Dark Sins and Desert Sands by Stephanie Draven Page A

hour. “What’s the matter, Princess Jasmine?” he taunted, shutting the motel room door and locking it behind them. “A little too low-rent for you? The good news is that nobody saw us come in together, and even if they did, nobody thinks you’re on the run. They’d just think you’re here with me for a quick roll in the hay.” He’d only meant it as a joke—to lighten the mood—but she turned her head as if he’d slapped her. “Hey, I was just teasing. I told you before that I wouldn’t use my powers to take advantage of you.”
    She didn’t even smile. “Then why did you kiss me in the parking garage?”
    Okay, so she had him there. “I kissed you to shut you up and keep you from screaming,” he said, though he was pretty sure that was a complete lie. He’d kissed her because her face had haunted his dreams for years. And because he could. What’s more, she’d liked it, so he wasn’t about to apologize.
    He watched her cross the room and pick up the receiver of the phone. He was on her heels and caught her by the hand. “Who the hell are you calling?”
    Her green eyes blinked. Once. Twice. “I was just checking to see if there was a dial tone. If Seth followed us—if he’s planning to storm this place with his thugs—one of the first things he’ll do is cut the phone lines.”
    “You’re not going to try to call the police?”
    “The police can’t protect me,” Layla said, breaking free of him. “Not from Seth and obviously not from you, either. After all, you were able to get past security and into my apartment without unbolting the locks, weren’t you?”
    “I was never in your apartment,” Ray explained, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I was in your mind. In your dreams.”
    “No, you were in my bedroom,” Layla insisted. “My headboard was slashed open!”
    “That was all you, sweetheart,” Ray said, a hint of smugness at the corners of his mouth as he lifted his gouged arms. “You like to scratch in moments of passion.”
     
    Passion . Even the word sounded foreign to Layla’s ears. Like something forbidden and wonderful. Likesomething she’d once wanted very much but could never have.
    She glanced down at his bed, which looked like it’d been shredded by some wild animal. The sheets were torn rags. “I guess you’re going to tell me that I did this too, then?”
    “No,” Ray confessed, with another rueful twist to his lips. “But it was your fault. When I went into your dream— You do remember your dream, don’t you?”
    “Just in bits and pieces.” Embarrassed at the memory of their near intimacy, she looked down at herself and sighed. “I’m going to need a change of clothes.”
    “What you need to do is sit down and answer some questions for me.”
    “I will. I promise. I’ll tell you anything I can remember. But not here. Get me a change of clothes and then we can go. There’s a dealership in the valley. We can trade in your car for something that’ll make the trip to California. Or New York. Yes. The East Coast. The farther we can get from here the better.”
    “Who says I’m letting you go anywhere?” Ray asked. “Besides, we can’t trade in the car tonight. By the time I get you a change of clothing, the dealerships will be closed.”
    “I have a lot of money,” she said, hugging herself. “We could bribe someone.”
    “I thought you were a smart lady. If you interrupt some used car salesman at dinner by waving around a ton of cash on the way out of town, he’s going to remember your face. And mine. The best thing to do is hunker down here until morning.”
    Until morning. Surely he didn’t expect her to stay here with him until morning. On the other hand, maybeit was the smart thing to do. She needed time to calm down and think things through.
    “But what if he finds us?” Layla asked. “What if Seth somehow finds us here?”
    Ray pulled his gun out of the waistband of his jeans and held it up. “Then I’ll kill him.”
    Layla