Author: catstark

From the Grey House:

Vincent closed the door tightly behind him and continued to the main staircase. A very wealthy San Franciscan built the house in the late 1800’s. Vincent acquired it in the early 1900’s and made repairs and renovations to most of the house and restored the grand marble staircase. He enjoyed walking down a large sweeping marble staircase. It made for a grand entrance. Reaching ground level, he turned right walked a few steps and turned right again, walking beside and then under the staircase.

There were five rooms on the ground floor. There were two meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen, a substantial library/sitting room and a ballroom. The large meeting room was connected to the ballroom/training room by a sliding wall. The dividing wall was often opened for parties. There was also a good-sized pantry and a bathroom. Vincent was headed for the cellar stairs, which were across from the kitchen. He opened the door, looked around, then stepped inside.

From The Grey House:

“Natalia,” he paused, caressed her cheek, leaned in and placed a light kiss on her lips. Natalia pulled back slightly, surprised by the tenderness. “There is much that I would like to do to you and have you do to me, but you are in no condition to match my desires. I don’t deny I want you, but if I take you now, when you’re already hurt, I’ll hurt you further. We’re not doing this today.”

She stared into his eyes, wondering what he had wanted to do to her before she took the beating from Marshal. She also wondered about the kiss. It revealed far more about him than he probably wanted it to. Natalia reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, caressing his lips with her thumb. She wanted him, but knew he was right. She wouldn’t be able to take him on his terms. She nodded as her eyes closed to hide her emotion.

From The Grey House:

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew who she was before this?”

“I didn’t know I did until yesterday. Joseph was telling me my schedule while watching the tapes from the restaurant. I saw who you were with and realized who she was. I was afraid to tell you I knew her.” A bragging tone snuck into his voice and he had a mad twinkle in his eye. “And since you two seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, I didn’t think it was right to tell my boss that I had slept with his new girlfriend first.” He gave Vincent a wolfish grin. “Do you?”

“Will you be apologizing for your current attitude?” His demeanor and tone did not waver from his original stoic position.

My dad died in 2005, three months after turning 64. For a while, I was upset at the things he missed in life: me completing my first book (which turned out to be a trilogy) and my sister having her first kid. By the time he would have reached 70, I stopped thinking of the things he would have missed, as I didn’t believe he would have lived long, if alcoholism hadn’t claimed him in 2005.

My husband died in 2013 at the age of 38. One of the many problems with losing people that young is that we have years and years and years of seeing things they would have missed that they would have connected with or enjoyed. Today, I saw a music video that reminded me so much of the things he used to show me. He missed it.

There are books, movies, TV shows, discoveries, so much LIFE that people miss when they die young. And there isn’t anything we can do except enjoy it and think of them. I’d rather he had lived to see the interesting things.

I want so badly to end this on an up note, about how at least I get to see the interesting things, but it’s still hard. We’ll try it this way. If you see something interesting, be it a movie, book or music video, or flower or cloud, take the time to enjoy it. Too many times we miss things. If you have 70-90 years on this planet, you’ll see a lot. Don’t allow yourself to miss things, just because you think you have a lot of time.

From The Grey House:

Carlos sat on the couch at the far end of the small meeting room, waiting for Vincent. It was a comfortable room with plenty to keep his eyes busy. Vincent kept historical artifacts, books and maps of the world from many centuries in this room. Were he not so tired, Carlos would be sifting through the maps, plotting his long overdue vacation. Instead he sat on the overstuffed leather couch and tried not to fall asleep.

The mage rose from his seat when Vincent entered, too tired to make sure his shirt was tucked into his jeans. Both men looked haggard, dirty, and ready to start the day over. The vampire looked the man up and down. He took in Carlos’ small stature without really thinking about it. It was always best to know with whom you were dealing with, which meant that Vincent always scrutinized those he was speaking with, including those he knew well. The small Latino man looked wearily at his boss with his dark eyes and ran a shaking hand through his dark already unruly hair. When Vincent indicated Carlos should take a seat at the desk, the mage sagged into the chair. Vincent went to the side bar to pour himself and Carlos some brandy, handing the mage a glass as he found himself a seat on the edge of the maple desk.

From The Grey House:

Natalia stood looking at him, then started twirling her necklace. “I’ll give you more courtesy than you gave me. My name is Natalia Mirela Liliana Dveski. My first name comes from my mother’s mother. It means ‘born on Christmas Day’. Mirela Liliana was the name of my mother’s grandmother. Mirela means ‘to admire’.” Her voice was slowing down; becoming melodious. Anthony was caught in the reflection of the dancing silver beads. As he was not yet hers, she continued. “Liliana is pure simplicity. The meaning there will not be a surprise. Can you guess? It means lily. Put them all together and you see that my name means: ‘To admire the lily born on Christmas Day.’ Do you think that is a fitting name? Am I a lily to be admired?”

From The Grey House:

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cook.”

“Rebecca’s been teaching me.”

“Nice.”

“I do breakfast better than any other meal. Decaf is ready.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup. “Do we have word on Vincent?”

“I talked to Rebecca while you were in the shower. They’re going to head to New York. Vincent’s sire lives there and kind of runs New York City. She’s made alliances with a lot of non-humans too. I think she has healers.”

From The Grey House:

“What’s the word doc?” Charlie was hanging at the end of the van, not really wanting to talk to the vampires.

“Bullet’s out. Just cleaning the wound.” He had a bottle of peroxide in his bloody gloved hands.

“How long before he can change back?” This was from Rebecca who was still staring at Orlando.

“He’ll rip himself open no matter when he changes. If he changes later, he’ll rip open the stitches. If you can get him to change now, that would be of great help to him and me.”

From The Grey House:

“Don’t move. I’m removing your blindfold and untying your legs.” Zechariah’s voice was pleasant, but she knew that tone and didn’t trust it. Nevertheless, she let him remove the blindfold and watched as he removed the rope from her ankles. He then helped her climb out of the truck.

Natalia blinked hard as the sun shifted through the trees and nearly blinded her. She took a deep breath and smelled pine. They were in a coniferous forest. She looked around and confirmed that tall pine trees nearly surrounded them. She looked to Zechariah, then saw Dean behind him to the right. To Dean’s left was a man she’d never seen before. He had a look on his face she didn’t like. She stared him down until Zechariah stepped in front of her to gain her attention.

“Come now. I’ll take you to your room.”

From The Grey House:

A door slammed at the other end of the hall. Natalia looked at Charlie then vaulted onto the cage using a gymnastics trick. She lightly touched the bars with her hands, managing to only scratch her palms. She landed on the top bars in a crouched position, grateful now for the spikes, which gripped her rubber-soled canvas sneakers. She stood, turned around, braced her feet on two bars shoulder width apart, and crouched down. Natalia grabbed the bars Charlie indicated and pulled up. Nothing happened. She could hear Lucas. He was almost to the door. No longer caring about the spikes she repositioned her feet, leaned forward, grabbed the bars and pulled hard.