her

great misfortune that he wasn't human.

He was attentive, charming, cultured, and as handsome as she was beautiful.

He

was tall, red-haired, and elegantly slim, striking in his appearance and

obviously wealthy. At the same time he was so shockingly immune that he

regarded

her repeated attempts to seduce him with an amused tolerance. And when, in

desperation, she had finally accused him of not loving her, of being impotent

or

homosexual, he had merely smiled and set the trap. She never even saw it

coming.

He told her that if it was what she really wanted, he would go to bed with

her,

but only on one condition—that she would give herself to him completely, body

and soul.

She had laughed at him. She knew she had him then. He was no different than

any

of the others. Terri had never met a man she could not manipulate. And she

had

never known a man who did not become her abject slave once she had taken him

to

bed. This one had resisted longer than anyone ever had, and she was almost

sorry

to see the game drawing to a close. She prepared for their assignation like

an

assassin getting ready for the kill.

She turned down all the lights and lit some scented candles. She put

brand-new

black satin sheets upon the bed. She chilled a magnum of French champagne and

prepared a tray of iced oysters and caviar. She sprinkled the sheets with

perfume and lightly touched some behind her ears, in the hollow of her

throat,

in the crook of each elbow, between her breasts, and in that special place,

then

she put on her spike heels and her sexiest, sheerest black lingerie, an

ensemble

calculated to make even the most restrained man drool like a St. Bernard. We

shall see, she thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, who

will

belong to whom, body and soul.

The house was empty and she had given him the key. She checked the time. He

was

always very punctual. He would arrive at any moment. She smiled, pleased with

her efforts, and arranged herself upon the bed in a pose that was guaranteed

to

make a man's blood boil. Suddenly a chilly breeze blew through the room and

the

candle flames flickered and dimmed, then flared up, giving off a bright green

light. She stared at them, uncomprehending, then gasped when she saw him

standing in the doorway to her bedroom.

She had not heard him come in. Suddenly he was simply there, standing

motionless

in the doorway, his flaming red hair blowing slightly in the ice-cold breeze

that came sweeping through the room, as if every window in the house were