She dragged her arm from Michael's and punched him in the shoulder. 'Stop—' He turned, and she took an abrupt step backward. Just for an instant his eyes held a darkness that burned her soul.
Then he blinked, and his gaze became guarded, wary. 'Stop what?'
She took a deep breath. 'Release the waiter. I… I don't like the meals here anyway.'
He hesitated, then nodded. Power whispered around her, then the waiter cleared his throat and gave them another smile.
'I'm afraid the chef has already gone home for the night. I'm sorry, but we can't help you.'
She spun and made a quick exit. The cold night air touched her fevered skin but wasn't responsible for the tremors running down her spine. Michael had controlled the waiter's mind too easily—as if it were something he did every day.
She stopped several houses down from the restaurant and took a deep breath. What kind of man so casually possessed the mind of another and then forced them to do as he asked? A man like Tommy, she thought, rubbing her arms. A man who just didn't care.
The back of her neck tingled with sudden awareness. Michael had stopped just behind her.
'I'm sorry,' he said softly.
His breath brushed warmth across the back of her neck. She tensed, but made no move to turn around.
'Why did you do it?'
'It's easier than arguing.'
An honest enough answer. And so very similar to the excuses Tommy had used. 'Could you control me as easily?'
He moved past her, his arm brushing against hers. Heat trembled across her skin. She rubbed the spot were their flesh had touched and watched him warily. His face was still, expressionless, but she sensed the turmoil beneath the calm exterior.
'I do not know,' he said. 'I hope I never have to try.'
Tommy had tried, and sometimes succeeded.
The clock on the Town Hall tower down the road bonged into the silence. She counted the tones.
Midnight, the hour when all things dark and dangerous came out of hiding.
Things like Michael, maybe. She met his gaze again, the uneven pounding of her heart abnormally loud in the growing silence.
'If you ever do try—' 'You would never know,' he said quietly. 'As the waiter never knew.'
She clenched her fists in impotent fury. The ease with which he'd taken the waiters' thoughts made it clear his abilities were very strong. Where Tommy had haunted her dreams, and Jasper relied on traps to snare her mind, Michael would merely walk in and take. She could so easily become a puppet to his will.
He swore softly and grabbed her arm, shaking her lightly. 'I would never do such a thing to you.'
Yet he wasn't averse to reading her mind. She wrenched free of his grip. 'Unless you had no other choice.'
She could see the truth of her statement reflected in his eyes.
'I have made a promise to keep you safe,' he said softly. 'Though I am a man of my word, I will not stay where I am not wanted. Do you still wish me to accompany you home?'
She opened her mouth to say no, then hesitated. Intuition whispered the warning not to let this man go.
She needed the protection he offered, yet she couldn't ignore the darkness she sensed was so much a part of him.
Evil far worse waited somewhere in the night.
She shifted her stance and crossed her arms. 'If you are a man of your word, will you make me a promise?'
'What do you wish?' His reply was as guarded as his expression.
'Will you vow never to try to take control of my mind or make me do anything against my will?'
Something in his stillness spoke of sudden anger. 'If you trust me so little,' he said, 'then yes, I so vow.'
There was a sudden distancing between them, though neither of them had moved. It could only be for the best, she told herself firmly. They were still strangers. Until she knew more about him, more about the subtle yet terrifying shifts in his nature, she had to keep distance between them. It was just possible her hero was no true hero after all.
Michael walked quietly beside Nikki, all too aware of the tension and confusion churning her thoughts.
He felt the same damn way.
Perhaps something within her recognized the darkness in him. Maybe that was why she now wore the small silver cross at her neck. Why she refused to trust him.
But why was her trust suddenly so important? He was here only to find Jasper, nothing more. She was his best, and quickest, means of doing so. Trust surely played no part in any of it.
The shadows moved on the other side of the street. Michael glanced across. Only a young couple, strolling hand in hand on their way home. He looked away, studying the street ahead, unsettled by a sudden surge of envy. Just for an instant, he had shared such intimacy, and it had felt good after so many years of loneliness.
Maybe Seline was right. Two days with Nikki, and unwanted wisps of emotion were raising their ugly heads. Something he could well do without, given his job.
He frowned, remembering a whisper he'd caught from her thoughts. Just like Tommy all over again .
Had someone in the past tried controlling her?
It was something he was never likely to attempt, and he'd had years to define and strengthen his gifts.
Even Jasper would never gain full control over her—not alive, at any rate. Her psychic abilities were far too strong to ever be leashed for long.
Yet she was more terrified of Jasper's attempts to control her than of Jasper himself.
Which only made Jasper's task that much easier. He would use her fear against her, use it to beat her into submission, to bend her to his will. Then he would kill her, and she would fully be his.
Damn it, there had to be some way to get her to face the demons of her past, so the demon in her present could not get the upper hand.
And just who in hell had appointed him the keeper of her soul?
He sighed and glanced skyward. He didn't want to get involved with Nikki—not on any level. He just wanted to catch a killer, and she was his best method of finding Jasper quickly. He still had every intention of doing that. Only now, he didn't want to see her hurt in the process.
And when the time came to tell her he was a vampire? Michael glanced at her. When the time came, he'd walk away. He couldn't change what he was, and she could not live with the darkness. Something told him there'd been far too much of it in her life already.
They continued to walk in silence, and the time slipped by. Her pace increased as they drew close to her home. He felt her anxiety to get inside, to be alone.
He stopped outside as before, scanning the dark windows. There was no hint of Jasper or any of his minions within the immediate area. Maybe she'd be safe for the rest of the night. But just to be certain, he'd stand watch across the road. He'd learned to expect the unexpected—even when it came to someone as predictable as Jasper.
She turned, her gaze meeting his. 'Thank you for walking me home.'
She couldn't hide the anger and confusion evident in her amber gaze. He nodded and resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. Hold her.
Something flickered in her eyes, and she stepped quickly away. Michael frowned. Just how strong was the link she'd created? If she could merge with his mind, however briefly, it was more than possible she could read his thoughts. Maybe he didn't have to tell her he was a vampire. Maybe she already knew.
He watched her quick retreat, then turned and made his way across the road.
Dawn's light was less than an hour away when he finally stood. The muted spark of life in Nikki's flat told
