Free As Twilight Falls by Amanda Ashley Page B

owner of the house was somewhat of an antique himself! An old-fashioned mirror stood in one corner. What was that doing here, she wondered, since it was commonly believed that vampires had no reflection.
    She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She had a horrible taste in her mouth. After her grand exit from the kitchen last night, she had been too upset to wash up properly. Now, she was eager to shower and brush her teeth.
    She did so quickly, thinking how much she hated Rylan Saintcrow for keeping her here.
    Exiting the shower, she slipped into her bathrobe, then stepped into the hallway.
    Were there bedrooms behind the other five doors? Did Saintcrow sleep in one of them?
    Curious, she padded down the carpeted corridor, peering into each room. They were all furnished much the same as hers, and appeared to be unoccupied. Why did he need so many bedrooms when he lived alone? Had he once kept a harem?
    In the kitchen, Kadie put on a pot of coffee. She scrambled a couple of eggs, made some toast, poured a glass of orange juice. While looking for the silverware the day before, she found the catalogs Saintcrow had mentioned. He had brochures and catalogs from dozens of stores and manufacturers from coast to coast. She couldn’t help thinking that shopping online would have been a whole lot easier.
    She browsed through several while she ate. He had told her she could have anything she wanted. She quickly made a list—a sofa from Jonathan Adler that cost a mere $3900.00, along with an equally expensive love seat and armchair, a pair of end tables, new lamps, a kitchen table and one chair (Mr. Saintcrow could stand, thank you very much—he didn’t eat, anyway). She added a portable DVD player and fifty DVDs, a blender, a microwave, a new set of silverware, a set of Spode Blue Italian china, Egyptian cotton sheets for the bed, sage green towels for the bathroom, ten bars of imported soap, a bottle of Clive Christian No. 1 perfume (the world’s most expensive fragrance—a steal at only $2150.00 a bottle), the same scent worn by actress Katie Holmes on her wedding day. Lastly, she added a diamond tennis bracelet, something she had always wanted but could never afford.
    Kadie sat back, smiling. She couldn’t wait to see Saintcrow’s face when he read her list.
     
     
    “Is this all?” Saintcrow asked as he perused the items she had selected.
    Kadie stared at him. If she had hoped to anger him or get a rise out of him, she had failed miserably.
    He folded her list and stuffed it into his pants pocket. “What would you like to do this evening?”
    “Do?”
    “I thought you might like to get out of the house. Have you eaten dinner?”
    “ No.”
    “There’s a nice little Italian restaurant not far from here. Would you like to go?”
    “You mean, leave Morgan Creek?” she asked, her mind racing.
    “If you’d like.”
    “I would! Just let me change clothes.” Not that she had anything really nice to wear. When she’d left home, she hadn’t planned on eating out in nice restaurants, or being gone long enough to need anything other than jeans, T-shirts, and boots.
    But she had packed one nice pair of black slacks and a blue silk shirt, just in case, and she donned them now, along with a pair of black sandals. She brushed her hair and her teeth, applied fresh makeup, then scowled at herself in the mirror. What was she doing? Was she actually dressing up for him?
    “Of course not,” she told her reflection. “I’m doing it for me.” She grabbed her handbag. If things went as planned, she wouldn’t be coming back here tonight. She hated to leave her cameras behind, but it was a small price to pay for her freedom.
    Saintcrow stood when she entered the room. A flash of admiration gleamed in his eyes when he saw her. She ignored it, just as she ignored his hand when he offered it to her.
    In the car, she stared out the window, refusing to be drawn into conversation with him. She didn’t know what he was up to, or