Thankfully his attention seemed to waver and his head turned toward the door.
"We have company," he growled toward Frick and Frack. "Deal with them."
On cue the two thugs charged toward the door with startling speed. The man rose from the bar stool to watch them leave, as if half expecting an army to come charging into the club.
It was enough for Darcy.
She might not be Mensa material, but she did recognize opportunity when it came a-knocking.
Whatever the man wanted from her it couldn't be good. The more distance she could put between them the better.
Dodging toward the far end of the bar, she ignored the man's sudden shout behind her. She didn't even bother glancing toward the crowd for help. A screaming woman in this place was just another part of the show.
Instead, she turned toward the back of the club. Just down the hall was a storage room with a sturdy lock. She could hide until one of the bouncers missed her from the bar. They could deal with the crazed stalker.
It was, after all, in their job description.
Concentrating on sounds of pursuit from behind, Darcy didn't notice the thick shadows ahead of her.
Not until one of the shadows moved to stand directly in her path.
There was a brief glimpse of a beautiful bronzed face and cold black eyes before the strange man spoke a single word and she was falling to the floor as the darkness engulfed her.
Chapter Two
Styx stood silent and unmoving beside the bed. He had stood in that exact position for over seventeen hours as he had kept watch on the woman sprawled in the center of the mattress.
A part of him knew his vigil was unnecessary. Not only was Viper's estate isolated, but it possessed a security system that would shame Fort Knox. His prisoner couldn't so much as sneeze without him knowing.
Strangely, however, he found himself lingering.
It couldn't be because of the slender, nearly fragile female body curled on the gold comforter. Or the heart-shaped face that looked unbearably innocent as she slept. Or the ridiculously spiked hair that laid bare the sweet curve of her ear and temptingly long sweep of her neck.
He was not so desperate that he need ogle a woman while she lay unconscious.
It was quite simply because he desired to be near when she awakened, he told himself sternly. She would no doubt scream and cry and create general havoc.
She was human, after all.
It's what they did.
A much more palatable explanation, he acknowledged as he carefully tugged a blanket over her slender form.
He had just stepped back when he sensed that she was battling through the enthrallment he had placed on her.
She shifted beneath the covers, her body stiffening as she realized that he had removed her shirt and miniskirt to make her more comfortable. He had, of course, left on her lacy black panties and bra. Humans were odd about such things.
Waiting patiently as she returned to consciousness, Styx at last frowned when she continued to lie on the pillow with her eyes closed. She was awake, but pretending to be asleep, he realized.
Foolishness.
He stepped forward and bent until he was whispering directly into her ear.
"I know that you are awake. This pretense is a waste of both our time."
She pressed deeper into the pillow and tugged the blanket to her chin. Still her eyes remained tightly closed.
"Where am I? Who are you?"