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  Eve tilted her head, giving Selene better access. “This is making me feel better,” she murmured. “You’re so good at that. Making everything better.”

  “Among other things?” Selene drew back, eyes sparkling. Her hands found Eve’s hips and she walked Eve backward until her legs hit the couch. Tugging at Eve’s pajama pants, Selene slipped a hand inside and cupped her between the legs. “Or do you need a reminder?”

  “A reminder would be good.”

  And just like that, Jac was forgotten.

  Chapter Twelve

  It had been two weeks since Kevin touched Dr. Eve Thomas.

  Two weeks since he held her down on the ground and pressed his thumbs into her throat. Made her beg and quiver, reduced her to a pathetic shadow of the competent professional she pretended to be. It had been fourteen days exactly, and Kevin wanted to do it again.

  But this time he yearned to take it further. To smack her in the face until she cried. Cut her. Maybe even work up the nerve to rape her. Not because he got off on that kind of thing, but because he knew it would frighten her.

  And, Christ, how her fear fed him like nothing ever had.

  He had planned to taunt Eve Thomas, not torment her. Confound her, not confront her. But now that Kevin had glimpsed another possibility for their game, the idea consumed him. For so long he’d told himself he would come up with a brilliant plan, then stick to it no matter what. That was the way not to get caught. That was his way.

  After five minutes alone with Eve Thomas, Kevin didn’t know if that was how he wanted to do things anymore. Where was the fun in being too afraid to improvise? Too rigid to seize an opportunity when it presented itself?

  It wouldn’t be enough to outsmart Dr. Eve Thomas. Not for him, not anymore. He wanted to destroy her. To be the last thing she saw before she died, the monster she feared until that day. He wanted her, full stop, because she was quite simply the strongest, most competent woman he’d ever encountered. And yet he could reduce her to a quivering mass of flesh.

  What could be more exhilarating?

  So he would change his Plan. Nothing held him to it, really. Nothing except his own expectations.

  No matter what, he wouldn’t kill her yet. The anticipation was too delicious. Once he killed her it would be over. He would have to come up with a new game. And at the moment, he couldn’t think of another adversary he’d rather defeat. So he’d keep this going as long as he could. First he would kill another woman for her to examine, but then maybe he’d pay the good forensic pathologist a visit.

  Touch her again.

  Leave her afraid.

  He wanted to destroy her mentally so she would never be able to defeat him with her science, the cold logic with which she had taken down Charles Dunning. Just because he didn’t follow the original Plan, just because it served his basest desires, he wouldn’t be sloppy. Wouldn’t make the wrong move.

  He could do whatever the fuck he wanted. And what he craved most in the world, even more than being untouchable, was to terrify the living hell out of Eve Thomas.

  So he would.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Selene’s phone rang at five thirty on a Thursday evening just a little over halfway through the lunar cycle, she knew immediately that she was in trouble. It was Eve, and these phone calls had become a daily ritual. Selene’s stomach flip-flopped happily that Eve was finished at work and they would be together soon. But worry niggled at the back of her mind, the ever-present awareness that soon a night would come they couldn’t spend together—up to three nights, if Selene really wanted to play it safe. Even if she wasn’t forced to shift the day before and after the full moon, its pull usually affected her for a solid seventy-two hours. Eve would surely notice that she was hornier than usual.

  Coming up with an excuse to be away from Eve for even one night would be hard enough. Especially when being with Eve had become the best part of her life. Selene simply didn’t want to be apart.

  Picking up the phone, she said, “Hey, sweetheart.”

  “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

  Selene warmed at the happiness that shone through in Eve’s voice. “I’ve been thinking about you, too. Only every second.”

  “Good answer.” From the slight hiss of background noise, Selene could tell that Eve was calling from her car. “Want to hang out with me tonight?”

  “We should just agree that we don’t need to pretend I might say no.” Heart soaring at the thought of being together again, Selene took a steadying breath to tamp down her excitement. Eve made it very hard to play cool. “Of course I want to hang out. Always. This minute.”

  Eve laughed. “Have you ever been to the Castro Theater? They play older movies.”

  “No.” Selene couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone to a movie theater. She’d been a teenager, certainly, before her first forced transformation. Once she’d gone into hiding, being in a crowded room surrounded by other people didn’t appeal to her. But now that she was with Eve, doing something as painfully normal as going to the movies intoxicated her. “What’s playing?”

  “Ladyhawke. Have you seen it?”

  “I haven’t.”

  “It’s one of my favorites. It has everything…fantasy, romance, humor. The tragedy of star-crossed lovers, kept apart by a curse.”

  Eve’s excitement made Selene’s decision for her. “Sounds great.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

  Chuckling, Eve said, “I guess this is like a date, huh? Our first real one.”

  “You mean where we go out and do something fun first, then come home and have sex?” Selene was confident where their evening would end—in bed. “I’m up for it if you are.”

  “I’ll even buy you dinner.”

  Selene snorted. “Well, then I guess I’ll have to put out.”

  “Damn right,” Eve said. “Listen, I’m about five minutes from your place. If you can get ready quickly, we could grab something to eat right now. That should give us just enough time to make the movie.”

  Unable to believe this was her life now, Selene shook her head as she struggled against face-splitting joy. “That sounds perfect. I’ll just throw on my shoes and meet you outside.”

  “Awesome.” She could hear Eve’s anticipation in her voice. “See you soon.”

  “Bye.” Selene hung up and sighed deeply. Things were going so well with Eve that she hated to rock the boat. With a week and a half left until the next full moon, she had to figure out how to juggle a girlfriend and her transition for the first time. It definitely put a damper on the thrill of dating, but Selene wouldn’t let it bring her down tonight.

  Not when she was about to go out and have fun like a normal person.

  “A movie,” Selene murmured. “Look at me.”

  *

  Spilling out of the theater onto the crowded Castro sidewalk hours later, Selene could hardly believe what she’d just watched. Leave it to Eve to pick a movie that so closely hinted at Selene’s dual nature. As it turned out, Ladyhawke was a fantasy movie about a pair of lovers who were kept apart because of a curse—by day she was transformed into a hawk, and by night he shifted into a wolf. Consequently they could never be together as human beings—at least not until the end of the film.

  “Are you okay?” Eve asked as they walked down the street toward the car.

  Selene choked out an embarrassed laugh. Not one to get emotional over films easily, she had tears pouring down her face by the time the lovers got to be together. The idea that happy endings might be possible even in the most impossible of circumstances definitely stirred her and made her own situation that much more painful.

  Because real life wasn’t a movie. And though the thought of a fictional character who turned into a hawk or a wolf enchanted Eve, Selene doubted she would be so understanding about her own girlfriend being able to shift into either at will. Even less so about the fact that once a month Selene turne
d into a monster who couldn’t remember her nocturnal activities the next day.

  “It must be that time of the month,” Selene lied. “I’m just a little emotional.”

  “I think it’s sweet.” Eve clasped Selene’s hand, tangling their fingers together as they strolled down the sidewalk. “It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Hesitating, Selene tried to decide if she wanted to offer an explanation as to why the movie had touched her so much. Eve seemed content to chalk it up to hormones and good storytelling, and that was probably best. But despite her need to maintain secrecy, Selene craved a deeper connection with Eve. She wanted Eve to understand her as much as possible, even if Selene could never tell her a lot. “It’s just so sad. Not having any control over your life and your body, to the point that you can’t enjoy the love you’ve managed to find with another person…” Aware that she was on the verge of tearing up again, Selene forced a sheepish chuckle. “I’m just glad they were able to be together in the end.”

  “Me, too.”

  Exhaling shakily, Selene swiped at her eyes with her free hand. “I’m not usually this sappy.” She gave Eve a sidelong glance. “Must be a consequence of all these new feelings you’ve inspired.”

  Eve blushed, stopping them in front of her car. “I like it.”

  “That’s a relief.” Selene wrapped her arms around Eve and held her tight. After enduring two hours of tortured longing and shape-shifting that cut too close to reality, she was ready to take Eve home and lose herself in physical pleasure. “What do you say we go back to my place and you cheer me up?”

  Drawing away, Eve dropped a light kiss on the tip of Selene’s nose. “I could definitely do that.”

  “I know you can.” It had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the way Eve made Selene feel. Like she was worth loving. Like they could somehow be normal together, even if Selene couldn’t quite figure out how she might make that work.

  Soon Selene would need to find an excuse to keep Eve away during her next transformation. And the one after that. And the one after that. It wouldn’t be easy, but she needed to do it.

  Real life wasn’t a movie, and Selene had no idea whether a happy ending was even possible for her relationship with Eve. But she had to try to make one happen.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lying had never come naturally to Selene.

  Until she was sixteen years old, she hadn’t wanted or needed to cultivate the skill. She loved her adoptive parents and was generally a good kid. But the night of her first, uncontrolled shift—when she’d killed those sheep—lying suddenly became necessary for survival. That night she lost everything important to her: her home, her adoptive parents, her girlfriend. Her innocence. She gained the keen awareness that even those people who professed to love her would never accept her true nature, so in order to stay alive, she had to learn to hide in plain sight.

  That meant becoming a master of deception.

  Fifteen years of practice had made Selene very good at living in the shadows. She maintained relationships with escort services, did contract graphic-design work for numerous employers, and kept an apartment in one of the bigger cities in the United States without letting anyone know who or what she really was. For a child who had once been unable to sell even the most reasonable half-truth, as an adult Selene excelled at keeping secrets and misleading people.

  She didn’t enjoy telling lies. It still made her nervous, not to mention guilty. Although she was good at hiding that emotional turmoil from most people, she wouldn’t be able to hide from Eve.

  How could she lie to a woman who felt what she felt? A woman who’d already captured her heart, who’d shown her what it was like to feel loved? Not only would lying be difficult, but also Selene just plain didn’t want to do it. She knew how Eve felt about dishonesty—how broken trust had been the crux of her problems with Jac—and she dreaded the thought of starting down that road with the woman who’d quickly become as essential as the air she breathed.

  Even so, she had just a week until the next full moon. That meant she was rapidly running out of time to come up with a good story for why she wouldn’t be around that night. She had to work on staying calm when she told that lie. She had to believe it. Otherwise Eve would sense her dishonesty just as surely as she sensed everything else Selene felt.

  Hating herself, Selene hung up from her call to the escort service she’d been using for the past year and a half. She’d just arranged for a new girl, someone who could tie knots to her satisfaction. Escaping as her beast-self wasn’t an option this time, not when she wasn’t sure who or what she might seek out in her most primal form now that she’d found a mate.

  Selene sensed Eve a moment before she heard a knock at her front door. Excited to see Eve despite her anxiety, she struck a casual pose as she answered. “I was just thinking about you.”

  Eve beamed. “Good things, I hope.”

  Her bright mood washed over Selene, lifting her spirits. “Always.”

  “You okay?” Eve tilted her head as she stepped inside. “You seem…unsettled.”

  “No, I’m great.” Selene pulled Eve into her arms. Their connection flared deep in her chest, soothing her worries and refocusing her on what was important. This woman. She had to do whatever it took to keep Eve, and if that meant lying, then so be it.

  “You sure?” Eve put a hand on the back of Selene’s head and held her close, turning her face so their foreheads touched. “Because it’s like I can feel things, you know. It sounds ridiculous, but with you…I don’t know. I guess you’re easy to read.” Giggling shyly, Eve said, “I feel things.”

  Selene put every ounce of her concentration into not reacting to Eve’s confession. She knew that they had an empathetic bond, but Eve didn’t. Scientist that she was, Eve most likely wouldn’t even believe in such a concept. And yet here Eve was, skirting the edge of articulating what it was between them that made their chemistry so explosive.

  “I was just missing you,” Selene said quietly. She forgot any notion of trying to sell Eve a story about the night of the full moon. Eve’s intuition of her feelings spooked her, and she didn’t want to risk their newly formed bond. Not yet, anyway. “I’m feeling much better now.”

  “Good.” Eve giggled when Selene’s hands found her ass, caressing her gently. “Should we eat dinner? We could order pizza.”

  “I can think of something I’d rather eat,” Selene whispered into Eve’s ear. She felt the immediate impact of her words as a tightening in her abdomen, then a surge of lust that seemed to flow directly from Eve’s hands to Selene’s brain.

  “Since when did you get so naughty?”

  “You’re a bad influence.” Selene nipped at Eve’s throat. “You’ve totally corrupted me.”

  “Apparently so.” Eve threw her head back and hissed when Selene slipped her hand down the front of her pants, into her panties, fingers instinctively finding wet heat, then pushing between her folds. “I can live with that.”

  “Trust me, I’m not complaining.” Selene worked a single finger inside Eve, delighting in the tight warmth of her pussy. She loved the way Eve clamped down around her, the way her fingers dug into Selene’s shoulders like she was desperate to get closer. “How about we go to the bedroom now and worry about dinner later?”

  Eve nibbled at her ear with sharp teeth. “You talked me into it.”

  Selene knew it was wrong to distract herself from the necessary task by initiating sex, but the seduction wasn’t a purely cunning move. Making love was better than lying to the woman she adored, certainly, but Selene simply couldn’t stop herself from taking Eve physically, over and over. The emotional pull between them was so intense that the only way to ease the sweet agony was through sexual release. Even that only offered a temporary reprieve from the desperate craving for Eve that constantly thrummed through Selene’s veins.

  Lying could wait. Tonight she’d enjoy Eve while she still had the chance.

 
*

  Sometime in the middle of the night, Eve’s cell phone rang. Groaning, she opened her eyes and reached for the glowing, vibrating object, hoping like hell that she wasn’t being called to examine a body. After hours of strenuous physical activity with Selene, the thought of dragging her ass out of bed and to a crime scene was spectacularly unappealing. Usually the late-night calls went to Wayne, who valued a good corpse much more highly than sleep.

  Eve glanced at the display. She didn’t recognize the number. Picking up, she mumbled, “Hello?”

  Silence.

  “Hello?” Eve said again. She pulled the phone away from her ear to check that the caller hadn’t hung up. When she saw that the connection was still active, she brought the phone to her ear and listened. She heard the faintest trace of street noise, then a beep that signaled that the caller had disconnected. “Nice.”

  “Everything okay?” Selene murmured. A strong arm curled around Eve’s waist, tugging her closer. “What time is it?”

  Eve glanced at the phone’s display. “A little after one in the morning.”

  Selene hummed in acknowledgment. Then she kissed Eve’s throat, scraping her teeth over a pulse point. “Need any help getting back to sleep?”

  Chuckling sleepily, Eve seriously considered another round before conceding defeat. “I’m not sure I’m physically capable right now.”

  “Good.” Selene slid her hand between Eve’s legs and cupped her gently. “Me either. No matter how badly I want to.”

  Eve closed her eyes and sighed. “You make me feel so sexy.”

  “Because you are.”

  That was the amazing thing about being with Selene. For the first time in her life, Eve believed in her own desirability. How could she not?