After texting the other Dark-Hunters in New Orleans about what was going on, Sam spent the next eight hours on patrol while keeping in touch intermittently with Chi. Neither of them found anything unusual. Not a single Daimon seemed to be out tonight. The only predators on the street were human and while Sam had chased the ones away she found, they weren’t the biggest threat in the world.

They just thought they were.

How she’d like to feed them to some of the things she’d killed over the centuries. Let them see what badass really looked like. They had no idea how insignificant and weak they really were. A dose of reality might serve them well.

Her phone buzzed. Looking down, she saw it was Chi. She flipped it open and answered.

Chi let out a long sigh. “Still bust. I’m heading back to my house to rest my feet and grab a bite. I’ll catch you later.”

“All right,” Sam said into her phone while she glanced back at the evil moon. A shiver ran down her spine. “See you tomorrow night. Sleep tight and don’t let the Daimons bite.” She hung up the phone and checked the time.

3 AM. Almost three hours until dawn. On the one hand, Chi was right and they were wasting their time out on the street. On the other...

She just couldn’t let it go.

Something was here and she wanted to grab it by the throat and beat it into the ground. The only clue to what it might be had come from Dev.

Deciding to question the bear again, Sam headed back to Sanctuary.

It didn’t take long to reach the red brick building where the Sanctuary sign- a dark hill silhouetted by a full moon with a motorcycle parked on it- hung over the doors. A couple of drunk human men staggered out and got into a cab while laughing and joking with each other.

She paused in the shadows to watch Dev leaning against the wall, ignoring them. He had a jacket on with his arms crossed over his chest. A casual observer might think he was catnapping on the job. But Sam recognized that his eyes were at half mast. Still open. Still alert. He was aware of everything around him and while he seemed to be in repose, he was tight and ready to spring into action in a single heartbeat.

Impressive. The warrior in her could appreciate how hard it was to look that relaxed while keeping all senses sharp. But it wasn’t just that, that impressed her. There was an undeniable aura of power that clung to him. One that told everyone who came into contact with him that he was lethal when crossed. All of his humor aside, Dev was a predator to the core of his soul.

And a nasty one at that. He was the kind who could kill and feel no remorse.

A muscle flexed in his sculpted jaw making her wonder if he was hiding a yawn. More than that, the sight of that working muscle sent a shiver of heat through her. She didn’t know why he was so irresistible, yet something in her wanted to walk up to him and rub against that long hard body.

If only she could.

There had been times in the past when the loneliness had gotten to her. Times when it outweighed her common sense and she’d given in to that need for companionship... oh who was she fooling? Companionship she could do without. It was the raw, animal sex she’d craved.

That was what she really missed.

But each time had been a brutal mistake. Being that close to another person overwhelmed her with their emotions, insecurities and memories. She saw things from them that she didn’t want to see. Old girlfriends and wives, low self-esteem, narcissistic egos, sick fantasies...

Sex never worked out when you could see straight into someone’s thoughts and hear them.

Even worse, she didn’t like lying to get laid or having to hide her fangs and other nocturnal habits. That was the real reason she’d slept with Ethon. He’d known who and what she was and honestly, it’d been nice to be completely open and honest with a lover.

If only his ego hadn’t taken up half the room...

Not to mention the other things she’d seen. Things that haunted her to this day. Poor Spartan. No one deserved his past. No wonder even as a Dark-Hunter, he was hellbent on suicide. As a human he’d loved in a way few people could and in a way no one who knew him now would ever suspect.

How she ached for him.

But the Bear wasn’t Ethon. And she wasn’t here to find a bedmate. She was here for information...

Dev felt the hair at the back of his neck lift. Someone was watching him. He could feel it with every animal instinct he possessed. Even though he wanted to go find them, he forced himself to remain perfectly still. Let them think he was completely unaware. If they decided to attack, they’d get the business end of his claws.

At least that was his thought until he caught a scent in the air that made him instantly rock hard.

Samia Savage.

Gah, what was wrong with him that the mere scent of her skin could raise his blood pressure? Probably the fact that she was off limits to him. The lure of the forbidden fruit. It’d ruined many a man and even more bears.

“I see you, Dark-Hunter.” It was a lie. He had no clue where she was, but to say that he smelled her might offend her. Women could be weird that way.

“I see you too, Bear. Hard to miss since you’re standing under a light.”

She was to his left. Straightening, he pushed himself away from the wall as she walked slowly toward him. Damn if she wasn’t the sexiest thing he’d seen in a long time. The way she moved...

It was criminal.

She had her jacket back on as well as a pair of opaque sunglasses. Even so, he remembered how pretty her eyes had been and it made him wonder what their real color was. All Dark-Hunters had dark brown eyes. No matter what eye color they’d been born with, the moment they were brought back to life, in addition to being extremely light sensitive, their eyes were so dark as to be almost black. If they ever were lucky enough to get their souls back from Artemis, their eye color would revert to the human color and they’d become mortal again.

For some reason, he had an image of Sam with bright green eyes.

You’re being so stupid.

Yeah, he was. He’d never been the romantic kind of guy. It went with that whole half animal thing. Romance was for men who had to beg for women. Something that had never been his problem. Part of the blessing, or curse depending on your viewpoint, of being a shapeshifter was a deep magnetism that caused humans to seek them out and want to pet them. That allure definitely came in handy.

“I thought you’d be home by now,” he said as she neared him. Then he realized how stupid that comment was since he was standing right in front of her motorcycle.

Der... He might as well be wearing a sign that said I’m a moron. Please help me remember where I live.

In my defense it’s late and all the blood has fled from my brain to the central part of my body.

She didn’t comment on his blatant stupidity as she stopped just in front of him and gave him a tightlipped smile. Those sunglasses kept her eyes shielded from him, but he could sense her gaze on his body like a physical touch and it made him ache for her to brush her hand against his flesh. “I wanted to ask you more questions about your hallucination.”

“Please tell me it’s the one I have where you mistake my body for a popsicle.”

She let out a short laugh. “Where did that come from?”

Easy. The image he had in his head right now of her naked in his bed. “A bear can dream, can’t he?”

“A bear can dream. But those dreams can also get him skinned.”

“Will you be naked when you skin me?”

She shook her head. “Does everything come back to being naked?”

“Not everything. Just when a beautiful woman’s involved and only if I’m really lucky... any chance I might get lucky tonight?”

She let out a short heh sound. “You sure you’re a bear and not a horn dog?”

He laughed. “Believe it or not, I’m not usually quite this bad.”

“Why don’t I believe you when you tell me that?”

“Probably because I’ve been really bad tonight.” He winked at her. “I’ll stop. You said you have a question that unfortunately does not involve nudity?”

Sam had to force herself to keep a straight face while he continued to tease her. Don’t let your guard down. Men like Dev only wanted a woman for a few hours and then they were done with her.

No matter how cute he was, he was not her type and she was definitely not interested in learning the inner haunts of his mind.

“That Daimon you think you saw... did he say anything to you?”

“Not really. Just asked when we’d reopen.”

“You remember what he looked like?”

He gave her a droll stare before he answered in a flat tone. “Blond and tall.”

Sam rolled her eyes at his description. All Daimons, unless they dyed their hair, which was rare, were blond and tall. “Anything else?”

“He had fangs and dark eyes.”

Like every Daimon she’d ever seen. “You’re really not helpful... would you mind if I touched you?”

His right eyebrow shot north before that familiar teasing light came into his blue eyes. “Touch me where?”

“Stop being a perv for three seconds. I just want to see what you saw that day.”

He stepped away from her. “I’m not going to let you into my mind, girl. You might steal my passwords or something.”

“I don’t want your passwords.”

“Uh-huh.” The doubtful expression on his face was actually adorable. “That’s what they all say, then the next thing you know they’re in your bank accounts, stealing money and using your Facebook account to sporn others and getting you banned for life. No thanks.”

“Sporn?”

“Porn spam. Don’t get that innocent look like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I know all about you and your Amazon buddies... I’ve heard the stories. Seen the news and all that. I’m not letting you near my brain such that it is. Last thing I want to do is forget what Ms. February looks like in all her glory.”

Sam wanted to be angry at his ridiculous outburst, but he was too funny about it. “Stop being a baby and give me your hand.”

He took another step away from her. “No.”

“You’re serious?”

“Of course I am. I don’t want you in my head. Last time a woman read my thoughts, I got bitch-slapped so hard, my ears are still ringing from it. And as a guard bear, I need my hearing intact. Could be fatal to lose it.”

“I’m going to bitch-slap you again if you don’t stop being a baby.”

He growled like a caged grizzly. Impressive sound. But she’d once worn shoes made out of the hides of tougher animals than him and that had been before she’d had her Dark-Hunter powers to back her skills.

“I’m not intimidated.”

“You should be. Cause that’s the only warning I plan to give.” Dev really didn’t want to do this. He’d never been one to let anyone see inside him. It was intrusive and rude. “I can’t stress enough how much I don’t want you in my mind.”

“What’s in there that you’re so afraid of sharing?”

“My dirty underwear.”

She scoffed as she tried to touch him. “I don’t want that. C’mon, Dev.”

He shied away again. “C’mon Dev nothing. My thoughts are my own and I don’t see you letting me mind meld you.”

She kept trying to touch him, but he was really quick and darted just out of her grasp every time. “That’s cause I have nothing to show you that’s important to you. I just want to see what the Daimon looked like. That’s the only thing I’ll take. I promise.”

“Yeah, right. Can you honestly control your powers that well?”

She blushed.

“Ah see, I knew it. You’re going to go digging in there and I’m going to forget how to do origami or something. Or worse, I’ll start peeing in corners and burping at inappropriate times.”

“Like you don’t do that anyway.”

“Are you stereotyping me?” His tone was highly offended. “Lady, you don’t know me well enough to make that comment and for the record, I have a lot of unbearish habits. I even drink tea in a crappy pink flowered cup. Have I said how much my sister annoys me?”

She ignored his tirade as she brought him back on task. “It won’t hurt.”

“Yeah and the flashy thing is just an eye test.”

What in the world was he talking about now? “The what?”

“Flashy thing? Haven’t you ever seen Will Smith in Men in Black?”

“Uh... No.”

He sighed. “You’re so deprived.”

“And you’re so peculiar. Is there anyone else who saw the Daimon who isn’t afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid of the brain damage you’re going to give me. No offense, but I need my last three working brain cells.”

“I’ve never given anyone brain damage by doing this.”

“Uh-huh.” He wrinkled his nose. “That you know of. Have you done CAT scans on everyone you’ve done this with? No. Do you know whether or not you took out their long term or short term memory portions of the brain?”

No, but that really wasn’t an issue. She wasn’t going to radiate him or anything. “Paranoid much?”

“Absolutely. You watch this door for a couple hundred years and see some the shit that comes through here. You’d be paranoid too. I don’t want no mojo hocus pocus stirring in my head. If I want to play head games, I’ll download soduku on my iPhone.”