~

Kat didn’t like the idea of an elevator that only led to one place; it was more like a cage, and she was being delivered right to the vampire’s door. It was almost as if she was a willing victim to her own demise. Oh, how she was going to kill her sister.

No escape. No way out, except that little escape hatch in the top of the box, and as she wasn’t capable of levitation; she highly doubted that she could get up that high to even pop the hatch open, let alone hoist herself up, and pull off a daring escape by climbing up the elevator shaft. Tom Cruise, she wasn’t.

There was no little ding of a bell to tell her that she’d arrived at his floor, no subtle jolt of the tin can that she was in, just the swish of the doors pulling back, and she was surprised to see that she’d arrived, not outside his door, but inside his luxury apartment. Boy, did he take opulence to a new level?

The hotel might have been stuffy and filled with antiques, but the enormous room that she found herself in couldn’t have looked more out of place, filled as it was with the most luscious up-to-date furniture imaginable. Obviously, this wasn’t part of the hotel itself; this was his home.

At least she’d know where to find him if she needed to kill him in future.

She took one step, and there he was in front of her in the blink of an eye. A cliché if ever she saw one. Jet black hair that reached down to the collar of his black shirt – a shirt tucked into his black trousers, and, oh yes, black shoes. Someone other than him might have died, and he was in mourning, or maybe he was the undertaker, or he was just another cliché in the flesh.

Kat had immediately pulled on her magic and had almost zapped the man. It would have served him right. Who in their right mind jumped out on a witch like that?

“Melanie Varr.”

Kat wondered how he got away with being around so many humans with that melodic tone and not standing out like a sore thumb. But then, people only saw what they wanted to see.

“Nice place, shame about the stuffy downstairs,” Kat said.

“There’s something to be said for antiques…”

“That they didn’t get ravaged over time by bugs – you’d know all about that,” she offered back with a small smile.

“Don’t hold back — just insult me in my own house,” Raff said, somewhat impressed that the witch had a backbone.

“Sounds good to me,” Kat gave a small shrug of her shoulders, before reaching into her bag and palming the potion that her sister had made for him. She still wasn’t totally comfortable with the fact that Mel was working for a vampire.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“No.”

“Would you like to be one?” It was only the amusement that she saw in his eyes that stopped her from zapping him and attempting an escape.

“Tempting — but, no.”

“Disappointing,” Raff said. Then he lifted his hand and pointed behind her to the elevator. The sound of the doors swishing closed rang a few alarm bells in her mind, but what was she to do? There wasn’t a sign that said exit this way with little symbols of screaming wenches on it. “Company.”

“This is yours, our business is done,” Kat said holding out the small bottle of pale green liquid and wondering what the hell her sister had concocted this time.

“Of course, I’ll call on you again if I need more, or something else,” Raff said as he took the bottle and eyed her from head to toe.

“Our business is done,” Kat repeated again. She didn’t want to work for the vampire, and she didn’t want her sister doing it either.

Before he could say another word the swish of the elevator doors as they opened again made her turn on her heels and head for the only way out. One man mountain stepped forward out of the elevator, and it wasn’t his build that struck her first. It was the deep chocolate of his eyes as his gaze took her in.

Kat got caught up in those eyes, to the point where she almost tripped over her own feet. Wouldn’t that have been embarrassing? Falling at the feet of a shifter wasn’t her idea of a good time.

“Witch.” The deep rumble that underlined his voice told her everything that she needed to know — wolf.

“Fluffy,” Kat offered back.

While she had no intention of challenging a shifter to a peeing contest, there were some things that she just couldn’t let slide. The small twitch and curl of his top lip, for one thing.

“Don’t mind her — she’s just going to climb on her broomstick and be off,” Raff said from behind her.

“Meeting your lunch on the way out isn’t a good idea — can she be trusted?”

“Lunch?” Kat sneered. If she’d a broomstick, she knew right where she’d love to shove it.

“You know, I think you’re right — we should kill her,” Raff said, and the alarm bells started to ring inside of her mind.

The route to the elevator was blocked by the man mountain, she had a vampire behind her, and she didn’t know the lay of the land. She was an idiot — or rather, her sister was an idiot for sending her there in the first place. It was sink or swim time, and her magic was ready for action.

Kat went to pivot and take off in a completely different direction, but the shifter had already closed the gap between them. One large hand reached out and circled her wrist, with a yank and a twist, she found herself caged in his arms — her back was to his chest, and she was staring back at the vampire with a death glare.

“I don’t kill helpless females, but detaining her…” Parker said, but he didn’t get any further because Kat wasn’t listening to his words, she was only taking account of his actions.

Kat was a witch, and a witch’s power came from nature. She used her magic like an electric eel, everywhere the man touched her — he got zapped, and it was no love tap, it was a zinger that made him curse out loud before biting down on the pain.

“You little…” Parker growled, but he didn’t let her go.

“Witch?” Raff chuckled.

“Get your damn hands off me, or I guarantee you won’t be having pups,” she hissed as she tried to twist her way out of his arms.

To say the man had an iron grip on her word be an understatement — his hold was like a metal cage.

“Oh, I think she means it,” Raff warned his friend, but still the shifter didn’t let go. “On the other hand — I was just kidding. Meet the witch that made the potion.”

“Not lunch?” Parker growled.

“Not bloody lunch,” Kat hissed.

“What she said,” Raff chuckled as he folded his arms and watched as Parker took that information in. A moment later he released the witch.

“I have a good mind to…” Kat hissed, as she turned toward the shifter, narrowed her eyes, and mentally flicked through a catalogue of spells that she could inflict on him.

Boils — boils was a classic and would be a good one, every time his shifter blood healed him, so they’d pop up again — it would be like whack-a-mole — and it would serve the idiot wolfman right. Putting his hands on her, what was he thinking?

“If you’re finished having your fun, she can be on her way,” Raff said. “Although, I appreciate the comic turn.”

“This is funny to you?” Kat turned her wrath on the vampire.

“I’m sorry if you don’t have a sense of humour…” Raff started, but he didn’t get to finish.

“Never darken my door for anything again,” Kat informed him.

That killed two birds with one stone — her stupid sister would never work for the man again, and she’d never have to walk into the vampire’s lair. As for the shifter — she still had the urge to kick him in his short and curly’s.

“That could be a problem,” Parker said. “I may need more of the potion.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been so quick to decide killing me was a good option,” Kat hissed at the man.

“I already said I wasn’t going to kill you, but I did lay my hands on you. If I apologise…” Parker didn’t see another way.

“I’m a witch — I’m not that forgiving,” Kat sidestepped the shifter with a plan on getting the hell out of there. The trouble was the shifter decided to step right back into her path. Kat groaned inwardly as she ground to a halt.

“In that case — I really can’t let you go,” Parker growled.

“In that case — I will kill you,” Kat hissed back.