Read Online La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust by Cd Hussey - Free Book Online Page B

but I've never really stopped to think why three
in particular. I suppose it could represent the Trinity." He
certainly didn't appear to be bothered by the topic of religion,
and she felt silly for thinking it in the first place.
    This was good. This was fine. They were
simply having a normal, perfectly innocent conversation in the
middle of a crumbling cemetery.
    "New Orleans Voodoo and Catholicism are strongly linked," he continued. "And Marie Laveau was a
devout Catholic."
    "Really?"
    Armand gave her a sly smile. "Oh, you'd be
surprised how many dabblers in the darker arts are Catholic. I am,
after all. I may no longer take Communion and it's been ages since
I attended Mass, but I am Confirmed and according to the Church,
that's supposed to last a lifetime. Of course," he went on, tossing
a wink at her. "If I ever make it to confession again, the poor
priest is going to be there all night. I might have to bring him an
espresso."
    She laughed. "I'm not Catholic in the least,
but I imagine my confession wouldn't be much shorter."
    He leveled his hazel gaze on her. "I'd love
to hear all about what dark secrets you need to confess."
    For a long moment she was trapped by his
stare, while crows sang their sweet tune overhead, and the misty
breeze kissed her skin. Like their encounter at La Luxure the previous night, it was too much and Julia had to look away.
    Clearing her throat, and hopefully her head,
she asked, "What do the X's represent?"
    "From what I've read, the X is an African
symbol representing the junction between life and death, but...it's
also how Marie Laveau signed her name. So, by marking the X's on
the tomb, or preferable, knocking ," giving her a sidelong
glance, he emphasized the word heavily, "you are calling to the
dead in a language she can recognize."
    "It was just lipstick."
    "I think I can forgive you this one sin."
    "Well, isn't that kind of you."
    With the smooth, easy flow of conversation
and flirtatious banter, Julia forgot to be scared of him. If the
encounter wasn't so weird, it would feel perfectly normal.
    The sun suddenly broke through the clouds on
its decent below the horizon and Armand winced, turning his face
away from the light. He adjusted his position until he stood in the
tomb's shadow.
    Add "aversion to sun" to the list of his
suspicious behaviors.
    The fear rushed back, sending her heart into
a flurry of activity and her brain into cartwheels. She was so
confused. Every nerve in her body was giving her conflicting
messages.
    "It looks like our daylight hours are
limited, and this isn't the best neighborhood to be in after dark,"
he said. "Let me walk you back."
    At this point, she wasn't sure if walking
alone with him was a safe alternative to being alone in a not so
great neighborhood. She glanced around, looking for an escape.
Maybe when there were more people around she'd be happy to continue
their conversation, but there were too many unanswered questions
for her to feel safe strolling alone with him down the narrow,
dark, French Quarter streets.
    "Um, no, don't worry about it." She took a
step away. "I'm fine. My hotel isn't too far from here." She took
another step. "I mean, I grew up in St. Louis, and it consistently
makes the top 10 most dangerous cities list. I should be fine." Her
nerves were making her ramble.
    "I insist," he said firmly. A subtle darkness
had washed over his features. He must've picked up on her
hesitation and wasn't pleased about it. The last thing she wanted
to do was piss him off. You don't poke a Grizzly bear with a stick
and you don't piss off a man of questionable intent. "I couldn't
live with myself if something happened to you."
    It was an odd statement, the content of which
could imply a million things. He did seem genuinely concerned, but
he'd appeared concerned about Eve the night before and now she was
dead. Then again, if he'd wanted to hurt her, he'd already had
ample opportunities. They'd been alone in an isolated cemetery for
a while