He wiped his hands dry on the dish towel she had on the counter. "Habit."
"You must live alone, too."
"Yeah."
Zarek watched her draw near to him. She moved to his side again, intruding on his personal space. He was torn between wanting to stand beside her and wanting to curse her nearness.
He decided on pulling away. "Look, could you just stay away from me?"
"Does it bother you for me to come near?"
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) More than she could imagine. When she was near him, it was easy to forget what he was. Easy to pretend he was a human being who could be normal.
But that wasn't him.
That had never been him.
"Yes, it does," he said, his tone low, threatening. "I don't like people to get near me."
"Why?"
"That's none of your damned business, lady," he snapped at her. "I just don't like people to touch me and I don't like them to come near me. So back off and leave me alone before you get hurt."
The wolf growled at him again, more fiercely this time.
"And you, Kibbles," he snarled at the wolf, "had better lay off me. One more growl and I swear I'm going to geld you with a spoon."
"Sasha, come here."
He watched as the wolf went instantly to her side.
"I'm sorry you find us so bothersome," she said. "But since we seem to be stuck together for a bit, you could try and be a little more sociable. At the very least civil."
Maybe she was right. But the bad thing was, he didn't know how to be sociable, never mind civil. No one had ever wanted to converse with him either in his human life or his Dark-Hunter one.
Even when he'd first signed on to the Dark-Hunter.com Web site to chat ten years ago, the other, older Dark-Hunters had thrown a fit and attacked him.
He was in exile. The rules of his banishment required that none of them speak to him.
He'd been banned from posting on the bulletin boards, the chatrooms, even the private loops.
It had only been by accident that he'd stumbled across Jess, who had been in one of the gaming rooms waiting for his Myst opponent to arrive. Too young in Dark-Hunter years to know he wasn't supposed to talk to Zarek, Jess had greeted him like a friend.
The novelty of it had made Zarek vulnerable and so he'd found himself talking to the cowboy. Before he knew it, they had somehow become friends.
And what had that gotten him?
Nothing but a bullet hole in his back.
Forget it. He didn't need to talk. He didn't need anything. And the last thing he wanted was to be sociable with a human woman who would call the cops if she ever found out who and what he was.
"Look, princess, this isn't a social call. As soon as the weather lets up, I'm out of here. So just leave me alone for the next few hours and pretend I'm not here.
"
Astrid decided to back off a bit and let him get a little more used to her.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Little did he know, he was going to be trapped here a lot longer than a few hours. That storm wasn't going to abate until she wanted it to.
For now, she would give him time to reflect and regroup.
There were still other tests he would have to pass. Tests that she wouldn't relent on.
But there was time for that later. Right now he was still wounded and betrayed.
"Fine," she said, "I'll be in my bedroom if you need me.
"
She left Sasha in the kitchen to watch him.
"I don't want to watch him," Sasha snapped.
"Sasha, obey.
"
"What if he does something disgusting?
"
"Sasha!
"
The wolf growled. "Fine. But can I have one small bite of him? Just to give him a healthy respect for me?"
"No."
"Why?"
She paused at that as she entered her room. "Because something tells me that if you attacked him, it is you who would get the healthy respect forhispowers ."
"Yeah, right."
"Sasha! Please."
"Fine, I'm watching him. But if he doesanythingdisgusting, I'm out of here ."
She sighed at her incorrigible companion and lay down on her bed to try and get a little rest before she began her next battle of wills with Zarek.
Astrid took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She connected again with Sasha so that she could check in on Zarek. He was standing at her front window now, looking out at the snow.
She saw the ragged tear in the back of his shirt. Saw the weariness on his face. He looked daunted and at the same time determined.
There was an agelessness to his features. A wisdom that seemed somehow at odds with his sinister appearance.
"What are you, Zarek?" she wondered silently.
The question was morbidly followed by another. In the next few days, she would know exactly who and what he was. And if Artemis was right and he was truly amoral and lethal, she wouldn't hesitate to let Sasha kill him.
Chapter 4
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"Wake up, Astrid. Your psychotic criminal is playing with knives."