Maggie approached the desk. "I just had a lovely time at the Horny Devils. Thanks to you, it's the most popular nightclub in the vampire world."
Corky's eyes narrowed into angry slits. "I remember now. You're one of Vanda Barkowski's friends. You can give that crazy bitch a message from me." Corky rose to her feet. "I'm going to destroy her. And her club."
"Try it," Phil said softly, "and you'll regret it."
Corky scoffed. "Am I supposed to quake in fear from a mere mortal and a…miniature cowgirl?" She glowered at Maggie. "Don't think I haven't forgotten how you stole Don Orlando from me."
Maggie glared back. "You had already lost him. You treated him like a slave."
"Ha! I made him a star! I made him famous. What could you ever do for him?"
Maggie smiled. "I make him happy." She turned on her heel and marched out.
Corky sputtered. "I could ruin you. And your ranch. You're just so trivial, I haven't bothered!"
Phil paused by the door on his way out. "Leave Vanda alone."
"What are you," Corky sneered, "her guard dog?"
"Close." He took a deep breath and tapped into his inner Alpha power. He knew it would make his blue eyes glow. His body began to shimmer, his form fuzzy along the edges. He could shift in an instant if he wanted, or remain in human form while retaining all the power of the Alpha wolf.
Corky stumbled back, her eyes wide. "Who—What are you?"
Let her wonder. He shut the door in her face and reined in his power. In an instant he was back to normal. "Okay, where do you think Vanda is?"
Maggie stared at him, her mouth agape. "What was that?"
"The power of my inner…animal." He started down the hallway.
Maggie stood in place, her eyes still wide with shock. "But don't you need a full moon?"
"No. So where could Vanda be?"
"I–I don't know." Maggie ran to catch up with him. "I've never heard of a shifter who wasn't dependant upon a full moon."
"I can shift at any time." They reached the end of the hall, where it led into an intersecting hallway.
"That's amazing," Maggie whispered. "What kind of animal are you?"
He ignored the question as he inspected the new hallway. No sign of Vanda. "Let's split up. You go right, I'll go left."
"All right." Maggie headed right, then pulled back around the corner, grimacing.
"What's wrong?" Phil peered down the hall to the right. A blond woman was talking to the pirate actor.
"It's Tiffany." Maggie raised her gaze to the ceiling as if in prayer. "Must I see every woman tonight who's slept with my husband?"
Phil recalled that the actor Don Orlando de Corazon had been touted as the greatest lover in the vampire world. "I'm sure he never looked at another woman once he met you."
Maggie snorted, then smiled. "I believe you're right. Bless you. So you're a powerful shifter who knows exactly what to say to a woman? Vanda doesn't stand a chance."
"I hope you're right. But we still need to find her. How about I go right, and you go left?"
"Okay." Maggie hurried down the new hallway, moving away from Tiffany.
Phil strode toward the blonde and the pirate. He tried the first door. A storeroom.
"Aar, me buxom wench." The pirate adjusted his eye patch. "Ye be a glorious sight for me sore eye. Would ye care to go below deck with me?"
"To the basement?" Tiffany giggled. "Sure. I just love your accent. It's so classy. You sound like a prince." She led him to a door at the end of the hall.
Phil smiled to himself. Tiffany certainly wasn't pining over the loss of Don Orlando. He spotted a door labeled: CORKY'S DRESSING ROOM. This sounded promising. He quietly eased it open.
Vanda was seated at a dressing table. There was no mirror above it, but rather, a monitor connected to a digital camera. As a Vamp, this was the only way Corky could see herself to apply the mounds of makeup she wore. The camera was turned off now, and Vanda was entirely focused on her task, snipping at clothing with a small pair of scissors.
He closed the door with a click, and she jumped in her seat.
"Phil! What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing, Vanda?"
"I'm busy." She returned her attention to a black brassiere and made a small snip at the shoulder strap.
He stepped toward her. "As your sponsor, I suggest you put the scissors down."
"You are not my…" She paused with a wry expression. "I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu."
He chuckled. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Nothing." She made a tiny cut between the two massive cups of Corky's bra.
He eyed the pile of clothing on the dressing table. "You're exacting revenge by destroying Corky's underwear?"
"They're not destroyed." Vanda folded several pairs of lacy underwear and returned them neatly to a drawer. "They're just altered a tiny bit. Corky will never notice." She shut the drawer with a wicked grin. "Until it's too late."
Phil sighed. "Vanda, this is not what they mean by anger management."
She folded up a brassiere and stacked it in another drawer. "I don't need anger management. I was sorely tempted to jump that bitch in her office, but then I thought about all the ripped-out hair and black eyes and lawsuits, and I had to ask myself, 'Is it really worth it? "
He couldn't help but smile. "You're thinking before you act. That's an improvement."
"Thank you." She picked up the last bra and showed him the humongous cups. "Can you believe this? Fill it with rice and you could feed a starving family of four for a week." She folded it and placed it in a drawer. "Do men really find such huge breasts attractive?"
"Yes. Some men do."
She shot him a dirty look and slammed the drawer shut.
"But I don't." He moved closer to her chair. "I have seen perfection, so I could never want anything less."
She eyed him warily. "Nobody's perfect."
"You are. For me."
She jumped to her feet, positioning the chair between them. "I need to go. Corky could come in any minute."
"You've been avoiding me."
"I've been busy." She tightened the whip around her waist. "And I don't think there's anything to talk about, really."
He eased around the chair. "Have you thought about our kiss?"
"No." She lifted her chin. "I completely forgot about it. I figured it was an accident and we should never let it happen again."
"You reached that decision after you forgot about it?"
She scowled at him. "Okay. I remember it quite well. But just because it was hot, that doesn't mean we should do it again."
He smiled slowly. "It was hot, wasn't it?"
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. "I…can't remember."
"Strange how your memory comes and goes."
She licked her lips. "Some things are best forgotten."
He slipped an arm around her. "Have you forgotten how I make your heart pound?" He could hear it pounding.
She rested her hands against his chest. "I seem to recall something to that effect…"
He nuzzled her neck. "Have you forgotten how you tremble at my touch?"
She trembled. "Phil…" Her fingers clutched greedily at his shirt. "I don't want to fall for you."
"But you are." He noted the red glint in her eyes. "I know you want me."
"No." She raked her hands into his hair, closing her fists around the strands as if she never wanted to let him go. "I don't want you at all."
"That's a shame." He kissed her brow. "'Cause I want you."
"You shouldn't." She tugged his head down so she could kiss his mouth.
"Sweetheart, you're giving out mixed signals."
"I know." She pressed her body against his. "I've got to stop this. But God help me, I can't…stop."
He took her mouth, kissing her with all the passion that had simmered for eight long years. Her lips parted with a sweet surrender. But this was no passive surrender, not from his feisty Vanda. She stroked his tongue, then sucked on it with a desperation that made his blood boil. His groin swelled and he pulled her tight against him. With a deep growl he discovered just how well her thin spandex cat-suit hugged every curve of her body from the sweet cheeks of her rump to the small of her back.