She'd counted the years? Phil swallowed hard. What if he'd misinterpreted things? He'd felt sure that Vanda had considered him nothing more than a toy to relieve her boredom. Good God, what if she had genuinely cared about him? No, this had to be more of her fun and games. "I didn't realize you wanted to see me."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you need, an engraved invitation?"

"You opened a male strip club, Vanda. You're surrounded every night with available men. Nearly naked, vampire men." He tossed the costume onto her desk. "I really didn't think you were lacking for companionship."

She lifted her chin. "I get all the companionship I need."

He gritted his teeth. "Good."

"Excuse me for thinking you might want to keep in touch. I had thought we were friends."

"We were never friends."

She gasped. "How can you say that? We…we talked."

"You taunted me."

She stiffened. "I was nice to you."

He stepped toward her. "You were bored, and you tormented me for the fun of it."

"Don't be silly. It was just a little harmless flirtation."

"It was sheer torture." He advanced another step. "I hated it. Every time you touched me, I wanted to rip your little catsuit off and make you purr."

Her mouth dropped open, then shut suddenly with a snap. Her cheeks flushed. "Then why didn't you? Why did you let a stupid rule stop you? Ian didn't let anything stop him from going after Toni."

He grabbed Vanda by the shoulders so quickly, she gasped. "I would have taken you in a second if I had thought you actually wanted it."

Her cheeks grew a deeper red. "How would you know what I really want?"

He leaned close. "I was on to you from the start. You're a tease. You like to get a man hard, then leave him panting. You enjoyed watching me suffer."

"That's not true. I–I really liked you." She winced as if she'd admitted more than she had wanted to.