"Is there another clinic where you can help me with my tooth?"
She turned and caught her breath. He was right behind her, though she hadn't heard him move. "How did you¡ª"
He opened his hand, palm up. "This is my tooth."
She flinched. A few drops of blood had pooled in his palm, but with effort, she managed to focus on the tooth. "What? Is this some sort of sick joke? That's not a human tooth."
His mouth tightened. "It is my tooth. I need you to put it back in."
"No way am I implanting an animal tooth in your mouth. That's just sick. That.. that thing's from a dog. Or a wolf."
His nostrils flared, and he seemed to grow three inches. His fingers curled around the tooth, forming a fist. "How dare you, madam. I am not a werewolf."
She blinked. Okay, he was weird. A little psycho, maybe. Unless.. "Oh, I get it. Tommy put you up to this."
"I don't know a Tommy."
"Then who¡ª" Shanna was interrupted by the sound of cars screeching to a halt outside the clinic. Was it the police? Please, God, let it be the police. She edged toward the office door and peeked out. No siren, no flashing lights. Heavy footsteps pounded on the sidewalk.
Her skin crept with cold sweat. She hugged her purse to her chest. "They're here."
The psycho customer wrapped his wolf tooth in the white handkerchief and stuffed it into a pocket. "Who are they?"
"People who want to kill me." She ran through the examining room to the back door.
"Are you that bad of a dentist?"
"No." She flipped the deadbolt locks with trembling fingers.
"Did you do something wrong?"
"No, I saw something I shouldn't have. And so will you, if you don't get out of here." She grabbed his arm to push him out the back door. A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. He quickly wiped it with his hand, but it left a red smudge along his chiseled jaw.
There had been so much blood. So many lifeless faces, coated with blood. And poor Karen. The blood had pooled in her mouth, choking her last words.
"Oh God." Shanna's knees wobbled. Her vision blurred. Not now. Not when she needed to run.
The psycho customer grabbed her. "Are you all right?"
She looked at his hand, firmly gripping her upper arm. A red smear stained her white lab coat. Blood. Her eyes flickered shut as she sagged against him. Her purse tumbled to the floor.
He lifted her in his arms.
"No." She was fainting away. She couldn't let this happen. With one last feeble attempt, she opened her eyes.
His face was close. The world was fading away, and still he studied her, his eyes slowly starting to glow.
His eyes were red. Red like blood.
Dead, she would soon be dead. Like Karen. "Save yourself. Please," she whispered. Then all went black.
Unbelievable. If Roman didn't know better, he'd swear she wasn't mortal. In more than five hundred years, he had never met a mortal who could resist his mind control. He'd never met a mortal who wanted to save him instead of kill him. God's blood, she even believed he was innocent. And incredibly handsome¡ªthose had been her words.
But she was mortal. Her body felt warm and soft in his arms. He dipped his head lower and inhaled deeply through his nose. The rich aroma of fresh, human blood filled his senses. Type A Positive. His favorite. His grip tightened. His groin swelled. She was so vulnerable in his arms, her head dropped back to expose her virginal white neck. And damn if the rest of her didn't look just as tasty.
As much as he craved her body, her mind intrigued him even more. How the hell had she managed to block his mind control? Every time he'd attempted it, she'd slapped it back in his face. The struggle of minds hadn't angered him, though. Quite the contrary. He had still managed to read a few of her thoughts. Apparently she was frightened by the sight of blood. And her last thought before fainting had been about death.
But she was very much alive. She shimmered with heat and vitality, pulsed with vibrant life, and even unconscious, she was giving him one hell of an erection. God's blood. What was he going to do with her?