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Vivian

"Bad Moon Rising" pounds out of the sound systeyrate on the parquet wood floor in wanton abandon The party seems to encase all three levels of the vaulted foyer Supernatural guests lean over the railings, whooping loudly and gesticulating wildly, while others, hu banisters in a drunken race to the next landing

Lori&039;s ares to entice Eric and Pat into a three-person hip grind aether, oblivious of anyone else Spike, who to this whole trip, leans near the front door and sees htly and tilts his head in acknowledgement

This party has a different feel to it than the one after Ivan was killed That day, fear gripped us all and electricity was still down on so bonfire on the front drive see flesh filled the lobby for days after

I&039;ht The free drinks and music have loosened everyone up and I think even the o away happy they caainst E vampire hunters-Lia hiht with sharing every "remembered" detail

Back by the windmills, I had no choice but to take control of Coraline&039;s mind The entire plan fell apart in ame to act quickly It was a simple matter to replace her memories to make her think Stephen, and not Asa, carved out her heart Erasing traces of the end, when the gunfire shatteredthe knowledge she lost her char spots on the way up, will buy us soentina, but not much

I couldn&039;t delve too deeply in herher becoaping holes in herwas "off" I know there are other ainst me, but I&039; near the bowling alley, half-frozen, and unsure of exactly when he last ventured to theto war, noble sword fight before Rafe threw blood on the vahed him up a bit Mesmerized and still under s By the ti Stephen on the back and congratulating him on the kill

It actually turned out better we used one of the hunters instead of Asa I&039;d seen in Cora&039;s mind how that previous detail sent alarm bells off in her head

Rafe co room His smile is war lusty heat si in his eyes It&039;ll be nice to curl up in his arms when the Tribunal vampires leave and we can pretend, at least for a little while, there is no danger waiting for us

The chef, Stephanie, is on duty and she bustles over to our table with a fresh carafe of Rafe&039;s favorite coffee "More?" she says toand our fingers touch as she steadies the cera with Paul&039;s spices fillsthe carafe on the table, and then heads back to the kitchen

"Damn," I say when she&039;s out of earshot

"What?"

"Stephanie is the reason Paul&039;s cooking has sucked since he turned"

"Really?"

"Yeah, she&039;s feeling a little guilty and I saw her actions in her surface thoughts e touched She was angling to take his job and figured if he couldn&039;t taste the spices or food he was preparing he wouldn&039;t know his personal collection was compromised"

"Pink slip?" Rafe asks, always ready to do the difficult jobs when required

"Nah How about I talk with her," I say with a wiggle of o?"

He nods, eyes trailing over the guests in the lobby

Wrapping , I take a small sip of black coffee The familiar aroy

Rafe sets his empty cup on the wood surface and poursour call that Drew clai far "Almost like he appeared out of nowhere"

"I heard hih escapes me as I place my coffee next to his "It&039;s still too soon to tell Paul could be like Antonio, able to wrap slamours around hi his concerned, bright-blue gaze "He could be a &039;child&039; of my bloodline"

"What are the chances?"

"I&039;ve turned dozens over the centuries He&039;d be my first true descendant"

Rafe stares past rotto beyond the"How long until your true powers started to ee?"

"A few years But it took h to overcome the whole seethe"

Pain fills my husband&039;s expression "I&039;m so sorry I wasn&039;t there to help you when you needed it"

A smile softens my face "I&039;m not" At his look of confusion, I add, "You&039;d be dead They used everyone I loved to control me" My voice trails off to a whisper, "Until I finally had to set us free" Rafe reaches across the table and grabsit hard