Free Desire the Night by Amanda Ashley Page B

opened it to find several personal shoppers from Bloomingdale’s standing in the hallway. After introducing themselves, they laid out a wide array of clothing for her consideration—everything from dresses to pants, shoes to hats, nightgowns to slippers.
    Reluctant at first, Kay soon got into the spirit of things. She chose a couple of casual dresses by Tahari and Calvin Klein, jeans and T-shirts by Guess, shoes by Ferragamo, a handbag by DKNY, a nightgown and robe by Natori. As Kay signed the receipt, she hoped Gideon had been serious when he said money was the least of his problems, because she had just spent a small fortune.
    The sun was setting when the ladies from Bloomingdale’s packed up the rejects, thanked her profusely, and left the apartment.
    Kay was standing at the window, gazing at the darkening skyline, when Gideon ghosted up behind her. Slipping his arms around her waist, he drew her against him. “How was your day?”
    “Wonderful. Thank you.” She turned in his arms and smiled up at him. “I hope you really are rich.”
    His gaze moved over her. “Whatever that outfit cost, it was worth it. You look terrific.” Better than terrific, he thought with an admiring glance. A sleeveless black dress made of some clingy material outlined every delectable curve. A pair of black, sling-back pumps did wonderful things for her legs, which were long and shapely.
    “I should look fantastic, considering the small fortune this little black dress cost you.”
    He laughed softly. “You’re right. You do look fantastic.”
    “So do you.” Her gaze moved over him. He looked gorgeous in a dark green, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of khaki pants with a crease that looked sharp enough to cut steel, and black leather boots. “It was very thoughtful of you, sending all those clothes over, but really, something a little less expensive would have served just as well.”
    “Nothing but the best for my lady werewolf,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s only money, and if you don’t spend it, what am I gonna do with it?”
    “Well, I’ll be more than happy to spend it for you, since you have so little regard for it. Where did you come by it all, anyway?”
    He lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. “In the beginning, I pilfered what I needed from the rich. But then, as I got richer, I invested it. And now …” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “Now, I have more than I need.” He grinned at her. “And finally, someone to spend it on.”
    “‘Pilfered’? Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day.”
    “True.”
    “How long have you been a vampire?”
    “Three hundred and sixty years, give or take a decade or two.” His hands spanned her waist, his thumbs lightly stroking back and forth. “In answer to your next question, I was turned when I was twenty-seven by an ancient vampire who had grown weary of living but who didn’t want her very old, very powerful blood, to go to waste.”
    “So, she turned you against your will?”
    “Most assuredly. For someone so ancient, there was little substance to her,” he recalled. “Or so it seemed. But she was a lot stronger than she looked. I tried to fight her off, but she held me down easily. ‘I’m going to give you a wondrous gift,’ she said, and then she buried her fangs in my throat. When it was done, she took me to her home and told me what I needed to know to survive.
    “It was near dawn when Lisiana told me good-bye. When I asked where she was going, she told me she was over a thousand years old and she was tired of living. ‘I’m going out to meet the sun,’ she said. ‘Do what you wish with the house. Keep it, sell it, burn it down.’” He paused a moment. “Before I could ask her anything else, she was gone. When I woke up that night, I was a vampire. I never saw her again.”
    Kay stared up at him. It was an incredible tale, she thought, and then she grinned. “You seem to be a magnet for older women. What are you doing