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Mattia had much better control of himself when he left the bedroom for the living room. All unwanted feelings had been clamped down on. He was clean, dressed in clean, pressed clothes, and clear-headed. He knew what he needed to do, and that was keep his focus on what had brought him here. He wanted his mother’s freedom and his father’s legitimate empire back, and he was damned well going to get them.

The rules of the game between him and Elvira had changed again. There was no point wasting further time on grim recriminations.

They were still adversaries, but there was no upper hand to gain or lose any more. There was no predicting how it would all play out tomorrow, but until tomorrow came, they would keep their distance from each other. Elvira couldn’t escape. The only weapon she could use against him was her gun, but she couldn’t bring herself to use it, and she wasn’t going to physically fight him unless provoked. They both wanted this to be over, but until the grand finale came, there was nothing to do but wait.

Except one look at her curled up on the sofa, still wearing his buttonless shirt, and Mattia’s mouth refilled with the taste of her breath, and all his hard-won control slipped.

Her hair had dried into a dark chestnut cloud. With the gun in her hand and her silver eyes fixed on him, he had the sudden thought that, forget mermaids and vampires, she looked like an avenging angel. A sexy, dangerous and yet somehow vulnerable avenging angel.

Avenging the parents she couldn’t remember, he thought dimly, a thought he blinked away as the scent of coffee made its way into his nostrils.

She noticed his nose twitch and gave a small smile. “There’s one on the table for you. I’m afraid it’s probably cold by now.”

Ruthlessly dispelling any thoughts of angels, avenging or otherwise, Mattia pulled himself back into the present. “You made me coffee?”

She shrugged as if it meant nothing. “I figured you probably needed one as much as I did.”

“Thank you.”

She lifted her shoulders again. “I made it ages ago, so it’s probably cold.” Her smile widened a touch. “Just as well, really. I might have given in to the temptation to throw mine in your face in the hope of scalding you.”

She was nearly back, he thought. The sassy Elvira who brimmed with attitude was coming back to life, and damn, she was beautiful.

“And I might have been tempted to return the favour,” he murmured, crossing the floor to pick up his cup.

“With the amount of sugar you take in your coffee, you could have done me some real damage.” At his raised eyebrow, she added, “Adding sugar to hot water makes its effects much more dangerous for the victim.”

He shook his head. That’s not what his raised eyebrow had been about. “You sugared it for me?”

She’d probably watched him add sugar to his coffee fifty times. Alone in his cheap bolt hole, there hadn’t been much to do apart from drink coffee.

“Of course. I’m all for helping my adversaries rot their teeth.” Her eyes suddenly danced. “You’ll just have to hope I didn’t find a secret stash of arsenic and add it with the sugar.”

He brought the cup to his mouth. “What will you do if I drink this and drop down dead?”

She answered so quickly that for a split-second he wondered if she had found a stash of poison in the place. “Kick my way out of the front door.”

“It’s reinforced steel.”

“Damn. Then I’d have to activate your phone.”

“It’s PIN-protected. No fingerprints or face recognition with this one.”

She smiled. “Yes, but I know your PIN.”

“Did know my PIN,” he corrected. Now he was the one to smile. “I changed it when we were driving here.”

“Damn.” But she was entirely unperturbed. Putting her feet on the floor and holding the side of his shirt tight around her, she straightened… except her movements were without any of her earlier provocation.

The effect on him was exactly the same.

Elvira didn’t need to be deliberately provocative to provoke his veins into thickening, and maybe something of what he was thinking showed on his face for the dancing light in her eyes dimmed, and when her shoulders rose again, there was no insouciance in the gesture.

“Guess that’s made my evil plans redundant,” she finally added, getting to her feet, her brightness suddenly sounding forced.

The rain had stopped. Sunlight was fighting through the clouds and seeping through the window behind the sofa, creating a halo around her.

The thickening in Mattia’s veins had extended to his throat, and when he responded, “So it’s safe to drink my coffee?” his voice sounded hoarse.