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Except, of course, it hadn’t been a date

Even so, her pulse was erratic, and she wondered hoould look without his shirt, hoould feel to just lie against his even further She was sure he would be an aggressive lover, but a good one Tender at times, but passionate He would know his way around a woman’s body He would…

She took an instant step back, praying he couldn’t really readYou’re… welcome to come in I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to sit in a bar anyile at the moment, you know"

To her surprise, he hesitated

"Nikki, I don’t want to force anything on you"

Force? She was ready to…

"I need you to trust me, to believe in me And if that means I should walk away now, that’s what I intend to do"

This was all business, she rehosts They were like detectives, co notes Not potential lovers

"Well," she said, and o inside and lock up, but that doesn’t do ainst real-live killers, who apparently got hold of both your friend and a governent"

"Yes, I definitely have to be careful," she assured hi here within?"

He didn’t reply

She was both exasperated and a little offended "You can check out the place for the undead as well as the living criminal element"

God, she loved his smile Loved the way it softened the hard contours of his features The light in his eyes, the slightly wicked curve of his lips… she loved it all Too fast She didn’t know hi her breath Because she illing to take her chances Right when the world was the ht when she shouldn’t

"Please, I’d appreciate it if you would co criminals in this city, but at this particular hten hted to come in," he informed her

She turned away quickly, alar

She fitted the key in the lock, and he followed her in, surveying the downstairs

"Living area downstairs, bedrooms up?" he inquired

She arched a brow "You didn’t know that?" she asked

He shook his head, s "I’hosts"

He didn’t reply, as he made note of the art she had on the walls Most of it was local Scenes of the streets, the river, the people She liked to buy from the local artists A few pieces were of scenes from around the country, and she had a set of watercolors of Florence

There was one oil of St Louis Number I that he especially liked It had captured both the beauty of the architecture and the decay A young woel The painting seemed to evoke the line between life and death, and it held a sense of mystery and possibility, as well

"You know the artist?" he asked, corad student at Tulane I bought it near Jackson Square"

"Nice," he said

"Thanks I love it She captured soe to say it, but there’s an aura about that picture Maybe that’s not so strange to say to you I didn’t e She couldn’t speak nored between the, but she had probably been sry, and when she had wanted hihed "There is an aura to that painting," he assured her "Whether you see ghosts or not That’s what creates art, don’t you think? Not so much the perfect reproduction of a face or an object, but infusing the subject with euess you’re right But then again, we all see different things, don’t we?"

"Absolutely I have one friend who has a huge painting of dogs in a bar He thinks it’s one of the most underrated masterpieces in the world So, yeah, we all see different things"

She felt flushed "Yeah, like dead people walking around" She winced "I’ll, uh, make tea Do you like tea?"

He arched a brow "Is there a reason I shouldn’t like tea?"

"No" She winced again "I… I guess I never knehat India--Native A worse and worse

"You mean, besides firewater?" he queried

"I--" She broke off, realizing that he was teasing her

"I think there’s actually more Irish in me than Lakota," he told her dryly, "so on the ethnic side, tea is cool But for future reference, some of the Lakota I know love tea, some hate it Matter of taste"

She forced a smile and a nod She lived in one of the most mixed-race cities in the world Her friends hite and black and every shade in between, gay and straight, Catholic, Jewish, voodoo and Wiccan She’d never fu at her, s like an idiot who couldn’t keep her foot out of her o boil water"