Jace frowned. He'd have to be careful. Jordan was no fool. "What if I told you I had nothing to do with his death?"

"I wouldn't believe you."

Jace tensed. "Are you here in your official capacity?"

"If I were, I'd be accompanied by the Cherry Hill Police. Because I know Santiago is not someone I'd like to see exposed or hindered in his present activities, I'm giving you fair warning. Don't get sloppy or you'll find your a.s.s in jail. And don't think you can kill non-vampires and get away with it."

"I have never killed another human being."

"Timbersmith was not a vampire. When we found his body his blood was not degraded."

"Maybe not, but I a.s.sure you, he was no longer fully human and he almost killed the woman I loved. Did I kill him?" He leaned forward and stared into Jordan's eyes. "You're d.a.m.ned right I did. I snapped his d.a.m.ned neck like a twig. I should have crushed his b.a.l.l.s while I was at it."

Jordan's eyes narrowed. "And where did this happen?"

"Here in Cherry Hill." He smiled. "Why else would I confess to a Philly cop? You have no jurisdiction here, Jordan. So if that's all..." He turned away.

Jordan swore softly and swung him back around to face him. "Wait a d.a.m.ned minute, Makefield. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can brush me off so easily. I' m going to check your story out. If I find he was an innocent human, I promise you, your a.s.s is going to jail."

Jace jerked away from Jordan. "I rarely have occasion to lie. Timbersmith was not human and he was involved in some heavy duty vampire s.h.i.t you don't want to know about."

Jordan shook his head. "I don't need a vampire telling me what I need to know about, Makefield."

Jace stiffened. How the h.e.l.l did Jordan know he was almost a vampire? He looked at the detective with new respect in his gaze. "Look, we both want the same thing-to protect the innocent. We don't need to be enemies."

"Then don't hand me any s.h.i.t. Be straight with me."

"I am being straight with you. He was not human. If you have his tattoo a.n.a.lyzed, you'll find it was applied with a very special kind of ink and blood...degraded blood."

Jordan nodded slowly. "I'll do that." He turned and got back into his car.

Jace watched him drive away before pulling out his keys and walking to his condo. The moment he stepped into his living room and closed the door, he knew he wasn't alone. Sensing a vampiric presence, he crouched and swept the long, dark duster he wore aside, revealing the short sword strapped against his right thigh.

Now that he was stronger and more vampire than human himself, he supposed he didn't really need the sword any longer, but he'd been carrying it for fifty years. It would take a while before he didn't feel naked without it.

Staring around the room, he spotted the intruder. He straightened and allowed his duster to drop back over the sword.

Tat stood near his patio doors in the dark room. With the moonlight shining on her dark hair and face, she looked even more breathtaking than ever. Overcome with warring emotions, he stood staring at her silently, his heart beating so fast he knew she could hear it.

She spoke first. "Who was that?"

"A detective from Philly."

"What did he want with you?"

He hesitated. He didn't think she needed or wanted to know how thoughtlessly her idiotic brothers had disposed of her former lover's body. "He's investigating the death of a rogue I dispatched in Philly a while back."

"Are you going to have difficulties with him?"

"No. I don't think so. He knows what I am and he's okay with it."

"I see."

He nodded and they lapsed into silence, staring at each other.

She broke the silence. "You will have no need of your blade."

Those were close to the first words she'd spoken to him when they met. Injured, he' d been keeping to the midnight shadows, trying to make his way safely home. Remembering that night, he spoke much as he had then. "I think you know what I am."

"Yes, but as you're not hunting me, I foresee no immediate problem. You've been injured."

He smiled. "Actually, I've had my a.s.s kicked-again."

She slowly crossed the room to caress his bruised cheek. "Bit off more than you could chew again? This is becoming a bad habit with you."

He nodded. "You could say that, yes."

"What happened?"

"Your twin took exception to my daring to beard him in his den to ask where you were."

"You did that?"

He wondered why she sounded so surprised. "What else could I do? I had to find you and I knew he'd know where you were."

"Andrei did this?"

He and Andrei had traded blows, but Andrei was none the worse for it. He nodded.

Her eyes glowed. "I'll have to backhand him for bruising my goods." She tilted her head. "Did he hurt you?"

"He made no effort to pull his punches. What do you think?"

"I think I'll slap him upside his head big time when I see him."

"You do that." He frowned. "You know, he's never going to like me."

She linked her arms around his neck. "You might be right, but I like you-a lot. Isn't that enough?"

He nodded and leaned his forehead against hers. "I more than like you. I love you so much it hurts."

"I love you like that too...just like that," she whispered against his lips.

He shivered at the feel of her cool lips against his. "That's nice, but I'm afraid it's not enough."

She moved out of his arms and turned her back to him. "What more can you possibly want?"

He took her arm and swung her around to face him. He stared down into her eyes. "Do you know what I've been through this last week? On top of everything else, I've had my a.s.s kicked by your worthless twin. If he weren't your brother, I swear I would have cut off his G.o.dd.a.m.ned head."

She bared her incisors. "If you weren't the man I loved, he would have killed you where you stood before you could even draw your blade."

He shook his head. "Despite what you might think, I am not so easy to kill, Tatiana. That was true even when I was a human latent. It's even more true now that I'm no longer human."

Her anger disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and she smiled. "I'm very glad to hear that, Jason."

"What? That I'm no longer human or that I'm not so easy to kill?"

"That you're not so easy to kill."

He shook his head. "Don't change the subject. Your love is not enough. I want more..."

"There isn't any more."

"The h.e.l.l there isn't. You're a vampire so you know love is nothing compared to bloodl.u.s.t. That's what I want from you."

"That's not something I can grant if I don't feel-"

He grabbed her arms and jerked her against his body. "You d.a.m.ned liar. If you're not prepared to admit how you really feel, you get the h.e.l.l out of my life and stay out of it."

"You don't mean that."

"The h.e.l.l I don't. I am not settling for less than I deserve from you."

She averted her gaze.

He shook her angrily. "Look at me and tell me the d.a.m.ned truth or get the f.u.c.k out of here."

She jerked away from him. "Fine. I'll leave."

"The h.e.l.l you will." He swung her around and shoved her against the closed door. "You're not going anywhere." He curled his fingers in her hair and jerked her head back so he could stare down into her glowing eyes. "Say it."

"I could very easily kill you."

He gave an angry jerk on her hair. "Wrong answer. Say it! Tell me what I need to hear or I'll f.u.c.k your a.s.s until you can barely walk."

"If you think I'm going to stand here and allow you to manhandle me when I can throw your pale, flat a.s.s across this room with very little effort-"

He jerked her hair again. "You like pale, flat a.s.ses and the pale c.o.c.ks that go with them, don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"Then what the h.e.l.l were you doing with the very blond Timbersmith? And in case you haven't noticed, honey, I'm white too."

She took a deep breath. "I've always dated black men. Tim was my first white lover."

"But he wasn't your last. That distinction belongs to me. Doesn't it?"

Tears filled her eyes. "Yes," she whispered and buried her cheek against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him. "Now please stop."

He released her hair and embraced her. He pressed his lips against her ear. "Please, Tatiana, don't torture me. Say it."

"I do feel more than love..."

His heartbeat increased. "How much more?"

"You know how I feel. Why is one little word so important?"

He stepped back and looked down at her. "I need to hear it."

"Why?"

"Because we've both been deeply in love before. The one thing that will set what we feel for each other apart from our other loves is bloodl.u.s.t. I know you loved that b.a.s.t.a.r.d who nearly killed you. Don't you think I want to know I mean more to you than he did? I know you think I would probably have done Carollina's bidding as he did, but I swear, I would have imploded mentally, as Wilfredo taught me, before I would have allowed her to make me hurt you like that. I love and need you more than you can possibly know. Don't torture me, Tatiana. I know you feel it. Say it."

"I... " She lowered her head.

"No. Look at me when you say it."

She lifted her head. "Okay. Okay, maybe...it might be..."

"Tatiana. d.a.m.n you! Say it."

She sighed. "Okay, it is bloodl.u.s.t."

He let out a wolf whistle, picked her up and swung her around. When he set her on her feet, he pushed her against the door, pressed his body against hers and kissed her until his lungs burned.

When he dragged his lips away from hers, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him. "Satisfied?"

"Not yet." He picked her up. "I might be after I f.u.c.k you a couple of times and you tell me why saying what we both know you've felt since we met was so difficult for you."

"I've admitted all I intend to admit tonight. So let's go f.u.c.k."

"Oh yeah, sweet." He kissed her quickly and carried her to bed, where they f.u.c.ked until, exhausted and happy, they fell asleep with his c.o.c.k still inside her.

Later, in the early morning, after their hunger for each other had been temporarily appeased, she lay on her side with his body curled against her back. She sighed with contentment. She loved him so much even the feel of his flaccid c.o.c.k against her a.s.s excited her.

She soon learned he wasn't feeling nearly as mellow.

"Where the h.e.l.l have you been for the last week?" he demanded suddenly.

"I've been in Virginia, healing."

He brushed his lips against the back of her neck, idly stroking his fingers against her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "From his death?"

He practically hissed the word his, as if she should be ashamed of having loved Tim. "I went for a number of reasons, but mostly because when Andrei and I were five, our lives fell apart there. Our father was killed, our mother gravely injured and we, along with Aleksei and Vladimir, were drowned."

He shuddered against her. "Drowned?"

She nodded.