Free Blood Curse by Crystal-Rain Love

killer, Mom. I'll make sure he pays."
    She stood there until she could bring her emotions under control. There were boxes in the closet that she knew she should probably go through, but she couldn't do it yet. She never would have gone through her mother's things were she still living, so to do so now would only solidify the brutal reality that her mother was gone forever.
    The phone rang from the living room, grabbing her attention. She closed the closet door, removed the chair she'd propped before the bedroom door and exited into the living area. She answered the phone and smiled as Trevaris's sweet voice filtered through the receiver. The building's maintenance man had become like a family member during her years residing here, and he had been extremely watchful over her since her mother's death.
    "Hey there, Sweets. Thought I'd check up on ya. I saw that you had a visitor late last night."
    "Those old eyes of yours sure don't miss a thing,” she responded with a smile.
    "Somebody has to watch out for you, young'un. Did these old eyes see wrong or was your visitor a gentleman caller?"
    "He's just a friend."
    "Uh-huh,” Trevaris said, his tone indicating he wasn't buying her explanation. “It'd do you some good to have a man in your life. You just make sure he treats you like the treasure you are, Sweets. I may be getting up there, but I can still swing a mean bat. Don't make me have to break no legs off of somebody, ya hear?"
    "You are crazy,” Aria said through a chuckle, not bothering to mention the bat probably wouldn't work against Rialto unless it was sharpened to a point and rammed straight through his heart. “And my guest is nothing more than a friend.” Oddly, a wave of disappointment rolled over her as she made the firm statement, and she found herself longing for something more than friendship. Maybe Trevaris was right. Maybe it had been too long since she'd had a romantic interest, since she'd put her fear aside and allowed herself to take the chance.
    "Whatever you say, Sweets. Just be careful. A lot of these young men nowadays just don't know how to act around a decent lady like yourself."
    "I'll remember,” she promised before ending the call.
    She walked down the small hall toward her bedroom and stared at the closed door. There was a vampire in there, she cautioned herself as she gripped the door handle, wondering if he were lying in wait for her. Her hand grew sweaty, slipping away from the knob. This is ridiculous, she thought as she wiped her damp hand on her pant leg. She'd sweat buckets last night, and without a shower she knew she was a pungent mess. Her clothes were beyond the door and she'd need to get them before stepping into the shower, unless she wanted to walk around in nothing but a towel until the vampire rose. No, she thought, that wouldn't be a good idea, not when she could still recall the images from the dreams she'd had, and he had apparently had some interesting dreams himself. She didn't want to give him such a broad expanse of skin to notice. And if what she'd read was true, the vampire's lust for sex could quickly give way to other forms of lust, forms which could lead to her death.
    She took a deep breath and slowly, quietly, turned the knob and pushed the door open.
    He lay on his back in the middle of her bed, the thin white sheets pulled up to his waist, leaving his chest bare. She couldn't help staring at his torso's muscled perfection, wondering why so many books described vampires as being pale and gaunt. That description couldn't be any further from the truth.
    Tilting her head, she studied his sleeping form and noticed his chest didn't rise and fall like a person's should. It was as if he was . . . dead.
    She walked over to the nightstand and took out one of the stakes she'd started keeping there since her mother's death. Holding it carefully in one hand, she cautiously approached the vampire in her bed. He made no sound or movement. He wasn't breathing at