Night's Touch. Amanda Ashley

      The jerk with the BMW was standing directly across the street from the driveway, studying the upstairs windows.

      Vince stood a little farther down the road, his curiosity growing by the minute.

      Keeping to the shadows, he crossed the street and vaulted over the wall that surrounded the property. Dissolving into mist, he drifted up the driveway to the house. He was about to peer into one of the windows when waves of preternatural power swept over him.

      Apparently he wasn’t the only vampire around.

      He floated up through the air and hovered over a second-story balcony. He sensed Cara in the room beyond. Materializing, he listened at the door. He could hear her moving around inside, perhaps getting ready for bed.

      He was about to leave when Cara opened one of the French doors.

      For a moment, the two of them stood there, staring at each other.

      “You!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

      “I followed you home,” he said, thinking quickly. “I noticed two other guys following you out of the club, and…I wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

      “Two guys?” she asked, obviously not believing him. “What two guys?”

      “A really big character and that jerk who stood you up.” Mr. BMW had hung back far enough to keep from being seen by either Cara or the big guy in the Lexus.

      Cara crossed her arms under her breasts. “He didn’t stand me up,” she retorted. “Anyway, I don’t believe he followed me home.”

      “Believe what you want,” Vince said with a shrug. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

      She stared at him a minute, as if making up her mind whether to believe him or not, and then frowned. “How did you get through the gate?”

      Damn, he thought, she had him there. The wrought-iron gate was set in the high stone wall that surrounded the house. It could only be opened electronically, and it had been locked, so he’d vaulted over the wall, just like Superman.

      “Well?” She tapped her foot on the floor, waiting to catch him in a lie.

      “I ducked inside behind the big guy’s car. Who is he, anyway? Not your father?”

      “He’s my bodyguard, and he’ll break you in half if he finds you here.”

      “Then I hope you won’t call him.”

      Cara laughed in spite of herself. “You’re despicable.”

      “So I’ve been told.”

      He was too close. Even though they weren’t touching, she was aware of the attraction that hummed between them. It was primal, sensual, and a little scary. He felt it, too. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the tension that hummed between them, so thick it was almost palpable.

      She should go back inside and lock the door. She should have him arrested for trespassing. She should call her father. She didn’t do any of those things and she wasn’t sure why, except that she was attracted to him in a way she didn’t understand. Beyond that, she was grateful to him for bringing a bit of excitement into her otherwise unexciting life. You only had to look at him to know he was the kind of man mothers warned their daughters about, thereby making them more appealing—and he was very appealing, with his long black hair and tight-fitting jeans.

      “As long as you’re here, you might as well sit down,” she said, gesturing at one of the deck chairs.

      “Thanks.”

      He sat where she indicated, and she sat in the chair across from him. She wondered what her father would do if he came to check on her again and found her sitting out here with a stranger, then shrugged her worries aside. Her father had already checked on her once; he wasn’t likely to return at this time of the night.

      Cara bit down on the inside corner of her bottom lip. Now that she had invited Vince to stay, she was at a loss for words. She was basically shy around strangers and had never been any good at making small talk.

      Searching for a safe topic of conversation, she said, “Tell me about yourself. I don’t even know your last name.”

      “It’s Cordova,” he said. “As for my life story, there’s not much to tell. I’m a mechanic. I own my own shop. I’ve got three brothers, a sister, and a bad-tempered cat.”

      “A cat? Most guys don’t like cats.”

      “I don’t like this one, either.”

      “Then why do you have it?”

      “Somebody ran it over. I found it in some bushes, half dead. I couldn’t just leave it there.” He didn’t tell her that the cat had turned up the night after he’d been made, or that, driven by an unholy hunger, he had licked the blood from the cat’s wounds. Surprisingly, the cat had recovered. “What about you?” he asked, glancing around. “It’s obvious that your folks are well-off. I guess that explains the bodyguard.”

      She regarded him warily. What if Vince wasn’t the nice, easygoing guy he seemed to be? What if he was only showing interest in her because he knew her father was rich? What if he had come in hopes of kidnapping her and holding her for ransom? What if he was a robber, or a murderer, or worse? Maybe she did need a bodyguard!

      “I think you’d better go,” she said, hating the sudden tremor in her voice. She told herself there was nothing to be afraid of. One scream would rouse the household and bring Di Giorgio and her father running.

      “Did I say something wrong?” Vince asked, frowning.

      “Why did you really come here?”

      His gaze moved over her, as hot and tangible as a summer breeze. “Because I was afraid you might never come back to the club, and I’d never see you again.”

      At his words, Cara’s heart skipped a beat.

      “I know we’ve just met,” Vince said, “and you have no reason to believe me, or trust me, but…” He shook his head. “I just wanted to see you again.”

      Right or wrong, foolish or not, she believed him.

      Vince gained his feet. “I’m sorry if I was out of line. Go on back inside. I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again.”

      She stared up at him, her heart pounding, and then she whispered, “Don’t go.”

      Chapter 5

      As soon as she uttered the words, Cara had second thoughts. What was she doing? Vince was a stranger to her. They had shared nothing more than a drink and a dance in a nightclub. She knew nothing about him save what he had told her, and for all she knew, everything he’d said could be a lie. How many times had her father and mother warned her to be careful of strangers?

      She bit down on her lower lip. Maybe she was an idiot; maybe she was no better than those foolish girls who got into cars with guys they didn’t know and then wound up dead in a ditch with no one to blame but themselves.

      She lifted her gaze to his. If eyes were the windows to the soul, then his soul was dark and haunted, and yet she had no sense of being in danger. He might be dangerous, she thought, but not to her. She had never been more certain of anything in her life.

      “Cara.” His voice was thick with an emotion she couldn’t identify. “I think I’d better go.”

      “Why?” She reached out, as if to stop him, then let her hand fall to her side.

      “It’s late. You should get some rest.”

      “You, too. You probably have to open your shop early in the morning.”

      He didn’t answer, but merely grunted softly.

      “Will you be at The Nocturne tomorrow night?” she