Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

very being, sending liquid warmth pooling unexpectedly in her midsection.
    Alexandria hunched her shoulders and stepped away, backing up against the antique cherry-wood piece the phone rested on.
    
    "I was so worried, Alexandria. And that strange man. How well do you know him?" Thomas had lowered his voice to a conspirator's whisper.
    
    Alexandria was acutely aware that it did not matter how quietly Thomas spoke. Her own hearing was so sharp now that she could hear at great distances if she chose. It only stood to reason that Aidan's hearing would be even more intense and his ability to control it far better than hers. She felt color wash into her face.
    
    "You don't know Aidan at all, Thomas. You barely know me. We only met for one dinner, and that was interrupted. Please don't say things against someone who has been a great friend to me."
    For some unknown reason, Thomas's slights against Aidan annoyed her, but it was the last thing she wanted Aidan to know.
    
    "You're very young, Alexandria. You've probably never met a man of his caliber before. Believe me, he's way out of your league. He's likely very dangerous."
    
    Her fingers tightened around the receiver until her knuckles whitened. What did Ivan know?
    And, therefore, how much danger might Aidan be in ? Her teeth bit down hard on her lower lip. She really couldn't bear it if someone suspected the truth and… and drove a stake through his heart or something. She might not want to feel that way, she might even be betraying mankind, but she couldn't help herself. The idea of losing him was terrifying.
    
    Aidan reached around her and gently covered her hand with his. In her mind danced the image of a shark with Thomas Ivan's white, practiced smile. Deliberately Aidan teased her with the image until she was forced to laugh.
    
    "This is no laughing matter, Alexandria," Thomas said huffily. "I'm coming over to discuss this.
    You can't stay in that house with that man."
    
    "I wanted to work for you, Thomas," she replied softly, "not have you dictate my personal life."
    She closed her eyes. She had wanted the job so much. She also wanted to be human, to live and breathe and function in a world she understood.
    
    "I'm coming over," he said decisively.
    
    Alexandria was left with a loud click and a dial tone. She glared up at Aidan. "Do I look like someone to push around?" she demanded as she banged down the phone. "Is please order me around tattooed on my forehead?"
    
    "Let me see," Aidan said, leaning close. His mouth was inches from hers. "Hmm. Not at all. It says, extremely kissable ."
    
    She pushed at the wall of his chest but found him immovable. "Don't try your winning little ways with me, Savage. I've been told you're a dangerous man and that I'm way out of my league, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    whatever that means."
    
    "How could I be dangerous?" His body was trapping hers with its heat, with its aggression. She ached for him so easily. "Am I dangerous?" His voice whispered over her lips like silk against her skin.
    
    "If you don't get out of my way right this minute, I'm going to…" She pictured bringing up her knee hard and watching him writhe in pain on the floor. The image in her mind was as vivid as his shark's image had been.
    
    Aidan leapt away from her, laughing as he did so. "You have a nasty little temper, Alexandria."
    
    "Another annoying habit," she said smugly.
    

Chapter Eleven
    
    There was something unnerving about the house. Thomas couldn't put his finger on it, couldn't find the exact word to describe it, but he wished he could. It wasn't just the owner. The house itself seemed alive, a silent sentinel watching him. If he could put this feeling onto computer screen, capture the images to depict the way the house lived and breathed, stared malevolently at him, he would be one of the wealthiest men in the world. There was something very wrong with the entire setup at Aidan Savage's, and he meant to get to the bottom of it.
    
    The setting was dramatically beautiful, the house itself was architecturally perfect, yet he sensed some deeper, underlying monstrous being lurking there. He found himself thankful the usual early-morning fog wasn't present as he climbed the steps to the huge, ornate front door. Even the police car parked in the circular drive was oddly comforting. He knew the detectives didn't like him, but their presence gave him