Free Blood Shadows by Tessa Dawn Page A

it all day: questioning Deanna, digging for information, feeling her out for subtle inconsistencies in her story.
    There were none.
    She was exactly who she said she was, and her story matched the information Kagen had taken from her mind earlier that day…to a tee. He rubbed his chin lightly with his thumb while measuring the woman for the umpteenth time, categorizing every nuance of her personality—the way she moved, the fluctuations in her voice, the peaks and valleys of her heartbeat…the body language that revealed far more than her words ever could.
    Deanna Dubois was an exceptional woman but in an understated way. To begin with, she came from an unusual mixed heritage. Her flawless skin was the color of coffee, heavily loaded with cream, and the splendidly exotic nature of her features spoke of at least three different racial influences: Her heavily-lidded, bluish-gray eyes reminded him of those he had seen on the original Spanish Conquistadors; her imminently straight, sculpted nose and her full, heart-shaped lips spoke of more than one French ancestor; and her long, deep brown tresses, littered with natural brushed-gold highlights, had just enough texture to betray some African-American ancestry as well. Overall, it was a devastating combination—not unusual to find in New Orleans—and Deanna carried it all on her five-foot-ten frame like an international model. If the Celestial deities had tried to match Nachari’s rare good looks with a human female’s, then they had done a stellar job.
    But Deanna was more than just an exotic beauty. She was supremely confident, despite the unsettling situation she found herself in, and she had an insightful, clever mind that revealed a great deal of intelligence. She was both articulate and smooth, like one who had been educated in the back alleys of life as well as the stuffy universities. However, she was only twenty-three years old, so much of her astuteness had to be innate. Again, she would be a perfect match for Nachari—if, in fact, she was his destiny .
    Her blood test had come back positive for traces of Celestial DNA.
    And even though the brothers had suspected as much, they had still stared at the results with both shock and awe. After all, randomly testing human women had never been done before; the concept just didn’t make sense. Not only would the sons of Jadon have to sort through millions of women before they found one single match, but the positive result would tell them nothing about whom the human female belonged to—which vampire she was destined to mate. Seeing such results before the Blood Moon’s omen was as astonishing as it was unsettling.
    The woman straightened her back and forced an insincere smile. “It’s getting dark outside,” she said, gesturing toward a window. “I really need to get going.”
    Marquis sighed and shook his head. “No.”
    Kagen leaned forward in his seat and cleared his throat. “I think what my brother means to say is we haven’t sorted through all of this yet; we would appreciate a little more of your time.”
    Marquis shrugged impatiently. “I think what I meant was no .”
    Deanna narrowed her eyes and gave Marquis an angry, albeit frightened, glare. “You can’t keep me here.” She put it as a statement, but the inflection in her voice made it a question.
    Marquis didn’t flinch. “We haven’t decided yet…where you will be allowed to go.”
    Her face paled, and unconcealed fear washed through her eyes. She looked from one male to other, pleading with her gaze.
    Nathaniel licked his lips and shifted languidly in his seat. “Ms. Dubois,” he purred in a faintly seductive tone, though absent of compulsion, “you don’t need to be afraid. We don’t mean you any harm. It’s just”—he paused as if searching for the precise words—“it’s just that Nachari’s well-being is our foremost concern, and you must admit, there is something…unusual…going on here.”
    “Unusual?” Deanna said,