Callie Wolfe, shapeshifter werewolf and supernatural crime-fighter extraordinaire, is in love with her enigmatic boss, Shadow. But if he feels anything for her in return, he sure doesn't show it. At least, not until Callie loses her cool and confronts him regarding his standoffish behavior, only to end up in his warm embrace. When Callie and her co-agents find themselves embroiled in a fight to rid their city of a band of murdering rogue vampires, Callie and Shadow must juggle their budding, sexually charged relationship with tracking down and capturing the killers.

Special Content Alert: Brief forced intercourse, exhibitionism and graphic violence.

Excerpt:

"If the Old Ones are changing and going back to the way it used to be . . . ." Callie shivered. "We should get in touch with my father. He needs to know about this."

"I've sent him a message, Callie. I wasn't going to keep this from him. If it wasn't for your father and his ideals, Vampires and Werewolves would still be feuding. If the peace he established is starting to unravel, he should be made aware of the situation." He squeezed her hand and then released it, getting to his feet. "It's getting close to sunrise. You should go home before it gets too late. I'll be briefing the team tonight after I've gone through all the files."

"I could help," she offered quickly.

"No, you need to get some sleep."

"No more than you do," she said. "If you don't want me around, Shadow, tell me. Don't push it off on my needing rest or the sunrise, or whatever." She got up from her chair and faced him. "And don't stand there and think you're doing this for my own good, either."

Callie slammed the paperweight down on the desk. She spun, heading for the door. Shadow grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him.

"You want to know why you can't stay here?" he growled. "I'm afraid I'll do this." He bent his head, covering her mouth with his, drowning out her squeal of surprise. He kissed her until all he could think of was her . . . her taste, her scent, the way she rubbed up against him. He felt the softness of her lips and let himself drown in her for a single instant in time.

Then, he abruptly released her and turned his back on her, pacing toward his desk. "Now you understand. Go home, Callie. I'll see you at the team briefing at dusk."

Shadow stared at the wall, for the first time wishing that the underground office building had a view and a window he could pretend to look out of. He waited to hear her moving, cursing himself for allowing his baser side to react when he'd promised to never let her know how he felt. She was a Were, belonging to one of the most noble of Were families. Her father had built ASP, had stopped the feuding, and had brought the Were community together as one, even those that were usually scorned.

The door closed quietly and he spun around, allowing himself one final look at her through the glass door. Her head was bowed, her hair swinging down to cover her face. He couldn't judge her reaction to what had just happened. It took everything in him to walk around his desk and sit down, moving the file they'd been looking at back onto his blotter.

But he couldn't concentrate. He held his hands up to see them shake, the blood flowing through his veins in such a heated rush that it drowned out any other sound. He could still taste her, still feel her pressed against his chest. He wanted to go after her, to strip her of her uniform and push his hard and aching cock into the wet heat he knew he would find between her thighs.

"Dammit!" he shouted, picking up the paperweight and heaving it at the concrete wall.