Author: catstark

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia sat in her car, redressing her wound. She was in Vincent’s garage, deciding whether she should get out of the car or wait until noon, when there was a better change that he would be asleep. There would be trouble for what she’d done. Natalia’s hand went to her silver beaded necklace as she stared at a thin sliver chain hanging from the rearview mirror. Dangling from the chain was a blue stone pendant with a silver engraving of the infinity symbol. She’d found it hanging on Theodore’s trophy wall under the pictures of Tina. The wall was covered with trinkets and pictures of other young girls. Many she recognized from news stories of missing children. It disgusted Natalia, but Theodore was dust now.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Sorry, Charlie. We had to look like we had no idea what was going on with the world. Stargazing wouldn’t have worked, and it had to look to a casual observer that you weren’t wearing ripped clothing. By getting that close, the girl couldn’t tell if your clothing were ripped or whole. It was the only thing we could do to get away clean.”

“I don’t look forward to telling the boss. He gets pretty jealous.”

“Let me tell him then. Don’t worry about it, Charlie. You’ll be fine.”

He didn’t believe her, but what could he really say or do that would make her understand his trepidation? Charlie let it go and settled back into the seat for the long drive back home.

From Inside The Grey House:

Vincent placed his hands on her thighs, feeling the tackiness of the blood on his left hand. The kiss grew more intense as she bared her teeth and bit his tongue. As the blood flowed into their mouths, his hands moved to her back to pull her out of the chair. He stood and set her on the desk. Her arms went around his neck to tighten the gap between them. She continued to suck on his bleeding tongue. He plunged one hand into her red tresses and pulled her head away from his. He healed the wound and glowered at her.

“Haven’t you taken enough?” He could feel his control slipping. If she didn’t satisfy at least one desire soon, he could become ornery.

“Vincent, love. You forget your place.” There was a hard edge to her teasing tone.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Come with me, Natalia.” He was hiding his emotions again. He noticed her body sag just a touch.

“It’s been a long night, Vincent. I want to go to bed.”

“Come with me, Natalia. Please.”

There was a slight emphasis on the last word. Natalia turned to face him, a slight crease on her brow. She had never heard this tone before. “All right.”

From Inside the Grey House:

Charlie came in, holding the door open for a man carrying a plate of food. The human, whose name Charlie had forgotten, placed the plate down on the folding tray next to the recliner. He then sat in another recliner waiting for Ben to notice him. Charlie went to the edge of Natalia’s bed, wanting an update. “How is she?”

“Feverish, disoriented, very thirsty. How about you? Did that nap do the trick?”

From Inside the Grey House:

“It’s lamb stew. There’s also bread, cheese, fruits and vegetables.” Eva was holding a tray with the other items. She was resting the tray on the edge of the tub, seemingly waiting for her to want it. Gail set a glass and a pitcher of water to her other side.

Natalia gave a nervous but proud laugh. “I feel like royalty.”

Lilly was carefully massaging conditioner into Natalia’s hair. “Stay with Vincent long enough and you will be.”

From Inside the Grey House:

A dark shape came into her field of vision and helped her to sit up a bit. A dark hand held a glass of water out to her, as she sipped the cool, refreshing liquid. She protested when the glass was taken away from her before she was ready. She opened her eyes to look at the person teasing her with the beverage, not understanding why she couldn’t see the person kneeling in front of her. She tried again, failing as dizziness took over and she flopped onto the bed.

Ben placed the glass back on the nightstand, taking a small towel and mopping her brow. She was sweating buckets. Before moving her back to a better position, he checked her wound. It was healing well. There was no sign of infection. There was a knock on the door as Charlie entered. Ben continued to dress the wound, dousing the area with peroxide.

From Inside the Grey House:

Joseph grabbed her wrist, spun her around, tightening his other arm around her. His words were a triumphant shout. “All of it!”

Natalia held back a scream as his teeth plunged into her shoulder. She looked to Vincent, her eyes wide with wonder. Mierka was holding him back and he was shouting something, but Natalia wasn’t sure what. She heard a metallic ring as something fell from her hand to the floor. Her arm, no longer encumbered and heavy reached up to caress Joseph’s neck. The bite hurt, but the slow sucking made her head spin. She looked back to Vincent as numbers ran through her head.

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent was not happy. Anthony was sitting opposite him, looking rather unnerved. Vincent had been berating the younger vampire for over two hours. Justin died while attempting to capture Judith and no one thought to inform their leader. All the people involved were currently being run through various training exercises. When Joseph was done with them, he would take the group down to the dungeon where they would be kept for 48 hours without blood. Vincent was pissed off. Justin worked for Anthony but had lived with and reported directly to Vincent. He knew the human longer than Anthony had.

From Inside The Grey House:

She smiled at him, whispered to him. “Trust me, Charlie.”

He shook in his shoes, moved away from her to hide his discomfort. He pulled at his pants and tried to will away his erection. Knowing it was no use, Charlie bent to the man on the couch, picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. Natalia watched him, trying not to laugh. Perhaps it wasn’t fair to control her ex-boyfriend like that, but she was going to have her way. A smug little bounce in her step, Natalia followed Charlie into the bedroom.