Demon Moon by Meljean Brook Read Free Book Online

ill.”
    Savi crossed her arms beneath her breasts, shivering. Not just clothes—a shower was a necessity; she didn’t want to stink of fear and blood and nosferatu when Colin arrived.
    She found her bathrobe in her luggage and shrugged it on, wincing as the rough terry slid over her shoulder. She had to tie the belt one-handed.
    A scratch sounded at the door connecting her apartment to Hugh’s house. Sir Pup. And the vampire, if the knock accompanying it was any indication.
    Dammit. She glanced around the apartment—the silk paintings, the DemonSlayer posters, the jumble of mismatched furniture—and sighed. No time to straighten anything. Nani would likely spend the entire meeting apologizing for Savi’s clutter.
    She opened the door, and the hellhound streaked through and almost toppled her over in his eagerness to welcome her home. Then he stopped and growled, each of his three heads swinging around as if to search out the source of the nosferatu scent.
    â€œIt’s okay, Sir Pup,” Savi told him. “It’s just Nani and me. I had an adventure.” Smiling wryly, she lifted her gaze to Colin’s face.
    Oh, god. It wasn’t fair. She’d prepared herself for it, yet still her breath caught and her heart began to hammer in her chest. And he knew it. Her psychic shields blocked her emotions, but couldn’t hide her physical reaction.
    Yet there was no mockery in his eyes as he looked her over. His perusal was quick, intense. “Invite me in, Savitri,” he said quietly.
    The request startled a laugh from her. “Vampires don’t need an invitation.” She pitched her voice low as well; Nani knew Colin wasn’t human, but probably assumed he was like Michael and Selah. Perhaps even Lilith. No one had disabused her of the notion—her fear of the nosferatu was too great. She had accepted Hugh’s friends and background, but she wouldn’t like knowing Colin was basically half-nosferatu. Demons, Guardians…they were tolerable. Nosferatu were not.
    â€œNo,” he said, and the tips of his fangs showed when he smiled. “But I am a gentleman, and a gentleman doesn’t enter a woman’s house uninvited.”
    She willed her heartbeat to return to its normal pace. She needed to step away from the door, put some distance between them, but it was difficult not to stare. That golden hair, artistically messy. His sculpted cheekbones and angular jaw. The lean, elegant length of him in his tailored trousers and soft, clinging sweater. How did he manage it when he couldn’t even see himself in a—
    There, a reason for escape. She swallowed and nodded. “Alright, but give me a second?”
    His smile widened. “Of course, sweet Savitri.”
    She felt his gaze follow her as she walked across the living room to the cheval mirror that stood in the corner. Nani rose to her feet and narrowed her eyes disapprovingly. “You cannot leave him at the door, naatin ,” she said in Hindi. Then added in English, “Mr. Ames-Beaumont, please come in.”
    â€œIt’s okay, Nani.” Savi turned the mirror to face the wall, and looked around for any that she’d missed. “I’m just making sure he’ll be good company, instead of ignoring us in favor of admiring himself.”
    â€œSavitri!”
    â€œDon’t scold her, Auntie,” Colin said, laughing. “She has the right of it. There is another by the kitchen, Savi. Sailor Moon?”
    She shot him a surprised glance as she flipped over the small frame depicting anime characters in schoolgirl uniforms.
    â€œA short obsession…with their equally short skirts,” he added as if in explanation, then turned his attention to her grandmother. “Mrs. Jayakar, you are as beautiful as ever.”
    She blushed and patted her hair. “And you are too kind to an old woman.”
    His brows rose. “Hardly old.” He bent and kissed