Toni swallowed hard. "That was bad."
"Really bad." Phineas stood as he turned off the TV. "Well, I gotta go to work." He vanished. Toni dashed up the stairs. Carlos would be here any minute now, but she didn't want to leave without making sure Ian was all right. That was part of her job. Sorta.
She reached the fifth floor, gasping for air, and knocked on the door. No answer. She turned the knob, and it opened. That was a good sign. He hadn't locked her out.
She peered inside. The room was dark except for the light emanating from a television. She opened the door wider and spotted Corky Courrant on the TV.
"My friends, I'm sure you're terribly distressed after watching that vicious woman's attempt to strangle me." Corky sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear. "But don't cry for me. I'm going to be all right."
The television switched off in the middle of a fake Corky sob, and Toni spotted Ian sitting in the dark.
She slipped inside the room. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Toni. I doona need a babysitter."
"I'm just here as a...friend." She approached him.
"Ye watched the interview?" He set the remote on the table beside his chair and picked up a bottle of blood. "Of course ye saw it. The entire vampire world saw it."
"I'm so sorry."
"Save yer pity for Vanda. Corky's suing her."
"That's ridiculous! Corky purposely set out to hurt you. She was cruel and vicious." Toni paced in front of him. "Though I have to admit, Vanda went shrieking across that table like a flying monkey."
Ian's dimples showed, and Toni secretly celebrated that she could still make him smile.
"Vanda is a loyal friend," he said. "I'll pay the damages."
"But it wasn't your fault." Toni resumed her pacing. "We could prove Corky was lying. You could get some of the Vamp women you've slept with to come forward and--"
"I have never slept with a Vamp." He took a sip from his bottle.
"Really?" She halted. "So you actually prefer mortal women? Never mind." She began to pace once again. "We'll get one of the mortals you slept with to--" No, that wouldn't work. Mortals wouldn't have been watching DVN.
"Most of them have passed away." Ian took another sip.
"Well, okay. I'll just call that bitch myself and tell her I've slept with you."
A corner of Ian's mouth tilted up. "Ye would lie for me, Toni?"
It wouldn't have to be a lie, the thought sprang to her mind. She winced, wishing she could do a mental rewind. Surely he wasn't doing his vampire telepathy on her. Her cheeks heated up as she slanted a wary glance his way.
He was watching her intently. A flash of red tinted his eyes before he blinked and looked away. He drank some more blood. "Ye should go, Toni."
"All right." She backed toward the door. "Just don't let this get you down, okay?"
He shrugged. "It was a silly notion from the start. Me, trying to be some sort of Romeo when I havena the slightest idea how to be charming or flirtatious."
"That's not true. You've been very charming and flirtatious with me." And one hell of a kisser. He set the bottle on the table. "I doona know why, but it comes easy with you. But it doesna matter now. I'm pulling out of this dating nonsense."
"What?" She stepped toward him. "You're quitting?"
"A man should be honest with himself, Toni. I'm no' a ladies' man, I'm a warrior. Ye said it yerself the other night, that I was wasting my time."
"But I--" She'd said it out of frustration. And jealousy, she now realized. She'd hated the thought of him preferring a Vamp woman over her.
"Ye know my past transgressions," Ian continued. "Do ye really think a man like me deserves to be loved?"
He didn't feel deserving? Toni's eyes welled with tears. When she'd first met Ian, she'd thought they were totally different, but now she realized they were very much alike.
He'd touched on the last of her morning affirmations, and the one she found the hardest to believe. I am worthy to be loved. How could she ever be worthy? She'd always let down those who
counted on her. And poor Ian. He didn't feel worthy, either. Her heart ached for him.
"Ye doona need to answer." Ian stood and walked away. "The look on yer face tells me how ye feel."
"But you do!" The words tumbled from her mouth. "You do deserve to be loved."
He turned toward her, a surprised look on his face.
She blinked back her tears. "Don't you dare give up, Ian." She dashed to the door.
"Toni," he whispered her name softly, so softly she wasn't sure she'd heard it.
She paused at the door and glanced back. A flood of longing rushed through her.
He stepped toward her, and she gasped.
His eyes were bright red.
She stumbled from the room and shut the door. Dear God. What was she doing? She was falling for a vampire.
Ian opened the aluminum blinds and peered down from the fifth-floor office. With his superior vision, he was able to count twenty-two women on the sidewalk, all bundled up against the cold and carrying posters. One was wearing a tiara that sparkled in the nearby streetlamp.
A sleek black Jaguar came to a stop in front of the townhouse, and the women wandered over to check it out. Then a slash of light spilled onto the sidewalk from the townhouse. The women squealed and rushed toward the front door. Just as Ian wondered if he would have to fend off a home invasion, the slash of light disappeared.
The driver jumped out of the Jaguar. Carlos. He extracted someone from the bunch of excited women and led her back to his car. Toni.
With a twinge of annoyance, Ian realized Carlos had rescued her from the mob. The Jaguar sped down the road. What was she up to now? With a greater jab of annoyance, he realized she preferred spending her free time with Carlos.
Or did she just feel safer with a mortal who was supposedly g*y? Ian was fairly sure that her rushed exit from the office had meant she was aware of his attraction to her. But she'd also gasped when she'd noticed his eyes. Did his Undead nature frighten her? Probably so. After surviving a vicious vampire attack, why would she welcome the advances of another vampire?
But when he'd kissed her, she hadn't pushed him away. Perhaps there was hope after all. He closed his eyes, picturing her in her tiny skirt. He would stroke her golden thighs, then slide his hand under her skirt to feel the sweet curve of her hip and bottom, and the tender, moist flesh between her legs.
With a sharp breath, he cleared his mind. What a fool he was. Intellectually, he knew a female Vamp presented the most suitable mate for him. Yet here he was, lusting for a mortal. And even worse, the one mortal who was off limits.
She totally intrigued him--physically, emotionally, and intellectually. She was such an interesting mixture of determination and self-doubt, emotional strength and hidden wounds. She reminded him of himself.
And what were her hidden motives for being here? What made an intelligent woman with a bright future guard the Undead and risk losing her memory when she left? He had to know. Last night while she'd slept, he'd teleported into her bedroom and slipped a tracking device into her handbag. He would know exactly where she and Carlos were going.
He wandered back into the bedroom to shower and change clothes. After taking care of the women on the sidewalk, he teleported to the parking lot at Romatech Industries.
Connor showed no reaction when Ian marched into the security office. He simply turned off the television.
Dougal and Phineas gave Ian sympathetic looks before focusing on their shoes. Bloody hell. He hated pity even more than humiliation.
"We'd better make the rounds." Dougal headed out the door. "Come on, Phineas."
Phineas paused halfway out the door. "Man, that Corky bitch was wack. You want me to set her straight?"
"Nay." Ian smiled halfheartedly. "But I appreciate the thought."
"Anytime, bro." Phineas raised a fist and punched the air. "I got your back." He closed the door as he left.
Connor sat behind his desk and quietly studied Ian.
"Have a go." Ian folded his arms across his chest. "I reckon ye're wanting to rant at me."
"I reckon ye've endured enough humiliation for one night."
Ian lifted his chin. "Doona hold back on my account. I have a high threshold for pain."
Connor's face remained blank, though Ian detected an amused glint in his blue eyes. "Ye should have known Corky couldna be trusted."