Night's Pleasure. Amanda Ashley

dark red fingernail down his cheek. “I’ll be here until closing if you change your mind.”

      “I just might,” he replied. “You look good enough to eat.”

      He wondered if she would have smiled so smugly if she had known he meant it literally. Picking up the drinks the bartender set before him, Rane returned to Savanah.

      “Is she a friend of yours?” Savanah asked, glancing at the brunette sitting at the bar.

      With a shake of his head, Rane dropped into the chair across from hers. “Never saw her before.”

      “Really? She certainly seemed to like what she saw.”

      He shrugged. “Can I help it if women like me?”

      “I don’t know. Can you?”

      In truth, he could, if he put his mind to it, but for the most part, he didn’t bother. All Vampires possessed an aura that was almost irresistible to mortals. He could subdue it if he chose to, but why bother when it made hunting so much easier?

      Savanah was watching him, waiting for an answer.

      Rane shrugged again. “I like women. They like me.”

      “Could you try liking them a little less when you’re with me?”

      He grinned, amused by the spark in her eye and the jealousy in her voice. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll do my best.” He jerked his head toward the dance floor. “Wanna give it a whirl?”

      Savanah took a sip of her drink, wondering if being in the arms of a man she found so attractive was really a good idea, and then shrugged. What was there to worry about? They were in a public place, after all, and she very much wanted to be in his arms.

      Rising, she put her hand in his, felt a familiar tingle as his skin touched hers, and then he was leading her onto the dance floor.

      He drew her into his arms with the ease and assurance of a man who knew how to please a woman. The music was like the man—dark, sultry, and sensual. Her body reacted immediately, to both the music and the sheer masculinity of the hard male body pressed intimately against her own. He held her close, so close she knew which way he was going to move before it happened. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach; her heart pounded like thunder in her breast. When she risked a glance at his face, his heavy-lidded gaze captured hers, making her think of sweat-sheened limbs tangled in cool silk sheets.

      Time seemed to slow as he guided her around the floor. Caught in the seductive web of his gaze, surrounded by the music, it seemed as if her feet never touched the floor. She wasn’t aware of anything else, anyone else, only Rane, his strong arms holding her close, his breath fanning her cheek, his voice whispering in her ear. As the music ended, she glanced up at him. What had he said to her? She recalled the husky timbre of his voice, the way it had made her insides melt like ice cream on a hot summer day, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember a single word he had said other than her name.

      He held her chair for her when they returned to their table. Resuming his seat across from hers, he sipped his wine.

      Savanah shook her head to clear it. Feeling as though she had just awakened from some kind of enchanted sleep, she picked up her own glass and took a long drink.

      “So,” he remarked, setting his glass aside, “aren’t you getting tired of watching my act?”

      “No, never.” Being a shape-shifter explained how he transformed so easily into a wolf, but it didn’t explain how he disappeared from sight, or levitated people and objects off the ground, or did a dozen other seemingly impossible things. “Besides, I’m still hoping to get that story.”

      “There is no story. I’m just a magician who’s good at what he does.”

      “Well, that’s not quite all there is to it.”

      “True, but you can’t print that part.”

      “I know.” She couldn’t help thinking it was a shame, though. A story about a shape-shifting magician didn’t come along every day. In spite of his assurances to the contrary, her instincts told her he was hiding something else, though she had no idea what it might be.

      Later, they danced again, but there was nothing out of the ordinary this time. She was thrilled to be in Rane’s arms, but she was aware of the other couples around them, of the waiters moving on the fringes of the dance floor, of the jealous gaze of the brunette at the bar.

      Returning to their table Rane ordered another round of drinks. They danced a few more times, and then Rane drove her home.

      He walked her to her door, then drew her into his arms. “I had a good time tonight.”

      “Me, too,” Savanah said with a smile. She was tempted to ask him if anything unusual had happened during their first dance, but she was too embarrassed to mention her temporary lapse, or the fact that she couldn’t remember a thing he had said to her.

      He caressed her cheek, his fingertips trailing fire as they slid over her skin, and down the curve of her throat. She shivered with pleasure when he bent down to kiss the sensitive place behind her ear, felt her eyes widen as an image of Rane bending over her neck, his lips pulled back to reveal his teeth, burst into her mind.

      Startled, she drew back.

      “Something wrong?” he asked.

      “Yes…no…I mean…” She shook her head, confused.

      “It bothers you, my being a shape-shifter?”

      “Isn’t that just another word for Werewolf? I mean, you change into a wolf. Doesn’t that make you a Werewolf?”

      “Would it bother you if I was?”

      “Well, a little.” There had been a time when everyone believed that Vampires and Werewolves were just creatures of myth and legend, but then the Werewolves and the Vampires had gone to war, leaving no doubt of their existence, or their danger to the human race. For the most part, the shape-shifters had remained neutral.

      “Does that mean I won’t be seeing you again?” he asked.

      “I didn’t say that.”

      “I’m not a Werewolf, Savanah. I swear it on the life of my mother. Does that make you feel better?”

      “I guess so.” As far as she knew, the shape-shifters were peaceful creatures, preferring to live in small communities of their own kind.

      “So, does that mean you’ll go out with me tomorrow night?” he asked. “We could take in a late movie after my last show.”

      She hesitated a moment, then said, “I’d like that.”

      But later, in bed, with the covers pulled up to her chin, the image of Rane bending over her crept into her mind again. She saw him clearly. His dark eyes. His sensuous mouth. His very sharp teeth. If he was the wolf, did that make her Little Red Riding Hood?

      Rane stood in the shadows outside Savanah’s house, his gaze fixed on a second-story window. He guessed it was her bedroom, since it was the only room showing a light.

      Standing there, he closed his eyes, his mind expanding until he felt her thoughts brush his. She was troubled by what had happened on the dance floor, as well she should be. Unable to resist her, he had woven a preternatural spell around her, and then taken a small taste of her life’s blood. She was as sweet as he remembered. Her blood had intoxicated him, burning through him like gentle fire. Like an addict, he craved one more fix even though he knew one would never be enough. Even now, it was all he could think of.

      He licked his lips as he recalled the taste of her blood, warm and salty, on his tongue. Did he dare take more tonight? A single thought could carry him quickly to her side. He could take what he wanted, what he craved, and wipe the memory from her mind, as he had done earlier that night….

      Muttering an oath, he drew in a deep breath. Patience, he chided. He must