.
There was a tight silence, as if he was debating whether or not to simply toss her over his shoulder and be done with it.
Darcy tensed, quite prepared to scream, but he gave a shake of his head.
"Would you believe that I'm just a good guy?"
"Not for a minute."
He gave a soft, husky laugh. "I will not deny that I have need of you."
"What would a werewolf need with me?"
He straightened as his heat spread through the room and washed over her bare skin.
"You know?"
Darcy swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the whole werewolf thing. That might be the sort of information he didn't want bandied about.
Still, it was too late to pretend ignorance now.
"Yes."
Salvatore leaned forward and sniffed the air about her. "You don't seem particularly frightened."
She took a step back. She had encountered any number of oddballs over the years. Hell, most people considered her an oddball. But she wasn't quite comfortable with being sniffed.
"If you wanted to hurt me you could have done so already."
"You're right." The tension in the air eased and the enticing smile returned. "I have no desire to hurt you. In fact, I will kill anything and anyone who attempts to harm you."
"Yes, well . . . that's psychotically reassuring, but you still haven't told me why you have been following me."