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They ed at the buttons on his jeans His erection jackknifed froreat sex

God help him, it was so much more

Later, with her curled on his chest, he stared at the ceiling and wondered again how he had survived the days without her

Well, now he had her

Just how the hell did he keep her? Even in his ar into the shower," she race and agility, she rose and was gone He heard the water running In a fewher white dress, her tanned flesh glowing beautifully, her red hair loose over her shoulders

"Ready?"

"Give me two minutes," he told her

"Two minutes?"

"Okay, five"

But he really did wash and dress that quickly He was afraid to let her out of his sight for long

Afraid she would disappear Into thin air Into mist

CHAPTER 9

They wandered around for an hour, down narrow streets beneath overhanging balconies They stopped for rich cafe au lait on Prince Street, and ambled to Jackson Square to throw breadcrumbs to the birds

They talked mostly about New Orleans, about its rich and varied history--avoiding the topic of , Sean beca Andrew Jackson, and he didn’t realize that they had come to the statue of his Civil War ancestor until they were standing right beneath it

He looked up

Another Sean, a different time, and a far different world

Captain Sean Canady stood in the military frockcoat of his day, plumed slouch hat low over his forehead, scabbard and sword at his side, one booted foot set atop a rock as he looked out over the city he loved with handsomely chiseled marble eyes A plaque at the statue’s base mentioned the dates of his birth and his death, and his valiant achievements He had died in his attempt to save the city of New Orleans; he was a hero who defended his ic death, and he would live on forever in history as a seeker of justice

"Quite an iie looked at hiht She seemed a little pale "You look just like him"

"Do I?" Sean stared up at the statue--carved with beard and collar-length hair "Hard to tell I need the frockcoat and the stance, don’t you think?"

She see He slipped an arhosts, do you?

Not a sophisticate such as yourself!"

She withdrew slightly frohosts?" she asked

He frowned, ahosts Or haunts And hey, he was supposedly a good guy-- if he caht?" She shrugged "He would be a benevolent spirit"

"Meaning ?" Sean queried, bemused She was usually just so damned matter-of-fact

"Don’t you ever think sometimes that "

"That what?"

"I" She looked at him, then moistened her lips "I don’t know That there’s evil in the air sohosts at all, that’s for certain"

She looked at hihosts, haunts, spirits--or the like--how do you explain the murders?"

"Explain them? People were viciously killed"

"How?"