She took a step closer. Oh, no. This couldn’t possibly be what it looked like! The labels on the bottles said simply A, B, AB and 0.

Her stomach dropped. Blood. Blood in a vending machine!

She shot Samson a stunned look. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

Before she could say anything, the door opened, and a man stepped out. He seemed to recognize Samson and gave him a brief smile.

“How are you, Samson?” They shook hands. “You won’t mention this …” He gestured toward the doctor’s office.

Samson shook his head. “Goes without saying. Good to see you, G.”

As soon as the man, who looked strangely familiar to her, passed by her, he suddenly stopped and inhaled deeply. He turned back to Samson and grinned.

“A mortal? You, of all people?” He looked her up and down, making an appreciative sound. Instantly Samson put a protective arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Not to worry, old friend. I know better than to touch what’s yours. But if you would like me to do the honors, I’d be more than happy to …”

Samson nodded but didn’t release her. “I might just take you up on it.”

The man left, and finally she realized where she’d seen him before. “Was that the—”

“The mayor of San Francisco, yes.”

She gave him a questioning look. “Is he also…?”

Samson nodded. “Yes, he is.”

“What did he mean by doing the honors?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Dr. Drake will see you now,” the bimbo interrupted them. “Go right in.”

“Tell me now.”

“Later.”

Delilah wasn’t sure what she expected of Dr. Drake’s office, but it certainly wasn’t the coffin-couch. If Samson hadn’t shoved her through the door and blocked her exist, she would have turned on her heels and made a run for it.

She was still digesting the news that the mayor of San Francisco was a vampire. The fact that Samson had immediately possessively pulled her toward him when he had shown her more than a passing interest, hadn’t escaped her either. She’d virtually felt his jealousy physically, and a shudder had gone through her at the intensity of it. She hadn’t felt it wise to pull away from him at that moment, but had let it happen instead.

At least Samson didn’t seem to want to hurt her physically. Neither did he want to share her. Better the vampire you know …

And if she was truly honest with herself, she would admit that she had felt comforted by his touch, but she wasn’t ready to be honest with herself. Neither would she want to be honest with the shrink, if he was even a real doctor. Delilah looked at the man. He seemed ordinary and human, even though she was sure he wasn’t. She saw him inhale sharply. No, definitely not human. Did they all have to sniff at her like dogs?

“Ah, the human woman, I suppose? Delilah?”

She was surprised he knew her name. How much had Samson already told him?

“Yes, this is Delilah.” There was something in Samson’s voice she hadn’t heard before. Pride?

Samson led her to an armchair and had her sit down while he leaned against a filing cabinet close to her.

The doctor sniffed again, then raised his eyebrows. “How can I help you this time?”

“That question would imply that you helped me last time,” Samson replied sarcastically.

The doctor didn’t seem to be insulted. “I know my advice obviously worked. I can still smell you on her. In fact she’s positively reeking of you.”

“Doc, I’d appreciate it if you kept comments like those to yourself. Delilah and I are here because we need some help with our relationship.”

“Relationship?” the shrink asked.

“We have no relationship!” Delilah protested. It was better to set things straight immediately.

“Ah, I think I see where the problem lies.” The doctor caught on quickly.

“No, you don’t. You told me to just go and sleep with her, and everything would be okay again.”

“Well, did you have an erection? Were you able to perform?”

Delilah felt embarrassed at the frank exchange and felt heat rise into her cheeks. So it was true. He’d seen the shrink to get over his erection problem. At least he hadn’t lied about that.

“Yes.”

“Then, I don’t see where the problem is.”

“The problem is that I can’t get enough of her. Every time I look at her, I want more. Whenever I touch her, I can’t stop. When I’m away from her, I miss her. When another man looks at her, I could kill him. Do you get the picture?”