Her lips are pursed like she’s offended . . . and she has the loveliest beauty mark at the top edge of her lips. God, I want to touch it . . . to kiss her mouth and lick that dark freckle. Naturally, that thought leads to imagining her naked, silky hair falling all around her. She wouldn’t be able to keep up the innocent act in bed with me. I’d have her true vixen side showing in no time.

Hey, arsehole, she’s likely here to gather intel that could lead to your death, I remind myself, clearing my head and shifting before my body has a chance to take over. I have a firm “no Neph” rule.

This girl is strange, no doubt, but I can’t help getting closer. If she’s pretending to be human, I want to see how far she’ll take this impromptu act.

“Where’s your angel?” I ask.

“If you mean Jay, he’s over there talking to some man in a suit. But he’s not my boyfriend or my angel or whatever.”

She seems genuinely flustered. If this is all a charade, why are her colors jumping around like that? Light gray, medium gray, fuzzy, sharp, and yeah boy . . . a nice swirl of red. She wants me, but I can tell she’s not happy about it.

Completely baffling.

Why doesn’t she just show her hand? Tell me what she wants? Why play this game when she knows I can see she’s a Neph? I’ve even seen her gazing at my badge. I step back as a thought occurs that freaks me the fuck out. What if she doesn’t know what she is? What we are?

No.

That isn’t possible. Perhaps back in the day when Dukes had countless offspring there could have been unaccounted-for Neph orphans. Everything is tightly regulated since the Great Purge a century ago, when the Dukes wiped every Neph from the face of the earth. Thousands of us were killed because our numbers overwhelmed our demon fathers. Apparently the Neph were growing out of control, not being careful with their powers, and even sliding under the radar when it came to working. Now there were only a hundred something Neph children, and the Dukes were careful not to overpopulate again.

Someone has to know about this girl. Perhaps she’s been kept hidden from other Neph, to be used as a secret weapon against us—to confuse the hell out of us and then go for the kill.

I wonder how far she’s willing to take this before she fesses up. I glance over at the humans she came with.

“Not your boyfriend, eh?” At this, she appears angry. “Are you certain he doesn’t fancy you?”

I grin and she juts out her chin, standing a little taller, which isn’t very tall at all.

“Yes, I am.”

“How do you know?” I ask.

She seems to ponder this question before spouting smartly, “I just know, okay?” Her arms are still firmly crossed over her chest.

I lift my hands and laugh in the face of her adorable show of sassiness. Perhaps I’m having a bit too much fun with this whole thing, but I can’t help myself. It’s just so ridiculous. I’m determined to out her by any means. Intimidation hasn’t worked, so it’s time to turn on the charm.

“I’m terribly sorry, Anna. I’ve forgotten my manners. I thought you were . . . someone else.”

I stick out my hand. “I’m Kaidan Rowe.”

She pulls a hand away from her side and takes mine. Hers is soft and cool and seems right at home in mine, which is an idiotic thing to think. This little Neph is having bizarre effects on me. I stare into her eyes wondering how she can hide her deceit so well.

I’m about to pull my hand away when hers suddenly warms . . . and she full-out blushes. Un-fucking-believable. How did she get herself to do that? I’ve never seen a Neph blush in my life. Her aura is going mad again, lust winning out as the dominant color. And just to be sure she isn’t simply an expert at mind games, I open my sense of smell and let it surround her.

Oh damn. Definitely giving off pheromones.

She smells divine. Like a fresh pear. And some dainty flower I can’t put a name to. That’s gonna bug me.

Right. I chuckle at the craziness of it all and slowly take my hand back. I’m about to tuck my sense of smell away when I get an idea. One more test to see if I can get her to admit to being Neph. I search down the street, bypassing foul city scents until I find what I’m looking for.

“Ah, smells good. There’s nothing like American hot dogs. I think I’ll have one later.”

She looks at me like I’m crazy and says, “I don’t smell anything.”

“Really? Lean toward the door some. Breathe a bit . . . deeper.”

I can tell she knows what I mean. Her face tightens in concentration and her little nose slightly flares until I know she’s smelled it. One mile away. I wait for her to try to deny it, but she only shakes her head and blinks at me. Yeah, that’s right. . . . I can do what you can do, so let’s cut the shite, shall we?

“Hmm. I suppose I was mistaken then,” I say with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

This has gone on long enough. I need to get some answers, out of the public eye.

One of the abandoned models takes this inopportune moment to approach, stepping between us. I whisper what she wants to hear—that I’ll be over in a moment to take them home, and then we’ll have all night. She walks away satisfied, while I feel anything but. I can’t get out of work to chase this Neph girl, especially if I’m under some sort of surveillance. But I will find her. Her human “friends” are over there giving their information to our road manager. I’ll find out where they live, what school they attend, what parties are happening in their area. . . . I have resources, and people give out a plethora of information on their social media accounts.

“Maybe I’ll see you around, Anna. I’ll be sure to give your boyfriend Jay’s songs a listen.”

As I turn to walk away, I hear her say, “He’s not my—” but I don’t stop to listen. My beautiful dates are waiting none too patiently.

I listen from across the room as the bloke Jay goes back to her, inquiring about me. I almost spit my bourbon through my nose when he says, “Man, y’all looked like you were gonna rip each other’s clothes off!” and she hits him. Instead I make eye contact with Anna one last time and wink at her. Damned if she doesn’t blush again before turning quickly to leave.

She deserves an Oscar, that girl.

I try to give the models my full attention, but all I can think about is Anna. I listen to her conversation as they drive away. She’s just about to ring someone named Patti when they exit my range of hearing.

“Freesia!” I say aloud when the name of the flower finally comes to me. She’d smelled of pears and freesia.

The models give one another funny looks and giggle.

I shake my head. “Sorry. Don’t mind me.”

They laugh now and I grin, feeling like an idiot—an unfamiliar feeling for me.

Intrigue like I’ve never experienced floods me, and I don’t like it. Everything about her screamed of innocence, but that’s impossible. Her sudden appearance in my life will drive me to distraction, something I cannot afford. Still, I know I will replay our meeting for days—the images—her all-natural appearance, her open expressions and colors, and her seemingly authentic friendship with a human boy.

Either this Neph has some twisted, ingenious plan to entrap me, or she truly doesn’t know what she is. If that’s the case, it means serious danger for her. Not that I should care. Not that I do care. I’m intrigued is all—enough to know that I won’t rest until I find out more about this mysterious Anna.

CHAPTER THREE

More Confused Than Ever

“Burning mud in my eyes,

Blinding me from the truth.”