Free Shades of Gray by Amanda Ashley Page B

rest."
    "Fastidious of you."
    "Quite."
    Ramsey finished his coffee, and stood up. "I'm going home. I've had a long day. Miss Richards, thank you for the coffee." He went to the sink and rinsed out his cup, then placed it on the counter.
    "Quite fastidious," Grigori murmured.
    Ramsey glared at him. "Shouldn't you be out hunting our fanged friend?"
    "All in good time. Weren't you leaving?"
    "All in good time." Ramsey inclined his head in Marisa's direction. "Good night, Miss Richards."
    "Good night, Edward. Thank you for coming by."
    A thick silence fell over the kitchen after Ramsey's departure. Needing something to do, Marisa placed Edward's cup in the dishwasher, then poured herself a cup of coffee she didn't want.
    "What if you can't find Alexi?"
    "I'll find him."
    "And in the meantime, he'll keep killing."
    Grigori nodded, waiting for her to go on, to ask the questions he read in her eyes.
    "You told Edward you don't hunt where you live."
    He nodded again.
    "But — " She lifted a hand to her throat. "But you do… hunt?"
    "I do what I must to survive, Marisa. Would it make you feel better if I denied it, denied what I am?"
    "Probably." She regarded him a moment. "You don't look like a vampire."
    "Indeed? Have you known many of us?"
    She placed her cup in the sink, and then folded her arms over her chest. "Of course not."
    "How should I look?"
    "I don't know." She shook her head as an image of Frank Langella's Dracula formed in her mind: tall and dark and undeniably sexy in a white linen shirt and long, flowing cape. "Maybe you do look like a… a vampire, after all."
    He smiled, as if he knew her thoughts, and then, as a howl screamed through the night, he froze.
    "What was that?" Marisa exclaimed. "It sounded like a wolf."
    He looked at her indulgently. "There are no wolves in the city, Marisa."
    "It's him, isn't it? Alexi?"
    Grigori nodded. "He's calling me."
    "You're not going?"
    "Would you rather I met him in here?"
    "Heavens, no!"
    "You'll be safe enough. Just remember, he can't come in unless you invite him."
    "That's not much comfort."
    "It's the best I can offer you."
    His dark eyes moved over her, deep, fathomless eyes that held secrets she didn't want to know. Awareness hummed between them, its heat licking against her skin, warm and rough, like a cat's tongue. And then, abruptly, he was gone.
    Marisa blinked, startled by the sudden emptiness she felt inside, by the realization that he had not left the house by the door, but had simply vanished from her sight.
    Maybe he really was a magician.

Chapter Ten
    Grigori paused when he reached the sidewalk. He had been quite serious when he'd suggested that Alexi was playing games with them. No doubt the ancient vampyre found their helplessness amusing. And they were helpless against him, Grigori thought bleakly. Unless Alexi let his guard down, they had little chance of catching him. Kristov possessed the knowledge of untold centuries, the strength of a thousand years.
    Grigori raked a hand through his hair. Maybe he was only kidding himself in thinking that he could keep Marisa safe. There was little he could do to protect her that she couldn't do herself. If she was careful to remain locked within her own house at night, Alexi could not reach her. But what kind of life was that, being imprisoned from dusk till dawn?
    He laughed softly. What kind of life indeed, he mused. It was the life he lived, save that he was compelled to shun the light of day, to hide away in darkness when the sun was high in the sky.
    The howl of a wolf interrupted his thoughts, and he spun around, his gaze probing the drifting shadows of the night.
    "Still protecting the lady fair?"
    Alexi's voice sounded behind him. Grigori whirled around, the fine hairs rising along the back of his neck, his hands curling into tight fists.
    "Why don't you fight me, Alexi? Let us end it here and now."
    "You don't think you could best me?" Alexi replied with unbridled amusement.
    "Try me."
    "Oh, I will, I will,