"Thanks, William." With a handful of shampoo she scrubbed her hair with lightning speed. She could get used to this vampire speed thingy really quick.

"As to the answer to your questions, I already told you. The sun, wooden stakes and silver bullets are about all you have to worry about. Oh yeah and decapitation. Don't lose your head."

"Thanks, I'll try to keep that in mind." Ducking beneath the spray, she rinsed the soap from her head and made a quick run with the washrag over her entire body. She wanted to be clean and smelling fresh and feminine for her first night of s.e.x with Roger.

Speaking of which... "Should I call off my date with Roger?"

"Not unless you feel uncomfortable with your new...uh...status."

"But will he know? Will he guess? Should I tell him?"

"He won't know unless you step out in the sunlight and fry in front of him. Will he guess? I don't know the guy. Has he been with a vampire before?" "How the h.e.l.l should I know? I didn't know they existed until this morning." She yanked aside the shower curtain and pointed.

"Will you hand me that towel behind you?"

"Uh, sure." William spun to grab the towel and toss it at her. His eyes were trained on the floor, but his gaze slipped upward to the juncture of her thighs and higher to her dripping b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Sorry." Julie couldn't help the little tingle of awareness coursing through her. What with the antic.i.p.ation of f.u.c.king the cop, s.e.x pretty much dominated her thoughts. Funny, she'd never considered William an object to l.u.s.t after. Wrapping the towel around her middle, she tucked the edge in over her left breast and studied the man in front of her.

William was tall and thin, but he was well put together in a scholarly sort of way. Nice looking, brotherly type. But Julie only had eyes for her man in uniform.

She reached for her makeup and smoothed on a thin layer of foundation. "Why haven't you told me before now that you're a vampire?"

Leaning against the doorframe, William shrugged. "It's not something we like to advertise. It gets some folks upset and they think they have to kill us."

Like the not-so-psycho Bob Marley who was out there somewhere ready to kill every vampire he could lay his stake on. "Are there slayers, you know, like Buffy? I mean, can some people recognize a vamp on sight or smell?"

"Not usually. Although weres have a nose for them and can tell a human from a vamp."

Julie turned with her mascara wand in her hand. "Weres?"

"Werewolves, werecats, you know."

Her stomach plummeted to somewhere in the vicinity of her knees. "You mean there are such things as werewolves? s.h.i.t! Where have I been all my life?"

William took the wand from her hand. "Look up."

Standing like a frozen lump, she did as he said.

With the precision of an artist, William applied the black makeup to her eyelashes, careful not to poke her in the eye. "They live among humans, on the most part keeping their ident.i.ty a secret. Occasionally a rogue vamp or were gets out of line, but we have security measures we initiate to bring them under control."

"Security measures?" she whispered, holding her face still to avoid being blinded.

"We dust the vamps and shoot the weres if they don't get a grip."

Julie grabbed his wrist and held the wand away from her eye. "You dust your own people?"

"Only the bad ones."

With a sigh, she leaned against the sink. "I think I should call Roger and tell him the date's off. I'm not ready for this."

The doorbell rang and Julie jumped.

William's lips twisted into a wry grin. "Too late, sweetheart."

"I'm not even dressed!" Julie ran for her closet. "Get the door, will you. I'll only be a minute." She stared at her closet full of clothes and moaned. "On second thought, I might be longer. I don't have a thing to wear."

"I'll let your man in."

"No wait!" She raced to block him from leaving her bedroom. "You can't. What will he think if he sees you in my apartment and me in nothing but a towel? I told him I live alone."

"What do you want me to do, disappear?" He shook his head. "Contrary to popular belief, vampires don't change into bats or disappear."

"Then get in the closet," she whispered, pushing him toward her clothes closet.

With a frown, he allowed her to maneuver him behind some of her long dresses. "Okay, this time. But make it quick."

"I will." She slammed the door shut as the doorbell rang for the second time.

Still wrapped in her towel, she sprinted across the living room and yanked open the door.

With Julie framed in the doorway with nothing but a towel between him and all her beautiful skin, Roger's mouth had no choice but to go completely dry. And he'd thought she was s.e.xy in her nurse's uniform. Holy s.h.i.t, she was hot. He cleared his throat and forced words past his lips. "Nice way to greet a guy."

"Get in here," she said, yanking him across the threshold. "I'm running a little behind."

"That's fine. Our reservation isn't until eight. Take your time. In fact..." He snagged her around the middle and pulled her into his arms. "We don't even have to go to the restaurant. We could call out for pizza or something and stay here." He nuzzled her neck and nipped at her earlobe. "Umm you smell like flowers. So what's it to be? Eat out or, eat in?" Roger knew his preference and he tasted the main course by trailing kisses across her bare shoulder and downward to the edge of the towel.

Julie arched into him, sliding a naked leg up his chino-clad calf. "Tough decision," she muttered against the base of his throat where she pressed her lips and tongued the indention. Her leg climbed higher until she'd hooked it around his b.u.t.tocks. With her arms circled around his neck, she wrapped the other leg around his waist and claimed his lips in a deep-throat kiss, he wasn't soon to forget.

The ride up his hips raised the towel, exposing her b.u.t.tocks to his probing hands. Holding her steady, he carried her toward the bedroom, one goal in mind. To sink deep into her special wet place as fast as he could drop his zipper.

But when he crossed the threshold to her bedroom, Julie's hand shot out and caught the doorframe. "No!"

Her hold on the wood trim brought Roger to a jarring halt. "No? Was I just imagining your climb up my body?"

"I don't know what got into me." Her gaze darted around the room and to her closet. "Don't you think we're moving a little too fast?" She wiggled against him, her p.u.s.s.y rubbing the top of his waistband.

Roger groaned his frustration. His straining c.o.c.k pressed hard against his zipper, begging for release from the confines of pants and briefs. After he'd gotten off work, he'd lain in bed wide-awake and unable to think of anything but Julie. Julie in her nurse's uniform, Julie sitting across from him at the restaurant. He'd even thought about fondling her beneath the tablecloth, teasing her into a frenzy before they finished their meal. He wanted her so badly he couldn't comprehend why she didn't want him as much.

"You set the pace, baby." He kissed her lips and tried not to groan again as her legs dropped and she slid down his body, the towel rising higher.

Julie gave him a weak smile. "It'll only take me a minute to get dressed."

Roger reached out and tugged the towel over her hips. "I'll just wait in the living room." Out of reach of your s.e.xy body. If his voice sounded a little disappointed, oh well. He'd have been perfectly happy to skip the meal and get right to dessert. With a glance at her rumpled bed, he forced himself to walk back into the other room.

"I'm really looking forward to the dinner at the Red Lantern tonight," she called out from the bedroom.

I'm looking forward to dessert. "I made the reservations as soon as I knew you and I were both off at the same time." He wanted to treat her to something special. She worked hard helping others and deserved a little pampering. Despite his driving desire to make love to her here and now, he could d.a.m.n well wait and treat her with the respect she deserved. Since his divorce, Julie was the first woman he'd met that he felt he could trust. She deserved more than a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am hop in the sack.

"Kim called a little while ago and said that psycho, Bob Marley, walked out of the hospital before morning."

"I should have taken him to the station." Then he might not have taken the call that ended with him and his partner being knocked on their cans.

"Any other excitement after you left the hospital?"

"Answered a call to a homicide."

"Really? Where?"

"About ten blocks from the hospital." Roger shook his head. "You need to be careful getting home at nights. The guy got away."

"Did you see him?" Julie peeked around the door, sliding a black spaghetti strap up over her shoulder.

"Yeah. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d was two or three inches taller than me and he had blond, spiked hair. His eyes were the most phenomenal red I've ever seen. He knocked me and my partner on our a.s.ses and took off."

She ran out to him wearing a short black figure-hugging dress and no shoes. "Oh my G.o.d! Are you all right?"

He kinda liked it when she got all worried about him. He shrugged and pulled her against him. "Worried about me?"

"Yes, of course!" Her body shook beneath his hands. "There are all kinds of monsters on the streets at night."

"I know. Just the reason I don't want you wandering around alone in the dark." He pulled her against him and rested his head against her cool damp hair.

She emitted a soft snort and said something under her breath that sounded like, "A little late for that."

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, breezily as she danced away from him. "Just let me get into some shoes and I'm ready."

"I've been ready since I got here," he said beneath his breath, adjusting his trousers to ease the strain. How the h.e.l.l he was going to get through the night without exploding first was quickly becoming a concern.

Julie dropped to her knees in front of her closet and dug around for shoes to match her dress.

"Wear these," William whispered, handing her a pair of black high-heeled sandals.

"I can't do this, William. I can't lie to him."

"Who said you have to lie?" William helped her to her feet. "Look, if it comes up in a discussion, tell him, otherwise, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." "He has the right to know what I am."

"Are you sure this relationship is going somewhere?"

"It was." Tears swam in her eyes. "At least it was until I was turned."

"Then wait for the right moment. You don't want to scare him off on your first date."

"You're right. I don't want to scare him off on the first date." Julie sighed. "h.e.l.l, I almost jumped his bones a minute ago. I've wanted him so long, I can taste it."

"Uh, one more thing about being a vampire."

A frown settled between her brows and she could feel the beginning of a headache. "What? Isn't there enough?"

"Vampires have...shall we say...more intense appet.i.tes."

"I thought all we could eat was blood. Holy c.r.a.p! The restaurant! What can I eat?"

"You can have a rare steak. That'll help tide you over until your first meal. If you wait until tomorrow night, I'll a.s.sist you. I know someone who can help us out."

"But I have to work!"

"Then we'll take care of it before you go on duty."

"Complicated. My life is too complicated."

"Uh, and Julie?"

"What else?"

"About the appet.i.tes?"

"Yeah?"

"They include s.e.xual appet.i.tes. Be careful. Sometimes in satisfying his s.e.xual appet.i.tes, a vampire can get carried away and satisfy his hunger as well."

Julie pressed a hand to her temple. "Is that why I was all over Roger?"

William nodded. "Afraid so."

"Great. Now I'm a bloodsucking nymphomaniac. Not something to write home to Mom about, is it?"

"Not unless your mother is very progressive minded."

"You okay in there?" Roger's voice sounded close to the door.

William disappeared behind the full-length gowns.

"Everything's fine. Found the right shoes. I guess I'm ready to go."

"Good, I thought I heard voices." Roger pushed the door open and smiled in at her. "You're not hiding a man in your closet are you?" "No, of course not." Julie fought the blush creeping up her neck and grabbed her purse. "I talk to myself as I'm dressing. That's probably what you heard."

"Yeah. Ummm, you look good enough to eat." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "Sure you don't want to stay here and order out?"

"I'm sure, all right." She looped her arm through his and tugged him toward the door. "Come on. You're not getting out of taking me to a fancy restaurant. Afterward...well let's just say, I'll still be hungry."

Chapter Four.