"Delicious is not the word I would use."
He shifted until his body was fully pressed to hers. "You would rather be surrounded by hungry vampires? That could be arranged."
Her breath caught and the pulse in her neck thundered. "Stop."
He touched her cheek. "You'll have to move, pet."
"What?"
"You're leaning against the fridge. I can't get to my blood."
"Oh."
With flustered haste she dodged around him, a faint flush touching her cheeks.
Viper pulled out a container of blood and swiftly emptied it. Then he reached for the numerous bags that had been left by his housekeeper. He set them on the counter and began to open them.
"I didn't know what you preferred so I had my housekeeper order out. There's a bit of everything. Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and the more mundane fried chicken. Take what you want."
"You already had this ordered?" Her eyes widened as she glanced over the bounty spread across the counter. "How could you possibly know you would be able to outbid everyone at the auction?"
Viper glanced down her slender body, a tantalizing heat pooling in his lower body. "I always get what I want. Sooner or later."
The golden eyes flashed with fire. "Spoken like a true vampire."
His bloodlust sated, if not his physical lust, Viper leaned against the cabinets.
"That's quite a chip you have on your shoulder, pet." He folded his arms over his chest. "Why do you hate vampires?"
She reached to pluck an egg roll from a nearby carton. "Beyond the fact they have tried to drain me since the day I was born?"
"Vampires aren't the only demons who crave your blood. Your dislike seems a bit more personal."
Silence descended as she ate the egg roll and then a wonton. Viper remained silent, simply waiting for her to confess the truth.
Another egg roll disappeared before she at last heaved a sigh and regarded him with a hostile frown.
"Vampires killed my father."
Bones of the saints. That certainly explained her aggressive dislike. And placed another hurdle directly in his path to seduction.
"I am sorry."
She gave a restless shrug. "It was a long time ago."
"You were raised by your mother?"
"Yes."
"A human?"
"Yes."
She was deliberately keeping her emotions hidden, but Viper had been reading the body language of his prey for centuries. It was what predators did best.
"She kept you hidden from the demon world?"
"As much as she was able."
"Did you pass as a human?"
It didn't take skill to read the anger that rippled over her beautiful features.
"You asked me why I hated vampires and I told you. Now, can we change the subject?"
Viper smiled as he straightened from the counter. He had an eternity to explore Shay's secrets.
It was just one of many explorations he intended to conduct.
"Eat your dinner. I have a few phone calls to make before dawn."
Pausing only long enough to trail a finger over her soft cheek Viper moved toward the back of the house and the small study. He had not forgotten that there was something out there intent on stealing his Shalott.
That was unacceptable.
He intended to do whatever was necessary to track down the mysterious enemy and put a swift, end to the danger.
Chapter Four
The house built on the bluffs of die mighty Mississippi was pleasant enough.
Like most farmhouses in the Midwest it was a plain, two-story structure, with a wraparound porch and sharply angled roof, to, places the white paint was peeling and the gutters drooping, but; some might claim it only added to the rustic charm.
Surrounding the house, the gently rolling yard held a handful of outbuildings. And, of course, the land was well populated with a number of ancient ash and oak and dogwood trees.
At a glance it offered the simple warmth of most houses in the area. The sense that a stranger passing by would be welcomed with a smile and a warm meal.
But only at a glance.
Any strangers unfortunate enough to pass close to the farm would find no smiles awaiting them, and the only warm meal would be themselves.
Thankfully, it was isolated enough to prevent most stray sightseers, and the locals had long ago learned to cut a wide path around the place. It was rare the heavy silence was disturbed by more than birds.
The location of the house was no accident. Beneath the rolling hills were hidden a series of caves that stretched for miles. There were a hundred local legends connected to the caves. Some claimed that they had been used by the Under-Ground Railroad. Some said that they had been the hideout of Jesse James. And others still that they had been used by smugglers who preferred the river to transport their ill-gotten goods.
None of the stories were true, of course. The caves had been home to demons since long before the first settlers had ever arrived.
In the deepest of the caves a slender imp with a cascade of golden curls peered into the scrying pool.
He appeared out of place among the bleak rock. With his satin green robe the color of spring moss that matched his eyes, and the delicate gold leaves that he had weaved through his curls he shimmered with an unearthly beauty.
An imp meant to rule a summer glade not the dark bowels of the earth.
Still, for the moment the darkness served him well enough.
He waved a slender hand over the pool to bring an end to the visions it revealed. Above him the shadow filled the cave with a fierce, choking anger.
"Your wizard has failed," the shadow rasped the obvious.
"So it would seem, my lord." Rising to his feet Damocles carefully brushed the dirt from his robe. "I did warn you that Joseph was not at all reliable."
"He was a fool and a lickspittle, but the fault was not entirely his own, was it?" The shadow seemed to thicken. "If I were a suspicious man I would wonder why you did not send my envoy with sufficient funds to bid on the Shalott."
A faint smile touched the imp's handsome features. It was not that he was indifferent to the pulsing danger in the air. Only a fool would believe that the shadow could not reach out and strike him dead. Or worse. But he had spent nearly a century becoming indispensable to his current master. For the moment he was secure enough.
"You wound me, sir," he protested, his fingers toying with the delicate chain that hung about his neck. "I could hardly have known that the vampire would make such an outrageous bid. Besides, would you truly have me hand over half a million dollars in cash to any servant? For all of Josephs pledge of loyalty I do not believe even he could have withstood the temptation to... what do they say... take the money and run?"