Heat . Amy Blankenship

there… right now it’s full of fear, mistrust, and longing. I hope you haven’t changed so much that you can’t see the good within him.”

      He knew Kriss had never maliciously hunted hybrids down and destroyed them without a very good reason. Kriss had been one of the last fallen to be sent here, long after the demon wars had ended… banished to this world just to get rid of some of the male population. Kriss didn’t know it, but Dean was so much older than that.

      Dean had been one of the leaders of the rebellion that ended the demon war… even sending some of the pure bloods into the underworld for their senseless massacre of hybrids that were not demonic. Some things were a sin… no matter how you looked at it.

      Kriss had a flashback of wanting to kill Kane only to find a tattered but strangely pure soul staring back at him. He’d never encountered such an oddity. If Kane had been human or demon with that much damage done to his soul… he would have been pure evil. He should have been pure evil. It made him wonder if Dean was right… that maybe he’d lost his ability to play judge and jury.

      Living among the humans for so long had taught him that even the best intentions always had a shady side of gray. He’d decided a long time ago that death was only for the truest form of evil and to let the rest work itself out.

      “How long do you intend to stalk him?” Kriss asked curiously.

      “Until he sees that I’m not a threat,” Dean answered cryptically.

      Kriss tilted his head and looked at Dean, noticing several bullet holes in his clothing. “What in the hell have you been doing? You smell like smoke and those aren’t moth holes in your clothes.”

      “Let me ask you something,” Dean didn’t look at Kriss, “Are you really here for me? Or do you just need a distraction because you’re avoiding your feelings for Tabatha?”

      Kriss reached out, snagging Dean’s arm and spinning him around so that they were facing each other. “Why is it always a fight with you?” he demanded.

      Dean jerked his arm out of Kriss’s grip, “Maybe it’s because I can see into your soul where you are blind.”

      Kriss looked away and when he glanced back Dean was gone.

      *****

      Kane quietly opened Tabatha’s bedroom window and ducked inside. He’d been watching her through the windows but feeling her unrest hadn’t set well with him and the fact that he couldn’t read her thoughts was driving him crazy. All he could hear were almost silent whispers coming from her mind.

      He glanced up at the ceiling wondering whose bright idea it was to make her the only one he couldn’t eavesdrop on when she was the only one he really wanted to hear. Kane kept the darkness pulled around him as he leaned against the frame of the open bedroom door and watched her move from the sofa to the entertainment center.

      Tabatha turned the radio down. She’d thought the background noise would help to make the apartment not feel so empty but it was only annoying her. She missed her roommate.

      Kriss had disappeared for weeks at a time in the past and she knew he could take care of himself, but it had never stopped her from worrying. That demon, her skin crawled at the memory, she’d been able to trap Dean even if it had only been for a couple hours. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that there were things out there that could hurt Kriss.

      She again ran her fingers over her shoulder and down her chest where she’d been wounded, feeling nothing but soft unblemished skin. She thought she’d been so slick making Kane think she was under his thrall… the joke had been on her. Still, he’d told her not to remember seeing Misery… yet she did remember. Slowly raising the same fingers, she touched her lips wishing she could remember exactly what Kane had done to her.

      Maybe she’d been under his thrall the whole time but for some reason only remembered part of it. He’d said that he’d been watching over her… following her. Tabatha felt the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and the room seemed to shrink.

      Removing her fingers from her lips she whispered, “Kane, are you here?”

      Kane gripped the door frame to keep from moving toward her but no power on earth could keep him from answering, “Yes.”

      His voice was haunted, making Tabatha spin around searching for him. She was caught between disappointment and fear when she didn’t see him standing right behind her. “Am I so wicked that you have to hide from me?” her breathing was coming a little faster and she silently wondered if this was the equivalent of playing with fire.

      Kane let the darkness disperse from around him and watched as her gaze landed on him. “Maybe I am the wicked one.”

      Tabatha swallowed. He did look slightly wicked silhouetted in her bedroom doorway… she’d admit that. “Maybe you wouldn’t feel so wicked if you had knocked on the front door,” she offered, wondering just how long he’d been inside her apartment. Feeling a slight weakness in her knees, she turned and forced herself to calmly walk to the sofa and sit down.

      “Would you have invited me in?” Kane asked curiously as he moved into the room. He noticed the way she turned around and pulled her feet up onto the sofa, tucking them close to her as she leaned back against the pillowed armrest.

      “I’m not sure,” Tabatha answered. “Is this the first time you’ve been here?”

      “No,” Kane didn’t bother lying to her. Why lie when he could just make her forget he’d even been here?

      “Then I am inviting you in. Have a seat,” she pointed toward the other in of the sofa. If he was here to hurt her, then he’d already have done it… right? She watched the way he kept his movements slow as he did as she asked. It was a lie… she’d seen the speed at which he moved when he wanted to. He was being careful not to frighten her and that made her even more nervous.

      Kane cocked an eyebrow, “Is this how you treat all of your stalkers?” he asked in all seriousness. “Invite them in for tea and crumpets?”

      Tabatha shook her head, “I don’t drink tea and I hate crumpets. A cup of coffee and a bagel will do just fine.”

      Kane smiled wanly at her. “How do you know I won’t hurt you?”

      “If you were going to hurt me, you would have by now,” Tabatha answered, voicing the thought she’d had just moments before. On second thought she quickly added, “Despite the fact that I tend to get injured whenever you’re in the same vicinity.”

      Kane inwardly winced at that and finally took the place she’d indicated at the other end of the sofa, turning to face her and leaning against the opposite armrest. He brought his right leg up, bending it at the knee and sat in a half Indian style with one arm folded over his stomach.

      “So tell me love, why did you invite me in?” Kane asked.

      “Why are you here?” Tabatha sidestepped the question.

      Kane smirked, “You do know that it’s bad manners to answer a question with a question.”

      Tabatha was momentarily taken aback by the way the smirk changed the contours of his face slightly, making him appear just as dangerous and seductive as she believed him to be.

      “That may be true,” Tabatha said thoughtfully. “But I’m the one you’ve been following and I want to know why.”

      Kane shrugged, “Because I want to.”

      Tabatha glared at him, “Because you want to?”

      Kane tilted his head to the side. “Why does a vampire do anything?”

      Tabatha opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again not able to articulate an answer.

      “Because they want to,” Kane answered for her.

      Tabatha sighed, “Look, if you don’t want to tell me the truth then I can’t make you.