Author: catstark

From The Grey House:

He hung up, stood to finish putting on his pants, then sat back down to watch Natalia, who was throwing her things in her backpack. What was he going to do with her? He wanted to take her home. He would be revived after some sleep and some blood, and he would want her again. Ever since their first meeting he woke with her on his mind. Now that he knew what she was capable of, he was more determined to get her in his bed, permanently. Vincent drummed his fingers on the table, watching as she slipped on her jean shorts. They were not as revealing as the workout shorts, but more appropriate as street wear.

From The Grey House:

She jumped into the air, spinning, using the staff as a long bat. She knocked down Miguel and Leroy, who were standing behind her. She heard the wolves growl and attack. A shot rang out from upstairs, causing Natalia to glance up as she landed. She saw a head and rifle barrel peering over the edge of the second-floor railing. It was a strategic location as the railing was solid wood. Natalia focused her attention back to the fray, wondering who went down, and saw Ryan on the ground, blood pooling by his head.

From The Grey House:

Natalia settled back in her seat and waited. Soon, they left the lights behind. About 30 minutes after leaving the highway, they arrived at a gate. Charlie reached up and pressed a button on what looked like a garage door opener. The gates swung open. Two men loomed out of nowhere and stood by until the van passed. It took another fifteen minutes to arrive at the house. It was too dark to see it all, but Natalia could tell it was a mansion. There was not much light, but the sand colored stone was illuminated nicely.

“How big is this place?”

“Top floor has 20 bedrooms. There are eight vampires, and about 20 humans who sleep in the house. Rebecca and I are the only werewolves who sleep in the house. The others live in the guest house.”

From The Grey House:

Now that she could move around, Natalia did a number of exercises each day. She wasn’t allowed outside the room, but she could walk, even jog around the room. She did squats and sit ups, anything. She didn’t hide what she was doing from anyone. If the door opened while she was jogging, she continued to jog. Dean brought her food on a more regular basis and talked to her. She rarely saw Zechariah and she never saw Marshal. After what seemed about a week, Dean took her on a walk outside.

“This is a nice surprise.”

“Zechariah said you probably won’t try and escape after I show you these.”

From The Grey House:

A shudder passed through Vincent. “It would be a great joy to take her on if she turned on me.”

Joseph gave a short laugh, shaking his head. It was always impossible to deal with Vincent when he was in the grips of an obsession.

Vincent watched in silence as the shadows passed in front of the nearby trees. “It’s time to leave this place. My plane is waiting, as is my sire.”

From The Grey House:

Vincent turned, going back into the house. Joseph stayed for a moment, watching the creatures of the night. A stray thought flitted through his mind, something someone told him once, right before his change. Joseph had never sired anyone. He had never met anyone he wanted to change, and now he was being asked to change Natalia. The first time he faced her, when she mentioned knowing him, dreaming of him, he walked away, knowing it was best. He had dreamt of her too. Of bringing her a goblet of blood and calling her child.

From The Grey House:

Then there were the cameras. His favorites were the ones he could hide in the palm of his hand. Or, as with the hidden corner, behind small mirrors, in pictures, in plants and in various other areas. Every angle was covered, and each one was now displayed on its own screen in front of him. Vincent smiled with satisfaction as Anthony was instructed to sit down. He turned the sound up and sat back to watch the show.

From The Grey House:

“Natalia.” She wasn’t wearing much; jogging shorts, a sport bra and her ever-present silver necklace. Her skin was shiny from sweat. He wanted her toned body pressed against his. His eyes showed his thoughts.

She stood with her hand on the railing, one foot on the deck, one on the step just below. He was well dressed in jeans and a black button up shirt. He was quite handsome. “Vincent.”

From The Grey House:

The smell of the place hit him like a brick the second the door started to open. Vincent turned his head slightly, thankful he didn’t have to breathe. The smell was hard down here: this was a place of death and decay. He saw the crossbow point before he saw Mierka. Vincent smiled at her once the door was fully opened. The petite blond looked at his face carefully before moving the crossbow. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“Good evening my dear. I trust you are well?” When Joseph had approached him about bringing her into the family, Vincent agreed with no questions. She was incredible. She had been a spy in the French Revolution. The humans never suspected she was a spy or that she was vampire.

“I’m well. They’re waiting for you in the main room. Have been since this morning.” One of Mierka’s assets was her poker face. No matter the situation, she always looked slightly amused.

“Good.”

From The Grey House:

He stopped talking for a moment, as he let the memories run through his head. Natalia, not sure of the look on his face, aimed his thoughts back to his story of meeting Rebecca. “So, what happened after you and Rebecca stared at each other?”

Charlie grinned as his favorite story came back to mind. “We stared at each other for a minute or two before she unlocked the cage.” He grinned at her, huge. “We didn’t introduce ourselves until after we were done.”

Natalia laughed, feeling herself blush a little. It was odd to listen to him talk about another woman. “You didn’t even know her name?”

“Didn’t matter. I’d been dreaming about her for almost eight years. All I wanted was to be with her.”

“Was it as good as you dreamt?” Her voice teased.

In the lights of a passing truck, she saw him blush. “Better. She didn’t go away when we were done.”