"Oh." Stepping away, Inez turned swiftly, eyes wide as she peered up at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize...."

Her words faded as she peered at his face. Thomas knew his expression was probably hungry, so wasn't surprised by the sudden uncertainty that flickered on her face and the way her heartbeat sped up. It was a natural response to a predator, and he was definitely that, he acknowledged. The very fact that he was suddenly aware of her heartbeat spoke of the fact that his old predator instincts were kicking in. The extra sensitive hearing his people enjoyed was a useful skill when on the hunt, but he normally blocked out much of the sounds it brought him, or had since blood banks had come into existence.

Now her heartbeat played like a concerto in his head, the dance of the hunted. He couldn't resist stepping closer again and invading her space. Thomas found himself smiling as her heart fluttered and skipped a beat, and then settled into a rapid tattoo. He saw her eyes dart nervously toward the huge king-sized bed before skittering away, and he smiled as her scent changed. The pheromones coming off of her now were a combination of the sharp tang of fear and the deep musk of desire. Inez was nervous of him, but she wanted him and the two emotions were battling inside her.

"You haven't had your tea yet."

Thomas raised his eyebrows as Inez suddenly blurted that statement, then she was hurrying away across the room. He immediately followed, her scent making it impossible for him not to stalk her. She was a doe on the run, and he was the wolf, instinct sending him after his prey. Thomas allowed her to think she was fleeing toward freedom until she was out of the bedroom. Her anxiety level dropped a great deal the moment she was out of sight of the bed and that's when he caught her arm and drew her back around.

Inez gasped in surprise and opened her mouth to speak as Thomas swung her back to face him, but she never got the chance to say the words of confusion burbling on the edge of her mind. Her mouth was suddenly covered by his, his lips and tongue moving over her. She caught at his arms to keep her balance and stiffened under the onslaught, her mind a confused jumble, but then his arms closed around her. He pressed her body against his with one hand firm on her backside even as his other hand slid into the wild mane of curls at her head and tilted it to a better position as he kissed her.

Inez moaned as her resistance melted away. He was overwhelming her senses. She was breathing in his scent through her nose, tasting him on her tongue and her body, was soaking up the touch of his like an eager sponge.

Groaning deep in her throat, Inez slid her own hands up around his shoulders, allowing the fingers of one hand to dive into his soft, dark hair, and curl closed around a handful of it. She then held on for dear life.

Inez had never had this strong or swift a response to a man before. Her body was tingling everywhere, liquid desire already pooling low in her belly.

Normally cautious and constantly assessing every situation, Inez was incapable of it this time. She didn't care that this was her boss's cousin, or that she could be involving herself in something that might be ultimately damaging to her career. Her body was humming, her mind bouncing around inside her skull like a useless rubber ball as he slid a thigh between both of hers and rubbed it against her core.

When Thomas broke the kiss, she moaned her disappointment and then gasped as his hand on her behind lifted her slightly so that her thigh pressed against the hardness between his legs even as she rode his own. Then his lips slid across her cheek and tarried briefly at her ear before dropping down over her throat. Inez groaned and let her head drop back and to the side, her eyes blinking briefly open.

A flash of surprise slid through her as she found herself peering straight through the open bathroom door and at their reflected image. They stood sideways to the mirror, and there was something erotic about seeing their bodies entwined. Inez just wished she could see more of Thomas's face as his lips moved down her throat. A shudder went through her as his teeth scraped over her sensitive flesh and Inez let her eyes drift closed as passion washed through her, and then she stiffened and clutched at him with surprise as a needle-sharp pain struck her neck. Before Inez could quite grasp that pain or respond to it, the unpleasant sensation was gone, replaced by a wellspring of pleasure and passion that exploded in her mind, blanketing every thought.

Inez was aware she was panting, could hear a soft keening and knew it was her own as her body shuddered and writhed in his embrace. She wanted to tug at his hair and pull his face back to kiss her again, but couldn't seem to move. Like a kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck, she was paralyzed in his arms, her body able only to experience the pleasure trembling through her.

It was only the ringing of the phone that roused her from the fever passion. Blinking her eyes open with confusion, Inez found herself peering at their reflected image in the mirror again. The sight of their embracing bodies ratcheted her need up another notch despite the annoying sound of the phone, and then Thomas eased his hold on her and began to pull away. His mouth was open as he lifted his head, and for one brief second she caught a glimpse of two, long, blood-stained fangs protruding from that open mouth and then they seemed to slide away and disappear and he closed his lips. Her eyes shifted immediately to her own throat, but his mouth had been working on the side of her throat away from the mirror. She couldn't see it, and then Thomas was easing her back to her feet on the floor and shifting his hands to either side of her head, holding her still as his gaze focused on her face.

No, not her face, Inez realized with confusion. He seemed to be staring at a spot in the middle of her forehead, as if he could see into her mind. She'd barely had that thought when he began to frown. Thomas gave his head a shake, and refocused his attention on her forehead again, but she could tell by his expression that something was wrong. Not that she cared what he thought was wrong. Now that he was no longer embracing her, her mind was beginning to function again and it was going a little wild. She had seen fangs. Like a Vampire's fangs. Bloody fangs. Her blood? Was Thomas Argeneau a vampire?

The thought was a mad one, Inez knew, but suddenly she was seeing some things in a different light. Thomas had an "allergy" to the sun, and while he'd ordered breakfast for her that morning, he hadn't got himself anything, not even a cup of tea. But Bastien had an allergy to the sun as well, she realized. While her boss would attend day meetings with the higher-ups of other companies if he couldn't schedule it later, other than that, he worked at night. And she'd never seen Bastien Argeneau eat. Oh, he toyed with and picked at food when it was brought to the few business meetings she'd been to with him on his infrequent trips here to England, but she never really saw him eat more than a bite or two. And then there was Marguerite's not looking a day over twenty-five, but with four grown children.

None of that really mattered, Inez acknowledged. The facts were that Thomas had fangs and she was pretty sure he'd bitten her. That said vampire to her.

Inez's mind immediately tried the rational route, reminding her that vampires were mythological creatures that existed only in movies. But it carried little weight when she was becoming aware of a burning sting in her neck at exactly the point where Thomas had been concentrating his attention.

"What the hell?" Thomas whispered the words with a sort of horrified amazement and Inez gave up her thoughts and scowled at him, thinking he really didn't have any right to either emotion at the moment. She was the one who had been bitten. Maybe.

Wanting to know for sure, Inez pulled free of his hold and rushed into the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, she tugged her hair out of the way and stared at her throat. Sure enough, there were two nasty holes in the skin.

"Inez?" Thomas asked, his voice sounding worried and uncertain.

She immediately whirled from the mirror to glare at him. "You bit me!"

He opened his mouth, but rather than say anything, snapped it closed looking for all the world like a lost puppy. The man was a ravening vampire, but honest to God he was standing there looking at a complete loss as if he didn't know what to say or do.

For some reason that infuriated her. Probably because some part of her wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be all right. A foolish response. That was what he should be doing to her right then, she thought with irritation. She immediately burst into a rant, hardly even aware of what she was saying as she waved a finger under his nose and began to back him out of the bathroom.

His cell phone began to ring again as he backed into the hall, and Thomas reached for it almost with relief.

"That will be Bastien," he said over her words, his own definitely relief soaked. "He'll know what to do."

Inez stopped her rant and stared at him with amazement. "What to do? What to do? You bit me!" she snapped furiously, and then slammed the door in his face and locked it.

Chapter Three

Thomas ignored the ringing phone in his hand and stared at the wooden door Inez had just slammed in his face. It was as blank and featureless as the wall he'd run up against in her mind. He'd tried to slip into her thoughts to erase them once he'd fed enough from her, but much to his amazement, he couldn't.

He'd redoubled his efforts, but had come up against a solid wall in her mind. The graffiti on it read "Bugger off! No Entry here." He couldn't read Inez Urso.

The phone stopped ringing, only to start up again a moment later and Thomas glanced down at it with a sigh. Spotting the caller ID stating it was Bastien, he flipped it open and lifted it to his ear.

"Thomas?" Bastien asked.

"Yeah."

"Did you feed from Inez?"

"Yeah."

"Good, good. Are you on the way to the airport?"

"No."

There was a moment of silence. "Why?"

"We have a problem," he muttered.

"What kind of problem?" Bastien sounded wary.

"I can't wipe her mind."

"What?" Bastien asked with disbelief.

A crash sounded in the bathroom as something was knocked to the floor. It made Thomas back away so Inez wouldn't overhear his conversation. "I can't get into her thoughts to wipe the memory of the bite from her mind."

There was another pause and then Bastien clucked and snapped, "Dammit, Thomas! Inez is one of my best employees."

He pulled the phone away from his ear to peer at it with disbelief, and then slapped it back to his head. "What the hell has that got to do with anything?"

"Well, if you had to find your lifemate, couldn't it have been someone else's employee. I'm going to lose her now. She'll want to be with you and come to Canada and-" Thomas heard the sound of material rustling and knew Bastien had pressed the phone to his chest while he spoke to someone else. Etienne, he supposed, and guessed he was explaining things to the other man.

The whole family would know by sunset, Thomas realized and rolled his eyes.

"Never mind," the older immortal said apologetically. "I'm just tired and cranky. Congratulations."

"Congratulations?" Thomas echoed with disbelief.

"Yes, congratulations, Thomas. You've just met your lifemate."

"I've just bit my lifemate," Thomas snapped. "And she's now locked in the bathroom, probably fashioning a cross and a stake out of the soap bars and anything else she can find in there."

"Oh crap."

"Yes, oh crap." Thomas snarled. "Bite her you said. Feed off of Inez so we don't have to worry about you being tempted on the plane. Brilliant, Bastien."

"Well, hell, Thomas, how was I supposed to know she would turn out to be your lifemate? Couldn't you have tried to read her before you bit her?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" Thomas snapped. "I had no idea she was my lifemate."

"Okay, okay," Bastien said quickly. "Let me think."

Thomas rolled his eyes, but remained silent.

"She's locked in the bathroom?" Bastien asked finally.

"Yes."

"Have you tried to talk to her?"

"What would you like me to say Bastien? Oh, I'm sorry, Inez. I didn't mean to bite you, my fangs slipped."

"You could try reassuring her. Maybe explain about what we are."

"I think she's realized what we are," Thomas pointed out dryly. "And judging by the fact that she's locked in the bathroom, she isn't happy with the realization."

"Give her the phone, maybe I can explain."

"What part of locked in the bathroom aren't you getting?" Thomas asked with exasperation. "I can't give her the phone."

"Okay...Just a minute," He covered the phone again and conferred with Etienne.

Thomas shook his head and paced the small space of the little hallway between rooms.

"Thomas?"

"Yeah?" he turned his attention back to the phone.

"You're going to have to try talking to her."

"What do you suggest I say, Bastien?" Thomas asked wearily.

"Ask her if she's all right."

Shaking his head, Thomas lowered the phone and moved to the door, pressing his ear to it before speaking. All he heard was breathing, a fast, shallow panting. The woman was either on the verge of having an anxiety attack or she was jogging on the spot in there.

"Inez?" he called through the door, trying for a soothing tone. Judging by the scurrying sound of her shuffling away from the door, it didn't have the desired effect. Grimacing, he asked, "Are you all right?"

A spate of Portuguese sounded through the door.

Frowning, Thomas lifted the phone to his ear. "Did you get that? What the hell did she just say?"

"I don't know, I couldn't hear," Bastien admitted unhappily. "Put the phone to the door and ask her to repeat it."

Muttering under his breath, Thomas moved the phone to the door, cleared his throat, and said, "Er...Inez, do you think you could repeat that? I don't speak Portuguese and Bastien couldn't hear you."

"You bit me!!"

Thomas waited to see if there was more, but when silence followed, he lifted the phone back to his ear. "Hello?"