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"More than ready," she agreed, suddenly wanting nothing more than a shower and the fresh sheets on her own bed
"I’ll call ahead to the gate"
"Thanks See you around, I guess"
The look Steve gave her suggested he wasn’t thrilled at the prospect, but he was as good as his word about calling the gate The guards looked her over carefully, but perh without incident Before long, she was speeding down Pacific Coast Highway on the way to her own beachfront condo and hoping it was true va invited
Chapter Fourteen
She dreaers that didn’t stop at her neck, but trailed slowly over the bones of her shoulders, gliding doard to cup the fullness of her breast in one broad hand A hand that squeezed gently, pinching her nipple between thu with a pain that made her moan with need Need that was echoed in the pulse of pure desire that throbbed between her legs and left her wet and wanting
Cynthia woke, gasping for air, her body aching with lust, and her heart pounding in confusion God, she’d never felt anything like this before And why the hell would she dream of Raphael? Is this what he meant when he said she’d re her breasts and letting her thumbs play with nipples still sensitive from her drea into the slick wetness between her legs, rubbing slohile she groaned with frustration, two fingers probing until they slid inside, then gliding in and out, fucking herself until she caas with pleasure and wanting ht of aher down into the sensuous ehed, letting her fingers stroke one last ti clitoris to a jolt of pleasure She sat up and the sheet dropped away, exposing her naked breasts and cooling the sweat pooling between theht, in spite of the darkness imposed by the blackout curtains over her s She stood and stretched, her body still tingling with the remnant of her dream Was this omen volunteered to be food for the vaood? She walked over and opened the first layer of drapes, easing light into the roo at the clock Not even eleven yet; she’d gotten aze fell on the computer discs where they lay next to her keys Daht flooded through and she opened the sliding glass door to the unmistakable scent of ocean Her three-story condo contained far ht on the sand, two miles west of the center of Malibu The top story was her private space, with a largea full-size Jacuzzi tub and a shower big enough for four people to share Not that she’d ever actually had four people in it Two people, one of them male, was prettyarea with a fireplace and took up nearly two thirds of the top floor
The only other room on that level was her home office cum entertainment center where she had the latest in coeek’s drea installed by a professional, but since then she pretty rades as they careatest innovation The rooh-end, double-keyed deadbolt with hardened cylinders and a reinforced strike plate in a four inch solid wood door Most of her client information was kept here at home, so there was the matter of confidentiality But she also just didn’t like anyone knoent on in her inner sanctum
Below the master suite, on the second floor, was her kitchen in an open floor plan with a den/family room and fireplace of its own, and then two sround floor was e could accouest parking space across the driveway, and rarely used Behind the garage was a beach roo directly onto the sand There was also a wet bar and a shbors rented their beach rooainst the association rules, but Cyn certainly wasn’t going to coet started on Raphael’s case, she strolled over to her closet, a sht, and pulled on sorabbing the discs, she headed for her office
She reviewed the gatehouse video first There was no audio, but it was obvious what had happened, with or without sound The abductors had clearly counted on the hu routine, preoccupied with the shift change The driver showed up in a typical s the attention of both gatehouse guards into the argu It would never have worked with the vahtened senses, plus they ht out that easily But the hu Add the fact that Raphael was out of tohich ardless of how much he claimed to treasure Alexandra, his first rate security types all seemed to travel with him The abductors knew all of this, of course; the traitor had seen to it
But it came back to the same question Why Alexandra? Why was she so important to him? Cyn reht It was aluilty That was it He felt guilty somehow about Alexandra Was she a former lover, maybe? She tried to remember the words he’d used: "I killed her Sire and made her mine" So, he’d torn her away fro her for his own But no obsession could last forever, and immortality could probably turn love to hate after a few decades But Alexandra still needed protection and Raphael felt responsible So he gave her what she’d alanted, the life of fine French lady
A sharp beep sounded in Cyn’s headphones, jarring her back to reality "Good iination, Cyn," she said out loud "Better cut back on those ro that some part of it was true
She moved onto the next file, determined to leave fanciful theory behind and stick with the facts Regardless of their relationship, whoever took Alexandra clearly planned to use her as black Even if Alexandra was eventually released, Raphael already knew at least some of those involved, and the vauy So, either the captors were incredibly stupid or they had so else in mind Since the abduction seeence and planning, she ruled out stupidity A trap, then Let Raphael search high and low for his beloved Alexandra, think he’d found her and then kill hi she’d seen of the va for such a ruse And why not siht? Much easier all around, and she didn’t actually have to be alive for a trap to work She’d have to ask someone Not Raphael; that was a little blunt even for Cyn But ance to plan a ainst a vampire as powerful as Raphael, to invade his private estate and snatch his favoritewhatever the hell she was And as Cyn so obsessed with it anyway? She remembered her incredibly erotic dreaet involved with a client, but when the client was a vampireWell, that ay beyond bad news Focus, Cyn Just do your job
Sheshe hadn’t expected and finding herself impressed with the level of Raphael’s security The only part of the faux French ht and sound was the basement room itself, with its nest of electronics and inexplicable bank vault which, having seen thequarters for the vamps She shook her head iles ofon her headphones to enhance the weak audio One was the piano rooes of Alexandra and the two vampires, but the other was the kitchen door on the side, the exit the abductors had used, the place where they’d parked their vehicle while they infiltrated the house itself
She cued up the piano rooht before her eyes She’d half thought Duncan e Those fifteen seconds of video all by themselves could net her a sh to betray a vaoodness, what the television networks would pay for footage of a vaht fro out the video i her as she spun around in the darkened room, but not before she’d hit the hot key and blanked the screen
Schooling herself to remain calm, she removed her headphones and stared at her sister, who stood in the open doorway "Holly," she said slowly "I’ve asked you before not to interruptin here It’s a matter of privacy for my clients" She walked over to the door and ive me a moment to close my files, and I’ll meet you downstairs" She didn’t wait for an answer, but stepped back inside and closed the door
Holly i her nah to cross to the computer and close the video file, then yanked the door open once again
"Jesus, Holly! I’ What could possibly be so i with you? I knocked before I opened your precious office door It’s not le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">