Keeping his gaze locked on her wide eyes he reached beneath the seat to offer her a handgun similar to his own. With startling efficiency she measured the balance of the gun in her hand, before smoothly flicking off the safety.

He would wager his finest ruby it was not the first occasion she held a gun.

Not precisely reassuring.

At least she wasn't about to accidentally shoot off her foot, or worse his own, he wryly acknowledged as he rolled down the opposite window.

"Aim at the tires," he commanded, leaning out the window and steadying his hip against the door. He paused, sighted, pulled the trigger, and took out the front tire with one shot. On the other side of the car Shay sprayed a line of bullets, at last puncturing the other tire. The pursuing car pulled hard to the right and Viper managed a shot through the side window, hitting the driver although it was impossible to tell if it was a killing blow.

The car plunged off the road and Viper sent his thoughts to Pierre who was already slowing the limo. He wanted those men. He wanted them in his clutches to drain them of every last thread of information they might possess.

And then he intended to just drain them.

Whoever, or whatever, wanted his Shalott was proving to be more than merely a pest.

He needed to know precisely what he was up against.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the skidding car rammed into a light pole. He muttered a curse, and then another as the car promptly exploded into a ball of flames.

Well, devil's balls.

Didn't that only happen in the movies?

Folding himself back into the car he gave a rap on the divider. On cue the limo sped easily into the darkness.

Viper watched as Shay lowered herself back in her seat. Closing the windows he held out his hand for the gun. There was only the faintest hesitation before she placed it in his hand and Viper bent down to place both guns in the hidden cabinet.

Settling more comfortably against the leather he flashed her a faint smile. "Not bad."

"It pulls right."

His smile widened. "Yes, I know."

Her eyes slowly narrowed. "You thought I might turn it on you?"

"Was it not a temptation?" he demanded.

"A gun can't kill you."

"The bullets are silver and would have at least caused me damage."

Her eyes glittered with then unspoken warning that she wanted to do tads more than cause mere damage.

"You said that you trusted me."

"I have not survived so many centuries without realizing that I can occasionally be wrong. I fully embrace the motto 'better safe than sorry."'

She tossed herself into the corner of her seat, yanking at the long raven braid that was draped over her shoulder. She had been angry when he had demanded her pledge not to offer him harm, annoyed that he had easily read her noble spirit. Now she was angry that he remained cautious.

Part demon or not, she was as contrary as any woman.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't need a gun" she muttered in low tones.

Chapter Three

Shay wasn't entirely stupid.

She knew that baiting a vampire under any circumstances was dangerous. Like playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded pistol. Especially when she was completely and utterly at his mercy.

But while every sense might warn her to keep her mouth shut and disappear into the butter soft leather seat, her raw pride simply refused to listen.

Beyond being a vampire Viper was everything she disliked.

He was too beautiful, too obscenely rich, and worst of all, too brashly confident of his own worth.

That grated worst of all.

Deep within her she envied that cool, stately arrogance. Even if she lived a millennium she would never attain such a sure belief in her own worth.

She was a mongrel. Half demon and half human. She didn't belong in either world. And never would.

The vampire settled back in his seat and regarded her with a steady gaze.

"A fascinating discussion, pet, and one we will no doubt explore in depth at some point. But for the moment I prefer to concentrate on who, or what, is so desperate to get their hands on you."

"I don't know," Shay retorted with complete honesty. She didn't have a clue who was after her. She had spent her life in the shadows, never drawing attention to herself. It had been her only means of survival.

"No bitter past owner?" he demanded.

"Besides Evor who holds my curse, Edra was my one and only owner." Her lips thinned with annoyance. "Until you."

"No past lover who might hold a grudge?"

Stupidly she felt her face warm with embarrassment. "No."

"No past lover?" His lips twitched with ill-concealed amusement. "Or none who would hold a grudge?"

"None of your damn business."

"It becomes my business when someone tries to kill me."

Shay gave her braid a furious tug as she glared into his perfect face. "Then take me back to Evor."

''Never." Without warning the vampire was flowing forward and Shay found herself trapped in the corner with his hands planted on the seat on either side of her head. "You are mine."

His face was so close that she could see the flecks of gold in the midnight eyes. Her heart threatened to halt.

Partially out of fear. And partially... well, hell, she might as well be honest. Partially out of sheer lust.

She didn't have to like him to want to rip off his clothes and pull that magnificent male body on top of her. He was a sexual invitation from the tip of his silver hair to the toes of his handcrafted leather boots.

She would have to be dead not to want to wrap herself in his potent beauty and sate the aching need she had endured for more years than she cared to admit.

Easily sensing her flare of desire Viper stilled above her, his fangs lengthening as his own body reacted.

Her eyes widened. "Don't."

With a slow, relentless motion his head began to lower. "You fear me drinking your blood?"

"I don't like being a meal on wheels for anyone."

His cool lips skimmed her mourn before brushing her cheek.

"There are many reasons for a vampire to share blood. Trust, friendship, love... lust."

Her heart crashed against her chest as a dark heat spread through her body. He was touching her with nothing more than his lips, but already a heady flutter of excitement was rushing through her lower stomach and her nipples hardening to tight peaks.

God, it had been so long.

The satin of his hair tickled her nose as his mouth stroked down the curve of her neck. He smelled of expensive cologne and something far more primitive. Something starkly male.

His mouth lingered on the frantic beat of her pulse before his tongue traced the large vein in a wet path back up her throat.

A stab of panic raced through her and her hands lifted to press against his chest.

"Viper."

"At this moment I don't want your blood, pet." His lips brushed her skin sending a jolt of pleasure down her spine.

"Then what do you want?"

"Everything else."

Shifting his head he captured her lips in a kiss that shook her to her very toes.

Oh, Shay, don't think about the taste of those male lips. Or the promise of his hovering body. Or the heat already swirling through the air.

A ridiculous, not to mention an impossible task, she admitted as the kiss deepened.

His mouth was not harsh, but there was a hungry demand that had her own lips parting in helpless response.

A soft moan escaped her throat as his slender fingers cupped her face. Damn and damn. Her entire body was stirring to life beneath his silken expertise.

With gentle insistence his tongue parted her lips to slip within. Her eyes slid shut and she tentatively allowed her tongue to tangle with his. Even worse, the hands she had lifted to ward him off now clutched at the heavy cloak, unthinkingly pulling his long frame to cover her own.

Since the moment she had encountered this vampire weeksago he had invaded her dreams and made her remember sensations better left forgotten. Now she was paying for her weakness in not having banished those treacherous desires.

His hands softly skimmed from her face down her neck. His touch was as light as a butterfly's wing. So light that she barely even noticed when his fingers trailed low enough to slip beneath the tiny harem top to cup her breasts.

Not until his thumbs rubbed over the sensitive nipples. A small cry was torn from her lips.

"Viper?"

He swept his mouth over her cheek, his fangs scraping her skin but never drawing blood.

"Shhh... I won't hurt you."

"Are you going to bite me?"

"I had something else in mind at the moment," he huffed.

She shivered in response. Growling low in his throat Viper allowed his body to press her own into the soft seat, his knee nudging her legs apart to allow him to settle against her with shocking intimacy.

It was the hungry joy at the feel of his erection pressing against her that at last jolted her out of the daze of sensual pleasure.

By the flames of hell, what was she doing?

She had barely been Viper's slave for an hour and here she was battling the urge to rip off his clothes and guide him into her.