Replacing the phone in its cradle several minutes later, Nicky closed her eyes and moaned at the half-truths and promises she'd made her friend. It seems the FBI took someone using false credentials very seriously. He told her to call if they contacted her again. He wanted her to talk to a local agent or the police, but Nicole pleaded with him to drop it. Begging a favor, she promised she'd go to the local cops if she saw them again. Robert hadn't liked it, but he accepted her request. At least for now.

Nicky sighed. Now what? Did she chalk today's experience up to just a weird hour out of her life and move on? She suspected the two men wouldn't leave her alone. They were waiting for her to provide them with information. Telling them she knew they weren't federal agents didn't sound like a good idea.

She could follow Robert's advice and turn them in to the police. She wondered how long they'd be kept in jail for impersonating a federal officer. Or if they had others working for them. p.i.s.sing Mike and JJ off without having some idea of who they were seemed stupid. She didn't believe she could just walk away without some sort of repercussion. She didn't like or trust either of them. So...where did that leave her?

Did she believe in vampires or werewolves? No. Even with a very vivid imagination, that alternate reality was a bit of a stretch.

She thought about the pointed questions the men had asked her. She had seen Zane during the day. But if such creatures existed, who knew what they could do? Heck, for a series of books she'd written last year, she'd created a world where vampires could walk during the light of day if they were several centuries old. And if he wasn't a vampire, was he something else? Like a werewolf?

Big question here-did she care?

Yes, she cared. Just not the way the fake agents wanted her to. Unlike her feelings for Mikey and JJ, she liked Zane. If he wasn't human, she wanted the chance to ask her own questions-starting with his s.e.xual habits.

Considering what could happen if Zane remained oblivious to these men and their insane...plans made her head throb. She didn't doubt the men would get to Zane with or without her help. Obviously JJ and his partner weren't concerned about breaking the law. They were using counterfeit credentials and posing as FBI agents.

JJ had voiced his feelings on the subject. Shuddering, she considered the possibilities. Besides writing paranormal stories, she read them. A recurring theme in many vampire or werewolf tales was human groups who stalked and killed the creatures or took them to labs to be dissected and studied. Sometimes the stories included taking humans who had been falsely identified and subjecting them to the same horrors. It wasn't a stretch to imagine JJ and Mike as the type to do either of those things. Both men had an obsessed intensity about them. Could she live with herself if she didn't say anything to Zane and these two men got their hands on him?

She didn't agree with JJ's a.s.sessment that Zane was nothing more than a "creature".

Mental vignettes of what the phony agents might do to Zane played in her mind and they were vivid enough to make Nicole sick. She didn't think anyone-or for that matter, any thing-deserved the scenarios her mind came up with.

Zane hadn't set off any mental alarms or threatened her in any way. Unfailingly polite every time he'd spoken to her, Zane had offered to help her move her stuff in and told her to call on him if she needed anything. He had also refused to let her pay for her own dinner.

The central figure in several hundred pages of erotic fantasy for her last two books, Zane made her feel hot and needy with a simple and very innocent look. Who cared if he was some sort of creature of the night, as long as he didn't eat her?

The visual filling her mind with that last thought had nothing to do with food.

Jeez, Nicole, she told herself. Get a grip. Wrenching her mind out of the gutter, she considered other things that were in Zane's favor.

For one thing, he had bodyguards, a fenced compound with tight security and lots of money to buy information. She would bet he'd know how to check for something like a listening device or a tracking bug. In fact, with such tight security, he shouldn't have to worry about such things. Maybe if she told him about these men, he'd offer to keep them away from her.

So...what was she going to do now? Perhaps nothing more than tell him about the phony FBI agents and then turn around and go on an extended vacation?

d.a.m.n it!

After hours of excruciating mental stress, she decided she was going to take a deep breath, put on some warm clothes and walk over to Zane's house. Going out the side door, Nicky didn't take the driveway, which gently curved away from her property and would have eventually brought her to Zane's front porch. Rationalizing that anyone with a good pair of binoculars and a tall tree could see into the compound, she hiked through the pine trees, rhododendrons and ferns growing between the houses.

Expecting a servant or someone paid to keep nosey neighbors at a distance, Nicole was surprised when Zane answered her tentative knock on his back door. Before he said a word, she put her finger to her lips and handed him a note she'd written.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Patrick. You told me that if I had any problems with the house I should come to you. There's a leak under my kitchen sink. If you have time, I thought you might look at it tonight for me. See if it's something simple before I call a plumber tomorrow." Using "Mr. Patrick" instead of "Zane", she hoped anyone listening would believe she didn't know him very well. Which was what she'd told them. And maybe Zane would understand she wasn't playing some stupid game.

Raising his eyebrows at her, he silently read the note she'd handed him. Studying his face, her gaze snagged on the scar through his right eyebrow as she thought about what she'd written.

Please, hold still for a moment and let me make sure someone hasn't put a listening device on your clothes. I'm not crazy. I need to talk to you, but there's a chance you've been bugged.

She'd underlined "not crazy" five times. Pointing her new, favorite electronic toy at his clothing, she grinned. He might think she was insane, but he stood there silently, all brooding dark eyes and a smirk on his face.

Wasn't this fun?

It was hard to say who was more surprised when the light changed from green to red when the little black box reached the top of his dress shirt.

Evidently Zane knew what the red light meant. Before her fascinated gaze, he stripped off his shirt and looked under the collar. Her first reaction was disappointment because the man wore an undershirt.

Forcing herself to swallow, she forgot why she was there. The sight of him standing on the porch in a tight black t-shirt tucked into dark jeans made her brain melt. She noticed biceps displayed in all their muscular glory and the cotton material of his undershirt pulled tight across an awesome chest and washboard stomach. His waist was trim and she had to bite her lip to keep from asking him to turn around so she could see his a.s.s.

She wasn't disappointed anymore.

Jesus! The man was ripped.

And very p.i.s.sed off.

"f.u.c.k, who the h.e.l.l-! Sorry. I just spilled coffee on my shirt. d.a.m.n!" Ripping the little silver disk from the shirt and dropping it to the ground, he used the heel of his black boot to grind it into fragments.

The red light on the device switched to green.

Cool! It works. And Zane is quick on his feet...realizing someone might be listening.

Nicole had an instant to wonder if a human male would be able to crush the little metal disk with his foot. But before she could bend down to pick up the pieces of the offending little bug, Zane took her arm and pulled her off his porch. They were headed back to her house.

She appreciated that even in anger he made sure the hold on her arm wasn't tight enough to hurt.

"I'm a.s.suming you've already cleared your place of listening devices," he bit out.

"Yeah, I didn't find any. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if this thing actually worked," she replied.

"It works. Let's get out of the cold and you can tell me what the h.e.l.l is going on," Zane demanded.

"Don't you think someone will notice you're not transmitting anymore?" she asked.

Mad as he was, Zane did the same thing Nicole had on the way to his house, keeping them shielded in the trees and bushes covering his property. Unless potential watchers were using some type of infrared goggles or other high-tech device, they wouldn't be seen. But Nicole watched enough Military Channel to know if someone wanted to track their movements, they could do it.

Which made her wonder again-why did the two phony agents want her help?

As if Zane read her mind, he shook his head. "No one's out there watching. If they're listening, maybe they'll think it was the spilled coffee that mucked up their audio."

And how did he know there was no one watching them? Enhanced vampire senses maybe?

Within a few minutes they were at her side door. He frowned at her when she just reached out and turned the k.n.o.b.

"You didn't lock it," he accused.

"No. I figured your guards and electronic security-not to mention the twelve-foot wall-would keep anyone from getting inside your compound. Something I'll have to rea.s.sess now that we've found a bug on your clothing." Flipping on the light in the kitchen, she went to the coffee pot sitting on the white-tile counter. "Want a cup?" she asked, holding up the pot.

"Yeah, black. Obviously the security isn't tight enough. Or someone I employ is mixed up in whatever this is." The look on his face told her he wasn't happy with that thought. "I haven't left the compound today, Nicole. The bug had to come from somewhere." Taking the cup, he turned and sat at the table.

"Unless they broke into your house and bugged all of your shirts. Or do you send them to the cleaners? Maybe they put the bugs on there. I have no idea where it came from, Zane. The little information I have doesn't include an inside person. In fact, the men who contacted me today wanted me to be the inside person. If it's possible, I'm more confused than I was before." She watched Zane lean back in the chair and raise the coffee cup to his mouth. He had a fantastic mouth, wide and full.

Zane's brown gaze was distant. As if locked in visions of the past...or maybe it was the future bothering him. Was he wondering if he had any, well..."enemies" seemed to be the appropriate word?

Taking the opportunity to study her s.e.xy neighbor while he was otherwise occupied, Nicky catalogued the many intriguing features of his face.

Dark-brown eyebrows accentuated fascinating deep-chocolate eyes. She tried to decide if those eyes held hundreds of years of untold erotic knowledge. And determined that was wishful thinking.

Zane had high cheekbones and a rugged jaw with very sensual lips. Kissable lips. Yum. His long, dark-brown hair wasn't tied back tonight. She'd never seen it unbound before. The sight of all that dark hair falling in loose waves to the middle of his chest had her clenching the coffee cup in an attempt to keep from reaching out to smooth her fingers through the wild ma.s.s.

"Someone wanted you to be the inside person to spy on me? Why? Would you mind explaining what this is all about?"

Nicole just barely stopped herself from responding with something totally stupid, she was so lost in her private musings. The question wasn't an easy one to explain. She should have taken a few minutes to plan this conversation before she went to his house. Did she just blurt out that someone thought he was a vampire?

No.

"I was at the library today," she started. "Doing research for a book until I was interrupted by two men who said they were FBI agents." She reached for the recorder she'd left on the table. "I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you what they said. I don't think I would believe me. Luckily I was recording notes and the men didn't realize the recorder was in my lap. I think you might want to hear this."

The sound quality wasn't great, but Nicole could still understand the conversation. Watching Zane as he listened intently, she saw his brown eyes blaze in anger. As his muscles tensed, his ma.s.sive shoulders threatened to rip the black t-shirt to shreds. So far they hadn't mentioned his name. Could he be reacting to the men's treatment of her?

Uninterested in hearing the replay of this afternoons events, she focused on the expressions rolling across Zane's face. Propping her hip against the counter, she let her mind wander down what had become a favorite path since she'd met Zane two months ago. What would it be like if he were making love to her?

As the recorded voices droned in the background, she imagined leading him up the stairs and into her bedroom. I'd light candles, so the red highlights in Zane's hair would be more p.r.o.nounced, and make him sit on the side of my bed while I stripped the tight t-shirt from his body. Then, stepping between his legs, I'd run my hands over the primitive temptation of his strong, muscled chest. She wondered for at least the millionth time if he had chest hair or smooth, supple skin.

It didn't matter, either one would be a treat. Turning the tables on me, he'd take control of the seduction. Shredding my clothes in his haste, he'd remove the barriers between us.

She didn't hear the click of the recorder as it turned off, but stayed immersed in her fantasy.

Pushing me back on the bed, crawling over me, he'd slide his skin over mine in a very tantalizing prelude to his claiming. As he rises above me, his chest golden and strong, his long, dark-brown hair would provide a curtain to wrap us in a private world. With the muscles in his arms bulging, he'd use them to keep his weight off my body. Moving those slim hips to plunge...

"Nicole."

Growling my name, his voice full of pa.s.sion and need, Zane pushes his large and blatantly erect c.o.c.k into my body. Nicole frowned. Umm. The "blatantly erect" thing might need some work. Never mind. You're not writing this so there's no need for self-editing, she thought. Where was I? Taking all of him...

"Nicole, if you don't stop right now I refuse to be responsible for what happens."

His voice is husky. Hungry. Frantic with the overwhelming need to bury his very large c.o.c.k into my warm and very, very wet puss- Did I already say that? she wondered. Never mind, then. Scratch the second very large c.o.c.k.

Playing to that hunger, using my nails and teeth-heck, why stop there? Using my entire body to drive him wild, I rub my b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his chest and writhe beneath his magnificent form. From the moment I met Zane, I'd been attracted to him. Fantasizing about what it will be like to have his mouth on mine, the antic.i.p.ation of this first kiss makes me moan. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him down...

"d.a.m.n it, woman!"

In the sensual fog of her own making, Nicole heard the words but didn't comprehend their meaning. The sc.r.a.pe of the chair and the small crash it made when it hit the floor didn't register either.

But Zane's black-cotton-covered chest appearing in front of her face did.

Feeling the strength in his fingers when he grabbed her hips and pulled her to him, her world centered on his lips as they captured hers. She was lost.

Lost in the sensation of hard determination melting into something she couldn't name. At first his lips were cool to the touch, but they soon warmed as he feasted on her mouth, nibbling at her bottom lip until she opened for him with a startled gasp.

For the first time she realized this was no longer a fantasy. Nothing in her very active imagination had prepared her for the sensual promise of this kiss. Every nerve ending in her body came alive and screamed for attention. She wasn't dreaming about the hard press of his body, she was living it...and she wanted more.

Her scalp tingled as he loosened her braid, combing fingers through her hair. With layers of clothes between them, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s made contact with this hard chest and her nipples grew swollen and achy. As Zane captured and claimed her mouth, she quit writing scenes in her head and decided she'd do just about anything to have his hands on her naked skin.

Zane was totally screwed. He'd been fighting his attraction for Nicole since the moment he met the firebrand in his arms. She was trouble, all soft curves and big, blue eyes looking right into his soul. Lately he'd spent an inordinate amount of time picturing the long, silky black hair freed from the confining braid she favored. He wanted to see the strands spread out in ebony waves on his snow-white pillows.

When she'd looked at him with desire and longing, when he saw her little pink tongue dart out to moisten those soft, rosy lips...when the pictures she painted in her mind of the two of them together flashed into his consciousness...he consigned two months' worth of good intentions to h.e.l.l.

Forgetting the threat she'd captured on tape, he seized the opportunity to feed the desire rapidly spiraling out of control. Her mouth was hot, the flavor of her so honeyed and intoxicating it made him ache. Cupping the back of her head in his left hand to deepen the kiss, he swallowed her moans. The muted cries of delight pushed at the boundary of his sanity. More. He had to have more of her.

It had been a very long time since he'd wanted something with every fiber of his being. With the decision made, overwhelming l.u.s.t rode high on a devastating wave of urgency, staining his vision red.

As red as the ruby pulsing in his front pocket.

When Nicole had knocked on his door he'd been trying to decide where to hide it. Her unexpected arrival had him shoving the thing back in his pocket. Now it throbbed in time with his heartbeat, somehow feeding his arousal.

That was insane.

This claiming wouldn't be what she'd imagined. No bed. No soft candlelight and slow seduction. He wouldn't make it up the stairs. The primal urge clawing at his gut had to be sated. He would take her. Now. Claim and possess the body writhing against his.

Before he lost his f.u.c.king mind, he pulled back. Panting.

"I want you. Here. Now." Not meant as a warning, the words were all he could manage at the moment. The minute they'd entered her kitchen, she'd shut out the night and the risk of prying eyes by closing the curtains so he didn't worry about being seen. Part of his mind urged her to reject him. She didn't.

"Mmm. Good." With fingers tangled in his hair, Nicole yanked his head down, guiding his mouth back to hers. She was impatient for him.

Any thought of leaving evaporated.

A small measure of sanity warned him to forgo a simple wave of his hand to make their clothing disappear. She'd definitely want to ask about that. So instead he'd do it the slow way. Caging her between the heat of his body and the kitchen counter, he grabbed the hem of her green shirt. Releasing her mouth long enough to pull it over her head, he tossed it behind him. Full b.r.e.a.s.t.s spilled over her bra. A temptation he had no intention of resisting.

Lowering his mouth, he kissed the firm curves of each breast. Nicky's nipples stood full and sharp beneath the fabric, and he licked her through the sheer satin. Her hips twisted against him. The hot rise of his c.o.c.k throbbed against his jeans with her every quiver and sigh.

She deserved patience and a thorough exploration. But for the last two months all he'd thought about was touching her and the desperate whimpers coming from her throat made his blood run hot. Made him pant.

He didn't understand why he mentally connected with Nicole every time she wrote about s.e.x, but tonight the small threads linking their minds turned into a six-lane-sensory highway, locking them in erotic h.e.l.l. From her point of view, he experienced the touch of his hand on her breast. The tight, coiling heat built, shooting to her core, making her wet. Making him sweat.

He didn't want to be the only one aroused beyond thought. Picturing a scene of him kneeling between her legs, tonguing her c.l.i.t, he pushed the image into her subconscious in explicit detail. Her heated response ricocheted back. Tearing at the rest of her clothes without a shred of finesse, his thoughts focused on getting her naked. Wanting to fulfill the vision in truth.

Discarding her bra and pushing her jeans and green satin panties around her knees, he put his hands on the bare flesh at her waist. Lifting her onto the counter, he stripped the pants down her legs.

The sight of her waiting for him, head thrown back, long hair in an erotic tangle covering very little of her magnificent body, seared him. With palms resting flat on the tile and thighs open to reveal dewdrops of moisture on the strip of hair covering her mound, she thrust her b.r.e.a.s.t.s forward. She was a siren-calling to something deep in his soul. She had sliver-dollar-sized areolas. Dark-rose nipples he could suck all night and never get enough of.

Leaning over her, Zane laved an areola, circling the peak over and over. Suckling her nipple, he pressed it to the roof of his mouth and thrummed it with his tongue. Reaching down between her legs, he buried his fingers in her wet heat. She cried out, already on the verge of climax. Taking her there, he shoved her over the top with two fingers buried deep inside her s.e.x.

Moaning, she rolled her hips with such abandon, he lost it. Sweet. Oh G.o.d, so sweet. Her mind was open to his, calling to him with a hunger that matched his own. Abandoning all sense of outward awareness, he concentrated on what was spread before him.

Dropping to his knees, he took a deep breath, inhaling her spicy musk. All the reasons why this wasn't a good idea were forgotten and he focused on devouring her. Growling low in his throat, he used his upper body to shift her legs farther apart. Reaching out with his tongue, he licked. Starting with a long, slow swipe along her c.l.i.t, he lapped up her cream, losing himself in her taste. As he tortured her for long moments, the nature of their linked minds meant he felt every rasp of flattened tongue, every hard stab at her small bud.

Close to a second climax, she fisted her fingers in his hair and held him to her. He could have told her he wasn't going anywhere. Shouting through her explosion, she sagged back on the counter with l.u.s.t-glazed eyes, slumberous.

Zane laughed. "You've a while to go before you can sleep, Nicky. Just let me take care of this..." Standing up, he stripped off first his t-shirt before toeing off his boots and removing his jeans. Before tossing his pants aside, he felt the stone in the pocket. Pulling the ruby out, he frowned.

Nicky's hands went to his chest, drawing his attention back to her. Her eyes were gleaming, focused on his chest. "I knew it. I imagined you with this soft pelt on your chest. G.o.d, you are gorgeous." Her hands trailed through the dark curls on his chest.