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"You want another drink?"

Rayne shook her head. She held up her half-full bottle, smiling. "Give me a few more minutes with this one."

The bartender nodded, winking at her, before moving on down the bar to wait on someone else. Sighing, Rayne turned on her stool and looked around the room.

The club was two levels, dark and smoky, filled to the rafters with people of mixed age and culture. Music thumped from the sound system, making conversation next to impossible. Not that she really wanted to talk to anyone there. She'd been pulled in by her friend, Wynn, who had disappeared into the moving mass of bodies on the dance floor.

She watched, smirking, as two drunken college types began shoving at each other, presumably arguing over the girl who was with them. At least she was going to see something interesting.

Something bumped her shoulder. Irritated, she turned her head, ready to glare at the guy who thought he had to have so much room.

And widened her eyes in surprise. This guy really did need the room. He was huge. She watched as he lifted one big hand and gestured to the bartender. Then he turned his head and looked at her.

Green eyes met hers. A chill worked its way down her spine. He was...intense. That was the only word that come to her mind. Kind of scary. Who wouldn't be scared? The guy looked like a Hell's Angels reject on steroids. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants, black boots, black T-shirt. His arms were covered...literally covered...with tattoos. A bandana was wrapped around his forehead, holding back a fall of long dark red hair.

Rayne managed to tear her eyes away. Good grief. The weird ones were always drawn to her. She seemed to put out some kind of vibe that they just couldn't resist. She knew coming here had been a bad idea. She was going to kill Wynn...if she could ever find her.

The guy was still staring at her. She could feel his eyes boring into her. Rayne refused to acknowledge him. She wasn't going to let him see that he was making her decidedly nervous. That would be like showing fear to a rabid animal. Guys like this lived for that kind of thing.

Where the hell was Wynn? She scanned the crowd again, hoping but knowing it was useless. She was going to have to go track her down and drag her kicking and screaming from the club. Without turning, not wanting to risk looking at the big guy who was still staring at her, Rayne slid some money onto the bar and got up, moving off into the crowd with her bottle still clutched in her hand.

She got groped. Not once or twice. This place was just a meat market. Guys who were too drunk to see straight were snagging at her clothes, trying to get her to stop and talk to them. One guy went so far as to touch her breast. Rayne shoved him back then moved on through the throng.

She saw a familiar flash of hair. It was Wynn's best distinguishing feature. Long and dark, she'd added one dramatic neon green streak. Sighing in relief, Rayne shoved her way in that direction.

And stopped short when she came up against a solid chest. She looked up...and up...into a pair of green eyes. That guy again. Damn it. He'd managed to cut her off. She hadn't even realized he'd followed her. As soon as she'd left the stool she'd pushed him from her mind.

He stared down at her, eyes narrowed. Rayne started to back away, but couldn't get far; there were too many people around. The guy reached out, grabbing her arms, turning so that her back was to him.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?" He was shoving her shirt up, tugging down the waistband of her jeans. The guy did not answer. Rayne jerked her body, trying to move away. His hand wrapped around her arm in a tight vise.

"You bear the mark." He had to lean down to say it into her ear. Rayne leaned as far away from him as she could go without falling over.

"What the fuck are you talking about? I've heard some fucked up lines in my time, but this takes it..." She struggled, yanking her arm. He did not let her go. "Hey asshole, give it a rest. I'm not interested."

"You'll come with me if you want to live," His voice, though low, still carried to her over the sound of the thumping music. Rayne stopped struggling and looked at him, now more scared that angry. Had he just threatened her?

"Uh..." What the hell was a person supposed to do when something like this happened? She wracked her mind, trying to remember that self-defense course she had taken years before. She wished she'd thought to buy a can of pepper spray. "Look...I don't know what you want..." Although she'd read about this stuff happening and could harbor a good guess. This guy looked like raping a woman would be just another item to check off his to-do list for the day. "But you're going to have to find it somewhere else. My...uh...my friend is a cop. She's over there. You don't want to do something stupid in front of a cop do you?"

She was hoping he wouldn't pick up the lie. Wynn, a cop? Fat chance. She had dated a cop once. That was close enough for Rayne.

The guy did not answer. He began to pull her along behind him. The crowd did not need to be shoved aside; they parted, as if they did not want this man to touch them. Rayne planted her feet, trying to jerk her arm out of his grasp. He was going to leave a damn bruise if she didn't get free of him. That was the least of her worries though.

He turned to stare at her and she froze. Before his expression had been blank, neutral. Now she could see...anger. Rage. Barely controlled but there. She forgot he was holding onto her and tried to step away.

He jerked her forward instead, making her yelp in shock and pain. One big arm went around her and he lifted her off of her feet. She couldn't breath. His grip on her was too tight.

"Keep fighting me and we can end this right now," His voice was edged with anger. Rayne bit back her reply. End it...how? Would he actually kill her in front of all these people? She risked a look into his eyes and saw that yes...he would. Without a second thought. She did not offer resistance as he carried her toward the exit.