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But he hadn’t been the man trying to kill her. Shit. He’d saved her life. Didn’t he at least merit some kind of hot-and-heavy thank-you kiss for that?

Ah, Miranda Shaw. The sexy lady next door who’d brought him a dozen cookies when he’d moved in beside her. The computer teacher at the local high school. The teacher with the long, slender legs. With the softly curving breasts and the mouth that he ached to taste.

He’d dreamed about her for the past four nights. Hot, wild dreams that left him aching and pissed when he awoke alone.

Cain had wanted Miranda from the first moment he’d seen her. Wanted her naked and moaning his name.

He’d thought he’d play the gentleman. Get her used to him. Then take her.

Idiot. He’d wasted time playing the good guy when the woman was hanging out with the undead.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

If Miranda wanted to take a walk on the wild side, she could damn well walk with him.

It wasn’t like she could find a guy much wilder, anyway. He could get downright primal and knew that with her, he probably would.

“Uh, Miranda? You gonna be all right tonight?” The question came from the uniformed deputy with the buzz-cut red hair, a fellow who apparently thought he was in charge. Miranda had called him Sam. Cain had no idea what the guy’s last name was.

Her head lifted, and he caught sight of the bruises, scratches, and bite marks on her neck. His hand clenched. Oh, yeah, he’d be finding that vamp. Very, very soon.

“You didn’t catch him,” she said, and sounded both alarmed and disgusted by that fact.

Of course they hadn’t. Humans weren’t equipped to track vampires. Cain knew he should have run full force into those woods after him, and if the deputies hadn’t trained their guns on him, he would have done just that.

Then Miranda wouldn’t be sitting there looking furious and afraid.

But neither he nor Miranda had confided to the deputies about her date’s true nature. Cain hadn’t spoken up because he knew the uniformed men wouldn’t believe him.

Was Miranda keeping silent for the same reason? Or was something else holding her tongue?

Sam crossed to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

Cain frowned at the man.

“I can keep a patrol car in the area,” Sam offered. “We’ve got an all-points bulletin out for him.”

Like that would do anything.

“We’ve fixed your door⁠—”

Okay. His fault. Cain winced at the reminder. But when he’d heard Miranda’s scream and caught the scent of her blood on the wind, he’d been frantic to get to her side. He barely remembered ripping open the door.

“You didn’t fix it,” she groused. “You pretty much just nailed the thing shut.”

A cough from Sam. “Well, you can go in through the back, can’t you?”

Miranda sighed and shrugged off his hand. Then she rose, holding tight to the porch railing.

“He’s not going to come back, Miranda,” the deputy assured her. “He’d be an absolute fool to head this way again.”

Unfortunately, most of the vamps Cain had met were fools. Or sadistic killers.

Her shoulders straightened. “It’s all right,” Miranda said. “I’ll put on the alarm and⁠—”

Oh, hell, no. Cain marched toward her. He breathed in the sweet honeysuckle scent the woman carried and caught the richer smell of her blood. “You’re not staying alone.” Not until he’d caught that vampire.

A frown appeared between her eyebrows. There was only a little moonlight trickling down on them, but her porch light shone brightly on the small area. Yet even if it had been pitch black, he would have been able to see her almost perfectly. One of his kind’s little gifts.