He breathed in her subtle perfume, a soft musk that drove him crazy every time he caught the scent. "Like I said, I'll tell you in private."

Clarissa's smooth brow creased and she sat forward one more time, her hands gesturing, long figures elegant and poised. "I need to know now. We need to plan what to do, now."

Right. She'd decided to be stubborn. "I'll take you back to the hotel and we'll talk there."

Good, Kieran. Now she'll just think you're using this as an excuse to get her into bed.

He decided to project a thought into her mind.It's very private and you could be embarrassed if I talk about it here in front of the others.

When he purposely captured her gaze, he thought he saw understanding there. Then a thought whispered from her mind.All right you stubborn bastard.

He grinned, satisfied and amused. Knowing looks passed around the room, and for the first time in a long time, Ronan felt his cheeks heat. Shit, he hadn't experienced a blush...a real honest toGod, mortified blush in decades.Feck, no .Try centuries.

This pretty colleen would drive him to his end, one way or the other.

Ronan retrieved their coats from the hall closet and her fanny pack. As he helped her on with the coat, Micky and Jared prepared to leave as well.

"Do you see anything else in the dreams?" Lachlan asked Clarissa. "What do you think starts this whole disaster sequence Halloween night?"

Sadness twisted Clarissa's features. "I wish I knew."

"Even if we know all this disaster is coming, how can we stop it?" Micky asked as she slipped on her coat.

"I was hoping you all could tell me." Clarissa's sad voice, a little resigned, gave Ronan pause. He didn't like that this strong, tough woman sounded like she might give up.

"Because I haven't got a clue."

As Ronan and Clarissa piled into her car, Ronan offered to drive her back to her hotel. A little less feisty then when she'd arrived, she acquiesced. She found she liked throwing him off balance. Maybe this big, conceited man thought he could keep her under his constant watch, and that he could pull something on her with his intellect and persuasive personality.

Little did he know.

As they pulled out of the driveway and headed down the icy road, Ronan drove cautiously, much to her surprise and satisfaction. She'd never liked guys who drove like maniacs, especially in bad weather. Clouds obscured the stars tonight. Light traffic traversed the streets, and a hush seemed to settle over the town as it cowered under the threat of a serial killer.

With a shiver of cold and fear, Clarissa adjusted her hat. Ronan flicked a glance her way.

"You're awfully quiet," she said.

"There isn't much to say after everything we told you."

She drew in a cleansing breath to resurrect her equilibrium and courage. "Except for one thing. What was so important and so embarrassing you couldn't tell me until we were alone together?Go ahead, spit it out."

His voice, when it came, held a husky, sexual nuance that made her heart beat faster and anticipation tingle in her stomach. "I suppose if I say I'd like to wait until we get to your hotel room you'll be angry and suspicious."

As if he'd switched a light bulb on she felt both emotions. She tugged her hat down on her head and wiggled her fingers in her gloves. "Exactly."

Ronan's grunt sounded assured, one of those noises a woman could expect a testosterone-laden male to make when he thought he knew the lay of the land.

"Then it sounds like I'm better off if I wait until you're in the hotel room."

She glared at him. "Why don't you just spit it out? What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing frightens me."

"Huh. Right."

Another glance, this one tinged with that golden fire, came her way. "Do you believe everything we told you tonight?"

His subject switch surprised her. "Yes, of course. Why?"

"I'm glad. It means what I'll tell you later won't be so difficult to swallow."

He turned down Main Street and headed for her hotel.

"Were you bitten by a vampire?" she asked suddenly, hoping her question would get a quick answer from him.

"Yes."

His ready answer took her aback. She'd expected more quibbling. She took a deep breath to gather her thoughts around this startling information.

"Okay. So you're like Lachlan, Jared, and Micky then."

Without a word he turned into the hotel parking lot and located a space close to the front door. He turned off the ignition and handed her the keys.

"It's more complicated than their situation. But yes, I'm like them in many ways."

"Then why the big secret? They told me what they are. Did you think I wouldn't believe you?"

His gaze didn't turn golden as she expected, an unearthly calm settling around him. He gazed through the front windshield into the night. "Your acceptance of what we told you is amazing. Micky and Erin had to have more proof. But I'm thankful you believed us."

"Micky saw shadow people all her life and yet she needed more proof?"

"She didn't tell anyone for years for fear of ridicule. And Jared needed more proof even after she told him about the shadow people."

Before she said another word he opened his door. She'd barely taken a breath when the passenger door opened and her heart slammed up into her throat. Ronan stood there patiently, as if he hadn't been in the driver's seat a second ago.

"Ronan." She put her hand to her chest. "You scared the hell out of me."

He held his hand out and gave a devilish smile. "I can move far more quickly than Jared or Lachlan. I can move faster than the human eye can see."

Feeling a tad breathless, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to draw her from the car. "What do we have here? A little competition?"

He winked and drew her closer, the mischievous look in his eyes making her wary. "I don't need or want to compete with them."

As he closed the passenger door with a solid click, she said, "Because your ego is large enough?"

"Because as powerful as Jared, Lachlan, and Micky can be physically and mentally, I'll always have more strength."

Curiosity made her say something she wouldn't have a few days earlier. "Come inside for a few minutes. You've got some explaining to do."