SINGLE WHITE VAMPIRE Page 0,50

and Kate would almost have believed he was watching television, except Lucern was bent over him, an arm around his shoulder and trailing down his chest as he buried his face in the editor's neck.

Kate gaped in honor. Lucern Argeneau was gay: And he was making a pass at her coworker!

"What the hell are you doing?'"

Lucern straightened abruptly and whirled to face the door where Kate stood gaping. His first thought was, uh-oh. His second was that it was a damned shame she was resistant to mind control, because he would have used it on her. Then the phone rang.

Lucern took a moment to reinforce his control over Chris so that the editor wouldn't hear or see what was going on; it was better not to free his mind until Lucern knew how he was going to explain this. Then, since Kate seemed incapable of moving at the moment, he left her standing by the door and walked into his bedroom to answer the phone. He was hoping it was Bastien.

As he'd hoped, it was his brother's voice on the line. Though the timing sucked. If his brother had called half an hour earlier, Lucern might have been able to control his bloodlust and avoided the scene in the other room. How the hell was he going to explain this to Kate?

"Lucern? Lucern!"

He gave up and turned his attention to Bastien. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm in Europe. I got your message, but you didn't say what the problem was. What?"

"Hang up the phone." Kate was suddenly at his side. He should have locked the door. It appeared she had recovered from her shock, and judging from her expression, she was not a happy camper.

"Just a minute, Kate," Lucern scowled at her. "Go wait in the other room."

"No. I want to talk to you. Now." She grabbed for the receiver, but Lucern turned away, moving it out of her reach.

"Look, Bastien. I" He paused and stared at the receiver in his hand after a click sounded in his ear.

"What were you doing to Chris?"

Lucern turned. "You hung up the phone!" He gaped at Kate.

"You're damned right I did," she hissed. She glanced toward the door to the other room. The Black Adder laugh track could be heard beyond. She turned back and accused in a harsh whisper, "I leave you alone for a few hours and come back to find you hitting on my friend? For your information, he isn't gay, so you're wasting your time. I can't believe you'd act like this, but you're going to explain yourself right now."

Lucern recoiled as if she'd hit him. "I wasn't hitting on your friend. What kind of man do you take me for?"

"Well, what kind of man am I supposed to take you for? You've never shown the least bit of interest in me, and I come back to find you all over Chris!"

Lucern stared at her for a moment, then slammed the dead phone down in its cradle. Snatching her by the wrist, he tugged her into his arms. She got out one gasp of surprise before his mouth closed over hers.

It was no soft, tentative kiss. Lucern had something to prove. Besides, he'd wanted her for so long that he couldn't have been soft had he wanted to. The kiss was a takinghe ravaged her mouth, forcing her lips open and thrusting his tongue inside, his body clenching at the taste of her. She was as hot and sweet as he had imagined.

And she was as willing. Oh, not at first. For the first moment or two Kate was stiff and still in his arms, but then she gave a groan of surrender and melted into him, her body forming itself against his like a soft sweater. Her breasts nudged his chest as she slid her free arm around his neck and tilted her head slightly to make it less awkward as she kissed him back.

It only served to fan the flame of Lucern's desire. Forgetting his original intent to prove he wasn't gay, he released her wrist and slid his arms around her. Letting his hands slide down over her back to her heart-shaped bottom, he cupped those round curves and lifted her against him until they were groin to groin; then he gyrated his hips to press into her. Kate was warm sunlight in his hands, arching and writhing against him as she moaned. Her mouth went wider, then sucked at his almost frantically.

"Lucern." She gasped his