Free Dead Sexy by Amanda Ashley Page B

dead for several days." He did not tell her of Marishka or of the nights he had spent holding her lifeless body in his arms. "When I woke, it was morning and I discovered I was no longer held captive by the Dark Sleep."
    "So you can go out during the day?"
    "No, but the rising of the sun no longer renders me powerless."
    "Did your blood affect Vasile?"
    Santiago nodded again. "I believe it is my blood that allows him to shift during the day. I have hunted him for centuries. And now he is here."
    "And you think he's looking for you?"
    "Why else would he have come here?"
    "I don't know. Maybe he's not looking for you at all. Maybe his being here is just a coincidence. It's a small world, after all."
    "Perhaps, but it does not matter. He is killing in my territory and it has to stop."
    "What does any of this have to do with me?"
    Santiago leaned back in his chair, wondering what she would say, what she would do, if he told her the truth.

----
Chapter 9

     
    In spite of Santiago's suggestion that she wait until dusk, Regan put on her shoes, dropped her gun into her handbag, and after thanking him for letting her spend the night, she headed for home, one eye on the rearview mirror the whole way. Thankfully, there was no sign of a silver-gray Mercedes.
    She breathed an audible sigh of relief when she was safe inside her own apartment. After the glaring white and sparse furnishings of Santiago's condo, her home seemed even more colorful and cluttered than usual, but that was the way she liked it, thank you very much. She liked the living room's dark green walls, the off-white sofa, the flowered red and orange sling-back chair. Modern art decorated the walls; a tall hand-blown vase held a bouquet of dried red, orange, and gold flowers. The kitchen was painted a cheerful yellow, her bedroom was a bold lilac. She knew her decor was out of fashion. The trend today was earth tones or high-contrast colors, like black and white, but she didn't care. She had never been one to follow trends in either furniture or fashion.
    She went into the bedroom and changed her clothes, combed her hair and brushed her teeth, and felt a hundred percent better.
    Going into the kitchen, she checked her messages. There was one from her mother, another from her older brother, Kevin, and two from Flynn, one 'just to say hello' and one inviting her out to dinner that night.
    After calling Flynn to accept his offer, she threw a load of clothes in the washer, then went into her bedroom and turned on her computer. She spent two hours reading about werewolf mythology before weariness overcame her. Kicking off her shoes, she stretched out on the bed and was instantly asleep.
     
    Santiago paced the living-room floor, a distant part of his mind wishing he was in his lair in the Byways. He rarely stayed at the condo in the park. Perhaps it was time to redecorate the place so that it would be more to his liking. The white walls made him feel like he was living in a padded cell. A few paintings would relieve the monotony. He glanced disdainfully at the brown furniture, left over from the previous tenant. Perhaps it was time to get rid of that, as well.
    Pausing in front of the door, he swore softly. He didn't give a damn about the condo's furnishings. The whole place could burn down, for all he cared. The only reason redecorating the place had even occurred to him was because Regan didn't like it as it was. Ah, Regan, he couldn't help worrying about her. It had been years since his inability to walk in the sun had bothered him, but Regan's life hadn't been in danger before. She was home now, alone and vulnerable—and Vasile was somewhere in the city.
    Santiago resumed his useless pacing. Regan had insisted she would be safe enough, that Vasile only killed after dark, but Santiago knew better. Marishka had been killed while the sun was high in the sky. He closed his eyes and his mind filled with horrific images…
    He had awakened to the sound of Marishka's terrified