No, no, no. Not this time.
“But of course.” There wasn’t a hint of remorse on his beautiful face. “I remember that most of all. So sweet, so deliciously innocent.”
“Keep your voice down,” she commanded.
“Don’t worry.” He stepped even closer. So close that the fabric of his slacks brushed her bare legs. “The mortals can’t hear me, and the fey know better than to interfere with a vampire on the hunt.”
Anna gasped, her eyes wide. “Vampire. I knew it. I…” She pressed her hands to her heaving stomach as she glanced around the crowded room. She couldn’t forget her plan. “I want to talk to you, but not here. I have a room in the hotel.”
“Why, Miss Randal, are you inviting me to your room?” The dark eyes held a mocking amusement. “What sort of demon do you think I am?”
“I want to talk, nothing else.”
“Of course.” He smiled. That smile that made a woman’s toes curl in her spike heels.
“I mean it. I…” She cut off her words and gave a shake of her head. “Never mind. Will you come with me?”
The dark eyes narrowed. Almost as if he sensed she was attempting to lead him away from the crowd.
“I haven’t decided. You haven’t given me much incentive to leave a room filled with beautiful women who are interested in sharing a lot more than conversation.”
Her brows lifted. She wasn’t the easy mark he remembered. She was a woman—hear her roar.
Especially if he had even a random thought of ditching her for someone else.
“I doubt they’d be so interested if they knew you are hiding a monster beneath all that handsome elegance. Push me far enough and I’ll tell them.”
His fingers lightly skimmed up the length of her arms. “Half the guests are monsters themselves and the other half would never believe you.”
A shiver shook her entire body. How could a touch so cold send such heat through her blood?
“There are other vampires here?”
“One or two. The others are fey.”
She briefly recalled his mention of fey before. “Fey?”
“Fairies, imps, a few sprites.”
“This is insanity,” she breathed, shaking her head as she was forced to accept one more crazy thing in her crazy existence. “And it’s all your fault.”
“My fault?” He lifted a brow. “I didn’t create the fey and I certainly didn’t invite them to this party. For all their beauty they’re treacherous and cunning with a nasty sense of humor. Of course, their blood does have a certain sparkle to it. Like champagne.”
She pointed a finger directly at his nose. “It’s your fault that you bit me.”
“I suppose I can’t deny that.”
“Which means you’re the one responsible for screwing up my life.”
“I did nothing more than take a few sips of blood and your…”
She slapped her hand across his mouth. “Don’t you dare,” she hissed, glaring at an approaching waiter. “Dammit, I’m not going to discuss this here.”
He gave a soft chuckle as his fingers stroked over her shoulders. “You’ll do anything to get me to your room, won’t you, querida?”
Her breath lodged in her throat as she took a hasty step back. Damn him and his heart-stopping touches. “You really are a total ass.”
“It runs in the family.”