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When he looked up, she was eyeing him warily. “You don’t have to fear me.”
“I think I do.” Her finger shifted, covering the panic button. Luke stiffened, waiting, knowing he should leave, should run. But he stayed, subjugated to her will, his life in her hands.
Slowly, she moved her finger away.
Slowly, he relaxed.
“What are you doing here?” she asked again. “You’re in jail. In that cracker box they call a cell.”
“I’m here to talk to you.”
“To talk to me?” Her voice rose with incredulity. “About what? The weather? No, wait. Maybe we can talk about local bars. Bars where badass vampires go to pick up prosecutors. Seems to me that would make one hell of a conversation opener.” She snapped off her words, as if embarrassed that she’d shown her hand.
“No,” he said, determined that she know the truth. “There was no ulterior motive between us. I wanted you. Hungered for you even as I do now. I took only what you were willing to give.”
Guilt washed over him, because though his intentions that night had been innocent, now they were anything but.
“Don’t,” she said, shaking her head, her eyes sad. “Don’t come here with sweet words and try to twist me up in knots. It won’t work.”
“Do you want me to go?” The words were out before he had considered them, and he froze, waiting for and fearing her answer.
“How did you even get here?” she asked, and he relaxed ever so slightly and took a single step toward her even as he reached up and opened his shirt, revealing the detention device.
“Advocate-escorted furlough,” he said. “And this band ensures that I do not run. I did not break out of jail, Sara, but I did abandon my escort.”
She licked her lips, a simple motion he found unbelievably sensual. “Why?”
“To see you.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“And yet who would have comforted you had I not come?” He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, the tulip still in his hand, and felt a flood of relief when she didn’t protest. “What were you dreaming?”
She met his eyes, hers defiant, yet still wary. “Of monsters.”
“What kind of monsters fill your dreams, Sara?” He would slay them if he could. Kill the monsters and free her from the horrors of the night.
“Vampires,” she snapped. “What do you think, Luke?”
The words were like a blow, and he inclined his head. “Yes. Of course.”
She closed her eyes, sighing, then whispered, “Dammit.” He tilted his head, his nostrils flaring, and was relieved to find that the scent of fear was fading.
“Sara?”
“It was a vampire in my dream. The one that killed my father. But that wasn’t—” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m not afraid of you, though I probably should be. You didn’t trigger my dream. Stemmons did.”
“Stemmons?”
“He escaped,” she said, and a wave of fury crashed through him. “More than that, he had help. The kind of help that walks at night and sucks blood—maybe you’re familiar with the breed? And now he’s gone and by now he probably has the next girl picked out. And it’s pissing me off,” she said, voice rising and tears welling. “Really pissing me off that I did everything right. Everything. And still he’s free. He’s evil, and he’s out there, and he’s going to kill again.”
She pressed her fingers to her cheeks and wiped away tears.
Luke tensed. “Are you in danger?” It was a foolish question. No matter how she answered, he would consider her in need of protection until Stemmons was caught.
“I’m okay,” she said. She still held the security box with one hand, but with her other, she reached out, as if to take his, before she quickly jerked it back. Even so, the brief movement eased him. Her actions did not match her words, and for that reason he was still in the room. Still basking in the pleasure of simply being near her.
“I almost wish I were in danger,” she added, the sentiment making him grow cold. “I can defend myself against the things that creep in the night. But the victims, the girls, they don’t know what he is.”
