Quinn's Lady Read Online Free

indicate the name of the place or the population. One thing was for certain, it was Hel and gone away from the more prosperous parts of the country. If there was a spaceport, it was miles away. He saw no vehicles of any kind save one rusty old LandSkiff that had seen better days, and a couple of horse-drawn wagons. Damn, he really was in the backend of the planet.
    But then, he was a vampire. He didn’t need transportation. He knew from spending time with Serepta that vampires were remarkably strong and fast. They could jump incredibly high. They didn’t grow old. They never got sick. They could change shape, dissolve into mist. Wounds healed quickly and left no scar. And, as he had just proved when he left Seleena’s house, they were capable of moving faster than the eye could follow.
    Maybe being a vampire wouldn’t be so bad after all.
    #
    Seleena washed and dried the dishes. Usually, she just magicked them clean and into the cupboard but this afternoon she needed the distraction. She swept the floor, pulled the sheets from the bed Quinn had slept on. She lingered there a moment, the sheets pressed to her face. His scent was there, clean and fresh and masculine. The house felt empty without him.
    Freyja twined in and out between her legs, meowing loudly for attention.
    With a sigh, Seleena hurried out of the room, dumped the sheets in the washer, and then bent to pick up the cat. “I’m sure you’re glad he’s gone,” she murmured, stroking the cat’s ears. “But I miss him already.” It was an odd sensation. She had lived alone ever since Serepta left home. Until now, she had never been lonely. “And how odd is that? I don’t even know the man. And yet I felt something happen between us the first time we touched.” She moved into the living room and settled in the rocker. “Maybe I just imagined it.” She shook her head. “No. Whatever it was, it was real. But it doesn’t matter now. He’s gone.”
    Freyja hissed softly.
    “Yes, I know. I could force him to come back. Compel him to stay with me. But that’s not what I want.”
    #
    With the setting of the sun, the vendors closed their stalls and headed home. Quinn watched them the way a hawk watched a flock of chickens. Made his choice and followed the woman down a narrow dirt path lined with trees. It led to a solitary house.
    Quinn stayed out of sight until she went inside. He circled the place, but detected no other occupants. Satisfied that his prey lived alone, he rang the bell.
    #
    Seleena’s heart skipped a beat when she heard a knock at the door. It was him.
    She took two deep breaths, smoothed her hand over her hair, and lifted the latch.
    “Think I could bed down in your spare room again?” Quinn asked.
    “I thought you went off to find yourself.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe I changed my mind. Or maybe what I’m looking for is right here.”
    Seleena started to invite him in, then paused when she caught the faint scent of blood.
    “She’s fine,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I only took a little.” He cocked his head to the side. “Don’t you believe me?”
    “Yes,” Seleena said, stepping aside so he could enter. “I do.”
    He followed her into the living room, took a place on the sofa while she settled into the rocker. The cat immediately leaped onto her lap, tail twitching, yellow eyes unblinking as it stared at Quinn.
    Seleena stroked the cat’s head. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
    “You seemed happy enough to find me at your door.”
    “If I wasn’t, you’d still be outside.”
    His gaze probed hers. “Why did you let me in?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Don’t know? Or won’t admit it?”
    She lowered her head to hide the rush of color she felt climbing up her neck into her cheeks. She wanted him. He was the most attractive man she had ever met. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a stranger. A vampire. Nor could she forget that he had been Serepta’s lover. That bothered her more than