Page 16 of Wicked Ways

Ah, so he was the senior agent. Miranda was trying to follow things, but she still felt like she’d stepped into the Twilight Zone.

But Delaney shook his head. “You’re not going to get approval for⁠—”

“I’ll get approval.” Santiago’s lips thinned. “Wish I wouldn’t, but I will.”

Cain grunted and shrugged his powerful shoulders. “All right, now that we all know it’s a new game, this is how it’s going to work.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “The rules are simple, really. I hunt, my way. And I won’t stop until this bastard is brought down.”

“You back with us 100 percent, Lawson?” Santiago asked.

“No.” A pause. “I’m with her.”

And he was going to fight a vampire for her, again.

Talk about knowing how to sweep a girl off her feet.

“Miranda knows this guy,” Cain continued in his deep, dark voice. “She lured him out once, and I’d bet a week of your pay, Delaney, that she can lure him again.”

Santiago rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Okay, then it’s your game, gato grande.”

Miranda blinked. Her Spanish was way rusty, but she was pretty sure the agent had just called Cain a big cat.

Cain smiled. “Then let’s start the hunt.”

Chapter Four

She was lying in her bed. The front door had been fully repaired. An FBI agent was sitting in his car outside, and Cain was asleep on her couch.

It was after midnight. Miranda should have been asleep hours ago. But her mind wouldn’t shut down.

Cain was too close.

Her body felt too tight, too hot. She kept thinking about the feel of his lips on hers. The touch of his hands.

Cain was too close.

And not nearly close enough.

Miranda shoved off the covers. Threw her legs over the side of the bed. Enough of this crap. Time to settle things between the two of them.

She turned on her bedside lamp and the glow of the light spilled into the room. Miranda thought she was being pretty quiet. The thick carpet muffled her steps as she crept down the hallway. She turned the corner and⁠—

“You know, these late-night visits are starting to become a habit for you,” he said from the darkness, his voice a deep growl of sound.

Miranda hesitated. She couldn’t see him. Could barely see anything. She inched forward, found a small lamp, and turned it on with a fumble of her fingers.

Cain sprawled on the couch. Hair disheveled, as if he’d run his fingers through the dark locks. Eyes gleaming. Muscled chest bare. There was no sheet over his body as there had been last night. Instead, he wore a pair of black boxers and nothing else.

Miranda gulped. The man looked good. “We need to talk.” Her body quivered a bit as she stared at him. Damn good.

One black eyebrow rose. “Is that really why you walked so softly all the way in here? To talk?”

“You could hear me?” He’d said that he had good hearing, but she’d tried to be so careful and quiet.

A slow nod. “Yeah, but more than that…” His nostrils flared just a bit. “I could smell you.” He smiled at her, showing a lot of teeth. “And like I said before, baby, are you sure that you came here to talk?”

I could smell you. Understanding dawned. He wasn’t talking about her honeysuckle body lotion. Cain knew she was aroused. He could actually smell that? Her cheeks burned, but she didn’t flinch. “I wanted to thank you.”

If possible, his smile widened even more, revealing the curve of his dimple. “Ah, my thank-you kiss. And here I was thinking I wouldn’t be getting another one from you.” His voice flattened as he added gruffly, “What with my being a monster and you being such a good little human.”