Dark Deceiver. Pamela Palmer

man he needs to warn you about.”

      “Why didn’t he just call me? I’m in the phone book.”

      “I don’t know.” She hadn’t thought to ask. Not real surprising considering what had been on her mind.

      “What if he’s Esri?”

      Autumn tensed, the word jangling through her like a discordant note. “No. He’s not Esri. He’s…gorgeous. Amazing. And he has dark hair…and a bit of a tan.”

      “Autumn…”

      “He’s not Esri, Larsen! I’d know.” But as soon as the words were out, she heard how desperate she sounded. Esri were notorious for hiding their true appearance behind glamour. Yes, she was wearing holly, but who was to say holly worked against all Esri? They just didn’t know the extent of the magic these creatures were capable of.

      Autumn sank to the bed, her pulse beginning to trip with real fear. “Larsen…what if he is Esri? What do I do?” Tackling this man to the ground wasn’t going to be an option.

      Though it might be fun.

      She groaned.

      “Do you feel threatened at all?” Larsen asked.

      “No.” Hot, flustered and thoroughly in lust. But, no, not threatened.

      “All right. I hate to ask this of you, but it’s important, Autumn. It could be critical. If he’s Esri, he’s either after the draggon stone or he’s after us.” The Sitheen. “He’s using you to get to us, so he’s not likely to do anything to give himself away. I honestly don’t think you’re in any immediate danger, Autumn. They may be murdering bastards, but they’re smart. If he’s one of them, we need to turn the tables on him. Are you game?”

      “Yes. Of course.” What choice did she have?

      “I want you to stall him until I can get hold of the guys. It could take me a little while, so maybe offer to fix him dinner or something. I’m hoping it won’t take more than an hour or so.”

      Autumn fell back on the bed, her head swimming, her skin crawling with chills. Kade really could be Esri, as much as she hated to admit it. And she had to fix him dinner?

      “If anyone’s going to walk into a trap it’s going to be him, not us,” Larsen continued. “Autumn…be careful. I don’t like the idea of you alone with a strange man, no matter who he is.”

      A man she’d practically thrown herself at. Her chills intensified. I might have been kissing an Esri. Even now, he stood in the next room, waiting for her.

      God. “Larsen?”

      “Yes?”

      “Hurry.”

      “I will. Be careful, Autumn.”

      She closed the phone and lay on the bed, unmoving. It almost made sense that he was Esri, that he’d somehow fashioned himself to look like every dark fantasy she’d ever had. Tall, dark, dangerously handsome. She tried to imagine what he might really look like—the pasty-white skin and pale hair. Was it possible? No. She’d know. Somehow she’d know.

      He wasn’t Esri. He wasn’t evil. Then again, if he was Esri, he had magic and everything she knew about him was a lie and had been from the start.

      She pressed her hand to her forehead. Dear God, what was she going to do? How in the world was she supposed to carry on a polite conversation with a man who could be plotting her rape and murder as easily as her seduction? She couldn’t let on that she suspected him of being more than he claimed. If he was Esri…if he got suspicious, he might take off. And she couldn’t afford to lose a second Esri. Even she couldn’t be that clumsy.

      With a groan, she forced herself up. Hiding in the bedroom wasn’t an option, however appealing it might sound. She stumbled twice on her way back to the living room and seriously hoped the boat was rocking more than normal. If not, she was losing what little coordination she had. The sun had finally set, leaving the room in shadows.

      Kade looked up from his examination of one of the wall prints, but she kept her gaze averted as she turned on a table lamp, not ready to face him after her mortifying lack of control. And not sure she could keep her doubts about who he was out of her eyes.

      But as she crossed to the kitchen and flicked on the light, she felt his gaze on her, felt it vibrate along her skin, and felt her body warm all over again. Oh, this was not good. What if she lost control and tried to strip him this time? Oh, for heaven’s sake, he could be Esri.

      Taking a deep breath, she rounded the counter into the kitchen, desperate to reclaim some measure of equilibrium. Or at least the pretense of it. With the counter safely between her and the man who literally and figuratively filled the room, she finally gathered the courage to look up.

      He met her gaze, his expression guarded. And what did that mean? That he was hiding something…or that he was afraid she was going to attack him again?

      If only the floor would swallow her.

      The boat swayed, forcing her to grab hold of the counter for support. She swallowed, praying her voice would sound close to normal.

      “I talked to Larsen. She wants to meet you after work. You can follow me over there in your car if you want to wait. It shouldn’t be much more than an hour.”

      “I took the Metro. But if I can ride with you, I’ll wait.” A gleam that might be satisfaction glimmered in his eyes. But it didn’t prove he was Esri. He’d come looking for Larsen. Naturally, he’d be satisfied he was going to get to meet her. And if she doubted every single thing he said, every flick of his eyebrow, she was going to make herself insane.

      “Are you hungry? I thought I’d fix dinner.”

      At the mention of food, that guarded expression in his eyes disappeared. His eyes positively lit up. “I’m hungry.”

      She laughed. “Of course you are.” And what a stereotypical reaction of a male to food. This proved it, didn’t it? He couldn’t be Esri. She’d never heard anything about Baleris demanding food. Virgins, yes. But not food.

      Kade Smith was definitely human. And if she could just keep convincing herself of that, maybe she could manage to get dinner on the table.

      She started the rice, then pulled vegetables out of the fridge with hands that would not quit shaking, despite her insistence he wasn’t a threat. But hormones were as bad as nerves and as long as he was in the room, they weren’t about to settle down. As if she weren’t clumsy enough. She managed to rinse the vegetables without mishap, then grabbed a knife and a green pepper and started chopping.

      Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kade move to the bar on the other side of the counter. He leaned on it, watching her, shredding the few nerves she had left. Her fingers fumbled the knife, sending it clattering to the cutting board.

      With a groan, she snatched it up and tried again.

      “What are you making?” The rich timbre of Kade’s too-near voice rattled her even as it sank into her pores, sliding over her skin like liquid silk. Was this how he enchanted her? With his sexy voice? Stop it.

      “I’m…uh…I’ve got this great recipe for a Mexican stir-fry. Is that okay?”

      “I like all food.”

      Why didn’t that surprise her? The guy had to be close to seven feet tall. Again, she made the mistake of looking up and found his gaze on her face. Those blue, blue eyes caught her, making her pulse lift and soar at the look of hunger in their depths. Hunger she could almost imagine was directed at her, not her vegetables, though she knew better. The knife slipped out of her agitated fingers and clattered to the cutting board once again.

      With a rueful sigh, she said, “You’d better go watch TV. I’m not doing well with an audience. At this rate, dinner won’t be ready until next Tuesday.”

      His mouth twitched,