Author: catstark

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia reached out and caressed his closed fist. He opened his eyes when he heard her gasp. “What did you do?”

Surprised by her question, he looked down at his now open hand. There were four half circles of crimson on his palm. Blood pooled in the shallow of his palm, and ran down the sides of his hand. He hadn’t even felt it. Vincent opened his other fist and saw a similar scene. He frowned into Natalia’s eyes. Her eyes were clouded and dreamy, as if drugged. He almost asked what had transpired between her and Diana when Natalia brought his hand to her mouth and licked his hand clean. Once the tiny pool was gone, she sucked on his hand. Vincent growled, closed his wounds, and gave her his other palm to clean.

When his hands were clean, Vincent turned Natalia around and pressed her back into his chest. Reading his intent, she brushed her mostly wet hair away from her neck and tipped her head to the side. He growled into her skin and bit her shoulder as gently as he could. She tensed with the pain but relaxed into him when he sucked her blood.

Joseph’s dialogue is quite different in the final edition, compared to how i first wrote it. When I first wrote it, he said, “You have a case of this in your cellar, which I gave to you.”
It wasn’t until recently that it dawned me that Vincent’s cellar is a dungeon, complete with an occupied oubliette. There are no food stores down there and humans do not venture down there willingly. Therefore, the line changed to reflect the fact that I had no idea where Vincent keeps human food. The humans in Vincent’s household know. That was enough for me.

From Protector of the Grey House:

The two left without a word; this was not a new situation. Joseph stepped out of the corner he almost hid in and poured himself a glass of brandy from the mini bar.

“You never ask my permission.” Vincent accepted the glass Joseph handed him.

“I gave you a case of this.” His voice grew soft. “Though only you know where it is.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent looked around at the others. He opened his mouth to give orders when shots were fired. His men didn’t carry guns and the humans never brought theirs into the main house. Wooden arrows were more effective against vampires. Vincent turned and ran down the hall to the dungeon steps. He was there in the space of a gunshot. Rebecca was halfway up the steps, with Anthony and Ben behind her. She looked as if she wanted to rage. She turned her blazing yellow eyes to her boss.

“Edwin and two men. Guarding the dungeon. Give me leave.” She talked through clenched teeth.

He stared deep into her rage and saw his own concern and hate amplified. “Kill the guards. Leave Edwin to me.”

She went Blitzkrieg, tore down the steps, and bellowed her wrath. There were more shots fired, which just fueled the woman’s passion. Mangled screams emanated from the dungeon, cut short by vampires dying. Less than a minute later Rebecca yelled up the stairs.

From Protector of the Grey House:

She sighed again as she took her robe and went to shower. There was business she had to attend to. After she showered, she dressed in a long flowing red dress and ate the simple breakfast someone brought up for her. She then went downstairs to find Vincent. From the loud voices, she judged that Vincent and Anthony were in the study. She knocked on the door quietly, and waited for permission before entering.

Anthony stood fuming. Vincent sat behind his desk, a slight smile on his face. She didn’t know what they argued about, but she guessed it was her. She smiled, closed the door, and walked to the desk under Anthony’s hard scrutiny.

“Gentlemen.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia continued to stare at the wall next to the shower, as her fingers tapped out a nervous tune. There was a space of about five feet long next to the shower stall. Most of the walls had something on or against them: shower stall, toilet, sink, shelves, or mirrors. That spot was oddly empty. She wondered why she had never thought about it or the large empty area of the second floor beyond Vincent’s room. She realized it didn’t matter. She pushed off the tub and went to the wall, as she wondered what the trick was. There was a door here; she would find it.

Natalia thought it out in her head and bounced on her heels as she measured out the possible door. It had to be about this far away from the shower and about this wide for the wiring, if it was an electronic door, and she knew it was. She started to search the wall beside the shower, to find a catch or release that would trigger the door. She took her time, as she knew Vincent would have hidden it well. This was a secret room; the door would be even more of a secret. A tile at about the height of Vincent’s shoulder moved slightly when she pressed against it. She pressed harder and heard a click. The tile slid up into the wall and revealed a keypad.

The word of the day was actually “pot” but that word does not exist in this novel. I like this scene anyway, and like sharing it.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia tore her eyes away and saw the hole not three feet from the edge of her toes. She knew whatever was down there was weak and hungry. It had fed, but probably not enough. Joseph warned her the ghul would kill her, but that was when she was weak and unprepared. Now, though weak and woozy, she was prepared. If she jumped down, she might die, but Edwin would not have her. If she jumped, Charlie would probably follow her. She could fight the ghul until Charlie came to get her.

Though she had her brains, her determination and steel toe boots, she didn’t have any good weapons. Her eyes found the werewolf who leaned against the wall. Charlie was a weapon. Currently he was a gun without bullets, impotent with his concern for her. He could change and kill everyone in this room, then jump down to help her. Should he Blitzkrieg in the small room he would hurt her. No maybes about it. He wouldn’t unleash his rage until she was safe. There was no way to escape out the door; Edwin blocked the door on this side. There were two men on the other side, who stood side by side. She didn’t want to rush Edwin in case he decided to use the gun on her.

Natalia took a deep breath, stared Edwin down and silenced him. “Charlie. Do it.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia woke in stages, and realized slowly that Vincent was not in bed. She sighed as she rolled to the edge of the bed. The curtains and windows were open, which revealed the night sky and city to the south. She felt the cool breeze on her warm skin and sighed again as she sat up then stood. Images of last night kept wafting through her mind. Vincent only allowed his hunger to show in his voice; every other part of his body had shown a tenderness they rarely used with one another. When he fed, he took more than usual. Then, he took over and made her feel as if nothing else in the world mattered but her pleasure.

She sighed again as she took her robe and went to shower. There was business she had to attend to. After she showered, she dressed in a long flowing red dress and ate the simple breakfast someone brought up for her. She then went downstairs to find Vincent. From the loud voices, she judged that Vincent and Anthony were in the study. She knocked on the door quietly, and waited for permission before entering.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Joseph nodded, went to Natalia, and picked her up. “I’ll take care of this one and then talk to Anthony about the ring.”

She nodded as Joseph left the room to Mierka. He took Natalia to the only place in the house that was probably safe for her. If Natalia were left in one of the regular bedrooms, it would be sinfully easy for Vincent to get to her. If he placed Natalia in the dungeon, it meant Vincent had to think about what he was doing and where he was going. The dungeon would ensure Vincent thought with his mind instead of his emotions.

As he went, Joseph also thought about the objects in Vincent’s secret room. The ring was not the only object with a dubious reputation. Those items needed to be removed, and the closets needed to be secured. He thought perhaps all the cases should be replaced with shatterproof or possibly bulletproof glass. The closets also needed alarms.

By the time he reached the dungeon, he knew which items needed to be removed and had all the specifics for the alarms worked out in his head. Joseph placed Natalia in one of the cells, then went to the storage room and gathered the items he needed to teach Natalia her lesson. Vincent’s bite was not enough. It was time for true fear.

Exciting news! I approved the “final” draft of the cover for Inside the Grey House!!! Why is “final” in quotes? Because I need to see it printed before we (artist and I) are completely satisfied with it. Book three cover is also in the works, but I’m being picker on that one. It’s coming along though and I’m excited to get the books into your hands. I hope you’re excited to get them! Thank you for your patience.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia sat at the desk in Vincent’s library, thinking. She saw Ashley at the café yesterday morning and had a hard time getting the young woman out of her mind. She wanted to help her, but didn’t know how. She tried to call her earlier, but the phone number was disconnected. For the moment, she had to let Ashley go. Natalia sighed and looked back down at the desk in front of her, where a large Slayer journal sat. In her hand was a scanner.

Most of the Slayer journals were too old to be rifled through on a regular basis. She wanted to scan each page and save the books to an external hard drive to preserve the books. Also, it was easier to skim through computer files with the “find” tool then skim the physical pages. She tried to scan one book a week, but often found herself entangled between Vincent’s sheets instead. With him gone, it was easier to get this sort of work done. Vincent had been gone two nights; she went through five large books in that short time. Lost in her work she didn’t hear Franklin come in until he set the tray of food on the desk. She looked up to see a grin on his face.

“Hi. Thought you might be hungry.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia glanced at Rebecca and Mierka and rolled her eyes. They were engaged in a heated discussion about something; Natalia didn’t know what. She didn’t want to pay attention. It had been a long time since she had been to a club. Finally fed up, she pushed past Rebecca, sauntered onto the dance floor, and immediately moved in sync with the music.

Natalia was dressed in a short tight white skirt and tight striped burgundy and white top. Her burgundy sandals snaked up her legs, to tie just under her knee. She danced with whoever wanted her, and let the people touch her but not possess her. Rebecca and Mierka stopped their discussion to watch her interact with the other humans, then started to discuss their plans for the evening. When the drinks came to the table, Rebecca went to grab Natalia. She came willingly as she was rather thirsty.

Natalia sat at the table and smiled to the two women. “The two of you should be dancing.”

“Maybe in a bit.” Rebecca raised her glass. “A toast. To friendship in unexpected places.”