Dark Deceiver by Pamela Palmer

fight his traitorous fascination, he drank his fill. Even in the shadows he could make out the shape of her pleasing profile, her slender nose and full, sweet-tasting mouth. Her taste still lingered on his tongue, stirring unwanted need all over again.
    Enchanted. That was the only possibility.
    The last thing he wanted was to be attracted to her, a human, the very human who was leading him to his prey. He resented the kick of guilt that plagued him.
    The Punisher was without guilt. Without conscience. He did his duty with little thought and no remorse. But with every moment Kaderil spent in this woman’s company, forced to pretend to be the nice human, Kade Smith, he felt the Punisher slipping a little more out of his grasp.
    Kaderil forced himself to go back to looking out his window, but his hungry gaze wouldn’t be denied. Within moments, he found his head swiveling back toward Autumn. The lights of a passing car illuminated her face fully, revealing a tenseness around her eyes and that lush mouth, a tenseness that made him wonder what was going on inside her head. Did the driving require such deep concentration?
    Autumn glanced at him, licking her lower lip with an unconscious nervousness that caught his attention and gave him pause.
    â€œI’m sorry you had to eat so quickly.”
    â€œI didn’t mind. Eating quickly didn’t diminish my enjoyment.”
    She nodded and returned her gaze to the road, but cleared her throat in a way that told him she had something more to say. “Kade, I need to tell you something. You’ve had some weird dreams, right? About a white-skinned man? Do you know who he is? What he is?”
    Kaderil relaxed, realizing her nervousness was a result of uncertainty over how to broach the subject of the Esri with a fellow human who knew nothing. She was easing into it gently, as he was coming to understand was her nature.
    He searched his borrowed thoughts for an appropriate response, remembering a thought he’d plucked from her own brain. “Is he an albino?”
    A smile flickered over her lips, but didn’t ease the tension that gripped her eyes. “No.” She glanced at him again, cringing as if with apology. “He’s not human.”
    What was the appropriate response to such a statement? His pulse quickened as he struggled for the right words. He’d done well so far. He’d be a fool to blow this now. Humans doubted. A human would not accept such a statement easily, if at all.
    â€œOf course he’s human,” he said.
    The woman at his side looked away, glancing toward her own side window. “I know you’re going to think I’m nuts, but just listen. Please? It’s important.”
    Safe in silence, Kaderil relaxed and listened to her melodious voice as she launched into a fairly accurate explanation of his race and his mission, explaining how Baleris had terrorized the D.C. area several months ago, raping virgins and attempting to kill the Sitheen.
    â€œWe know a certain amount about Esria now,” she said. “There are many races, but the Esri are the ones with the most power. They ignore most of the other races and have enslaved the Marceils. The Marceils look like small humans, most five feet tall or less. The Esri can’t enchant them like they can us, but they can control their actions.”
    She slowed in front of a large building and put on her blinkers. “I’m talking too much. And I know this is all too hard to believe. But just keep an open mind, okay?”
    She didn’t seem to require an answer, which was all for the good, since he wasn’t certain he could express adequate disbelief of something he knew so well.
    Autumn parked, then without looking at him, pulled out her cell phone. “It’s me. We’re here.” A pause. “Okay. I’ll see you in a minute.”
    She flashed him a weak, apologetic smile, but said nothing more, to his great relief, as