From The Grey House:
“What did it?”
She gave him a frank look. “He was there all night. When I fed you my blood willingly? He heard that, too. While I was convincing him to let me come tonight, he told me that no untainted human would offer a vampire their blood. That I wasn’t to be trusted because I was probably Hellspawn already.”
Vincent watched her again, not saying a word, thinking of their encounter at The Ocean’s Edge.
From The Grey House:
A gasp of hope escaped the frightened Aaron. Vincent cocked his head to look at the human. Aaron was quieting; becoming still. A look of pure hope was indeed spreading from his green eyes to his tanned face. A few more words and he would be completely convinced everything would be okay. A hard need worked its way from the pit of Vincent’s stomach throughout his body, making him tingle. Vincent loved the look of desperate hope on a human’s face. It had been a long time since he had seen it. He decided to play it.
Vincent strolled over to Joseph and held out his hand for the key. Joseph looked his friend dead in the eye and understood. He reached into his pocket and handed Vincent the keys to the shackles, making as much noise as possible. Vincent took them, hid his glee and turned. He looked toward Keith first, who had known Vincent too long and knew the truth. His grim demeanor was ever present.
From The Grey House:
“Why did you come here?” It was the first words Vincent had said to him.
“I was worried about Natalia.” He tried hard not to reveal any emotion.
Vincent narrowed his eyes and stared Charlie down. “The more questions I have to ask, the angrier I get. The angrier I get, the more likely I am to kill you before hearing the whole story, despite what your wife made me promise.”
Charlie ground his teeth: it wasn’t too close to the full moon. He could easily control his emotions, but he was too worried about Natalia. He wanted her to be safe, wanted to find her. His anger parted as he realized the quicker he told Vincent the situation, the quicker his boss would use his resources to find her. To his credit, Vincent left someone back at her house to investigate, but they were only to assess the situation at the house and await further information.
From The Grey House:
“And nervous werewolves are bad.”
“Yep. Although we should probably head back to the estates before the full moon.”
“When is that?”
“Eight days.”
“Keep reminding me.”
“Yep.” He turned away from the stove. “Food’s ready.”
She went to the stove and took the plate he offered. She ladled out some food and sat at the kitchen table. Charlie joined her a moment later. They talked of little things as they ate. Charlie went to shower as Natalia cleaned up and put things away in her own kitchen. She usually hated doing dishes, but today, it helped to remind her that she was home, and safe.
From The Grey House:
“You bite her, you kill her.”
“She can take it.” He stepped up to Joseph, wanting to rip his friend’s throat out.
Joseph placed his hands on Vincent’s shoulders and turned the vampire around. The bandage Dr. Elving placed over her bullet wound was bright red with fresh blood. The wound was not large, about as wide as Vincent’s middle finger. With that much blood oozing, he must have grabbed her arm by mistake when he kissed her. There was pain in her eyes as she touched her right shoulder carefully.
“She may not appear harmed, but she will rip herself apart to take you on. She is as obsessed as you are. Send her away. Now.”
From The Grey House:
“Joseph, what can I tell you?”
“Dean’s strengths and weaknesses.”
“He’s a good planner. Doesn’t fight. He didn’t go on raids but was connected by cell to Zechariah for last minute changes.”
“What does he look like?”
“About five-feet six inches
and overweight. He’s Caucasian with black hair and brown eyes. He’s about 19
with very bad skin. He’s gullible, easily swayed. If a woman starts talking to
him, she might be able to convince him not to do anything. That’s all I know.”
“Thank you.” He hung up.
From The Grey House:
A large, strong body pressed her into the wall. His free hand pulled her dress away from her shoulder and his teeth sank into her shoulder, painfully. She cried out, but the hand at her throat moved to her mouth, stifling her cries. Pain and terror filled her thoughts but dissipated somewhat when the menacing figure pulled away from her shoulder and growled into her ear.
“Do you see how easy it would be for us to steal your life and change it or end it at our discretion?” His hand moved back to her throat.
From The Grey House:
“I’m here because although I do trust you to run the restaurant with grace and dignity, I know for a fact that you are terrible at keeping track of things. How many times have you forgotten to write something down?” Vincent turned back to the papers. “I trust you to run the restaurant well, but I have seen your past mistakes with the paperwork. Although I must admit, you’re getting better.”
It was Richard’s job to keep track of deliveries: how much came in, what was used and what was needed. Due to his busy schedule, sometimes the man forgot to note a delivery. Vincent had one accountant just for The Ocean’s Edge who stopped by once a week. Though Richard occasionally forgot to write something down, he knew exactly where all the paperwork was kept. That was why Vincent kept him.
From The Grey House:
Most of the women in his life started out as human, but the only woman he had ever taken after a fight was his sire, Lorraine. She never showed any signs of fighting; vampires hardly ever did. Vincent took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose. He closed his eyes; he could smell Natalia’s blood and sweat. It was coming off her in waves. The scent of blood was arousing, but he didn’t want her like this.
From The Grey House:
“Vincent, you know what would have happened if we hadn’t spent the past two nights together.”
“I do, but now I don’t need you.” He was pulling his shirt over his head, so his words were muffled.
“But do you want me?” She was leaning against the wall, her arms behind her, arching her back and accentuating her chest. His eyes slipped over her nakedness, appreciating the look of her.
Vincent was standing, pulling on his jeans. With his pants unbuttoned, he walked to her, and slipped his arms around her. “You are a desirable woman, Jacqueline.
