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But everything was unpacked The boxes and suitcases were gone, stored in the attic for all he knew Through the open closet door, he saw jeans, cargo pants, and shirts hanging A coat No dresses or skirts as far as he could tell Beneath them, on the floor, neatly lined up in a roere coh-top sneakers, and fuzzy slippers that looked like tiger paws (He grinned when he spotted the last) All were so small they looked to hih heels or delicate pu them, he noted
Perhaps she was like Bethany Beth had always rolled her eyes over the rack-after-rack-of-designer-shoe stereotype the media so often applied to women
Why would I want to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a pair of designer shoes that look like sorandmother used to wear in the seventies? she would ask as she laced up her comfortable sneakers Besides, where would I wear them?
Marcus paused For the second tihts of Bethany had not been accorief or desolation Only fondness
Darumbled, uncomfortable with the relief the discovery spawned
The rest of the room looked much as it had before Ami’s arrival A full-sized bed with a white co bedside tables on either side A dresser A chair Same old same old, except now pictures of Seth, David, and Darnell decorated the various surfaces
More insight into Ami’s character She took responsibility seriously She had been assigned to be his Second and, co to do it Even if he childishly attempted to make her life miserable The tidy room around him was as ht as their clash with the vampires had been
On the other side of the bathroom door, a squeak sounded as the faucet turned and water ceased flowing Sounds of A a towel over her body reached his sensitive ears As beautiful as Ained it He was too obsessed with the wounds she no doubt dabbed, the white towel turning pink with the blood that still seeped froh the wood
A thunk sounded "Ow!"
"What happened? Are you all right?"
"You startled runtled reply "Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be downstairs feeding?"
Yes, but he had been too afraid to leave her, worried she ht lose consciousness from blood loss or become dizzy and slip and fall "I’m fine," he lied "Let me in"
"No!" she exclaimed in a scandalized voice "I’m naked!"
Okay He was a worm He was slime He was pond scum He was the bacteria that fed on pond scu to her declaration He had been doing very well, keeping it all professional, then those words froes of a naked Ami sans wounds bombarded his weary male brain and …
Yeah, he was pond scu you to letyou to let me in so I can see to your wounds"
"I can take care of them myself"
Damned stubborn woman "Even the ones on your back?" He didn’t even know if she had any on her back, but thought it worth a shot
A pause "I’ that," he entreated, stifling a groan The last thing he needed while his body struggled to heal his oounds was for what little blood reroin As it now appeared to be doing "Look, I … Hold on"
He crossed to the dresser and opened drawers until he located lingerie Grabbing the tan underwire bra on top of one tidy stack and the white bikini panties from another, he returned to the door
Marcus even liked her underwear He had once had an intieerie that wasn’t lacy or didn’tpanties, which he just thought of as dental floss for asses He wasn’t sure o Ask any man if he would rather see a woman naked or in sexy underwear and the unanimous ansould be: naked
When Marcus sao too plain or two different colors or cotton instead of silk He was too busy calculating hoiftly he could res the better
"Ami," he called, "wrap yourself in a towel and open the door"
"You are not seeingme you’re naked," he commanded, exasperated
"Why?"
The innocence and perplexity that infused the question surprised Marcus so ht
"Marcus?"
"What? Oh Just stay behind the door and open it five inches I’ll keep my eyes closed"
Silence