___________________

“Ana, you said?”

Jerking his attention back to Dominic, he blinked, then scowled.  “What?”

“You said her name was Ana?”

Duke gave the vampire a terse nod.

“She with somebody?”

Duke jerked a shoulder up in a shrug and said, “Beats the hell out of me.”  Although he knew the answer.  No.  She was with nobody.  She didn’t date.  She rarely left her room unless it was to be with her brother or hit the library.  He shouldn’t be surprised to see her here.  She wouldn’t wait to go out in that cold rain to the main library any more than he wanted to go out in it for a run.

A strange smile curled Dominic’s lips and he glanced back in the direction of the library, then back at Duke.  “You mind if I go talk to her?”

Something inside him screamed, Yes.  He tried to pretend it was because he liked Dominic, and Ana Morell wasn’t a woman to be trusted.  He even convinced himself he believed it.  He glanced at the table and then back at Dominic.  With a nonchalance he didn’t feel, he said, “Feel free.  We can play later, but I’d watch your back around her.”

“The game ain’t the reason I’m asking,” Dominic drawled, his Southern accent a bit more pronounced. Circling around the table, he leaned in close and said in a near soundless voice, “I bet she isn’t with anybody.  And I bet it’s because any time a guy thinks about moving in on her, he gets a good look at your face and decides it ain’t worth getting his head ripped off.”

Duke snorted.  “And you think I care who ‘moves in on her’ for…what reason again?”

Dominic laughed.  “Hell, maybe you don’t care.  But some part of you does.  Body doesn’t lie.  Scent doesn’t lie.”

___________________

Just a quick reminder on the contest:

• Runs through 12/1.
• Read the complete rules here.
• Comment @ my blog (Not via facebook, amazon, myspace, etc) to enter. Each comment gets you one entry. You can enter via blog comments once each day.
• If you post a link to the contest and then email me @ contest4shiloh(at)gmail.com, that will get you an additional ten entries. Put link in the subject line.
• If you preorder and forward the receipt to contest4shiloh(at)gmail.com, that will get you an additional twenty entries. Put receipt in subject line. Please remove all sensitive personal data.
• You can enter each way-if you post a link, comment and preorder, that is 30 entries, as well as one entry for each day you visit the blog to comment. You could get up to fifty entries for the grand prize.
• Names will not be shared/sold/traded/spraypainted on a billboard.
• Please note, to enter for the small daily giveaways done during the week, you must comment @ my blog.
• Daily giveaways will be Monday-Friday. Winners will either be posted here or notified via email so please make sure you check back often.
• Please do not cheat-trying to comment more than once a day, using different names/emails, is cheating and you’ll likely end up disqualified and barred from entering future contests.
• Do not post to sweepstakes sites. These contests are for current and potential readers and I do not want to them to be posted at sweepstakes sites. Should this contest end up at sweepstakes sites, I reserve the right to end the contest without warning and without giving away the rest of the prizes in the contest.
• Each (daily) contest thread will be closed within a day or two of its original posting.  So enter while it’s open!