Emma Holly The Night Owl

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."She said nothing, as if the answer sobered the last of her rage.After a pause, he heard her pulling on herpants.The sound of her zipper preceded her voice."Is it nighttime now?""Yes," he said."You slept through the day.When the morning gets close again, you'll feel sleepy.You'llhave more than enough warning.""Even if I can't see the sun?" "Even then."He didn't know the words to stop her, and wasn't sure he ought to say them if he had.Instead, hewatched her walk to the door.She paused on the threshold, one pale, perfect hand curled around theframe.Every one of the dings and cuts she'd been so proud of had disappeared."I understand why you saved me," she said quietly."I might not approve of the way you did it, but Iunderstand."He had no response for that.Grateful though he was, her understanding was a million light-years fromwhat he craved.MARIANN found her way out of Bastien and Emile's outrageously elegant subterranean residencewithout consciously knowing how.The bunker was, she gathered, a serious of domes connected bytunnels.The various halls bent like a maze, the dozens of doors suggesting the prospect of futureresidents.During the course of his explanations, Bastien had said they "weren't very many." She hadn't had thepresence of mind to ask what he meant.Were there hundreds of upyr in the world? Thousands? Intuitiontold her there couldn't be more than thousands or people would have noticed.Not sure she wanted todwell on that, she let her body lead her, her nose sensing the dew-soaked night beyond the earth androck.The secret door moved at the touch of her hand.She suspected it wouldn't have if Bastien hadn'tallowed it.Once outside, she followed a slightly overgrown walking trail through the woods.Her sensitivity tosound was eerie.Every creak and crackle registered.This was not, however, the only change in herperceptions.Her brain itself seemed sharper than before.The accident if Arabella's actions could be called that was coming back in vivid detail.Despite thetechnicolor memory, she was having trouble believing it had occurred.A vampire.Bastien Luce had made her a vampire.Upyr, she corrected herself, wishing mere semantics could ease her mind.Though she tried, she couldnot imagine how she would cope with being one.Every turn of her thoughts brought another obstacle intoview.She reached the back of her house much sooner than she expected, her new and improved legs havingeaten up the distance in record time yet another trait she'd have to learn to hide from her friends.The mere idea overwhelmed her.How on earth was she going to face people she knew? Her friendsweren't stupid.Linda at the Clip 'n' Curl noticed if Mariann even thought of cutting her own bangs.A rising and falling growl of feline discontentment snapped her gaze to the porch.To say Pirate Vic wasbristling was like saying the Sahara was dry.Her poor cat looked like someone had stuck his tail in asocket.The last time he'd puffed up like this, he'd been the sorriest abandoned kitten she'd ever seen,spitting behind her Dumpster at the bakery.Obviously horrified by her appearance, he'd backed up all the way to his kitty door.With a lump in her throat, she hunkered down before the steps."It's me," she cooed."Mariann.The onewho feeds you kibble when you're worn out from chasing mice."At her voice, the low yowling stopped.Though his tail still twitched, his fur went down to half-mast."That's right," she said encouragingly, "come sniff my fingers and see it's me."After a few false starts, he came, giving her one aggravated nip before butting her knee and breaking intoa noisy purr.She hadn't realized how much he meant to her until she hefted him in her arms.She refusedto acknowledge the fact that he smelled sort of yummy.Vic was her pet and she'd protect him no matterwhat.It wasn't like she'd ever felt the need to eat everything in sight.Vampire or not, there were rules."You still feel heavy," she said tearfully into his ruff."I guess my vampire strength's not all that."She carried him into the kitchen and fed him with extra scratches and praise.She left him crunchinghappily while she went upstairs.Her bedroom mirror was not full-length, merely a waist-up square aboveher chest of drawers.She figured this would be less intimidating than the tall one in Bastien's bath.Even so, she gritted her teeth to brace herself once she pulled off her clothes.Her eyes went wide as shetook in the view.She was hot.More than hot.She was curvy, something she'd never been in her life.Stepping back, sheturned to the side to check out her breasts and butt.J Lo's rep was safe but, honestly, she was fine! Sheslid one hand over her stomach, which to her relief she didn't have to suck in.She had to admit shedidn't hate the hint of voluptuousness.She did notice she wasn't creating a light show the way Bastien hadlast night, but maybe that was because she was new.No doubt about it, though: her skin was seriously pale, more cream than white but close enough.Thenagain, for all she knew she would look snowy to human eyes.I'm not a human, she thought, her knees giving out so that she had to sit on the bed.I'm not a human andif I were I would be dead.She pressed her hand over her heart.Despite being upset, it beat slow and steady behind her ribs.Curious, she stretched her legs off the floor.Those were nice legs: hairless legs, so she guessed vampiresdidn't shave.She supposed she'd figure out the rules for why as she went along."You need to do that," she said to herself aloud, then rose to put on a fresh outfit.Her clothes weretighter than she was used to but they looked all right sexy, if she told the truth.Arabella would die of envy to see her looking this good.She wrinkled her nose at the reminder of their enmity.Right now getting back at Arabella didn't seemimportant, no matter what she'd tried to do.Mariann had a date with her refrigerator.Bastien could drinkespresso& and wine, as she recalled.Before she gave up her old life she was going to see just howmuch of it was ruined. As Gramps liked to say, "If the third time's not the charm, go ahead and try the fourth." That philosophyhad made him a patient teacher.She was counting on it to keep her from despair tonight.THE Night Owl's reception area was Bastien's favorite part of the inn.The first section to berefurbished, it was a cozy Gothic hall with star-shaped ribbing on the ceiling and a carved oak desk likesomething out of a rectory.Though it was a romanticized Victorian version of the Middle Ages, Bastientook no offense at inaccuracies [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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