Page 4 of Dark Lover

He ignored that. “He is not aligned with the good guys. He is not a Master, Sam,” he warned.

“Somehow, I didn’t think so,” she said wryly. But her heart was beating a bit too swiftly, the way it did before battle—or during sex.

“He doesn’t play by the rules. But you know that, don’t you?”

Sam decided that Nick probably knew everything. “I don’t play by the rules, either.”

He smiled. “That’s why I’m so proud of you.” He became serious again. “I have no evidence that he’s turned. I look forward to meeting him and deciding for myself. But you are almost out of control, Sam. Anger will weaken you. He’ll make mincemeat out of you if you don’t get a grip.”

Sam was furious. “I’m not angry—I simply can’t stand the sonuvabitch. He’s an unbelievable jerk. He makes you look like a saint. I did underestimate him, I’ll admit it. I thought he’d be putty in my hands. Well, I won’t underestimate him again and I won’t ever ask him to make a deal.” She added, “And I won’t lose.”

Nick nodded, a gleam in his eyes. “I wonder why he suddenly bought property here.”

She felt herself still. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“He’s living here?”

“Bought an eighteen-million-dollar home, right on Park Avenue.” Nick smiled at her.

Sam was shocked. Why would he come to New York? She walked over to a window and stared down at the pedestrians and traffic on Hudson Street. “When did this happen?”

“Last January. A month or so after your little visit to Loch Awe.”

“His deciding to live here has nothing to do with me,” Sam said without thinking.

“I didn’t say it did.” Nick eyed the folder. “That is interesting reading, by the way.”

Sam folded her arms, her instincts going into overdrive. When she’d arrived at his home on Loch Awe, he’d been expecting her. How was that possible?

“I was wonderin’how long it would take ye to find me.” He was amused.

She smiled coldly. “In your dreams.”

He had poured her champagne, ignoring his other guests and his Playboy centerfold girlfriend. “Welcome to my lair.”

“Your father was the wolf.”

“Like father, like son,” he murmured, his gaze dipping to her cleavage.

“In the mood for a proposition?”

“I’ve been in the mood since we first met.”

There’s no way he’d come to New York to pursue her. No woman would ever be worth that kind of effort for him and she was sure of it. He’d come to town for other reasons. The Duisean? She wouldn’t put it past him.

“You’re an amazingly striking and terribly seductive woman,” Nick said thoughtfully. “And you know it. Coupled with that is your power as a Slayer.”

Sam stared at her boss. “Keep up the flattery and I might become frightened.”

He grinned. “Nothing scares you, Sam.”

He was right.

Nick added, “I can’t write off his arrival in New York as a coincidence. He’s dangerous and ruthless.” Nick picked up the folder. “But you’re dangerous and ruthless, too.”

Her interest was piqued. “So he’s my objective.”