Free Mating Fever by Crymsyn Hart Page B

breakfast. He offered me a plate. I didn’t say much and neither did he. When I went to leave, Keaton waited for me at the foot of the steps.
    “Your car awaits.”
    “I thought you couldn’t go out in the sun.”
    He was bundled up in a long sleeve shirt, pants, and wide sunglasses. “I can move about in the day. It weakens me, but it can be done. My car has special glass that filters the UV rays. Come on.”
    I shrugged and followed him outside. Keaton winced when we stepped out into the direct light. He opened the door for me. Once I got in he raced around the car to get in.
    We drove in silence back toward my house. As we drove, I thought a lot about what he had said to me the night before. The more I contemplated being without him, the more I didn’t want to be. Maybe he was right. I was the recipient of bad circumstances. When I reached the house, I shivered. A dark cloud blotted out the sun. Keaton stopped and I got out. With keys in hand, I mounted the stairs and went to slide the key into the lock. However, when I placed my hand on the door, it swung open. I glanced back at Keaton. He shut the engine off and then rushed out of the car.
    “What is it?”
    “I don’t know. Something isn’t right. None of my roommates wouldn’t lock the door. Not in this neighborhood.”
    He went in ahead of me. I heard a harsh growl utter from his throat. “Stay here.” He waved me back and then bolted into the house.
    I looked around and didn’t see anyone. Finally, I went inside. When I did, I was immediately hit with the damp, overwhelming, wet aroma that was laced with metal. The living room was splashed with blood. There was a trail of it leading into the kitchen. I followed it and found Sandi dead on the floor. An open wound on his throat was dried with blood. The tears in the skin showed his muscled beneath the flesh. Oh shit! What the hell happened in here? I blanched and turned from the scene.
    I heard footsteps upstairs and rushed up them. I found Keaton, fangs extended in my bedroom. The state of my room was in shambles. The mattress and bedding were in tatters. My drawers hand been rifled through. Clothes were strewn on the floor. Glass littered the floor from the window being broken inward. My closet had been picked through. Keaton stopped me when I stepped forward.
    “Stay there. You’ll contaminate the scent.”
    I stepped away from the room. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What happened? My blood ran cold at the sight. If I had been there then I’d have been shredded too. Someone had broken in and killed my roommate. It looked like they were aiming for me.
    Stephania had said there was evil stalking the night. That’s why she gave me the salt. She knew something was coming to my apartment . But I hadn’t been. I’d been with Keaton. This was worse than anything that had ever happened to me. I stumbled backward until I hit the wall. I slid down the solid surface and looked at my shaking hand. Keaton came out from my room and said something. He took me by the arms and lifted me up. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear anything he said.
    He patted my cheek. It didn’t register in that he was touching me. He snapped his fingers in front of my face. The blackness that had descended over us had me in its grip. Sandi became Mark, sprawled out on the floor. He opened his eyes and stared at me. He began to speak.
    “This is all your fault. Madi—”
    I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. “No. No. I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill you. No—”
    “Madison,” I opened my eyes when someone shook me. Keaton’s lips were pursed. His forehead creased as he stared at me. He had my hands in his. Keaton kissed the back of one of them. His appearance had returned to normal. I focused on him and tried not to get pulled down back into the dark tide of images rising inside of my mind.
    “What happened?”
    “Another vampire was here. I think it was the one who attacked you the other night.