La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust by Cd Hussey

Armand and it wasn't
like she needed encouragement. His gorgeous face and hazel eyes
were permanently burned into her retinas as it was.
    She thought about calling her sister, but
wasn't sure what to say. With any amount of persuasion, Julia would
easily spill every strange detail from the last 24 hours and she
wasn't ready to discuss all the craziness with Clare, not yet.
    Normally, they spoke on the phone everyday,
no matter what. This would be the first time in many years that
they did not.
    With a sigh, Julia clicked on the TV. But the
laugh track couldn't drown out the sound of Armand's perfect drawl
ringing in her memory, and fifteen minutes into the crappy sit-com,
she picked her book back up. She quickly sped through a few
chapters, ignoring her phone when it buzzed on the nightstand.
     
    Staring out the window, Marguerite focused
her red, swollen eyes on the Spanish moss as it waved delicately in
the afternoon breeze. Dead. She couldn't believe Henry was
dead.
    She wiped at the fresh, salty tear that
escaped her exhausted eyes. Flashes of the ruined carcasses that
used to be her family sped through her mind, and she clamped her
eyes shut against them, willing her mind to visualize something
more pleasant. Henry's smiling, eager face greeted her, and more
tears slid down her cheeks.
    Marguerite fell on the bed and let the raw
emotions wash over her anew.
    Dearest Lord, why did everyone in her life
end up dead? And why did their deaths have to be so gruesome? First
a savage fire and then an animal attack. Poor, poor Henry. What God
would create a horrid beast that would rip out a man's throat, and
then drink every last drop of blood in his veins?
    It made her wonder if there was a God at
all .
     
    "Ugghh." That was all Julia could take. The
book landed on the nightstand with a thud as she hefted herself
upright.
    Ridiculous. This was all so fucking
ridiculous. Henry was Eve and Blaise was Armand and
Julia was caught up in some twisted, alternate universe
fantasy.
    Pacing to the window, she peered down into
the brick courtyard. The fountain gurgled happily and the pool
glimmered in the moonlight. Through French doors, Julia could just
make out the corner of a large, mahogany bar and the white shirt of
the bartender behind it.
    If neither her book nor TV were suitably
distracting, maybe a glass of wine would do the trick. Grabbing her
purse and slipping into her heels, Julia decided to worry about the
overtime her liver was doing once she returned to Alton. She didn't
normally drink so frequently. But this was New Orleans, her liver
could work a few extra hours while she was here.
    Warm and inviting, the hotel bar had dark
walnut trim and deep red walls covered with oil paintings depicting
slightly abstract scenes from the French Quarter. Besides the tan,
50-something bartender with over processed, bleached blond 80's
hair, the bar was empty. She smiled as Julia stepped up to the
solid wood bar.
    "Hey girl. How're you doin' tonight?" The
woman asked in a heavy southern accent, one that was thicker and
twangier than Armand's controlled, Brooklyn-esque drawl, and raspy
from years of smoking.
    "Good, thank you," Julia said as she eased
onto the padded barstool.
    "What can I get for ya?"
    "Do you have any wine back there," Julia
glanced at the nametag pinned to the bartender's white shirt,
"Cindi?" The 'i's had hearts instead of dots.
    "Sure do." Cindi spun on her heels and
grabbed a couple small bottles from a low shelf at the back of the
bar. She held them up. "Chardonnay or Merlot?"
    The single serving wines were not Julia's
favorites, but unless she wanted to drop in at Luxure and
have some more of that amazing Pinot Noir (tempting but probably a
bad idea), she had no business being picky. "The Merlot is perfect,
thank you."
    Cindi pulled out a wine glass and unscrewed
the wine bottle. "So what brings you to N'Orleans?" she asked as
she poured the burgundy liquid into the glass.
    "Work conference. I'm here for the