Author: catstark

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent growled through his grin. Edwin looked at the two, not sure what to make of the woman in Vincent’s arms. She looked too old for his taste, but something about her grabbed his attention. Infuriated with being ignored, his voice was thick with loathing. “Isn’t she for me?”

Natalia turned her head to the younger vampire trying to intimidate her. Vincent informed her earlier of how old Edwin was and how much combat training he had had. She knew she could take him down in three blows. She wasn’t afraid of his inferior skills. “I’m here for Vincent’s pleasure,” she turned back to Vincent, “and for mine.”

From Inside The Grey House:

Natalia gave Charlie a pitiful look. He came back from Montana about a month ago. Rebecca was still taking care of the twins on Vincent’s ranch. As her husband seemed to grate on her every nerve, making it hard for her to watch the newborns, she sent Charlie back here. Without Rebecca, Charlie seemed a little harder to control. Vincent didn’t seem to appreciate having the werewolf without the Alpha, but understood Rebecca’s need for space. Charlie’s frustrations seemed to be transferring to Orlando and Doug, who were generally more controllable. If Charlie felt like he needed to get out, maybe it was best to get him out.

She sighed. “Maybe I can use you, but Charlie, you’re going to have to travel in wolf form and hide in my backseat.”

From Inside the Grey House:

Ben nodded. “That’s all then.”

“Thank you.”

He stood and smiled. “If I may ask a question?”

She watched his eyes as they changed from professional to that of a man admiring a woman. She frowned slightly and wondered at his thoughts. “All right.”

He paused and looked her up and down. She was sitting up straight on the couch, one arm resting on the armrest, the other beside her on the couch. Her legs were crossed, and the dress was clinging to her shapely legs. His smile came back. “Where did Vincent find you?”

“I found him.” Her voice showed her pride.

From Inside the Grey House:

As he stood and looked toward the closets for clothing, he wished briefly that he had not ordered his people to destroy the cabin: it would be lovely to take Natalia back there and give her memories she would cherish instead of loath. Vincent shook his head trying to clear it, but as he was learning, it was difficult to remove her from his mind. As he walked slowly to the clothing he saw hanging on the closest door, he wondered if he should have brought Natalia with him instead of ordering Charlie to take her home. If she were here, she would be healed in less the 24 hours. As it was, it would be more than 24 hours, and he probably wouldn’t be able to be with her for a more than that.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia sat facing the apartment building, watching for the lights to go out. They paid for their dinner long before there was any change in the apartment, staying at the table until the apartment went black. They walked away from the restaurant and went around the back of the apartment building to the parking lot, and watched as the Slayer, Jeffery Tathers, climbed into his car and drove away. Natalia and Charlie said their good nights at the apartment building’s back door. Charlie went to Natalia’s car, climbed into the front seat, made sure no one was watching and changed to wolf form.

From Inside the Grey House:

At the moment, he needed to have a private conversation with Natalia. The sequence of numbers he entered into the device controlled the microphones and cameras for this room only. He knew the code for every room, had programmed them with Vincent. When the code was entered, it turned off all recording devices. In the security room the only thing the guard would notice was the video screen changing to a different room. Rebecca was there now watching the screen intently. She had convinced the on-duty guard to take a break. Joseph ordered her to the security room to distract the guard; she decided to take over the watch.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia was pacing the length of downstairs hallway. It was the night after Edwin’s Red Tie Affair, and no one had returned. Sunset was hours ago. Markus was in the security room, waiting for word. It was the full moon, which meant she didn’t even have the company of the wolves, who were sedated and locked in the dungeon. She yelled at one too many of Vincent’s humans for no good reason, causing them to stay out of her way. They were as worried as her but were better able to control their emotions. Consequently, she paced, waiting for something.

It was an hour later when the door of the security office banged open and Markus yelled out the door. “They’re here!”

From Inside the Grey House:

She gave him a quizzical why not look, her head cocked to one side. She blinked a couple of times, then looked down as if to look inside herself. She shook her head, to clear it. He watched as she looked inward again, then shook her head again, a look of denial on her features. She backed away from him, not letting him hold her anymore. He tried to catch her hand, but she pulled away, a look of pure sorrow on her face. She looked up at him, near tears. Her breath was coming fast, and her heart was beating so hard he could hear it. She started to shake her head slowly, letting it get faster as she continued to back away.

From Inside the Grey House:

“I will protect her to the best of my ability and always ask my Alpha for guidance when I’m unsure of a situation.”

“Good. Now get out, both of you. I need time alone.”

Rebecca pulled Charlie to his feet and the two left hurriedly. Outside the office, Charlie grabbed Rebecca to him and gave her a strong kiss. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “Thank me upstairs.”

Charlie grinned, picked his wife up in his arms and practically ran up the stairs to their bedroom.

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms. A heavy sigh escaped him as he looked around for Joseph. “Take her to the master bedroom. Let her sleep.”

Joseph nodded and took Natalia in his arms. Bowing slightly to the healer and his boss, he walked past the two on his way up the stairs.

Vincent came back to himself and stood. He helped Lilly to her feet, thanking her for her help. He waved her away and turned back to Anthony, who stood glowering at the bottom of the steps.

“Go home, Anthony. This doesn’t concern you.”