She gasped and fled to the well-lit restaurant, to the cheery music playing over the speakers. Her heart clamored a raucous beat in her ears, booming so loud it was all she could hear. Her foot caught on the pavement and she slid for a second before righting herself. She flew to the door, whipped it open, and stopped inside it. Faces turned to her, some sitting on benches with arms wrapped around loved ones. They gazed at her with wide eyes and strange expressions.

Vanessa forced herself to stand still, to breathe through her nose and not run back out. Somehow, she managed to keep herself from looking back one more time to make sure he wasn’t there. Gradually the people blinked, their gazes wandering back to what they were doing and Vanessa could finally breathe again.

She went to the hostess and requested a table.

“No tables are open right now but you can sit at the bar if you like.”

“Perfect.” Just what she needed, a strong drink.

As time went by and more than a couple drinks went in her belly, the more she realized this was a mistake. Coming here, or anywhere for that matter, with Christine would have been fine. Safety lay in numbers. Now she was all alone.

Oh, God. She finished the last of her strawberry margarita and let the chilly iced drink roll around on her tongue before she swallowed. It just hit her.

“God, I’m stupid,” she muttered burying her face in her hand.

She only felt safe with him. Of course, it made sense. How it didn’t really hit her until now showed just how stupid she was. A buzzing noise caught her attention. Mumbling to herself, she rummaged in the small purse on the bar until she grabbed her phone. She hadn’t really paid much attention to the phone before which was obviously a mistake. The phone was small and black. After she hit the power button on it to turn on the screen, she had to slide this little key button across the screen to even unlock the phone.

“Fancy schmancy.”

There were all kinds of icons for stuff she either didn’t recognize or had never used. But at the top of the screen, a green bar flashed at her. She pressed her thumb to it, then her breath caught. A text messaging box popped up and the name of the person on the ‘from’ line sent her heart racing with excitement. Brayden Erickson. The message was something else entirely. She did a quick scan around the restaurant for him. Had he found her? Would he come after her again?

She re-read the message again, all of her fears vanishing with the excitement that only Brayden Erickson could bring.

What the hell do you think you’re doing?

Her lips twitched with a smile. It felt so good making him mad, she didn’t know why. Her thumbs flew across the small keyboard, then backspaced a lot when she made a slew of typing errors.

Getting a drink. Why?

You better get your ass home now.

Anger surged and she typed faster. Why? Where were you when I woke up?

Busy.

That’s it. One word. Was that supposed to make her feel better? Too busy to leave a note, apparently.

Indeed, he replied in an instant.

Yeah well, I’ll come back when I’m ready.

If you’re not ready right now, then I’m coming for you. You won’t like it, trust me.

“Ha,” she laughed. With a final swig, she downed the last of her icy margarita. Maybe you won’t like me if I come home. I’m pissed at you.

His reply gave her pause. Why?

She started to give in, relinquish her anger, but then she remembered waking up in a damned strange house with no sign of Brayden and anger won out.

Because you left me alone in a strange place after a horrible accident. I still don’t even know what happened!

She stared at her phone for a full thirty seconds waiting for a response. Nothing came. She clicked the phone on and off and still nothing. Frantic, she darted another look around the restaurant, but no tall vampire lurked waiting for her.

She hadn’t realized she’d been aching for him to respond until her phone buzzed with the incoming message. She quickly swiped her finger to unlock the phone and read his message, twice.

I had things to do. I tried to get it done while you were still asleep. Took a lot longer than expected.

Was that supposed to be some kind of vague apology? Well, unless he really said it, she wasn’t buying any of it.

Yeah, and I went out. Oh, well. I’ll be back when I’m done here. She glanced at her drink and new she was done. Any more drinks and she wouldn’t be safe to drive. She’d had just enough to feel loose and good but not dizzy and drunk.

You’re going to come back now or I’m coming to get you. Don’t make me. You won’t like it.

“Whatever,” she muttered and closed the phone, shoving it back in her purse.

She’d go, but not because he told her to. She was going because she couldn’t drink any more. Not because he ordered her to. She slid money across the bar, nodded to the cute bartender, then started through the restaurant. She mentally tried to prepare herself for what was to come. He’d be all mad and demanding; she’d be forced to either cave in or fight back. Well, she had the urge to get into a good ole’ fight with Brayden. It was the least he deserved for the stunt he pulled this morning.

You don’t just leave someone you supposedly care about like that, she thought. She stopped in the restroom to wash her hands. But did he care about her? He’d said he wanted her, but that wasn’t caring. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t like how sad her eyes looked. With a weary sigh, she forced a smile, dried her hands on the brown paper towels, then left. She deserved it all. A man who cared and wanted her. She’d had a mate who just ‘wanted’ her for all kinds of things. That didn’t work for her—at all.

A young girl, wearing a black T-shirt with the logo of the restaurant, opened the front door for her as she passed. Vanessa said a thank you, then stopped as she scanned the parking lot for her car. She couldn’t see it from here; two lanes of parked cars blocked her. The lot was lit with the yellow beacons from the street lights. She hated how cowardly it made her, but she clenched her purse hard over her shoulder and kept to the well-lit parts. It meant she had to walk a longer way to get to where she parked, but she made it.

She spotted the black Mercedes squeezed between a dark blue mini-van and a yellow Mustang and sighed. Her flats slapped across the pavement as she rushed to it, keys already in hand. Before she reached the trunk, her phone buzzed. Her gaze shot around the parking lot once more before she dug the phone out of her purse. Her heart started thumping. Another text message. She unlocked her phone and clicked on the messaging box.

Good choice.

She frowned at the message. How did he know? The feeling came quickly, or maybe she’d just become aware of it. She turned around slowly, her gaze leveled on that familiar strong chest, then slowly rose to meet bright gray eyes. Two thoughts instantly floated through her mind. Busted. Dayum!

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

He didn’t say anything, didn’t even nod.

“Guess that’s answer enough,” she muttered.

“I don’t think I made something clear to you,” he said in a low, controlled voice.

Her back snapped to attention, her wide eyes to his. “What?” Instinct warned her to back up, to run to her car and jump in and away from this dangerous man, while her body agreed completely, but for different reasons. Her body wanted him to catch her, punish her in a way that made her blood warm and flow thick like syrup through her body.

He took a step toward her. She took one back. His gaze stayed on hers, unwavering. “You belong to me now. The moment you freely touched me and let me touch you, everything changed.”