"Yeah," she sighed. "But I know he cares about me. Just not the way I want him to."

"Is it possible that having a big brother type of love might be special in its own way? After all, having someone who watches out for you is worth a lot."

"I never thought of it that way." She frowned and paused to think about it. "Maybe I should talk to him?"

I nodded and relaxed my tight shoulders. "I think that would be an excellent idea."

Maybe this Dev guy isn't so tweaked, after all We sat quietly for a couple of minutes.

"Midnight, are you seriously considering becoming a vampire?"

Becoming a vampire had started to sound like a euphe-mism to me, and I was getting the same vibe I got when a client hinted about suicide, without actually talking about it.

"I don't know. Last night Bryce and I took a little blood from each other. It was the first time that a real vampire had bitten me and he did it while we were having sex, which felt great, but I think I must have passed out for a while because I couldn't remember what happened after that. He told me he had chosen me because I was ready. I don't want to let him down."

Let him down?

Bryce was setting off all my inner alarms. I wished I could see the skin hidden by all that hair so I could tell if she hadany cuts or bite marks.

Did he drug her? He's obviously playing into the vampire fantasy. Is he a manipulativeslimeball or something even worse?

"I thought we made an agreement that you'd hold off on any blood drinking activities until we talked about it? What if Bryce has some kind of illness? Is he worth dying for?"

She scowled. "I think you're making it a bigger thing than it is. I know I told you I'd wait, but we got so caught up in the moment. Bryce said that if I really loved him, I'd want to share everything with him. I know how that sounds, but at the time it made perfect sense. He just looked at me and 1 knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, Bryce said if I do decide to become a vampire, any disease that I might have would go away."

ShitWe've crossed the line now. Pm legally requiredto report harm to self or other and, even though Midnight isn't a minor, she's at risk. If I get the authorities involved in this, Midnight will never trust me again. But if I don't. . .

I leaned forward in my chair, locking eyes with her. "Would you be willing to give this some time? Will you prom-ise me-I mean really promise me-that you won't make any decisions about becoming a vampire or drinking blood with-out talking to me first? It's a very big deal."

I let the honest concern I felt show in my face, and I watched the suspicion in her eyes soften into possibility as she sensed my sincerity. I really didn't want to bring in the po-lice unless I absolutely had to, and I needed time to deepen our connection.

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Well, I guess I could do that."

I persuaded her to put off the decision for a couple of weeks and we spent the rest of the sessionexploring some of her background. "Tell me about your father/' and she did. The hour flew by.

As she stood to leave she said, "I told some of the other kids about you and a few of them might want to come and talk. Would that be okay?"

"Sure. That would be great." I picked up some business cards from my desk and handed them to her.

"Just ask them to call to schedule an appointment."

I walked her into the reception area and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned toward me again."Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. I told Dev I was coming to see you that first time-that my parents were making me see a shrink-and he was very interested in that. Well, anyway, he was waiting for me after our appointment, and he asked me lots of questions about you and what we talked about.

He asked me how you look. I told him everything. He said he might drop in to meet you sometime, and that I should tell you."

"If he'd care to make an appointment, I'd be happy to see him."

"It would have to be at night." She smiled.

I nodded. "That's perfectly fine. I often see clients in the evenings." I didn't add that it was one of my leastfavorite things to do. But if I was going to specialize in vampire wan-nabes, I'd have to get used to the nocturnal schedule.

She left and I went back into my office.

I met with a few more clients that afternoon and early eve-ning and was just kicking off my shoes when I heard the door to the reception area open. I quickly scanned my appoint-ment book to make sure I hadn't forgotten anyone. Finding I hadn't, I put my shoes back on, and opened my office door.

Sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room was the very same gorgeous, blond-haired, leather-clad man I'd seen outside my building.

My stomach lurched and I think I made a gasping sound.

He stood when I opened the door and it was fluid motion. As if he had simply willed himself to stand.

His body was all lean muscle radiating some kind of primal power. He moved elegantly over to me, gave a slight bow of his head, and of-fered a glorious smile.

Dressed all in black, his snug leather pants, form-fitting silk T-shirt and long leather duster gave the impression of high fashion rather than HarleyDavidsons .

I froze in the doorway with my mouth hanging open, speechless, staring into the most amazing pair of turquoise eyes I'd ever seen.

He picked up my hand gently and kissed the back, his lips soft and silky. "I am Devereux. Is this a good time for an appointment?"

There were so many emotions slamming against each other inside me I didn't know which one to act on first.

Fear decided to step to the front of the line, and my mind began weighing options in case the man physically attacked me. He didn't seem menacing at the moment, but he was much bigger than me-much stronger-and I hadn't spent as much time in the gym as I probably should have. Hell, I hadn't spent any. And, obviously, he had.

My heart raced and still I hadn't formed a coherent sen-tence or done anything beyond stare at him like a deer in his headlights.

What was happening to me? My eyelids felt as though they were wearing cement overshoes, my jawsagged open, the air was suddenly thick, and there was a sumo wrestler on my chest. The normal background white noise acquired a sharp edge and turned into a persistent buzz, vibrating in my ears. I felt as if I was in some kind of trance.

He took a step back from me and released my hand. "I am very sorry. I have frightened you. That was never my intention. Sometimes I forget how intense we can be. You must be a keenly sensitive individual.

I willendeavor to con-trol myself. Please accept my sincere apologies."

You willendeavor to control yourself?Imthe one having the meltdown.

He shifted his gaze down for a moment, and when he met my eyes again, the tension drained from my body, and I could breathe. It felt as though a switch had been thrown, and I was once again in charge of my body functions. I could still hear the hum in my ears, but it had diminished in vol-ume. I ran my tongue over my very-dry lips.

"You did startle me. I wasn't expecting anyone this eve-ning."

Both times I'd seen this man, he'd caused my anxiety lev-els to blast through the roof. I wanted to scream at him that it was absolutely not acceptable he'd come unannounced to my office, and that his habit of lurking around me was going to earn him a trip to the police station. He seemed altogether too sure of himself. I wanted him to know he couldn't just stroll in and expect me to drop everything and attend to him. No matter how gorgeous he was.

But I swallowed the irritation, opted for whatever rem-nants of professionaldemeanor I could summon, and said instead, "Well, Mr. Devereux, why are you here?"

He cocked his head and flashed that god-like smile again."Just Devereux. As I mentioned a moment ago, I had hoped this would be a good time for our appointment. I trust Mid-night told you I wished to meet with you?"

His voice was unusually pleasant-the timbre of it flowed through me like afavorite song, as if I listened to him with my entire body. He had a lilting European accent, almost old-fashioned sounding-like he'd stepped out of another century. Strange, how a voice could be so enticing.

I closed my eyes and sniffed the air. What was that wonderful aroma? It seemed to hover around him like an olfactory aura. Maybe he used a special kind of soap or shampoo.Something spicy and masculine and unusual.

He brushed a finger lightly along my arm. "Dr. Knight?'"

My eyes flew open and I realized I'd been standing there, blatantly revelling in his scent, making sniffing noises.How embarrassing. What the hell is wrong with me?

Come on, Kismet. Talking has always been your strong suite.Just one word at a time. Concentrate.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, she did mention that you might call to set up an appointment. Would you care to schedule one for later this week?" I inhaled a deep breath and tried to remain professional.

I was so nervous my solar plexus contracted, my hands were sweating and my knee was twitching. I'd always had a fear of small spaces, and something about this situation gave me that same, closed-in, panic feeling. He had done nothing obvious to make me afraid, but my entire body felt as if it was waiting for some other shoe to drop. Something about him radiated danger.Almost primal.

"Would it be terribly inconvenient for us to meet now, since I am here?"

That voice. Maybe he was a hypnotist and he knew how to use it to put people under.So soothing. I could stand here and listen to it all night.

I felt myself sliding down that slippery slope again and rallied. I needed to get this guy out of my office before I made a complete fool of myself.

If I'd known I was going to have a mental breakdown today, Idhavepenciled it into my book.

"Well, I was just leaving. It would be much better if we could schedule another time . . ."

He reclaimed the step he'd given up, and stated, as if the outcome was already a foregone conclusion, "I would ap-preciate very much the opportunity to speak with you about Midnight. I am concerned about her."

Through the cotton candy that had taken up residence in my brain, the voice in my head was screaming NO!but my mouth said, "I guess I could give you a few minutes. Please come inside."

Please come inside? Hey, wait a minute. That isn't what I meant to say. Where'd that come from?

I backed away from the door, drawing it open so he could enter, leaving it that way so he wouldn't be encouraged to make himself too comfortable.

I was about to invite him to sit down when I noticed he'd already seated himself in the chair I usually sat in. I realized he had no way of knowing that was "my" chair, but it still an-noyed me.

"Would you mind filling out a little paperwork for me?" Out of habit, I handed him a packet of papers on a clipboard.

He took it."My pleasure."

I sat down across from him and studied him while he wrote. His hands were very artistic-looking, with recently manicured nails, trimmed close. He had very pale skin, with a lovely, translucent sheen to it, which gave him an ageless quality. It wasn't often that I encountered someone with skin lighter than mine.

His eyes were extraordinary. Midnight was right. They were aqua and beautifully shaped with long, dark eyelashes.

I was surprised that his eyebrows and eyelashes were dark because his hair was so light, but the combination was very appealing.

His thick, lovely hair flowed down over his shoulders to mid-chest. It appeared soft and silky and very touchable.And his mouth. Studying his soft, full, generous lips caused a visceral reaction in me. I couldimagine the feel of them against mine.

Okay. Take a breath, Kismet. You're in your office. This is a professional situation. Stop thinking about what you want to do to those lips and pay attention.

As I raised my gaze up from his mouth to his eyes, I found him watching me with an amused expression, apparently fin-ished with the paperwork. Embarrassment warmed my face as I reached out to take the clipboard from him. For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off him long enough to even glance at the forms he'd filled out.

I struggled to regain control of myself. "What is it that concerns you about Midnight?"

"Before we speak of that, would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Well, you can ask. I can't promise I'll answer."

"Do you believe in vampires?"

"What?" Surprise radiated up my spine, and I stiffened in my chair. The buzzing in my ears got louder and I was suddenly very thirsty.

He toyed with a beautiful antique medallion on a chain around his neck. "Do you believe what Midnight has been telling you?"

Okay. Maybe he has a suggestion about how to help Midnight move beyond her vampire fantasy.

To steady myself, I walked over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the room and selected two bottles of water. I set one of them down in front of Devereux, opened the other for myself, took my seat and drank deeply.

Breathe. Just breathe. This can't be hot flashes.Imtoo young.

"I can't discuss anything that Midnight may or may not have talked to me about. It's all confidential. But in general, I can tell you that I've never seen any evidence to support the existence of vampires or any other supernatural beings."

He smiled. "Ah, you are a scientist. Do you wish to see evidence?"

I was getting that claustrophobic feeling again. Maybe this handsome man really was a nut case and I'd allowed my-self to be distracted by his obvious assets instead of following my professional instincts. I switched into the noticeably calm voice I used to soothe disturbed clients. "Is it important to you that I believe in vampires?"

He threw back his head and laughed with pure delight. "I have never been called insane in such a lovely way ever be-fore. I can assure you that it is of no importance whatsoever if you believe in vampires or not, but I think the information could prove useful to you. What if I told you that everything Midnight has shared with you is absolutely true?"

Oh,geez.

"Since we can't talk about anything Midnight might have told me, I can only suggest that you tell me directly what you want me to know."

"I am a vampire."

Of course you are. "Tell me about being a vampire."

He laughed again."As you wish. Until I can convince you of the truth of my words, I will be the good therapy client and follow the rules."

He seemed to find me very amusing.Hmmm.Inappropri-atehumor. That's a symptom in several diagnoses.

I wonder what he's basing his role on.Ivenever seen a movie vam-pire who went around telling people he was a vampire. Wasn't that the point?To avoid the stake in the heart thing? Maybe I could just rattle his delusion a little bit.

"Why do you want me to know you're a vampire? Isn't that supposed to be a secret?"

"I want you to know about me because I have a feeling about you. I believe you have an important role to play in my life."

An important role in his life?

This was definitely getting out of hand. Maybe I should rework my idea about counselling vampire wannabes. These folks were much more delusional than I thought, and it wasn't going to be as simple as I first imagined. I'd assumed all my pretend vampires would be similar to my alien abductees: cre-ative, needy, acting out and harmless. I hadn't considered the possibility that this sub-culture would be populated by psychotics. That would require a totally different treatment plan.

No problem. This is good. I need to know whatIm dealing with.

I glanced over at the clock, thinking of ways I could gracefully end this session.