She eyed him warily. "Nobody's perfect."
"You are. For me."
She jumped to her feet, positioning the chair between them. "I need to go. Corky could come in any minute."
"You've been avoiding me."
"I've been busy." She tightened the whip around her waist. "And I don't think there's anything to talk about, really."
He eased around the chair. "Have you thought about our kiss?"
"No." She lifted her chin. "I completely forgot about it. I figured it was an accident and we should never let it happen again."
"You reached that decision after you forgot about it?"
She scowled at him. "Okay. I remember it quite well. But just because it was hot, that doesn't mean we should do it again."
He smiled slowly. "It was hot, wasn't it?"
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. "I...can't remember."
"Strange how your memory comes and goes."
She licked her lips. "Some things are best forgotten."
He slipped an arm around her. "Have you forgotten how I make your heart pound?" He could hear it pounding.
She rested her hands against his chest. "I seem to recall something to that effect..."
He nuzzled her neck. "Have you forgotten how you tremble at my touch?"
She trembled. "Phil..." Her fingers clutched greedily at his shirt. "I don't want to fall for you."
"But you are." He noted the red glint in her eyes. "I know you want me."
"No." She raked her hands into his hair, closing her fists around the strands as if she never wanted to let him go. "I don't want you at all."
"That's a shame." He kissed her brow. "'Cause I want you."
"You shouldn't." She tugged his head down so she could kiss his mouth.
"Sweetheart, you're giving out mixed signals."
"I know." She pressed her body against his. "I've got to stop this. But God help me, I can't...stop."
He took her mouth, kissing her with all the passion that had simmered for eight long years. Her lips parted with a sweet surrender. But this was no passive surrender, not from his feisty Vanda. She stroked his tongue, then sucked on it with a desperation that made his blood boil. His groin swelled and he pulled her tight against him. With a deep growl he discovered just how well her thin spandex cat-suit hugged every curve of her body from the sweet cheeks of her rump to the small of her back.
She rubbed against him, and his erection throbbed.
He unzipped her catsuit far enough to allow him to slip his hand inside and cup her breast. "You're so beautiful, so perfect." He flicked his thumb over her nipple, and the tip hardened.
She gasped. "Phil..." Her hands rubbed up and down his back.
"Vanda, I want to make love to you."
Her hands stilled. "No." She moved back, breaking his embrace. "I can't...love you."
"I won't hurt you, Vanda. You can trust me."
She shook her head. "I can't..." She zipped her catsuit shut. Her red-tinted eyes glimmered with moisture.
"I understand why you're afraid. You lost everyone in your family. Except Marta. And you probably felt betrayed by her."
"What?" Vanda stepped back, her face pale. "How - How did you...?"
"The interview you did a few years ago for the reality show. Maggie found it at the townhouse and we watched it."
Vanda stiffened with an appalled expression. "Maggie helped you spy on me?"
"We weren't spying. We're trying to help you. If we can find a way for you to deal with the unresolved issues from your past - "
"My past is none of your business!" she snapped.
"It is. I'm supposed to help you learn how to manage your anger, and we can do that by confronting whatever trauma you - "
"No! I am not a psychological experiment. And I have to question your motives, Doctor Phil. Are you trying to help me out of the goodness of your heart, or do you just want to get laid?"
He tamped down on his growing anger. "I want you to have a happy, fulfilled life. It is your fear that is causing you to insult me, and we can get rid of that fear by examining the trauma - "
"You leave my trauma the hell alone!" She adjusted the whip around her waist. "I'm not afraid of anything."
He raised his hands in a supplicating gesture. "It's normal for you to resist reliving those painful memories."
She gritted her teeth. "Don't patronize me. I'm not reliving anything."
"Then you want to stay afraid? Do you want to endure life for centuries afraid to love another person?"
She flinched as if he'd hit her.
"Vanda, I'm sorry." He stepped toward her.
"No." She lifted a hand to stop him. "Do you know how many people I've lost?" A pink tear rolled down her cheek. "My mother and father. My little sister. Every one of my brothers. Karl."
"Who's Karl?" Phil couldn't remember that name from the TV interview.
Vanda's outstretched hand curled into a fist. Her voice shook. "The wolves got him."
Phil froze.
Vanda's arm dropped to her side and her face crumpled. "He was my first love. A mortal. The mortals always die." She wiped her face. "Can't you see? I can't go through this again."
Shit. This would be the perfect time to tell her he was a shape shifter who could easily live another four to five hundred years. But she would want to know what he shifted into. "Vanda, none of us are immortal. You came close to dying the other day. Doesn't that tell you that we should seize the moment and live each night like it was our last?"
"But it won't last. And I can't endure the pain. I'm sorry."
"Vanda, we - "
She disappeared, leaving his hand extended close to where her face had been.
He lowered his arm. Poor Vanda. She was fighting a war between desire and fear. Her desire for him was strong. It had caused her eyes to glow red. It had made her clutch at him with passion. But tonight fear had won the battle.
"I'm not giving up on you," he whispered.
CHAPTER 8
Lots of people here tonight," Maggie said as Vanda inched her Corvette closer to the entrance of Romatech.
Vanda checked the rearview mirror. She couldn't see herself, but spotted several cars in line behind them. Two in front. All the local Vamps seemed to be here for Jack's engagement party. "I hate parties."
Maggie scoffed. "It'll be good for you. You've been working too hard."
"Friday nights are always busy at the club. I should be there."
"You'll only be gone a few hours. Cora Lee and Pamela were happy to take care of things," Maggie said. "Besides, you need a break. You've had a rough week."
The guard let another car through the gate, and Vanda moved the Corvette closer.
Maggie smoothed the skirt of her red taffeta cocktail dress. "Isn't it fun to dress up for a change? If I was home tonight, I'd be helping my husband shovel bat guano."
"Sounds better than this," Vanda grumbled.
"Don't be such a party pooper. You look lovely in that dress."
Vanda groaned. She should have never agreed to borrow one of Pamela's dresses. Maggie, Pamela, and Cora Lee had ganged up on her, insisting she wear it. But she was taller than Pamela, so the silver satin dress was too short, hitting her at mid-thigh. The bodice was too low. She tugged at a spaghetti strap. "This dress is too revealing."
Maggie snorted. "And your catsuits aren't?"
"They're comfortable. And I like having my whip handy."
"You don't need a whip at an engagement party." Maggie gave her a sly look. "You're just afraid Phil will see you looking so pretty and girlish."
"I'm not afraid." Last night Phil had said she was afraid, and now Maggie was doing it. "I'll prance around the party butt naked if I want. Nothing scares me."
"Then you'll be courageous enough to tell me what happened last night at DVN."
Vanda gripped the steering wheel. "Nothing happened."
"That's strange. Phil said the same thing."
"Really?" Vanda was relieved he hadn't talked about their encounter. She couldn't believe she'd ended up in his arms again, kissing him as if her life depended on it. And she'd come terribly close to surrendering completely. The man was too tempting. And too damned nosy about her past.
Another car drove through the gate, and Vanda rolled the Corvette up to the guard station. She lowered the window and handed the guard her invitation.
He leaned over to peer into the car. "Your names?"
"I'm Vanda Barkowski and this is my guest, Maggie O'Callahan."
He checked his clipboard, then passed the invitation back. "You can go in."
Vanda raised her window and started down the long driveway to Romatech. "So I guess you teleported Phil back to the townhouse last night?"
"Yes. I offered to take him to the club, but he thought you wouldn't want to see anyone." Maggie gave her a worried look. "He seems to understand you very well."
"I don't want to talk about it." Vanda drove into the parking lot and searched for an empty space. "I can't believe you showed him that interview from the reality show."
"It's public record. Besides, Phil thinks you need to resolve some issues from your past."
"I know about his damned theory. It's bullshit." She spotted an empty space in the next row and stepped on the accelerator to get there before anyone else. "And I don't want him digging around in my past. It's none of his damned business!"
"He just wants to help you with your anger problem."
"I don't have an anger problem!" Vanda stomped on the brakes when a couple emerged from between two cars. The woman screamed as the Corvette screeched to a halt a few inches in front of them.
The man thumped the hood of her car. "Stop speeding in the parking lot!"
"Oh, yeah?" Vanda lowered her window. "Watch where you're going, you assholes!" She shot them the finger.
The couple marched off in a huff.
Vanda took a deep breath. That had been close.
"No anger problem?" Maggie muttered.
"They asked for it." Vanda pulled into the empty parking space and stuffed the keys into the silver evening bag Pamela had insisted she use.
She climbed out of the car and checked her dress. The damned bodice was cut low enough that the purple bat tattooed on her right breast was exposed. She sighed. It had seemed like a good idea ten years ago. She'd enjoyed shocking all the stuffy old Vamps at the annual Gala Ball. But after a few years the shock had worn off.
Then she'd cut her hair and dyed it purple. That had worked well. Shocked people tended to keep their distance. Then she'd started wearing a whip around her waist. The implied threat of violence kept most everyone away.
Except Phil. He'd never been afraid of her.
"What do you know about Jack's fiancée?" Maggie asked as they walked toward the entrance of Romatech.
"Her name's Lara." Vanda looped the strap of her evening bag over her shoulder. "I heard she was from Louisiana, and she's a cop."
"Then she's mortal?"
"I guess."
"How interesting." Maggie gave her a pointed look. "Isn't it amazing how so many Vamps are finding true love and happiness with non-Vamps?"
"It's ridiculous."
"I think it's romantic."
Vanda snorted. "You married a Vamp."
"I married for love," Maggie insisted. "If my husband had been mortal, I wouldn't have hesitated one second. There's nothing more beautiful than true love."
"I need a drink."
Maggie scoffed. "Denial will not save you when Cupid's arrow finds its mark."
"If I see Cupid anywhere in the vicinity, I'm ripping his chubby little arms off." Vanda yanked the door open to Romatech.
A few Vamps were mingling in the foyer. Connor was standing behind a table, wearing a black and white plaid kilt and black jacket. He finished checking the contents of a lady's handbag, then passed it back to her.
Maggie rushed toward him, smiling. "Hi, Connor."
"Maggie, my bonny lass." Connor leaned over the table to give her a hug. "'Tis good to see you again."
Vanda crossed her arms. Connor never called her bonny.
"I'll need to check yer bag, Maggie," Connor said.
"You want to see my pictures?" Maggie opened her bag and removed a small stack of photos.
Connor examined Maggie's bag while she shuffled through the pictures.
"This one is Pierce with our daughter, Lucy." Maggie showed it to Connor. "And this is last Halloween when Lucy was a princess. I made the costume myself."
"She's a bonny wee lass." Connor handed her the evening bag. "Ye adopted her?"
"I did." Maggie rushed to explain. "Her biological mother was a voodoo priestess from New Orleans who slipped Pierce a love potion so she could seduce him. Then, after she got pregnant, she erased his memory and abandoned him. And that's when he got changed into a vampire. But he had amnesia and didn't remember who he was or that he'd fathered a baby. And then Corky Courrant found him and brought him to New York, and he became Don Orlando de Corazon, the famous soap opera star on As a Vampire Turns. That's when I met him, and then Ian helped me discover his true identity. It's all very simple, really."