Moon Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page A

decided.
    â€œFeeling pretty funny at the moment. I also feel, with some embarrassment, that my pupils have turned into little hearts. Due to that, I’m now prepared to beg.”
    The taste of him, virile and passionate, with that charming hint of cinnamon, was still on his lips, on her tongue. She wanted to snuggle up against him and sniff his neck. “I don’t do well with people.”
    â€œYou’re doing fine with me. Top marks down the line.”
    She shook her head. “You asked about me, didn’t you? Around town. So, what’s the deal with this Simone? What’s the scoop on her? And you’d have heard she keeps to herself, doesn’t mix much. Nice enough, but a little strange.”
    â€œClose enough. And if you asked about me, you’d have heard that Dr. Kirby, he plays his music or TV too loud most nights. He’s almost always late for his first appointment. Just a few minutes, but time’s time. And he’s no Doc Greene, if you ask me.”
    â€œA couple of years, you’ll be Doc Kirby, and I’ll still be the weird herb lady who lives in the woods outside of town.”
    â€œA woman of mystery.” He lifted his hand, played his fingers over the ends of her hair. “Did I mention I like mysteries?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t like mine. But I’ll have dinner with you. Here, tomorrow night. I’ll cook.”
    He blinked at her, then the corners of his mouth quirked. “Really?”
    â€œYes, but now I have to get to work. So go away.”
    â€œOkay.”
    He got up immediately. Smart, she decided. Smart enough not to press his luck or give her a chance to change her mind.
    â€œWhat time tomorrow?”
    â€œSeven.”
    â€œI’ll be here. Any chance of you telling Amico to stand down so I can kiss you again.”
    â€œNo. Maybe tomorrow.” She walked to the door, opened it. “Good-bye.”
    He walked to the dog first, held out a hand. He saw Amico’s eyes slide toward his mistress before he lifted his paw to shake. “See you, pal.” He crossed to the door, stood for a moment studying her face. “ ’Bye, Simone.”
    She locked the door behind him, then moved through the house to the front windows to wait for him to drive away.
    A test, she told herself. That’s what it would be, a kind of test. To see how she would handle the evening, being with him. Just an experiment.
    And what a lie that was.
    Still, it didn’t have to be a mistake, she assured herself. If she was as close as she hoped to a cure, it wasn’t such a risk.
    Besides, she’d taken risks before. She’d taken lovers before.
    But not a mate, she reminded herself.
    She’d wanted him, wanted the taste and feel of him. That most basic and natural of human needs. But what was inside her had wanted him, too. What was in her had wanted to sink fangs into flesh, taste his blood.
    Not to feed, that instinct she understood. But to transform. To turn him into what she was, so she was no longer alone.
    That she would never allow.
    Hurrying now, she went to the basement door, and took the key she wore along with the cross around her neck. She unlocked the door, turned on the lights, then with Amico beside her, locked the door behind her.
    Besides its location, the kitchen, the woods, one of the biggest selling points of the house had been its large basement.
    She’d bricked up the windows, had installed fluorescent lighting. She used the old shelves, where preserves and cans had once been stored, for supplies.
    She’d installed a television, a VCR, a computer, and a workcounter to add to the long workbench left there by the previous tenants.
    There was a sofa and a cot though she rarely used them. And a large refrigerator used primarily to preserve samples. The freezer was stocked with meat.
    A security alarm system warned her when anyone approached the house while she was burrowed in the lab. It