Jamie clutched fistfuls of his shirt, drawing him closer. Only then did Damian break the kiss. A low groan rumbled from him as he stepped back, never losing his grip on her. Intent burned in his gaze.

Alarmed and dismayed, Jamie licked her lips. I just kissed my brother's murderer. The Draicon I tried to kill.

Damian laid a palm against her cheek. "Hush," he murmured. "I won't hurt you."

"Then lift that d.a.m.n spell of yours." Jamie stopped moving, stricken by the calming feel of his touch. She stared at him, taking in his strong, square chin, straight nose and high cheekbones. Cla.s.sical good looks. And a werewolf lurking inside.

She had tried to kill him in New Mexico, but Nicolas, his beta, had healed Damian. And then Damian had cast a binding spell, prohibiting her from doing magick. The dark powers Kane, the Morph leader, had bestowed on her had vanished. Damian had said it was because the Morphs wouldn't want her without her powers.

But he lied. She knew it.

She then had escaped, but he'd found her. No matter. She would escape him once more.

"I can't. The magick in you is dark. Until I can erase it, the spell remains."

"I'll find a way around it. I can defeat you, Draicon."

A shadow crossed his face. "There are things you must know, Jamie. You're in danger. You need my help."

"Your help? I'd rather kiss a Morph. At least they gave me power."

He gave her a pensive look. "What did Kane do to give you magick?"

"I had s.e.x with him," she taunted.

Now that full mouth flattened into a thin slash. He looked dangerous and edgy. Leaning closer, he seemed to nuzzle her neck. No, he was sniffing her, like a wolf scenting a rabbit. Damian drew back. Male satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

"You didn't. I can't smell him on you. You haven't been with another male since me."

Her chin rose. "I could. Probably someone would trade me s.e.x for a way to release your binding spell."

A dark look draped his features. Damian offered a thin smile, but his green eyes spoke volumes. Rage and male possessiveness.

"Don't sell yourself short, Jamie. Your body is worth much more. And if you try it, I'll find the male and make him regret he ever laid eyes on you." He paused, his strokes against her neck gentle compared to the murderous fury flashing in his eyes. "I'll rip him apart. Slowly."

White canines flashed in his dark smile...the teeth elongating as if he were shape-shifting. Jamie tilted her chin up, refusing to show fear.

"And me? What would you do with me?"

Damian's expression shifted. The intensity of his look was strong enough to melt steel.

"What I'd do with you? I'd rip off your clothing and I'd put my mouth all over your body and make you come until you screamed for mercy. There'd never be another male for you, ever, because every time you'd try to get close to another I'd be there, my scent in your nostrils, my taste in your mouth and the feel of my c.o.c.k inside you."

He released her neck and gave her nose a light, almost affectionate tap. "Understand?"

Jamie moistened her kiss-swollen mouth. A deep, primitive urge rose at the way he stared at her lips. His muscles locked as his pupils got larger, nearly overriding the jade-green irises. Damian might have some odd s.e.xual hold over her, but d.a.m.n, she had the same over him. She had the odd feeling if she had the courage, she could wield a much greater power. But her lack of experience and inner terror of Damian's power held her back.

"I get it. You stripped my powers to punish me. Fine. Let's deal. I'll make up for it if you get rid of this d.a.m.n spell. If you don't, I'll find another way. Like a hidden book of magick, Draicon."

Damian lightly trailed long fingertips over her cheek. "My name is Damian, not Draicon." His voice suddenly softened. Was there a note of regret there? She couldn't tell. "There's no need to make up for anything, Jamie. The binding spell is there for your own protection. Trust me, it's best."

"I know what's best for me. I don't need you or anyone else."

Torment flashed in his eyes, then he closed them. Bemused, she stared at the long sweep of dark lashes against his tanned cheeks. Damian opened his eyes, the emotion gone. "Walk with me. We need to talk. It's urgent."

She didn't want to, but the warm palm he cupped on her elbow suggested otherwise. Damian began steering her toward the river.

"Let me go. I don't trust you."

He stopped, giving her a solemn look. "I haven't given you good reason to trust me, either. But we must talk. We'll go to Cafe du Monde. Very public, so if you feel threatened, there's people around and you can scream for help. Okay?"

The devil offered her an irresistibly sweet deal. Hunger pulled with the image of a crisp beignet coated with layers of glistening powdered sugar.

People crowded the green-and-white-striped canopied cafe. Damian guided her to a quiet table outside. He pulled a chair out for her.

Torn between wanting to flee and hunger, Jamie sat. Damian took the seat beside her, so close his leg touched hers. She shuffled over; he followed. He seemed determined to stay close. Damian frowned as he examined her dejected expression. Reaching over, he cupped her chin, lifted it to his scrutinizing gaze.

"Hey," he said softly. "Relax. It will get better. The world hasn't collapsed."

My world has, she wanted to say, feeling her throat constrict. Instead she offered a brave shrug that hid her emotions.

Damian gave her a long, thoughtful look. He didn't question her further, but released his grip and gave their order to a tired-looking waitress. Barely had she left when Jamie ripped a paper napkin out of the holder and spread it over on the tabletop. She shook the gla.s.s sugar container over the napkin, then unscrewed it, dumping out the contents onto the napkin.

His green eyes widened as she dug into the snowy mountain with her spoon and gulped down mouthfuls. "Easy," he murmured.

Ignoring him, she continued eating. The rush kicked in, giving her a flood of energy. The spoon clattered to the table. The scarred tabletop resembled a white powder explosion. Damian looked deeply troubled.

"Wow, I knew sugar was supposed to give you a rush. I've been so tired lately." She wiped her fingers with a fresh napkin.

His dark, heavy brows drew together. "Jamie, why did you ask the Morphs to grant you the power of flight when there were other powers you could have received?"

"I didn't. Kane infected me with dark magick and told me it would shift to whatever natural form I desired."

Damian's gaze riveted to a fly landing near the sugar on the table. With amazing speed, his palm smacked down, killed the insect. She gave him a bemused look.

"Just a fly," he mused, flicking it away. "But you can't be certain. Not here."

The waitress brought over plates of beignets and steaming cups of coffee. Behind horn-rimmed gla.s.ses, her eyes widened at the empty sugar container. "Are you guys nuts? I just filled that," the woman snapped.

His eyes narrowed. "Then get another."

Jamie sank back, watching as he sipped his black coffee. "You wanted to talk, so talk. Then I'm gone."

Jade-green eyes met hers. "How long have you been eating like this, Jamie?"

"Since I dropped Weight Watchers. Any more questions? Are we done?"

"Jamie, how long have you eaten sugar like this?"

Obstinate Draicon. Jamie frowned, bemused at her bizarre behavior. "Today...I guess."

"You're certain this is the first craving you've had?" His voice sounded thick.

Jamie nodded and glanced at her coffee. She stared into the blackness. Black, like her soul had been. Once she would have done anything to hurt Damian. Now the desire for revenge fled, leaving only emptiness. Something inside remained as dark as the beings she'd lived among.

"Why are you here, Draicon?" she whispered. "To make me pay for what I did to you?"

His expression was blank, but he stroked her hand with his fingers as if he couldn't bear not to touch her. "I told you, Jamie, my name is Damian. I'm here to keep you safe."

Doubtful. He wanted something more. She could feel it.

"But, since you've broached the topic, why did you try to kill me? Most women don't kill their lovers when they walk out."

His voice was absolutely gentle, yet his laser green gaze demanded answers. Jamie plucked out a napkin and began twisting it into the shape of a small bird.

"I'm not most women."

"There's something more, isn't there? What?"

Trust no one. Jamie dodged the truth.

"You lied to me, Draicon. At least with the Morphs, I knew what they were. Dark, powerful..."

"Evil."

"But not two-faced. I played along. I thought you, what you did...after we...that night..." She struggled with the words. "I went back the next day to find you and you were gone. You broke your promise to teach me magick."

The napkin twisted in her hands. Words hung unspoken between them.

He clasped her hands in his. The simple touch felt soothing. She stared down at his long, elegant fingers. Hands that crushed, killed.

"I left you a note, telling you where to meet me later."

"There was no note." Jamie wrenched free.

Damian's mouth tightened. "Your...brother probably got to it first. I had to leave. I needed to get rid of a very large problem threatening you. I sent Nicolas, my best warrior, to find and guard you. I was going to teach you magick, but this other matter was more urgent. Now, answer my question. Why did you try to kill me, Jamie?"

"Why did you ground me?" she challenged. "This nonsense about me being your mate is a lie."

"It's not. You are my draicara, my destined mate, which makes no sense because you're human and I'm an Alpha Draicon. We don't bond with human women." Damian looked grim.

"I'm human, so I can't be your mate? Fine. We're done here. Sorry I tried to kill you. Have a nice life."

She pushed back from the table. He hooked an ankle around the chair leg. Jamie stared at his thigh muscles bunching beneath faded denim as he dragged her chair forward. Such power...She quivered, remembering his legs nestled inside hers, the soft hair rubbing against her skin as he thrust inside her.

Her startled gaze lifted to meet his. Damian gave a knowing smile. Little wrinkles fanned out from the corners of his eyes. He touched her hand, frowned.

"I can't read you, even when we touch. Tell me, how did Kane infect you? Did he say anything?"

She glanced away, her stomach knotting. "Kane bit me. Like the bite of the loup garou. And he mumbled some words in a strange language."

It had hurt, a lot. And more than the pain and the ecstasy of knowing she had power at last was an underlying shroud of evil. Jamie shivered.

"He was reciting a spell. The magick of a purebred Alpha may help." He gave her a steady look. "My magick, Jamie."

"So if you bite me, it will counter everything inside me? No thanks. One bite is bad enough."

"There are other ways," he said softly. "Much more enjoyable. I can make it very enjoyable."

The meaning became clear in his heated gaze. Jamie drew back.

"Never again. I'm not having s.e.x with you and what we had was just s.e.x. Biology." Afraid to look at him, lest she see a reflection of her own hidden desire.

"It wasn't and will never be just s.e.x between us, chere. You know it and I do, as well. It's something neither of us can ignore. But I promise, I will never leave you again."

Damian stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "What was it like, Jamie? When the darkness came over you?"

Against her better judgment, she slid her fingers up to lace with his. He looked startled. His smile chased the dark shadows beneath his eyes. Just as quickly, it vanished. She raised her gaze, saw his curiosity and worry.

He'd probably never known the gut-wrenching grief, fear and desperation caused by losing everything he cared about. Thinking nothing, not even pure evil, could be as bad. Then finding out what happened before was a spin on a slow carousel compared to the rocketing slide into an oily blackness so deep her soul was a tiny light winking in the vast, empty s.p.a.ce.

Her voice rasped like a nail file when she finally spoke.

"It was like being sucked into a black depth, feeling evil invade every single pore. Trapped beneath this vile quicksand. No light, no hope, no way out, nothing but the sounds of your own screams echoing back at you," she whispered.

Damian squeezed her fingers, his jaw tensing. For a moment, turmoil flashed in his eyes as if he'd had a taste of that particular darkness. Then it vanished.

"Care for anything else?"

Their grumpy waitress was back. She looked edgy, fidgety. Probably the end of her shift.

"h.e.l.lo? Like I said, need anything else?"

Damian barely cast her a cursory glance. "Give me the check and leave us alone."

The woman dropped a slip of paper. As she glanced at their linked hands, her mouth drew back in a disapproving sneer. Lips pulled back, revealing...

Yellowed, razor-sharp teeth, like a crocodile's.

Startled, Jamie blinked. No, just teeth stained from nicotine. The waitress cast another censuring look as she walked off.

What was this?

Trembling, she withdrew her hand, trying to conceal her reaction. She fished into her pocket and threw a fistful of bills on the table.

"My treat. It's getting late. I need to get home." But her legs felt wobbly. "Why am I feeling like this?" she said, rubbing her legs.

"I know why." He glanced around and then reached for her hand. His touch was absolutely gentle. "Jamie, it's very bad. When Kane infected you, he poisoned you."