was muted. Only a small bedside lamp was lit, the TV was running. Ursula had jumped up from the bed, the remote control lifted over her head as if she wanted to strike him with it.
“Ursula, it’s me. Oliver,” he announced himself.
She gasped and opened her mouth wider as if she wanted to scream. Out of instinct, he leapt and grabbed her, bringing them both down onto the bed, while he simultaneously pressed his hand over her mouth.
She struggled against him, beating her small fists against his chest.
“Shh! Ursula, stop, I’m not here to hurt you.”
She glared at him, fury blazing in her eyes. A second later, her teeth dug into his palm. She was biting him!
“Ouch! What are you doing that for?” He didn’t release her mouth though. “Are you promising not to scream if I take my hand off your mouth?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, then her leg suddenly wedged itself between his thighs and kicked up. But he was faster, shifting his weight and imprisoning her legs so she couldn’t try again to kick him in the balls.
“What was that for?” He let go of her mouth.
“You jerk! You betrayed me! You told them about my blood!” she spat.
“It wasn’t me! I never told them a syllable of what you confided in me.”
“Bullshit!” She hit him with a defiant glare. “Now get off me or I’ll scream for Vera.”
“You try to scream, I’ll kiss you! And trust me, I’m faster than you.” He was, and he wasn’t bluffing.
Ursula stilled under him. Slowly he shifted his weight onto his knees and elbows, making sure he wasn’t crushing her. But he had no intention of releasing her until he could be certain that she wouldn’t scream or escape him.
Ursula seemed to realize that he meant what he said and pressed her lips into a thin line. It appeared that he would be subjected to the silent treatment.
“Listen, baby, I was called to Samson’s—”
“I’m not your baby!” she griped.
“You were when you slept in my arms.”
She turned her face away to avoid him. But with his fingers on her chin he made her look at him. “I can see that you’re angry with me.”
“No shit, Sherlock!”
He had to smile despite himself. “You’re a wild cat, Ursula. Maybe we’ll take advantage of that later when we make love. I wouldn’t mind those sharp claws of yours digging into me when I’m inside you.”
She sucked in an outraged breath. “If you think I’m going to sleep with you after all you’ve done, you’re wrong!”
“Am I?” he murmured and lowered his head, allowing his lips to hover over hers. “I bet if I kissed you now, you would kiss me back.” Then he pulled his head back again. “But I won’t kiss you, because you need to know what really happened.”
He sat back on his haunches, allowing her more freedom of movement. Instantly, she shuffled backwards, pulling herself up into a sitting position.
“I was called to Samson’s house—it was a ruse to get me out of the house and away from you. Do you remember when Zane and the others were called away the night we checked out the building in Hunter’s Point?”
She nodded reluctantly, her eyes watching his every move.
“They were called to a nightclub. Apparently some vampires were causing trouble. Turns out that they were two of your clients. Leeches.”
Her eyes widened with interest.
“They were both feeding off Chinese girls. My colleagues had to do a lot of damage control, wipe memories, clean up. One of the leeches killed a girl. Cain staked him.”
A gasp escaped from Ursula’s throat. “Oh God no!”
Oliver gave her a sad look. “I’m afraid my colleagues couldn’t save her. She was already dead when they got there. But they saved the other girl. And they captured that crazy vampire. They took him back to HQ and questioned him. He told them everything: that he wanted special blood, blood that drugged, that the blood brothel in Hunter’s Point he’d been going to was gone. He was an addict, Ursula. He was suffering from withdrawal—that’s why he was so crazy. When Zane and the others realized what was going on, they knew instantly that you had to have special blood too.”
He looked into her eyes and saw realization there. She knew he was telling the truth. “That’s why Zane came for me.”
Oliver nodded. “After seeing what the blood does to vampires, they wanted to make sure I wasn’t anywhere near you. That’s why they took you. They