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turned vamp. We’d be gettin’ new songs from him forever.”
    Trixie was speechless. Absolutely without words.
    Here they were in the middle of the woods. She had just threatened to kick his ass. And the guy was talking about Johnny Cash. Not only that, but he was right. She did love Sid Vicious and the Clash.
    Damn it. How annoying. And charming. Crap.
    â€œAm I right?”
    â€œAre you going to do as I ask?” Trixie’s voice wavered and she retracted her fangs. “Will you stay away from here, from Chelsea’s house?”
    â€œOn one condition,” he murmured. His full lips curved and he tugged her closer.
    â€œFine.” Trixie swallowed the rising swell of desire as his firm, muscular legs brushed against hers. “What?”
    â€œDid I get your favorite musician right?”
    â€œYes.” She suppressed a grin because he’d hit the nail on the head. “Fine. Yes, you did. Those are my two favorites. Okay?”
    â€œGood.” Dakota abruptly dropped her hands and stepped away. The warmth from his body dissipated swiftly as the space between them increased. “Now, are you gonna tell me why you’re comin’ out here all the time, or what?”
    â€œYou’re a piece of work.” Trixie almost laughed out loud. He’d guessed her favorite musician and now wanted to know everything else? What-freaking-ever. “No. Like I said, my secrets are exactly that. Secrets. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t come out here again, let alone follow me around like a creep. I don’t, like, need some throwback from the fifties tailing me on my nights off. Got it?”
    â€œIs that so?” Irritation flickered across his face. “You know, missy, I only came out here because your maker and the rest of that crazy-ass coven told me I had to check up on you. I’ll be happy to let you run all over creation all by your pretty little self if that’s what you—”
    Dakota stopped speaking mid-sentence when a gust of wind rushed over them. It whispered over Trixie from behind, sending a tiny tornado of leaves whirling around them. A growl rumbled in Dakota’s throat. His nostrils flared and he bared his fangs as he looked past her to the driveway of the house. Before she could say a word, he flew over to the gravel-covered drive and tilted his nose to the sky.
    â€œWhat are you bugging out about?” Trixie flew over to him and landed on the steps of the house. There was no way she was letting him in there. “No one here but you, me, and forest creatures. Jeez, what’s your damage?”
    â€œHow long you been comin’ out here?” he asked as he scanned the area like the trained sentry he was. Any and all humor had vanished; he’d gone from good old boy to lethal weapon in a matter of seconds. “You run into any trouble out here on your visits? Supernatural or otherwise? Notice anythin’ out of the ordinary?”
    â€œNo.” She sat on the top step of the porch in a not-so-subtle attempt to block the entrance. She was getting a weird feeling in her gut, the one that warned her trouble was coming. “I’ve been visiting ever since she moved out of the city. Not that it’s any of your business, but I like to check on the woman who lives here. That’s all. No trouble. No drama. She’s just a human woman living her life.”
    â€œRight,” Dakota said tightly. His jaw clenched and the muscle there flickered with tension. “Chelsea, is it?”
    â€œWhatever.” Shit. Trixie cracked her knuckles and rose to her feet. She’d let the girl’s name slip. “Yeah. But she’s gone now and we should be too. Let’s go.”
    â€œWhy is she important to you?” Dakota strode slowly toward her, the gravel crunching beneath his heavy boots. All of the sweetness was gone from his voice and his expression was tense and serious—a