At least she could stare her fill, because the Second One had faded almost completely. It was the almost that bothered her. She could see the tiny changes the Second One had left behind, the ones that were part of him now—his slightly fuller lower lip, eyes that seemed a little larger, a little more beautiful than before. Cassie tried not to dwell on the consequences if he continued to kill.

For five days she’d gotten up and dressed right before dusk and then waited for him to awaken.

That had been the best time of the day because he’d had time to talk with her. A lot. He’d explained how they were making a systematic search of the city. Until Garrity was eliminated, she had to stay hidden. She’d reminded him that she was the one who had saved his vampire butt at Eternal Rest. He was grateful, but no, she couldn’t hunt with them. Arguments ensued. She’d enjoyed them a little too much.

And they’d spoken about other stuff. About his human life as a horse trainer and how he sometimes still went for night rides. About her life as a consultant, a life that seemed to grow more distant and unreal as the week progressed.

Cassie had also unburdened herself about emotions she normally would’ve felt hesitant to share—her memories of Felicity, feelings about her grandfather she’d bottled up inside for a very long time, and her attacks of conscience over the men she’d killed.

But most important of all were the things they didn’t talk about. How she came alive when he was near. How the need to touch him became a driving obsession as the days passed. How she knew if he disappeared from her life tonight she’d mourn his loss for a long time. And how sometimes she caught him staring at her with an intensity that made her catch her breath, made her weak with need.

Tonight was the sixth night. Tonight would be different.

She heard the door open. Cassie didn’t hear him enter. She never did. He moved so silently that she didn’t know he was in the shower until she heard the water running.

She pushed aside her usual fantasy, the one where she watched the warm water sluice over his powerful back, thighs, and perfect tight butt. The one where she moved up behind him and molded her bare body to all that heat and smooth wet flesh.

Tonight would be different. She opened her eyes.

After what seemed an eternity, Cassie saw the bathroom door open. She watched him move quietly across the room, his face in shadow. When he reached the bed, she saw that he wore his sunglasses.

He’d killed. She almost closed her eyes. Almost. But she wouldn’t allow the Second One to destroy her hopes tonight.

She felt him slide into bed. He was naked.

Ethan broke the silence. “You’re awake.”

She smiled. “I’ve been awake every night.”

“I know.”

Okay, that shocked her. “How?”

“Your heartbeat. It was too fast for normal sleep.” He rolled onto his side facing her. “I stayed awake listening to it every night until the day sleep took me.”

She glanced at his face from the corner of her eye and then away. “I never knew.” Now that the moment was here, Cassie fumbled for words. “I watched you sleep. In the morning.” Fine. Now he’d think she was some kind of creepy voyeur.

“And what did you think about while you watched me, Cassie?”

His voice was deep dark chocolate coating all of the desires she’d kept carefully hidden for the past five nights. Now was the time for truth.

“I thought about making love with you.” She held her breath. Only desperation would drive her to say those words. What if he didn’t feel the same way? After all, he’d had five nights to make his move if he was interested. What if—

His soft laughter wrapped her in warmth. “Good. I wouldn’t have made a seventh night.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Do something? She turned on her side to face him, careful not to focus on his face for too long.

He reached out to touch her then, just a slide of his fingers along her jaw. But that simple touch amplified her needs, sent them crawling along her nerve endings, awakened her in ways she’d never imagined. Something exciting and new opened its eyes for the first time and blinked in the bright light of her anticipation.

“You kept your eyes closed. No matter what you thought you wanted, Cassie, you weren’t ready to see me yet.” He leaned closer. “The real me. Acceptance comes from in here.” He tapped one finger over her heart.

That tap felt like the boom of a kettledrum and her heart leaped in response. “Are we finished with the deep stuff yet?” Her breaths were coming faster. When had she grown into an impatient bitch? About six nights ago.

His smile was a flash of white in the darkness. Without answering, he pushed himself to his knees and leaned over her. “Sit up.”

Now that she’d exhausted her supply of bravado for the night, she simply obeyed. Raising her arms, she allowed him to slip her nightgown over her head while she focused on his throat and the pulse that beat there.

Cassie looked up to find him staring at her, and she swore she could see his eyes gleaming behind the dark lenses.

“You’re beautiful. I thought that from the first moment I saw you.” He lowered his head to kiss a path starting at the sensitive skin beneath her ear and continuing down her neck.

Cassie closed her eyes and murmured her pleasure.

She felt him pause at the hollow of her throat, his lips all heat and pressure. Cassie swallowed hard and knew he’d feel it. “From the first moment? I don’t think so. Your eyes were black and you were flashing fangs.”

He didn’t answer for a moment as he slid his tongue along her collarbone, then kissed the swell of her breast. “I compartmentalize my emotions well. My rage was completely separate from my appreciation of you.”

She was finding it hard to concentrate. To ground herself, she smoothed her fingers over his broad shoulders and along his biceps. His muscles tensed beneath her touch.

This time the sensations came. His scent—clean, male, and filled with memories of the night. His skin, smooth and warm. His taste? She’d find out.

But as she leaned in to kiss him, he put his hands on her shoulders and took her down to the bed with him. Then he rolled her onto her back and straddled her hips. “There. That’s better.”

Cassie forgot not to look. She opened her eyes and glared up at him. “Excuse me? Where’s the equal access? You can reach everything. I can only reach . . . some things.” She took a deep breath and dropped her gaze.

“Ah, but they’re the important things.”

He tangled his fingers in her hair and leaned down to cover her mouth with his. Cassie explored the taste of him fully as the long drugging kiss threatened to spiral out of control. She closed her eyes again as she traced each fang with the tip of her tongue. So different from her, but so right for him.

He finally broke the kiss in favor of focusing his attention on her breasts. And as he circled her nipple with the tip of his tongue and then covered it with his lips, she encouraged him with breathy moans.

The heat of his mouth, the way he flicked each nipple with his tongue before nipping gently, and the pleasure/pain as he drew on it made her gasp.

Pleasure drove her. Cassie arched her back as he licked a path over her stomach. Then she spread her legs when he moved lower to trail the tip of his tongue up her inner thigh.

But when he slid his hands under her bottom, lifted her to meet his mouth, and then used that same tongue tip to tease the sensitive nub that was control central for what seemed to be every nerve ending in her body, she took a dive into the same place she’d visited the first time they’d kissed.

“Please, please, please.” Her breaths came in tortured gasps as she pleaded with him. Please hold me so close that you absorb every cell in my body. Please fill me so the emotions won’t hurt so much. Please let me touch you. Cassie didn’t think she meant his body with that last “please.” But then she wasn’t doing much thinking at all right now.

Raw emotions and sensations that threatened to wash her away shook her until she gripped the bottom sheet as an anchor. She whimpered as he slipped his tongue in and out, in and out.

Cassie clenched her muscles around the indescribable pleasure—trying to slow it down, hang on to it. Finally her emotions overflowed the dam she hadn’t done much to shore up.

Need, want so intense that it hurt, and an unnamed emotion that tugged and tugged at her heart until she expected it to explode from her chest battered her. With a growl she didn’t even recognize as coming from her, she raised herself enough to tangle her fingers in his hair and yank.

He didn’t fight her. She sensed that his eyes would be black behind his glasses, and she would’ve sworn his hands shook as he grasped her arms and flopped onto his back, dragging her on top of him.

Cassie wasn’t sure who the vampire was here, because she wanted to eat him alive, drain him of every drop of whatever magic he was feeding her. She whimpered as she rose to straddle him the same way he had her. Strands of thoughts mixed with the sensations and emotions, driving her into a feverish frenzy to . . .

She knew if she didn’t put her mouth, her hands, on his body, there’d be nothing but an empty husk of a woman left when this was over. The heat of her hunger would burn her to gray ash and then the ash would blow away on the wind of her frustrated need.