Desire After Dark. Amanda Ashley

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СКАЧАТЬ to draw near. As she approached, he had removed his cloak and spread it on the shore, then offered her his hand. She had taken it without fear, offered no resistance as he drew her down on his cloak. She had welcomed his kiss, her eyes closing in surrender, her body pliable in his knowing hands. He had made love to her all through the night, his hands caressing her, his voice joining with the lyrical ebb and flow of the waves, blending into a symphony that seduced her in both mind and body. She had given herself to him without restraint, became a part of him, wedded to him as the sea was bound to the sand and the moon to the tide, forever joined together, never to be parted…

      Smiling, Vicki sat up and took a deep breath and in so doing, she breathed in his scent. But it was no dream. Antonio had been here, in her bedroom, while she slept.

      The thought sent a jolt of fear through her, chasing away the pleasant afterglow of her dream. How had he gotten into her room? All the doors and windows had been locked when she went to bed. She knew, because she had checked them all twice.

      Rising, she checked them all again, starting with the window in her room. All were locked. None had been tampered with as far as she could see.

      Maybe she was imagining things. But no, she could still smell his scent in her room. She was fully awake now. She wasn’t imagining anything. It gave her a decidedly uneasy feeling to know that someone had been in her house, in her bedroom, while she slept.

      She was going to have a serious talk with Mr. Antonio Battista when she saw him again!

      The opportunity came sooner than she expected. She was about to leave for work when he appeared on her doorstep. Dressed in black, as always. She wondered what kind of statement he was trying to make under all that black leather and cloth.

      “Good evening, Victoria.”

      Such a formal greeting, she thought. Sometimes he sounded like some old-world count. “What brings you here?”

      He lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “I came to accompany you to work.”

      “Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk.” She took a step backward and opened the screen door. “Come in.”

      He paused a moment, then stepped across the threshold and into the living room.

      “What do you wish to talk about?” he asked.

      “Last night.” She dropped her handbag and coat on a chair, then turned to face him, her arms crossed over her breasts.

      “What about last night?”

      “You were in my room while I was sleeping.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

      “Yes.”

      “Oh, you admit it! What were you doing there? How did you get in? All the doors and windows were locked.”

      “I meant you no harm, my sweet one, I only wanted to make sure you were all right.”

      “Why wouldn’t I be all right?” she asked, then realized how stupid that sounded. There was a murderer running loose, a murderer who preyed on redheads. Maybe it wasn’t such a stupid question, she thought. After all, none of the women had been killed in their homes.

      “Do you wish me to apologize for worrying about you?” he asked with a wry smile.

      “Yes. No. I don’t know, but I want your promise that you won’t come into my house again unless I invite you.”

      He bowed his head in acquiescence. “As you wish.”

      “You never told me how you got in.”

      “A trick of the trade, you might say.”

      She raised one brow. “What trade is that? Don’t tell me you’re a cat burglar.”

      He laughed softly. “No.”

      “What do you do?”

      “Perhaps I shall tell you sometime.”

      “There’s something else I’d like to know.”

      “You are full of questions this evening.”

      “Yeah, well…” She hesitated. Maybe asking wasn’t such a good idea, but she had to know.

      He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

      “I saw you with Sharlene and that other woman, and…Did you know them?”

      “That is not what you want to ask,” he chided softly. “You want to know why I was with them.”

      “Yes.”

      “I walked them home, nothing more.”

      “Why?”

      “You still think I might have killed them?”

      “No, but…”

      “I knew they were in danger. I walked them home and warned them against opening their doors to strangers.”

      “You were a stranger.”

      He smiled faintly. “A stranger, yes, but not a murderer of young women.”

      She glanced at the clock over the mantel. “I’ve got to go. I’m going to be late for work.”

      She was picking up her handbag when Antonio said, “Tom Duncan.”

      “What?”

      “The man you were with last night. What did he want?”

      “I don’t see as how that’s any of your concern.”

      He took a step forward. Though his expression didn’t change, he seemed suddenly menacing. “What did he want?”

      “Dinner, of course,” she retorted. “Why else do people come into a diner? Well, except for you.”

      He clenched his hands at his sides. “There is more, something you are not telling me.”

      “He asked me for a date, not that it’s any of your business.”

      He stared at her.

      “What’s the matter? Is it so hard to believe that someone would want to date me?”

      Battista shook his head. “No, of course not.” He didn’t think the man ever thought of anything but destroying the Undead, but the vampire hunter had actually asked Victoria for a date. Battista knew hunters rarely married. It had never occurred to him that they might date from time to time. “Are you going out with him?”

      “I’ve really got to go.”

      “Yes, of course.” His face a hard mask, he turned and stalked out the door.

      Grabbing her coat, she followed him out of the house, locking the door behind her.

      She СКАЧАТЬ