Dead Sexy. Amanda Ashley

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ And not a mortal.”

      “Not a vamp and not a human? What else could it be?”

      “It is a werewolf. A very old werewolf.”

      Regan stared at him. A werewolf? She sat back, stunned. That possibility had never occurred to her, but then, why would it? Werewolves were supposed to be extinct. She had never seen a werewolf, had been skeptical that they had ever existed except in fairy tales. The idea of a human turning into an animal just seemed so bizarre. And yet, it shouldn’t be so hard to believe in werewolves, she mused, not when there was another, equally fantastic creature sitting across from her. Still, vampires remained humanoid if not entirely human. But werewolves…she shrugged inwardly. She supposed the two species really weren’t so very different. Both werewolves and vampires were brutal killers that stalked the night in search of human prey. And if there could be werewolves and vampires, then why not fairies and goblins and trolls and elves?

      She shook her head. She was being ridiculous now. Vampires and werewolves had once been human. Elves and goblins and trolls were just…make-believe. Weren’t they?

      “What makes you think it’s a werewolf?” she asked, although the longer she thought about it, the more sense it made. She had never known any vampire to do more than take the blood of its victims. Sure, they usually took the life, too, but they left the victim’s body intact; they didn’t rip out the internal organs.

      “I recognized his scent.”

      “You know him then?” she asked, startled.

      Santiago nodded. “Our paths have crossed before.”

      From the tone of his voice, she didn’t think they were friends. “The other night, you told me you didn’t know who had killed the victim.”

      “I lied,” he said with a shrug.

      “So how do I know you’re not lying to me tonight?”

      “Because I know you better now.”

      Disconcerted by his words, Regan lifted her water glass and took a drink. What was she doing, sitting here with this…this creature? He was one of them, a killer of innocents, a drinker of blood. Looking at him, it was hard to believe he was one of the monsters. He looked like any other man, save that his teeth seemed a little whiter, his eyes a little brighter…who was she kidding? No ordinary man had ever looked this roguishly handsome, or made her heart do handsprings in her chest. No ordinary man had ever made her skin tingle just by looking at her.

      She shook her head to clear it. It was hard to think straight when he was looking at her. “Are you the only vampire that can cross through the barrier?”

      He hesitated a moment before replying, “As far as I know.”

      “Why don’t I believe you?”

      He shrugged.

      She frowned thoughtfully. “What about the werewolf?”

      The vampire’s gaze moved over her, probing, curious, and yet she had the feeling that he knew her better than she knew herself. “It would have no effect on him.”

      If only Joaquin Santiago had no effect on her! It was hard to think coherently when he was looking at her as if nothing else in all the world mattered. His dark eyes smoldered with unspoken desire. Her body warmed under his regard, aching for his touch. She told herself it was nothing. Vampires were notoriously charming and seductive. It was part of their appeal, part of their preternatural glamour, the very thing that made it so hard for humans to resist them.

      Regan was glad when her meal arrived as it gave her something else to focus on. She had never eaten with a vampire before and she soon discovered that doing so made her extremely nervous.

      “Is the food not to your liking?” he asked.

      “No, it’s really very good, but…”

      He lifted one brow. “But?”

      “I…it’s…” She cleared her throat. “It makes me uncomfortable, eating in front of you, and…”

      He glanced at the ruby red liquid shimmering in the crystal goblet in his hand. “And my drinking this doesn’t help your appetite?” he guessed.

      She nodded.

      He signaled for the waitress and had her take his glass away. “Is that better?”

      “Yes. No. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right to eat in front of you when you can’t….” She paused a moment, then gestured at the basket of garlic bread the waitress had brought with her spaghetti. “Does this bother you?”

      “No,” he said, grinning. “The whole garlic thing is just a myth.”

      “Oh. How long has it been since you consumed real food?”

      “A very long time.”

      “I guess you don’t remember what it was like?”

      “Ah, but I do. I even remember my last meal, though it was remarkably unremarkable. Ash cakes and a bowl of venison stew. A cup of tiswin.”

      “Ash cakes?” Regan shook her head. “They aren’t really made of ashes. Are they?”

      He laughed softly. The sound danced across her skin, sensuous and seductive, like the man himself.

      “Not at all,” he said. “They are made from ground mesquite beans or pine nuts mixed with tallow or bear grease, and honey. The women form the mixture into small cakes and bake them on heated stones.”

      “Do you miss it? Eating, I mean.”

      “Not any more, though sometimes…”

      “Go on.”

      He shook his head, thinking it would be better not to go down that path. She had no need to know that when he drank from his prey, he could, if he wished, vicariously experience what they had recently experienced.

      “Please,” he said, “enjoy your meal.”

      She tried, but every time she took a bite, she was aware of his gaze. He was not a mortal man. He didn’t eat food. He drank blood. She had been a fool to meet him here, alone, after dark. No one knew she had agreed to meet him here. If he should decide he wanted a snack, she was readily available.

      The thought made her shudder. How could anyone drink blood? It was beyond her comprehension. Contemplating it ruined what was left of her appetite and she pushed her plate away.

      “You have hardly eaten a thing,” Santiago remarked.

      “I’m not hungry anymore.”

      He regarded her through narrowed eyes. “I see.”

      Drat the man. She was afraid he saw way too much.

      He signaled for the waitress and signed the check, leaving a generous tip.

      After rising, he drew back Regan’s chair, then followed her out of the СКАЧАТЬ