She blushed at that. He'd made the offer and she had declined, though why she couldn't imagine. It wasn't like he hadn't caressed and studied every inch of her in the last few hours. But somehow the thought of showering with him had seemed too personal.
Too strange.
He lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.
Pandora sighed contentedly. It was so nice to be held by him.
One minute he had a long, masculine arm draped over her waist, and in the next, it was the limb of a panther.
She bolted out of the bed with a shriek.
Dante flashed instantly back into human form. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Don't do the panther thing around me, okay? It really creeps me."
He frowned at her. "Why?"
"I… I just can't stand the sight of them."
He gave her a harsh, condemning stare that set her ire off. "You're one of us, baby. Get used to it."
She cringed at the thought. She was not in the same category as a Katagari female. They were crude and mean, and had no care whatsoever for anyone other than themselves.
"Oh, no I'm not," she said, growling the words at him. "I'm a human being, not an animal like you."
Dante narrowed his eyes at words that shouldn't hurt him and yet for some unfathomable reason did. He'd gone out of his way to be tender with her.
And what had it accomplished?
Not a damn thing except to have her disdain him over something he couldn't help any more than she could help being human.
There was nothing wrong with being a Katagari. He took a lot of pride in his heritage.
His kind was definitely superior to hers. At least they didn't lie, cheat, and steal for no reason.
Curling his lip, he climbed out of bed and flashed his clothes back on.
"Fine. Have a nice life."
Pandora jumped as he slammed out of her room.
"You too!" she called childishly, knowing he couldn't hear her.
What did she care anyway?
He was an animal. But as she headed for the bathroom, she missed the warm feeling she'd had when he held her. The sweet sound of her name on his lips as he carefully made love to her.
The way his tongue had stroked and soothed her.
Grinding her teeth, she forced the image away and went to shower. And as the water came on, she thought of Dante's brother who had yet to bring Acheron to her. He must have sent Dante to her instead.
How dare he!
She should have known better than to trust an animal. Why would one of them help her anyway?
Angry at both of them, and at herself for being so stupid as to trust them, Pandora regulated the water and started scrubbing with a vengeance.
Suddenly, the bathroom curtain was whisked open.
