Surely he wasn't going to rob her?

The vacuum, which she hadn't moved a single millimeter since he'd entered her store, started to whine and smoke in protest. Drawing her breath in sharply, Bride quickly turned it off and fanned the motor with her hand.

"Can I help you?" she asked as she struggled to put it behind her counter.

Heat suffused her cheeks as the motor continued to smoke and spit. It added a not-so-pleasant odor of burning dust to the potpourri-scented candles she used.

She smiled lamely at the devastatingly hot god who stood so nonchalantly in her store. "Sorry about that."

Vane closed his eyes as he savored the melodic Southern lilt of her voice. It reached deep inside him, making his whole body burn for her. He was swollen with need and desire.

Swollen with a feral urge to take what he wanted, damn all consequences.

But she was scared of him. His animal half sensed it. And that was the last thing his human half wanted.

Reaching up, he pulled the sunglasses off and offered her a small smile. "Hi."

It didn't help. If anything, the sight of his eyes made her even more nervous.

Damn.

Bride was stunned. She wouldn't have thought he could ever become better looking, but with that devilish grin, he did.

Worse, the intense, feral look of that languid hazel-green gaze made her shivery and hot. Never in her life had she seen a man even one-tenth as good-looking as this one.

"Hi," she said back, feeling like nine kinds of stupid.

His gaze finally left her and went around the store to her various displays.

"I'm looking for a present," he said in that deeply hypnotic voice. She could have listened to him speak for hours, and for some reason she couldn't explain, she wanted to hear him say her name.

Bride cleared her throat and put those moronic thoughts away as she came out from behind her counter. If her cute ex couldn't stomach her looks, why would a god like this one give a rat's bottom about her?