“I’m Daniel Ayres,” he said, stepping forward again and holding out a hand.
“Cari Shelton,” I replied, taking his palm on autopilot.
His hand was hot as his fingers clasped mine, his touch gentle.
A thrill raced up my arm, spreading when it hit my shoulder so that it washed upward toward my scalp and then down to a much more private place.
Whoa.
If he wasn’t still holding my hand, I would have taken a step back due to the chaotic reaction my body was having.
“So, you’re Carina,” he said. “Ms. Foster’s favorite great niece.”
For a moment, I forgot my grief and grinned. Bethany loved to call me that.
“I’m her only great niece,” I answered.
His answering smile hit me like a punch to the gut. God, he was so beautiful, like a moving sculpture.
“Your aunt was one of my favorite people.”
“Yeah. She was pretty decent for a human,” I joked.
His face froze at my words before his smile faded away. “For a human?” he asked.
I had no control over my mouth. Damn his pretty face for turning me into a babbling idiot.
“Yeah. As opposed to a werewolf, vampire, or demon.”
Oh, my God.What was wrong with me? Why was I saying this shit?
His hand gripped mine for a moment, so hard that I yelped. Daniel’s eyes flared like emerald flames as he dropped my hand.
I took a step back, stumbling over the heel of my boot. He opened his mouth to say something, and I saw a flash of fangs. Really, really long fangs. Below burning green eyes, they seemed huge.
I shook my head. I must be hallucinating.
I backpedaled and tripped over my own stupid feet. I tried to twist, to do something to break my fall, but my heel was stuck in between two of the planks of the wood floor.
The last thing I saw before my head cracked against the wood was a pair of glowing green eyes, an open mouth full of fangs, and two hands reaching toward me.
* * *
The headache woke me up.
At least I think it did.
I moaned at the violent throbbing that seemed to burst against the back of my skull. Matching starbursts of white danced against the back of my eyelids.
Gentle hands lifted my head and put something cold beneath it.
I moaned again, this time in relief as the coolness spread against the pain.
Then, the memory of glowing green eyes, fangs, and a face that could have been created by my fantasies flashed in my mind and my eyes flew open.
I was lying on a bed with a canopy and drapery hanging from each corner. The only light in the room was from a lamp near the door.
A face appeared above me. The same one that had made me open my eyes.
