"
He paused and grinned devilishly at her. "I doubledog dare you," he said slowly. "That, my friend, will get you locked inside a rubber room.
"
She had no doubt about that at all. And it explained why he felt so free to talk about his "differences.
"
"Are you really a wolf?
"
He nodded.
"Then how can you be human?
"
"We're a different breed than your people. My race was created about nine thousand years ago when my greatgrandfather decided to save the lives of his sons by magically splicing their DNA with a few choice animals. Thus we were born. One son made two half-blooded creatures. One that held a human heart and one that held an animal heart. I'm directly descended from the animal."
"So you have the heart of a wolf?
"
Again, he nodded. "And the morals and the self-preservation instincts of one too.
"
"Do you ever wish you were human?
"
"No, never. Why would I?
"
And yet she sensed he was hiding something. There was a lot more to his feelings than he was willing to admit and it was obvious he didn't want her to delve into it.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) So she changed the subject. "Does it hurt when you change forms? Is it like the movies where you get all hairy and bones crunch?"
He snorted at that. "No. That's strictly aHollywood dramatization. Since we're born of magic, for the most part we wield it painlessly. I feel about as much pain transforming as you did when we bopped from Talon's cabin to my bike. All you get is a little electrical frizz going through you. It's actually kind of pleasurable if you do it right."
"It must be neat to be able to do all that." She tilted her head, squinted her eyes, and looked at him.
"What are you doing?
"
"Trying to imagine what you would look like as a wolf.
"
"Pray you never find out.
"
She stepped back from him. "You know, I think you guys really get off on scaring people.
"
"Sometimes we do.
"
Not willing to investigate that any further, Sunshine continued to wait.
Unfortunately, Cameron didn't show.
Vane tried to get her to go back to Talon's but she refused. "Maybe he's just late. Maybe he had a
meeting or something. I can't just leave.
"
Vane gave a low, very wolf-sounding growl at that and took up a seat behind her stand, leaning back against the black iron fence while she sat on her stool, hawking her wares and sketching.
The afternoon dragged on, but nothing happened.
Cameron still hadn't shown up.
Selena left at four for a brief break.
Vane was now sitting on the curb behind her. His long legs were stretched out on the street, and he had them crossed at the ankles. He was leaning back on his arms. The position pulled his cotton T-shirt tight over his impeccable body.
"You do this every day?" he asked.
"Pretty much."
"Man, this is boring as hell. What do you do to keep from going insane?"
"I usually sketch or paint, and before I know it, the day has passed and it's time to go home."
"Well, I don't get it."
People who weren't artists never did.
"Hi, Sunshine, you got anything new?"
Sunshine turned to see Bride McTierney approaching her on the opposite side of the cart. A tall, plus-sized type of voluptuous, Bride had the face of one of Botticelli's angels. Her hair was so dark an auburn that it appeared black unless Bride was outside. Then it was a deep luminescent red. Bride usually wore it up in a clip with tendrils of it falling around her face.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) A real sweetheart, Bride was one of her regular clients. She'd even taken some of Sunshine's paintings and used them in her boutique.
"No," Sunshine said, "sorry. I haven't been painting the fantasy orJackson Square stuff lately. I've mostly been working on commissioned pieces."
"Rats, I just moved into a new apartment and was hoping you'd have something to make the drab walls tolerable."
Sunshine frowned. Bride had loved her place on Iberville. "Why did you move?"
"Taylordoesn't like coming all the way into the city at night so I thought it would be easier if I lived closer
to where he works."
"Butyou work in the quarter."
"I know. It's one of the sacrifices we all have to make for love." She offered Sunshine a smile, but Sunshine could tell it was only a fa?ade.
That was exactly what Sunshine was afraid of.
Why was it always the woman who had to sacrifice for love? Just once, couldn't a guy do it instead?
Bride sighed. "Give me a call if you paint anything new that I'd like, okay?"
"I will. By the way, you're looking really good. Have you lost weight?"
Bride beamed. "I'm down to a size sixteen. But I have to tell you that I am starvingall the time."
"Yeah, but you're a knockout."