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The four-cupinto his belongings He didn’t sarette
He found a half-crushed pack of Marlboro Lights He got his cup of coffee and his cigarette and headed for the balcony
He hesitated, then forced himself to open the doors, walk out, and take a seat on one of the little patio chairs there
The sun was rising It was beautiful
He lit his cigarette, sipped his coffee The sun kept rising It wasn’t like a Southern sunrise The brilliant criolds didn’t streak across the sky But still, day carays became violets, and that color became softer still, an incredible powder blue
He closed his eyes There were noises now, too Car doors, shouts here and there, conversations…
The world akening Day-to-day Usual He heard a
He crushed out his cigarette, drained his coffee, and went back inside, ready to go back to sleep, despite the coffee The dreaue, scattered remnants remained
Still…
He paused as he closed and locked the balcony doors again
He had forgotten soremained
Too late, too late, far too late…
There was no way to lock out…
Evil
He swore, set the cup down, and crawled back in next to Megan Oddly, he hesitated again, as if he had wronged her somehow
Tentatively, he pulled her into his ar into his eainst any evil! he swore silently
But then another thought plagued his mind
What if I truly aical, disdainful, and deteran awoke around ten Finn, a rather restless spirit at the best of ti He was out like a dead fish In fact, he seeed by aHe was
She hesitated athe line, he’d lost the bandage
But the bleeding had stopped, and the injury didn’t appear to be too bad It would be annoying on his hand, but there was already a scab for on the slash
She started for the coffee machine and was surprised to see there was about an inch or two of cold coffee in the pot He’d apparently awakened, and gone back to bed Caffeine never had an effect on Finn She thought it was because sostrange, she thought ruefully
Like last night
Newly disturbed, she rinsed the coffeepot, and grie left was decaf That wasn’t going to help her a lot She’d have to get dressed androom Breakfast would be over, but coffee and tea were available throughout the day And she didn’t need anything to eat They were going to Aunt Martha’s for lunch
That thought gave her a soing to see Martha was a cheery one, banishing soue her more and more
She started the coffee, then stepped into the shohile it brewed The water crashed down on her hard and she let out a little cry, realizing for the first time that there actually were bruises on her arotten into him?
Part of Finn’s sexual charishtest brush could seeo from a touch softer than a whisper to a tumult of fever, electricity, and passion with a finesse that was breathtaking and so seductive she never knew sometientle, and then rugged and forceful, in his loveht
They’d have to talk, she decided He’d been so… weird
Yes…
But exciting
Like a stranger
Being with a stranger would not be exciting, she thought ruefully, and honestly He was incredible; even when she had been determined she couldn’t live with him, she’d never wanted anyone else, and she’d been certain she would never find anyone who attracted her again, not after Finn So…
She shook her head, then rinsed quickly, frowning at the bruises once again They were definitely young and in love with healthy sexual appetites, but even living in a city like New Orleans, they’d never been…
weird Sadistic, or uely remembered that there had been moments of pain
But still, she’d been so enwrapped in the frenetic rise to climax that she hadn’t realized just how he had held her… pinioned her, actually
She dis as she stepped fro here, close to her ho her familytheh She poured a cup while she quickly dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and a sweater As she tied on her sneakers, she saw that Finn was still sound asleep
She left hi out to the breakfast roo room was empty In fact, it seemed that the entire house was as silent as a to out the bayin the dining roolas!"
Coffee slopped over the ri as she spun around Susanna McCarthy was behind her She hadn’t heard the woman walk into the rooht creepy