First Drop of Crimson

the room silently, shutting the door behind them.

Spade set the containers of tuna and cream on the floor and then opened the door of the carrier.

A blur of fur burst free with a yowl, running around the perimeter of the room in a mad dash before darting under the bed. Spade felt his heart sink at the distinctly feline response. Was there nothing of Denise left in the animal hiding beneath the bed?

“Just wait,” Nathanial said.

After a tense couple of minutes, a mahogany-colored head slid out from under the bed. Hissing at the room in general, the cat came out all the way and went straight to the tuna dish, devouring the smelly banquet. Then the kitty lapped at the bowl of cream until its dark sides began to swell.

“Get her now,” Nathanial instructed.

Spade snatched up the cat before it could dart back under the bed. Immediately tiny claws scored his hands, but he ignored that, looking at the bundle of fur with a mix of hope and despair. Could Denise really come back from this? She said she’d seen Raum transform into a dog and back without any ill effects, but he was a demon, and she was still—mostly—human.

At least, she used to be.

“Don’t let her loose. Get her as comfortable as possible, and start petting her.”

Crispin muttered something Spade didn’t want to decipher. With a clenched jaw, he settled himself on the bed with the now-growling kitty, holding it in place with one hand and stroking its fur with the other.

Four sets of rapt eyes watched his every move. After a minute, Spade was tense enough to growl along with the cat.

“Give me the room,” he said.

Crispin took Nathanial’s arm. “Come with me, mate. I’ll show you to your accommodations,” he said before drawing him away.

Spade almost smiled at that, imagining where Crispin would put him. The rest of them filed out, Cat shutting the door with a pensive last look at them.

The kitty continued to growl in that low, extended manner, punctuated every so often by a hiss and a twist to get free. Spade loosened his grip to where the cat could wiggle, but not escape, still stroking those dark brown ears.

“Denise,” he said low. “If you can hear me, I very much need to you come back. Don’t resign me to the fate of being one of those crusty old vampires who only live with their pets.”

I’m talking to a bloomin’ kitty, it occurred to him. He might as well dig a hole and cover himself up with his grave dirt now.

But he didn’t stop, because he needed to believe Denise understood what he was saying, even if that wasn’t true.

“Come now, darling, I can think of far better ways to spend time in bed with you than this,” he continued in a low voice. “You make a right fetching feline, but really, there are limits to the things I’m willing to try.”

The cat stopped growling, though its tail kept up its restless twitching. Spade didn’t know if that was a positive sign, but he kept talking.

“We have everything we need to move forward, darling, except you. Come back, Denise. We’ll return Nathanial to Raum, get those brands off your arms, and continue on with our lives. Do you know the first thing I want to do, when you have your brands off?”

A softer noise began to emanate from the cat. After a second, Spade realized it was purring.

“I’ll take you somewhere very posh,” he went on. “I can picture the dress you’ll wear: black silk, thin straps, deep neckline—and no gloves. You’ll have a wonderful dinner, and then we’ll dance until you’re knackered…but not too knackered, because when we get home, I’m going to make love to you. I’ll go slow, taking my time over every inch of your flesh, until your voice turns into that delicious, throaty sound that inflames me. And then, afterward, I’ll hold you until you fall asleep…”

A strong current rippled over the kitty’s body. Spade quit talking, watching in amazement as the bundle beneath his hands grew. Another rippling shudder, then another, and another. Skin seemed to erupt from the cat’s form, stretching, growing, and widening in a cataclysm of limbs, flesh, and bone that happened almost faster than his eyes could track. In the space of a few incredible seconds, a woman’s naked body replaced the cat curled across his lap, her hair a dark veil across her face.

Spade didn’t move, afraid his slightest gesture would cause her to magically disappear again.

“Denise.”

A shaking hand brushed her hair back, and then Denise’s lovely hazel gaze met his.

“Spade,” she said, her voice scratchy and rough.

Then she jumped off the bed, staggered, and ran into the bathroom.

Chapter Twenty-nine

“Denise, honey, are you okay? Please let me in,” Cat urged.

Denise stayed on the floor, pressed as far into the corner as she could manage, and only answered because she knew if she didn’t, Cat would break in.

“I’m fine,” she gritted out. “I just want to be alone for a while.”

She’d repeated the same phrase to Spade twenty minutes ago, after she’d finished shaking and running her hands all over her body to verify that, yes, she was indeed completely back to herself. Words couldn’t explain the horrible panic she’d felt while turned into something else, not able to communicate in any manner aside from growls and hisses.

Before, on the boat, she’d had a twinge of guilt about turning Nathanial over to Raum. Now, if the demon were in front of her, she’d thrust Nathanial into Raum’s arms without the slightest hesitation. Not to save her family, or because Nathanial had made a bargain, or out of gratitude for what Spade had gone through to get him. No, she’d do it so she’d never have to worry about her body becoming a foreign prison again.

“Denise.” Spade’s voice, rich and deep. “Open the door.”

No way. He’d seen her as an animal. Her new lover had carted her around in a pet carrier, for crying out loud! What the hell was she supposed to say to him after that?

Even now, the memory of being trapped in that tiny container made her break out into a sweat. She’d always hated small, tight spaces. Being shoved into one while knowing she wasn’t even human at the time had almost snapped her sanity completely.

She just had to look at Cat and get a bright idea to change into her namesake. Why couldn’t she have thought about something else small and harmless? Something human?

Denise’s stomach clenched and she burped, the taste of tuna following. That’s right, she’d eaten out of a bowl on the floor because just half an hour ago, she’d been an animal. Bile rose in her throat with merciless swiftness. She scrambled to the toilet, making it just in time and retching until her throat burned.

A hard, cracking noise jerked her head up. Spade came into the bathroom, the door handle hanging off its perch. Denise yanked a towel over herself, her shame deepening. First Spade saw her eating from a bowl as an animal, now he saw her crouched naked over a toilet hurling her guts out.

“Please get out,” she moaned.

He knelt next to her. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”

An almost hysterical laugh escaped her. “What’s wrong? Are you serious?”

Cool hands slid across her arms. Denise flinched back, but the wall behind her prevented her from avoiding his touch.

“Don’t,” she said sharply.

One glance had shown that Spade was his usual handsome, impeccable self, wearing pressed pants and crisp shirt, his scent a heady, natural cologne. In contrast, here she was, wearing only a towel, sweat-covered, and stinking like tuna vomit.

Denise began to struggle when Spade pulled her into his arms, but it was just as futile as her attempts to