Sleight of Hand [NOOK Book]

Read an Excerpt

"Look at me." No one could issue a demand like Stryker.

She steeled herself as she turned and saw his face. The tenderness there--softening the arrogant, regal features, the way his eyes burned for her, the sweet upturn of lips--it pulled at her, and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch his hair.

"Please don't hold yourself from me. I can't bear to see you so distant. We can work this out. Starting tonight. There are only a few hours before sunrise, so let's get cracking." He raised a brow. "I'm hungry."

Against her better judgment, she laughed. Damn the man, he was utterly charming. "I've got to make this deposit. You'll have to come with me to the house. You won't be able to get in without me."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Why? You think Dominic would take your side over mine?" His snort of disbelief brought an echo as she arched her eyebrow in his direction.

"No. But I revoked your invitation."

"You did?" he asked, hurt on his face.

"Yes, Stryker. You're the one who started this whole thing! Why shouldn't I have revoked your invitation? Just a few hours ago I never wanted to see you again, damn it!"

Even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. Knew she'd revoked his invitation to keep him out of her bed because if he'd come to her while she was drowsy, she never would have been able to resist her desire and love for him. She shoved a hand through her hair and made a loose knot that she quickly secured. "Oh, never mind. In any case, you need me to get in my house."

He gave her a look that meant he'd be taking up all of those issues later. "And to get to your house, as well. I caught a ride with Nick."

"God,you're so Machiavellian, it scares me sometimes. Come on, then. It is always nice to have superhuman back up to take so much money to the bank."

He grabbed her hand and wouldn't let her pull away as they walked to her car.

Admittedly, she did take delight in driving just a bit more recklessly when he was in the car with her. Served the smug bastard right! Anyway, she needed to concentrate on driving instead of thinking about him. About being in love with a man who was basically a playboy with fangs. The last thing she wanted to think about was the fact that he'd never even told her he loved her. Plus, the comfort of scaring the crap out of him was an added bonus.

"Must you drive like you believe you're in a NASCAR™ race?"

"You're going to damage my door by ripping the leather! Let go. You're gripping it too tight. Wuss. And why do you have to talk that way? Like you're in a book and born a century ago instead of in the early 1960s?"

He snorted but refused to take the bait. "You don't need this little car anyway, Lissie. Why not let me buy you a nice, big, safe SUV? Hmm? This tiny thing is a death trap, and humans are so fragile."

She held back a grin at his worry over her safety, but she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster at his concern. "Can an SUV go from zero to sixty in 0.4 seconds? I think not. Plus, this car is hot and sexy. It gets me major action." She knew she was playing with fire but it was irresistible. It was a good way to keep her distance. And anyway, she was annoyed with him, and he was too fun to antagonize.

"Lissie, if you get any so called action from anyone but me, I'm afraid I'd be most upset. You're hot and sexy enough as it is. The last thing you need is something to add to your allure. You don't know what it does to me to watch other men want you. I don't share. Not now, not ever. Because, Lissette Norris, you are my woman."

The giddy female that lived inside her jumped up and down, squealing at the words but, the other woman, the one who lived in her head, scowled. It made that woman nervous, vulnerable. His woman indeed! Oh, okay, so she liked hearing him say it. She was in love with the pig.

"Hmpf." She had to content herself with that because she didn't have anything else that wasn't embarrassing or a total lie.

The bank run was quick, and she wasn't lying when she said she felt better when he was with her. Superhuman back-up was a big bonus to having a vampire for a boyfriend. Well, there were other bonuses, too. Heh.

"What are you laughing about?" he asked as they pulled into her driveway.

Like she was going to tell him and inflate his ego one bit more. "Nothing. Just thought of something funny. Come on, I need to re-invite you." She approached the front door, tamping down the urge to laugh at his grumbling over her revoking his ability to come into her house at will.

Walking inside she turned back to face him. She did wait an extra two or three seconds to tease him and finally uttered the words, "Xander Stryker, please enter my home."

Walking in through the door with a glare at her, he growled. "I can't believe you did that."

She held her tongue until they were safely inside her bedroom. Once she'd closed the door, she turned to him with a glare of her own. "I can't believe you didn't have enough respect or feeling for me to come to me in person and ask if Alex could stay. And then you sent me flowers? Instead of coming over here to apologize in person?" Her voice threatened to break.

"I do respect you, Lissie. I sent Henry because I had a huge amount of work to do last night, and it needed to happen before Alex got to town. Christ, you know the tribe doesn't run itself. I had to deal with the new properties we've just acquired and signing off on payroll. And I didn't come over last night because I knew how angry you were, and I wanted to give you a bit of space. Didn't you like the flowers?"

The look on her face was sour. "What? You think this can be fixed by some pretty posies? You think you can just buy me off? You only came today because of Alex!"