Julie sliced into her steak, her pulse increasing as bright red juices squirted out onto the plate. Hunger, like a strong yearning, made her that much more aware of everyone around her. She caught herself staring at Roger's throat more than once and wondering what it felt like to bite into a vein full of warm, rich blood. Her gaze dropped to her plate and she stabbed a bite of meat. "Tell me something about you that I don't know." She popped the steak into her mouth and chewed. If she asked him all the questions, he might not have time to ask her the one question she dreaded most. Are you a vampire?

"I was married once."

Julie stopped in mid-chew and swallowed the lump of meat whole. "You were? As in past tense?"

He smiled and reached across to pat her knee.

Instead of calming her, the pat ignited adrenaline in her system and primed her libido. Now she was hungry for s.e.x as well as blood. How was she going to hold herself together without jumping Roger's bones in public?

With a serious frown creasing his forehead, Roger continued. "Unlike my ex-wife, I believe in the sanct.i.ty of marriage. I wouldn't be out with you if I were still married."

"Unlike your ex-wife?"

"Yeah, she slept around behind my back."

"Wow." Julie stared down at her plate. What did you say to something like that? Could you pa.s.s the pepper, please?

"Not that she has anything to do with us. I just thought you should know I'm divorced."

"I guess now is as good a time as any to know that."

He leaned toward her, concern written in his frown. "Does it change the way you feel about me?"

"No."

"Good." Roger sat back in his chair and rubbed the side of his face. "I'm glad we're together tonight. We haven't had time to really get to know each other. I feel like I've known you all my life, yet I don't know much about you at all."

"Not much to know," she said, dodging that bullet. "I'm a nurse, I live in Houston. I'm an only child and my parents live in Dallas." She shrugged. "That's about it."

"I see so much more to you." He took her hand in his. "I can tell you love your job by the way you are with the patients and staff in the ER. You're warm, caring and beautiful. An angel of mercy."

Tears welled up in Julie's eyes and she pulled her hand free. "Thanks. I do love my job." But could she continue to work as a nurse now that she was a vampire? She stuffed the last bite of steak into her mouth and contemplated a confusing future.

"You have a little blood dripping from the side of your mouth." Roger reached across the table and dabbed at Julie's mouth with the edge of his napkin.

Her cheeks heated and she smiled up at him. "Sorry. I was just so hungry I couldn't see straight." She stared down at the b.l.o.o.d.y juice on her plate and wondered if she could get away with licking it dry?

"I like my steaks rare, but I think I would have sent yours back for an extra thirty seconds each side. Have you always eaten your steaks that rare?"

As she sat back in her chair, Julie lifted her own napkin to her lips. "No, but I will from now on. That was delicious and completely satisfying."

Roger leaned toward her. "Completely?" Beneath the tablecloth where their knees touched, Roger's hand slid across her thigh and up beneath the short hem of her black dress.

The steak had only whetted her "appet.i.tes" more and her knees fell open. "Not completely."

Scooting his chair closer, Roger's fingers tickled the inside of her thigh, inching toward the black lacy panties damp with juices that had nothing to do with rare steak.

If there weren't a hundred customers scattered around the busy restaurant, Julie would consider climbing onto the table and doing it there. The wicked gleam in Roger's eyes was enough to get her blood shooting through her veins at a remarkable speed, and the danger of getting caught doing naughty things beneath the cla.s.sy table was enough of an attraction. She couldn't resist and opened her legs wider. Thank goodness for the long tablecloth.

He bent toward her ear and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. "Ever come in a fancy restaurant?" At that exact moment, his finger traced the folds of her l.a.b.i.a through the black lace of her thong bikini panties, barely skimming that ultrasensitive nub trapped between.

As she sank lower in her chair, Julie stifled a moan, her hand slipping beneath the pristine white tablecloth to join his. She guided him to the elastic edge of her panties and shoved his hand down over her mound of curls, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. She was going to come all over the fine cushions of the straight-backed chairs if she didn't watch it.

"May I offer you something from the dessert menu?"

Roger smiled up at their waiter, all the while flicking her c.l.i.t with his forefinger. "No, thank you. I think we have all the dessert we can handle."

Julie's tongue was glued to the top of her mouth and she closed her eyes so the waiter couldn't see them roll into the back of her head as she squelched the urge to squeal. G.o.d, that felt sooo good!

"Are you all right, madam?"

Her eyes popped open and she nodded. "Yes...yes. I'm perrrfect." Roger's finger dipped inside her and a smile climbed up her cheeks. "Thank you."

When the waiter walked away, Julie shot a teasing glare at Roger. "Now he's going to think I'm a nutcase." She started to push his hand away. "We shouldn't do this here. What if we get caught?"

His finger swirled around the opening of her p.u.s.s.y and upward to nudge against her c.l.i.t. "Are you afraid?"

She thought for a moment, the adrenaline pulsing with the blood throughout her body. "No. And that feels so good." "Then ride it."

"Here?" He hit her sweet spot and she practically jerked out of her chair. "Aren't you afraid you'll lose your job?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I like to live dangerously."

"Well, two can play that game." Her hand slid up his thigh and she cupped his package, squeezing firmly.

"Careful."

"Afraid?" He was hard as a stump beneath her fingers and his c.o.c.k pulsed in her hand.

His lips tightened and he swallowed hard. "Maybe we should take this somewhere more-"

Julie squeezed again.

"Private," he ended on a gasp. His hand withdrew from her panties and he pushed back from the table, tossing his napkin on his plate. "Ready?"

With a smile teasing the corner of her lips, she straightened her dress and panties. "What? No dessert?"

"We'll go back to my place for dessert."

If they ended up at his place, she might not get back to hers before daylight. "Why don't we go to mine? I think I have some chocolate pudding and whipped cream in the fridge."

His brows climbed upward. "Do you always keep a stash of cream on hand?"

"For the right guest." She folded her napkin neatly and looked across the table at him. Should she tell him about her little problem before they did the nasty?

Roger ran his tongue across his bottom lip. "Ummm, whipped cream sounds tasty."

Okay, so maybe she'd wait to tell him after dessert. "Let's go." She jumped from her seat before he could help her with her chair.

Her body was on fire and she couldn't wait to wrap her legs around him and f.u.c.k him until morning. Surely he wouldn't be mad when she told him about her condition. Maybe she'd tell him right after they had mind-blowing s.e.x. As Roger lay in a comatose stupor of spent l.u.s.t, Julie could whisper in his ear, "Oh by the way, you just f.u.c.ked a vampire." These thoughts and many others raced through her mind as she headed for the exit. Delicious thoughts of how she'd eat her dessert were the most prevalent among the images. She'd tell him later-after the whipped cream.

Whipped cream. Roger trailed behind Julie distracted by her a.s.s swaying beneath the clingy black dress with each step she took.

He could imagine licking whipped cream from each rounded globe. "You should never have said anything about whipped cream,"

he muttered.

"But your face was priceless," she said, tossing her strawberry blonde hair over her pale, freckled shoulder. The thin strap on her left shoulder slipped down her arm.

Whipped cream on her shoulder would taste really good about now. Roger's c.o.c.k twitched its agreement. "You're killing me here. And I thought you were s.e.xy in your scrubs."

She stopped halfway across the restaurant floor and looked back at him over her bare shoulder. "Thanks. You're not so shabby yourself. What was it Kim said? Cop Candy? Umm...I love candy." Her tongue darted out and slid across her full, ripe lips.

"Cop candy, huh?" Roger grabbed her arm and hustled her between the tables. "You're tempting my sweet tooth. Let's go." A disturbance at the entrance jerked Roger's attention from the woman next to him. A man pushed through the door, wide-eyed and hair sticking straight out.

"Hey, isn't that the nutcase I brought into the hospital last night?" Roger asked.

Julie stopped and stared at the man, her eyes wide in her pale face. "Y-yes. I believe you're right." She tugged at his arm.

"Maybe we should go out the side door."

"I hope he doesn't plan on causing trouble. I'm off duty and I have better plans than writing up a report." His hand slipped down to cup her a.s.s and squeeze. "Okay, make for the side door."

As Julie ducked toward the side exit, Roger glanced back at the self-proclaimed vampire slayer. The crazed man was staring right at him.

"Don't let her escape," Bob Marley screamed. "She's one of them!"

Roger stopped and glanced around at the people, staring across at Bob the psycho, regret building in his gut. "Great. I think I'm gonna have to go to work on my off time."

"No!" Julie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the exit. "The restaurant has their own security handling it. See? You don't have to play cop 24/7. Let's go. That whipped cream is waiting."

"Stop that bloodsucking animal," Bob screamed across the room as two large men in black suits grabbed him by the arms and hauled him back toward the foyer.

As the bouncers dragged Bob away, whipped cream crowded the gray matter in Roger's brain. "You're right. They seem to have it all under control. Let's get to that dessert."

Already at the side entrance, Julie didn't wait. She hurried through holding the door just long enough for Roger to make it through.

"What's the hurry?"

"I'm hungry," she said with a strained smile. "For dessert."

"We're parked around the back," he said, nudging her toward the rear of the building.

Weaving in and out of the row of cars, Julie pushed ahead. d.a.m.n, she was fast in high heels. Roger had to jog to keep up. What a woman. And she hadn't even broken a sweat. He could imagine those legs wrapped around him as he thrust deep inside. Was it hot outside, or what?

An early summer evening in Houston was guaranteed to be hot and humid, but the heat Roger felt was more than just the climate.

"I wonder what delusion Bob Marley is living under? He looked like he was yelling at us as we left. Did you meet him last night?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Her gaze darted around the parking lot as if searching for Bob. "Maybe he has it in for me for sticking him with a needle full of sedative."

"Did you happen to take any of his blood?"

"No, I didn't. But maybe one of the other nurses did." She looked back at him, a frown creasing her brow. "Why?"

"He was screaming something about bloodsucking. I a.s.sumed you took blood. Otherwise, why would he say that?"

"Like you said, he's psycho. Who knows what goes on in a psychotic person's head? Where is your truck?" "You're standing next to it."

"Oh, yes." She stopped and grinned. "So I am."

Roger closed the distance and pulled her into his arms. "Are you okay, Julie? You seem a bit distracted tonight."

She gave a combination between a laugh and a cough and laid a hand on his chest. "How could I not be distracted? I've been thinking about you and a night like this for as long as we've known each other."

"That would be two months, one week and three hours." He pulled her closer until the ridge of his fly pressed into her belly. "But who's counting?"

The anxious look in her eyes melted into a steamy emerald green pool of light reflected from the overhead streetlamps. "Don't forget the fourteen minutesand twenty-five seconds." Her hands crept up his chest and linked behind his neck, pulling him inescapably closer to her lips.

"I wouldn't dream of it." When their lips met, an explosion of desire ripped through him and he was pressing her against his SUV, his hands sliding over her shoulders and downward to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

She moaned beneath him, pressing into his cupped palms. One high-heeled foot slid up the back of his calf and her warm p.u.s.s.y rubbed against the top of his thigh.

A large hand, more like a vise grip, clamped onto his shoulder and jerked him backward and away from Julie. "What the f-"

The matching hand fisted and made a hard connection with Roger's stomach. The force of the blow sent him staggering, gasping for air.

The big Mack Truck of a man was the same spiked-haired goon Roger had run into the night before. He snarled at him and then turned to Julie. "You're mine, now." Before Roger could catch his breath, the other man grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Like h.e.l.l she is," Roger lunged after him and hit him with a football tackle, a technique that never failed to bring the bad guys down. Only this time, he might as well have hit a brick wall.

The man barely budged. He swept out a hand and swatted Roger to the side like a pesky fly.

Roger hit the pavement on his a.s.s, his tailbone and his pride hurting with the impact. What did he have to do to bring him down?

Roger considered himself in shape and fairly strong. He worked out every day of the week to ensure he was in top shape for his job with the Houston Police Department. Why wasn't his strength having any effect on this one man? He didn't know, but if he didn't hurry, Julie would disappear.

He crawled to his feet and took off after Julie.

Julie couldn't believe this was happening. The one night she was off at the same time as Roger and it was being completely ruined.

Being turned to a vampire hadn't helped. Add to that, being singled out by a lunatic. To round out her date night, some big oaf of an idiot was dragging her away from the man she loved. Well, to h.e.l.l with that!

"Let me go, you jerk!" Julie dug her high heels into the pavement and yanked her arm loose. "Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are, busting up my date?"

"I'm Luke. Your master," he snarled, his lips lifting away from long incisor teeth that reminded Julie of a rabid wolf.