Master of Darkness by Susan Sizemore Page B

his cheekbones. At least his sunburn had already healed.
    â€œYou don’t look good,” she ventured. The truth was, despite the evidence of exhaustion, he was still the handsomest male she’d ever seen.
    â€œMontserrat” was his answer.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWhat about Stromboli?”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œOr there’s Mount Etna. Iceland has an active geological life you could check out.”
    Eden finally realized that everywhere he’d mentioned was the site of lava flows. “I doubt they allow tourists on Monserrat,” she told him. “The island is still one big erupting volcano.”
    â€œYou said the last time you saw lava, you were running from it. What’s that about?”
    â€œWhen I was a kid, my family went on vacation in the Andes. The village where we stayed was at the base of a dormant volcano.”
    He nodded. “It wasn’t dormant when you left.”
    â€œWhen we ran for our lives,” she said. “We were on the last truck out during the evacuation. I remember looking back as the lava burned down the mountain. I saw it torch thefirst house on the outskirts of the village, and the fire leaping from building to building. It was inexorable. Terrifying.” She sighed. “Beautiful.”
    â€œSo you want to see it again.”
    â€œYes. I figure looking at lava in Hawaii is safer than my initial experience.”
    â€œYou’re a vampire hunter.” He grinned at her. “What do you know about being safe?”
    â€œI’m not suicidal.”
    â€œHaving adventures isn’t about being safe. Life isn’t about being safe.”
    â€œI know that.”
    â€œDo you?” His voice was a soft, sultry purr.
    Suddenly she didn’t think he was talking about volcanoes anymore. The dangerous fire was in his eyes, and Eden couldn’t look away. She’d always been drawn to fire.
    She wasn’t sure what would have happened next, but the elevator stopped, and they stepped away from each other as a man got on.
    The rest of the ride up to the fifth floor was uneventful. Desire wasn’t racing through her anymore as they reached the apartment, but it was a slow, persistent ache.
    She ached in other ways as well. His blood had healed the deep cuts on her arms, and she’d regained her energy, but she wasn’t yet used to living by night.
    â€œI hope this case doesn’t go on too much longer,” she said as she stepped into the living room. “Because the hours are killing me.”
    â€œIt might not just be the hours, if this goes on much longer.”
    A chill went down her spine at the coldness in his voice, but she faced the danger. “Having a personal vendetta against me is—a challenge.”
    He went into the galley kitchen and took a container of blood from the refrigerator. Her immediate temptation was to offer herself instead, but she knew that was the way bonds were formed. He’d only been trying to help her when he’d given her his blood. The fact that he didn’t now assume she was there for his sustenance was a good sign of his honorable intentions. Her resentment of those honorable intentions was only a by-product of what had happened.
    â€œI’m going to take a shower,” she said, and left him to his meal.
    By the time she was done, Wolf had retreated to his bedroom. She needed to sleep, too, but there were a few things to take care of before she could rest.
    The phone rang before she could even sit down at the desk to check her e-mail.
    â€œYes? What? Where? No, he can’t come out in the daylight. But I’ll be right there.”
    Eden put down the phone and ran her hands through her damp hair. No rest for the wicked, she supposed, glaring at Wolf’s closed door before hurrying to dress.
    There was a hint of vampire on the morning breeze. Joe took note of it, but didn’t think much about it. He’d spent a long night on a