“Want that drink?”

His gaze went beyond her. “Want to invite your friend too? He seems to be giving me the eagle eye.”

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s my partner. And we’re off-duty right now. He can find his own company to keep.”

Eddie jerked his chin to the side. “Want to head into the bar?”

She pretended to think about that for a moment, and then offered him a sheepish smile. “Right. I just walked out of an AA meeting. I don’t think Larry would think very highly of you if that’s where we go. Besides, I really should head back up to the third floor.”

Eddie’s smile slipped, and he sighed. “Doesn’t seem like we’re ever going to have time to get to know each other.”

His seemingly guileless gaze stroked over her, touching on her face, the curves of her figure. That odd warmth she’d come to recognize as something special about him infused her. She leaned toward him and glanced up from beneath her lashes. “Keep me company on the way up?”

His lids fell halfway. His nostrils flared. “Sure. Lead the way, Cait.”

She laughed. “I can’t talk to you if you’re behind me.” She slid her hand into the curve of his elbow. Together they set off.

“So, do you like what you do? Being a PI?”

Uh-oh. “How did you know that’s what I am? Have you been checking up on me?”

“I asked around. You and your partner run the Delta Detective Agency. Get any interesting cases?”

She made a face. “Mostly watching cheating spouses. The occasional missing person case. Believe me, it sounds more exciting than the work actually is.”

“Seemed plenty of exciting this morning. What exactly happened?”

At the end of the hall, they turned toward the elevators. “A woman I was following disappeared last night. The police wanted to ask me about what I knew. The officer in charge was on the third floor where her body was found. I guess I must have touched a light switch, and I got shocked. That must be something you see a lot,” she said, angling her head forward so she could watch his face.

“I’ve never responded to a call like that. Downed power lines, a husband deciding he can mess with his own junction box and getting his wires crossed, but you’re a new experience for me.”

She met his gaze, and for a split second, his eyes seemed to glow. She blinked and laughed, knowing she sounded nervous. Maybe he’d attribute it to the fact she was trying to flirt and wasn’t very good at it.

“Will your boyfriend be up there?” he asked as he touched the button for the elevator.

“He’s not my boyfriend. Sam’s my ex-husband. We’ve been divorced for a while now.”

“Still seems pretty protective.”

“Still thinks he owns my ass,” she grumbled.

His smile stretched. “You like playing with fire,” he said, his voice dipping intimately low.

Cait fiddled with a strand of her hair, one knee wagging in front of the other as she held his steady stare. “I’m not that brave. Not really. Not like you,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound like she was gushing too much. “Bet you’ve been in some real hot spots.” The doors opened and they stepped inside.

The trip up to the third floor seemed to take forever, stretching her nerves to the point of snapping. She stood beside an incubus. A powerful creature, or so Morin had warned. She’d only faced one demon before, but she’d been armed with a bellows and had two strong men backing her up.

Alone, and with Eddie Bradley inching closer, her mind went blank.

“Your hair still smells like it’s burning.”

Cait wrinkled her nose. “You sure know how to butter up a girl.”

“I have my ways.” He chuckled, the sound not the least sinister.

She wondered if he was laughing at her attempt to flirt. The doors slid open, and she started to step out.

He didn’t follow. Just lifted a brow and hit the button to reclose the doors.

A chill spilled down her spine. She almost had him where she wanted him, but how to convince him she really did want to get him alone? “I won’t be a minute. We can check in, then go find that drink.”

“Cait,” he said, his expression amused. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He tugged her back inside and hit the down button. When the car began its descent, he flipped the stop switch. “That’s better. We’re alone now.”

Her heart pounded. This was not what she’d planned. “What did you mean about me thinking you’re stupid?”

He turned toward her, then took a quick step forward, his body trapping her against the back of the car. He bent his head and nuzzled her ear. “Think I’m going anywhere near Sam Pierce now that he knows what I am?”

“What you are?” she asked, knowing he had to have felt her quiver that time.

His smile widened. “You really are cute. Especially when you drop the sexy act. I like you. I find that whole witch vibe extremely arousing.”

Her jaw sagged. “What did you say?” Lips brushed her neck, raising gooseflesh. She inserted her hands between their chests, intending to push him away, but his next kiss touched her carotid, which set her pulse racing. And not out of fear. Every bone and muscle in her body began to melt. The feel of his large, masculine body pressed against her, the rich manly smell of him—her knees felt weak.

“I’d like to do so many things to your body,” he whispered. “Give you the kind of pleasure only someone like me can provide. We’d be so good together.”

Heat blazed inside her, made her wet, the sudden intensity taking her breath. “Stop that,” she said, but turned her head to give him better access to her ear, which he nipped.

“That’s only a tease. Just a little taste. Come with me,” he said, pulling away and extending his hand. “No lasting harm will come to you, I promise. I’ll be gentle. I can be rough. Whatever you desire.”

Staring at his face, she could see how perfect a predator this handsome creature really was. She shook her head. “So you can leave me weak? Ready to turn over to your master?”

His eyelids flickered.

Good. She’d shocked him. He hadn’t realized she’d made the connection.

“Will you come with me or not?”

“Why are you even offering me a choice? Isn’t it your MO to simply take?”

“Like I said, I don’t want you left a wizened husk. I could drink you down for a lifetime and never get my fill,” he said, his expression filled with yearning. “You’re so much more than simply human. An elixir to someone like me. Come along, Cait.”

She squeezed her thighs together.

“That’s Eddie?” Syl stood beside her.

“Uh-huh,” Cait said, working up the gumption to drag away her hand.

“I liked him much better when he looked like Antonio. But that’s how he talks. All that talk about drinkin’. Thought he was talkin’ about somet’ing a whole lot sexier.”

“Sylvia, not now.”

His gaze sharpened and scanned the elevator car. “My little mariposa’s here?” He grinned. “Is she angry?”

Sylvia erupted in a blistering string of Spanish curses.

“She’s, um, disappointed you don’t look like Antonio Banderas.”

He tsked. “Better than, wasn’t that right, mi enamorada?”

Sylvia’s fingers curled into talons and she struck out, her hand passing right through him. “Joo… joo lyin’ sack o’ sheet.”

“She’s not feelin’ it, Eddie.”

The lights flickered above them. The elevator jerked.

Eddie’s head turned to the side.

“What’s happening?” Cait asked.

“It’s him,” he said, his expression tightening. “We have to get out of here.”

He flicked the switch again. The elevator dropped, skidding down at frightening speed, then it jerked again, stopped, and hurtled upward. Back at the third floor, the doors retracted, too fast for the proper mechanism to be controlling them.

Hand braced against the wall, Cait glanced over Eddie’s shoulder, and her eyes widened. Behind him, the foiled paisley wallpaper gleamed. “What the fuck, Eddie?”