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tonight?”
    “Kitten, are you implying I might have stalked you?”
    He let his mouth open and his eyes show shock as he looked at her in mock horror. Damn right he’d stalked her.
    “No, I wasn’t implying that. I just wanted to know.”
    “There’s been a lot of buzz in the office about this new club and I decided since I had nothing better to do, I would check it out.”
    He gave her a nice innocent look. “Your telling Cheryl you might check that club out tonight, didn’t influence me at all.”
    He gave her a real smile.
    “Glad you managed to overhear my conversations.”
    “Me too.”
    They flagged the waitress down and got the check. Niko took care of the bill and they walked to the car together.
    “Do you need my address?”
    “No, sit back and enjoy the ride.”
    ***
    They thought it was over. That the woman was safe, the enemy had been disposed of. He would’ve alerted this planet’s protection system, but the eldest had made sure the human male would never be identified or found.
    He watched as they came out, the human female so calm in the presence of an animal. They were cold blooded killers who had already diverted from the fabric of what they were meant to be.
    They had been allowed to leave the planet and that was a mistake that he would rectify. He inhaled deeply and had to control a snarl. The scent of the woman was foul, her lust was obvious.
    The male could smell it. He enjoyed it. He wanted the female. He wanted something that was weak. He wanted someone who exhibited none of the beauty of his people, not that he would’ve ever let that young male get close to one of their females.
    He was still developing which caused him not to perceive the danger around him. If the eldest had been there or the next in line, they would’ve scented him or possibly felt the disturbance his presence caused.
    Not this one. He was too consumed with the human female, a female he didn’t deserve, a female who would die.
    He’d let her live last time, too focused on the other female. He understood his mistake and it wouldn’t happen again. She would die.

Chapter Eight
    “Wake up, Dee. We’re here.”
    Here wasn’t her nice neat apartment complex in the heart of Shadyside, surrounded by the up and coming. Here was an estate-like grounds with trees way in the background and manicured lawns.
    “Where exactly is here?”
    “This is my house.”
    “That’s not a house. It’s a frickin mansion, much like the one Aran lives in.”
    He smiled. “I know, it’s great. No noise, no visitors, no need to hide. A place where I can be myself, without this world intruding or judging me for being different.”
    She stopped and looked over at him. The need to panic was in the back of her mind, but it was swallowed up by the need to understand.
    “Sometimes I think that’s the American dream. They say we dream of white picket fences, a dog and two point three children. I don’t know. Maybe we did back in the day. Now I don’t believe that. I think we dream of this, having enough space all our own to be able to be ourselves, without anyone judging us. Paradise.”
    He did it again. He came and opened her door for her. Royalty. That’s how royalty was treated. He was telling her in such a small way that she was worth so much more. If she hadn’t been jaded, so mistreated, her eyes would’ve welled with tears.
    She blinked fast.
    “Are you ok?”
    She nodded her head. “A little bit of dust. I’m fine.”
    He led her into the house. The steps had been long and wide and the porch was simply an entry way. Now she stood in the foyer. It was huge, the kind of place she could get lost in. It was set up so that when you came in, you had a sense of this being someone’s pride and joy.
    Pictures of hillsides and eerie moments of the night hung in there, along with several sculptures. He loved his space.
    “You know I can’t stay, right?”
    “Stay as in forever or for a night?”
    “Stay period. Not even for ten