Free La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust by Cd Hussey

now.
    Was there something else walking the streets
of New Orleans she should worry about? Besides Armand? Besides the
drunks?
    This raging battle of "am I scared or not"
that was going on in her tired brain was giving her a massive
headache.
    She forced air into her lungs. It was all
about giving him the benefit of the doubt. She'd decided that
already. "Alright then. Thanks, Armand. I do appreciate it."
    His expression softened and he motioned for
her to lead the way.
    "What hotel are you staying at?" he asked as
they emerged from the walled cemetery.
    That definitely wasn't information she was
comfortable sharing. "It's near Bourbon and Conti."
    His strong exhale sounded suspiciously like a
sigh. "Very well."
    He led her across the busy street and into
the quiet of the French Quarter without saying another word. There
was tension oozing from his erect body and his jaw was clinched so
tight the muscles were twitching. She really didn't want to make
him angry, and not just because she was afraid of his wrath .
So far, he'd been nothing but gentlemanly. If she wasn't ready to
turn him into the police because she thought he might be innocent,
she needed to quit treating him like a serial killer.
    "So do you visit the cemetery often?" she
asked in an attempt to soothe the situation.
    There was a substantial pause before he
replied. "I used to. It has a tattered beauty I find soothing."
    Tattered beauty was the perfect descriptor.
It was refreshing to have her opinion of the cemetery echoed. Jeff
would have hated the place.
    She took another deep breath. He wasn't
trying to attack her or eat her or anything. They could have a
normal conversation. How else was she going to determine what to
tell the police? "But not anymore?"
    "The trash gets to me. No matter how
thoroughly the grounds are cleaned, the trash always finds its way
back."
    "I've never understood why it's such a burden
for some people to carry their trash with them until they can
properly dispose of it," she agreed. "Cigarette butts are the most
annoying. Just because they're small doesn't mean they disappear
into the ground. Besides, it's not like they weigh a lot. Pack it
in, pack it out." Once again, she was rambling and talking entirely
too fast.
    He glanced at her for the first time since
they'd left the cemetery. "Absolutely." At least, he no longer
seemed as irritated and some of the tension had eased from his
body. "How is your seminar going?" he wondered.
    "Pretty well. It can be a little tedious at
times."
    "That's too bad. It sounded interesting."
    He was being polite. There was no way utility
management, even disaster utility management, would be interesting
to a man like Armand.
    "I don't think it's the seminar's fault. I'm
just having a hard time concentrating."
    "Why is that?"
    Because crazy fortune tellers, vampires,
blood drained dead girls, sexy Goth bars with even sexier patrons
made it hard to pay attention to some monotone guy in a plaid
button up shirt talk about water mains exploding and taking out
highways.
    "This city is distracting me," Julia said
instead.
    "She has a way of doing that."
    His sharp tooth grin, sly wink and decadent
drawl made her heart race for two distinct reasons.
    No kidding.
    As they walked deeper into the Quarter and
the population increased, Julia slowly relaxed. If Armand truly was
dangerous, and she was pretty sure he wasn't, it was unlikely he
would attack her in a crowd full of people. Or so she hoped.
    But she had to ask the question that had been
plaguing her all afternoon. There were plenty of places to flee and
people to help...
    "So, what happened with that woman who passed
out in your bar?" she asked quickly, before she had a chance to
change her mind. Watching his reaction carefully, she prepped her
muscles to run.
    "Eve? I dropped her off at Tulane."
    "The university?"
    Armand smile was barely perceptible. "No, the
hospital. Specifically, the emergency room."
    Julia actually felt the tension slide from
her