"My taste is exquisite." Bride was beyond lovely, with a face and form most men could only ever dream of seeing. "Better than ever."

Nolan moaned softly in his sleep, and Dallas whipped around, gun extended. He moved toward the cell, paused, sucked in a breath. "Fuck me. Look at him, Dev." The agent no longer whispered. There was too much shock in his tone.

Devyn straightened and glanced over, not wanting to leave his perch beside Bride. Now that he had her within arm's reach again, he planned to keep her there. "What is it?"

"He doesn't look sick. And if he doesn't look sick ..."

He'd had sex. Devyn's eyes narrowed on the otherworlder, taking in the clear skin, the even rise and fall of his chest. His gaze swung to Bride, still sleeping peacefully. Had they... they must have. It would also explain her fatigue.

His hands curled into fists. There were no bruises under her eyes, no grayish tint to her skin. Teeth grinding, he reached down and shook her, no longer caring if he frightened her. "Bride."

When she gave no reaction, he shook her again. Harder. "Bride!"

Slowly her eyelids fluttered open, hazel irises glazed. Hazel, no longer bright emerald. Either her mask was firmly back in place, or she'd somehow lost her vibrancy. A moment passed while she oriented herself. When realization struck, she gasped. Jerked upright. Dark hair tumbled down her arms and back.

Devyn leaned down, placing them nose to nose. "Did you sleep with him?”

“Wh-what?" She scrambled backward, only the arm of the couch stopping her. She reached behind her, probably meaning to grab the gun, but came up empty.

Devyn moved with her, never letting more than an inch separate them. "Did. You. Sleep. With. Him?" The words snarled from him.

Her gaze roved wildly. Searching for a way out? Trying to figure out what had happened? "What are you talking about? How did you find me? How did you get in here?"

"I'm going to ask you one more time, and you're going to answer, or I swear to God I'm going to kill him in front of you. And you know I don't make threats. I make promises. Did you fuck Nolan?"

Confusion flittered over her a split second before she shook her head. "No. Of course not. He's diseased."

Devyn remained in place, studying her, gauging the truth of her words. The rage inside him ... he'd never experienced so much. And for what? The thought of a woman in bed with another man? It was laughable. He never promised monogamy, and he never demanded it in return. He didn't stick around long enough.

Seriously. What the hell was wrong with him?

"She's telling the truth," a grave voice said from behind him. Nolan had awoken.

Dallas rubbed his finger over his gun's trigger. "Try something, and your brains will end up on the wall. This isn't stun, asshole. This is copper."

Nolan kept his gaze on Devyn. "It was the wine. She gave me two glasses of wine, and within an hour of drinking each, I felt healthier than I had in years."

"Try again," Devyn snarled. "Wine can't kill a disease as strong as yours." Nolan raised his chin. "Hers can, and I want more."

"It wasn't wine, you sellout," Bride gritted. With a shaky hand, she smoothed the hair from her cheek and hooked it behind her ear. "Not exactly. I, well, I mixed my ... blood with it."

All three men stared over at her in astonishment.

She straightened her shoulders. "Well, it helps me heal, and he was so near death, I thought I'd give it to him and see what happened. He didn't turn into a vampire, though," she rushed out.

As if anyone cared about that. Her blood. Her vampire blood had taken a dying man and propelled him into health. That, Devyn could believe. The hottest fires of his rage seeped from him.

"What are you doing here, Devyn?" she demanded.

He splayed his arms. "Isn't it obvious? I'm winning the game we were playing."

It was like a bomb detonated in her eyes, hazel scattering and leaving only emerald fury. Mask gone, he thought with a grin.

"I knew it! You tricked me. Lied to me. Told me to meet you at the pier, and then you followed me."

"Nope." He shook his head. "I didn't follow you, and I didn't have anyone else follow you. Try again."

"Then how ..." Her features scrunched adorably as she pondered what could have happened. A moment passed. She gasped. "Somehow you tagged me with a GPS, didn't you, you bastard?"

"Yep." A slow smile curled the corners of his mouth. "Your bra. Remember the way I licked you ...?"

Red bloomed on her cheeks, the prettiest blush he'd ever seen. "You are such a cheater."

"That hurts, darling. Really it does." He tugged a long, thin black case from his back pocket and popped the lid, revealing a syringe of glowing crimson liquid. Bride would have leaped from the couch, but he held her down with his mind. "And how did I cheat? There were no rules."

She glared up at him. "Let me go, damn it."

"Not yet. See, with this baby I'll know where you are every second of every day for the next three months. I see you're wondering what it is. Well, it's my pleasure to tell you. This is an isotope tracker, and all I'll have to do to find you is log on to my computer."

He jabbed the needle into her thigh, and her mouth fell open on a pained gasp. "Sorry for the sting," he said. "Ask nicely, and I'll kiss it better."

"You shouldn't have done that." A look of utter concentration descended her features. Determination. "Soon you'll wish you hadn't."

He'd seen that expression on her before, seconds before she'd exploded into mist. "Don't you dare think about misting and leaving. I have your friend, remember?"

The determination fell away, vulnerability taking its place. She fingered the necklace she still wore. "You've treated her well?"

"Of course. Treating women well is a hobby of mine."

Sparks of anger returned to her eyes, but she never again looked as if she would mist. "So what are you going to do to me?"

"We'll get to that." The fact that her blood had healed Nolan—permanently? temporarily?—would be of great interest to AIR. They'd take her from Devyn and turn her into a pincushion, no doubt about it. He wasn't ready for that to happen. "Nolan, tell us about the changes in you." His attention never veered from Bride.

The otherworlder was happy to obey. "I'm no longer clouded by the disease's thoughts. I can think clearly for the first time in years."

So. Did that mean the disease was completely gone?

"You've lied and screwed us before." Dallas swiped his gun against the cage, rattling the bars. "No way you expect us to trust you now."

Nolan lifted his wide shoulders in a shrug. "Trust me or not. Doesn't matter. But I know I'm free. The queen, she—" He pressed his lips together, waited, then scrunched his brow. "I think I can talk about her," he said on a shocked gasp. "I know she's ... infected the last of her captives..." His eyes widened. "That didn't hurt! I can. I can talk about her. She'll come to New Chicago within the week. Exactly where and when, though? I no longer sense her, so I'm not sure."

Yep, truth or not, AIR was going to want Bride's blood.

Devyn looked over at his friend. "Give me an hour," he said. "And do whatever it takes to find out anything else he knows about his queen and her vacation here." Knowledge was power, and Devyn liked power.

Dallas flicked a good-luck glance at Bride, then nodded.

Without another word, Devyn released her from his mind-hold. He picked her up and anchored her on his shoulder while she hit, bit, and kneed him, and then he carried her into the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him. The true fun was about to begin.

CHAPTER 12

“What the hell are you doing? Put me down!" Bride slammed her fists against the solid wall of Devyn's back. The hot silk of his skin was evident under the material of his shirt, causing her arms to tingle. A dangerous tingle. A tempting tingle. Something she should not feel for the enemy.

"Anything you say, darling." He dropped her flat on her ass. "You know I live only to please you."

Air whooshed from her lungs, and when she caught her breath she glared up at him. "You're such an ass."

He clutched his chest, just above his heart. "Oh, how you wound me. I gave you what you wanted, didn't I?"

"A dramatic ass, at that." Biting the inside of her cheek, Bride popped to her feet. She could have misted—though she needed open space to leave a room—and could have hurriedly stripped and camouflaged her skin, but she didn't. Not only because his reminder that he held Aleaha still rang through her, but also because curiosity and something else, something she refused to name, flooded her. "If you brought me in here to rape me ..."

One of his brows arched, and there was a definite sparkle in his eyes. "It wouldn't be rape, and we both know it. Last night you were all over me, practically dripping in my hand."

Her teeth clenched. "You're an exaggerator, too."

He shrugged. "You don't have to worry about giving in to my wicked advances. Not yet. Right now you're going to strip and shower, and then we're going to talk."

She raised her chin. "Like hell."

"You will. I'll force you if necessary. And Bride," he said, his voice dipping huskily, "I hope it's necessary."

Of course he did. He was the only person on the planet who could see through a threat like that successfully. The only person who could possibly make her enjoy the fact that her will had been ignored. "I don't need to be clean to talk to you."

"Yes, you do. Right now the sight of you upsets me."

She'd been in the process of reaching behind her, feeling her dresser for a weapon. She had them stashed everywhere, just in case. But his words enraged her, and she ended up grabbing the first thing she encountered. A book. A paperback, at that. She hurled it at him, anyway, and the spine slapped against his cheek.

He blinked in surprise, rubbed his cheek, and glanced down at the book. "That was childish.”

“Well, your perfect face was upsetting me."

"Finally. You admit how perfect I am." Gently he toed the book aside. "First rule of thievery, sweetheart. You shouldn't abuse items you work hard to steal."

"I didn't steal it." Why she told him the truth, she didn't know. His opinion didn't matter. "I saved it."

Once again he arched a brow, his gaze sharpening. "You were able to save it because you're human, and humans live for hundreds of years without aging?"

"You know I'm not human," she grumbled. Misting in front of him had pretty much ruined her "I'm human" argument. "Now stop distracting me."

"I can't help myself. I'm perfect, remember?"

Argh! Infuriating man. "I will shower, but only because I really need one." The grumble had become churlish. "But I'll do it with my clothes on." So there. Oh, God. I really am a child.

"Clothes off," he said.

"On. And that's that."

"I recommend that you strip." He sounded almost pleasant now, a sure sign his patience was at an end. The sweeter he seemed, she was coming to understand, the more violent he was feeling. Exhibit A: he'd been smiling when he'd taken Tom's head.

"Fine. I'll strip. But you and your stupid T-shirt have to leave." She pointed to the door. Not for a second did she think he'd actually do it. It was worth a shot, though.

"Hell, no," he said. Big shocker. "I plan to enjoy the show. And my T-shirt isn't stupid. It's a public service."

"Size Dental Appliances Here" with an arrow to his cock, meaning women could feel free to suck him. "Devyn."

"Bride. Last chance to act on your own."

She stared over at him, taking in his determined expression, the hard line of his body. If she pushed, he really would force her to do as he wanted, and she would lose control of her own actions. If she gave in, she could dictate what angle to show him—and how badly to tantalize him with what he would never have.

"Fine," she said, and sighed. "You want a show, I'll give you a show." He would watch, and he could want, but she would not give. The last was a reminder to herself.

He gave another of those surprised blinks.

Expected her to continue to balk, had he? Chin lifting in challenge, she slowly shimmied out of her clothing. First the boots. She chucked them at him, and he easily sidestepped. Second, she removed her pants. Third, her shirt. His pupils dilated as she unsnapped her bra and let the syn-cotton float to the ground. The matching panties quickly followed, leaving her completely bare. Well, except for Aleaha's necklace, but that didn't count.

"I was afraid I'd imagined them, those blood red nipples. My new favorite color, by the way."

"Thank you," she replied, pleased, though she was sure she wasn't the first to hear such a compliment.

That gave him pause. "Not embarrassed by my scrutiny?" The question was almost... hesitant.

"No." Despite what she'd told him while he'd forced her to strip that first time, nudity didn't bother her. How could it, when she had to traipse the streets of New Chicago naked but camouflaged while she hunted? Besides, she liked her body. "No reason to be. Of the two of us, I'm the closer to perfection."

His lips twitched. "The only way to know for sure, of course, is to study you."