La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust Read Online Free PDF

paper. "Besides, it's
early still, like 9. The drunks don't really come out until at
least 9:30." She didn't want Dave coming with her. Maybe Clare was
right and she should hook up with him, but not this early in the
week. Unfortunately though, he looked like he was going to insist.
"And didn't you just order another beer?"
    "Right."
    "Hey, I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Thanks
for the drinks!" Julia remembered to hold her stomach as she fled
from the bar. A quick stop at the bathroom and brief review of her
map, and Julia was headed towards Luxure , the alcohol
fueling her every step.

 
     
    Chapter Three
    Julia stood in the narrow alley under the
sign for La Luxure for a long time before she finally willed
herself to walk down it, begging her low heels to click as softly
as possible on the cobbled walkway. The alley opened up into a
small courtyard that was illuminated by medieval style torches and
enclosed by the adjacent brick buildings and a wrought iron fence
covered in vines. A fountain bubbled in one corner, water spewing
from a demonic face and trickling down its outstretched tongue into
the opaque pool.
    Opposite the fountain, thumping music that
matched Julia's heart seeped through a closed door. She took a
calming breath. It wasn't like she'd never been in a bar alone.
Just because this one was tucked away in the darkest corner of the
French Quarter with the smallest sign to ever grace a public place
and one of the creepiest guys she'd ever met had raved about her
blood type just outside its doors didn't make it any different than
any other bar.
    Except it was completely different than any
bar she'd ever visited.
    Dimly lit, the bar was cast in an eerie red
light, with low, dark ceilings that were almost smothering. Black
leather couches and chairs were strewn about the room, a dozen
beautiful people lounging on them. All were dressed similarly to
the couple she'd followed the day before, and all watched her enter
the bar and slide onto a barstool.
    It was more than the patrons and the décor,
the energy here was different. Pulsing in time with the music, it
was almost alive.
    She smiled sheepishly at the hugely muscled
bartender. He didn't smile back, but watched her intently with his
crimson eyes while methodically wiping out a glass with a black
rag. Not quite the warm welcome she was hoping for.
    The music changed, and dark, sexy bass pumped
through the bar. A few of the lounging patrons rose and began to
dance. Their movements were smooth, supple and surprisingly
graceful considered the towering heels worn by men and women alike.
Julia recognized the song as one from the Goth rock band, The
Awakening, and found that comforting. Even if she didn't
completely fit in here, at least she knew the music. She even owned
the CD.
    For the first time Julia noticed a man
sitting alone in one dark corner. He was dressed in a tight black
T-shirt and black slacks, his long dark hair tickling the tops of
broad shoulders. He was fabulous looking, with a strong jaw, pale
skin, full lips, and a straight, chiseled nose. And like everyone
else in the bar, his eyes were focused on her.
    One drink. She'd have one drink and then blow
out of here. She wasn't about to let a couple of sexy Goths giving
her the skunk eye scare her out of a bar before getting a glass of
wine. It had taken too much courage to get her here to be chased
off so easily. Besides, she really liked this song.
    Of course the bartender had to actually come
over to take her order. He was still staring at her with those
strange red eyes. They must be contacts. Julia once saw a guy with
8-balls for irises. It was one of the weirdest things she'd ever
seen.
    She considered yelling out her order when a
slender man with lank black hair slid up to the bar and mumbled
something to the bartender. Muscle man disappeared behind a red
velvet curtain and toothpick guy glanced at Julia. The glance
slowly turned into a stare and his eyes became glued to the side of
her