La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust by Cd Hussey Read Free Book Online Page A

that
matter. It was important to keep out the undesirables, but with
Slade and he tending the bar every night, it usually wasn't a
problem.
    "I think you're making too much of this,"
Armand told him. "With Victims like Eve passing out from blood
loss, Julia should be the least of your concern."
    Slade snorted and roughly started washing
another glass. He barely made two swipes with the rag before
tossing the glass back into the soapy water. "What the fuck do you
see in her anyway?"
    Armand sighed. It wasn't necessary to explain
himself, but Slade was not only one of his closest friends, he was
arguably the most tenacious. It wasn't like the big man was going
to let it go anytime soon. "She's attractive?"
    "Not half as pretty as most the sexpots that
usually throw themselves at you."
    Armand shrugged. "I don't know. There was
something about her."
    "Yeah, she actually shops at the mall."
    "It was more than that, asshole." How did he
explain to Slade how refreshing it was to talk to someone outside
of their sordid little Community? "She was smart, funny..." He
struggled to find the right words. "And she smelled different.
Clean." Unfortunately, the ones he chose came out sounding like a
bunch of bad clichés. Armand usually chose his words carefully.
Even if there was less of a necessity to put on a show with Slade,
he didn't like sounding like a badly scripted romantic comedy.
    "So, what? You think you can turn her? Bring
her over to the dark side?"
    Now it was Armand's turn to be angry. "It's
nothing like that. Look, it's not like I'm going to stalk her while
she's in New Orleans. She's only here for a week, so there's a good
chance I'll never see her again." Slade's grin at the statement
only added to Armand's irritation. "But I would like to," he
continued. "If she's comes back in here, I expect you to be
nice."
    "Whatever, boss."
    Armand glanced around the bar. At the moment
it was practically empty, but there'd be another surge at midnight.
"I'm going for a walk," he told the other man. "Call me if anything
comes up."
    "Sure."
    He needed to clear his head and a walk along
the river had a way of calming his thoughts.
    Slade was right about Julia in one context.
It had been a long time since Armand had been interested in a
woman. Oh, he fucked enough of them, but that was the extent of his
interaction with the fairer sex. And he certainly hadn't felt half
the connection with any of them during those scattered encounters
between the sheets that he had with Julia in the 15 minutes he'd
talked to her.
    He needed to see her again. It'd be easy
enough to find her, but it would be better if she came to him.
    * * *
    Eve woke up just as Armand was pulling his
Jag into the circle drive at Tulane's emergency room. Her lids were
heavy, so she didn't bother to open them. The swaying of the car
was like a gentle lullaby, and she wanted to protest when it
suddenly jerked to a stop. It felt so good to rest.
    The car door opened and strong arms lifted
her out of the plush seat. The spicy scent that filled her nostrils
told her the arms belonged to Armand. Sexy, unobtainable Armand. It
was a shame he wouldn't help her, but he was obviously too good to drink off her. As far as she knew, few were good
enough for him.
    If only he would. She was so...full.
    The whoosh of automatic doors hissed in her
ears, followed by beeps, hums, coughing, and the low murmur of many
people talking.
    Armand set her down in a hard chair. "This
woman needs blood." She heard him tell someone.
    "What happened to her?"
    "I'm just the courier," he said.
    "Wait, sir. What's her name? What's your
name?" Faintly, Eve heard the whoosh of the automatic doors again
and she knew Armand had left. It was just as well; she was getting
the hell out of here as soon as she could.
    A cool hand patted her arm. "Miss? Miss, can
you hear me?"
    With great effort, Eve opened her eyes. As
she'd suspected, that fucker had brought her to a hospital. "Yeah,
I can hear you." She glanced at