She frowned. "Something in you?"

"I can't explain it, other than I want to keep it away from you."

Eve sighed. "What do you want me to say to that, Alec?"

"I want you to say that you'll let me try and fix this."

"Fix what?"

"You and me."

Stepping around him, she headed toward her condo.

"Eve?" He followed.

She unlocked the multiple dead bolts that had once given her a feeling of safety. Setting her shoes beneath the console table by the door and her purse on top of it, she looked at him standing in her doorway. "How do you feel about me?"

He didn't misunderstand. "Confused. Detached."

"You don't love me anymore?"

"I want to love you." His deep voice was low and fervent. "I remember what it felt like to love you."

Her head ached. "I think you need to figure out what you're doing with your life, before you try and do me."

Alec stepped inside and shut the door. "What means more? When someone wants you because they can't help it? Because of hormones or some chemical reaction in the brain? Or when they want you because they choose to want you? Because they make the conscious decision to want you?"

She groaned. "You're too f.u.c.king complicated."

"We'll start slow," he suggested, stepping closer and moving in for the kill.

"Like what?" she asked, suspicious.

His smile made her toes curl. "A ride on my bike along the coast. That slow enough for you?"

Eve's gaze narrowed. Far from innocent, a ride on his Harley would put him in her arms and between her legs. The gleam in his eyes told her he was thinking the same thing.

"Only if I'm doing the driving," she said.

He hesitated, well aware that she was talking about more than the bike.

"Otherwise, no deal," she pressed.

"Fine. Deal."

Her tummy fluttered. Where had she heard that before?

For a second she wondered how this would work. Even now, she could feel both men in her head bristling at each other with their backs up. Then she gave a mental shrug. They all knew what was going on. They were all adults. Mostly. And she was a one-man woman. They would both be at arm's distance for a while. The moment she thought it, she felt how well that went over.

Smiling, she headed down the hallway to change.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

For some it will be clear that Fort McCroskey is based on the former Fort Ord, an Army base on Monterey Bay, California. I fictionalized it to free me creatively. The Defense Language Inst.i.tute and Naval Postgraduate School, however, are very real. DLI not only trains some of the best and brightest military personnel in the world, it also holds some of the most vivid memories of my life. My father-in-law attended to learn Vietnamese for the Marines. Years later, I attended to learn Russian for the Army. And years after that, my sister attended to learn Arabic for the Air Force. How times change. Many languages are taught at DLI, all in the continuing mission to keep the United States military the most formidable in the world.

G.o.d bless our troops.

APPENDIX.

THE SEVEN ARCHANGELS.

1 These are the names of the angels who watch.

2 Uriel, one of the holy angels, who presides over clamor and terror.

3 Raphael, one of the holy angels, who presides over the spirits of men. 4 Raguel, one of the holy angels, who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries. 5 Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. 6 Sarakiel, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. 7 Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. 8 Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom G.o.d set over those who rise.

-The Book of Enoch, 20:18 THE CHRISTIAN HIERARCHY OF ANGEL.

First Sphere-Angels who function as guardians of G.o.d's throne * Seraphim * Cherubim * Ophanim/Thrones/Wheels (Erelim) Second Sphere-Angels who function as governors * Dominions/Leaders (Hashmallim) * Virtues * Powers/Authorities Third Sphere-Angels who function as messengers and soldiers * Princ.i.p.alities/Rules * Archangels * Angels (Malakhim) ABBREVIATED PLAYLIST (in no particular order) "Blitzkrieg"-Metallica "Symphony of Destruction"-Megadeth "Like a Dog Chasing Cars"-Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard "Voodoo"-G.o.dsmack "Ghost Riders in the Sky"-Spiderbait More extras at www.sjday.net Don't Miss Eve of Darkness, Available Now.

Cursed by G.o.d, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel . . . All in a day's work.

For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.

Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated p.a.w.n. She's also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history. . . .

But she'll worry about all that later. Right now she's more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she'd never quite believed she had.

And Look for Eve of Chaos, on Sale June 30, 2009.

How do you tell Satan that you ran over his h.e.l.lhound?

Evangeline Hollis has no idea and she doesn't want to find out. Living with the Mark of Cain-and the two s.e.xy brothers who come with it-is trouble enough. She doesn't need to borrow more. Too bad Satan is too p.i.s.sed to oblige her.

Incensed at the loss of his pet, Satan has put a bounty on Eve's head, and h.e.l.l's denizens are converging en ma.s.se. The proliferation of Infernals is complicating Eve's hunts and creating chaos in her once orderly life. They've also brought her to the attention of an overzealous reverend who is certain she's Jezebel reincarnate.

How can a Mark drafted by G.o.d strike a bargain with the Devil? Eve's about to find out. . . .

end.