He sat down across from her and watched her eat. She ate like a machine, seeming to take no enjoyment from the meal. Refueling, the better to kick my ass. Well, so be it. He deserved that, and more. And he was a fast healer. Let her do her worst. “Why did you break our date?” he asked abruptly and surprised even himself—he had no idea he was going to say such a thing until it was done.

She grunted irritably. “We’ve been over this.”

“Jane…” Again, he had no idea what would come out of his mouth, but he plunged ahead anyway. “Jane, if you tell the truth, I’ll unlock those three doors and walk you back to your hotel. Just admit that you were afraid of me, that you were only pretending to accept what I am, and—”

Her gaze locked on his like a laser. “My name is Janet Lupo,” she said coldly. “I’m not afraid of any man. And. I. Don’t. Lie.”

He actually felt the chill coming off her. Absurd! She was half his size, even if she had twice the mouth. Her gaze was odd, almost hypnotic. With difficulty, he broke her challenging stare. “Well,” he said at last, “perhaps you can understand why I have difficulty believing that your ‘boss’ would insist on your free time, and why you would have to drop everything and rush to meet him at a moment’s notice.”

“Pack rules.”

“Beg pardon?”

“Pack…rules…dumb…fuck. Am I stuttering? I’m a werewolf. My boss is the head werewolf.”

He laughed and then ducked as her soup bowl sailed over his head. “Oh, come now, Janet! Because you know I am a vampire, you’ve decided I’ll believe you’re a werewolf? I’m that gullible? There’s no such thing, and you know it well.”

“Says the bloodsucker!”

He was still chuckling. “Nice try.”

“If you could think about something besides your dick for five seconds, you’d see it makes sense. My strength, my speed…”

“All well within the range for Homo sapiens…albeit the high end.”

“You’ve been dead too long, Dick. The average homo loser can barely lift the remote control. My rich blood? That’s from a diet high in protein. Raw protein, during the full moon.”

“Ah, the full moon. It’s a few days away, but I suppose I had better take care when—”