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date talk quietly through their meal and wondered why she didn't smile much when the man couldn't seem to stop. Devin wondered if she was thinking of him, of their encounter. He overheard the man ask her how she was enjoying her vacation, to which she simply said, "It's been eventful."
    Devin was satisfied to see that the date, if that is what it truly was, didn't last too long. He slipped into line behind them when they were on the way out. Salena stopped suddenly and glanced over her left shoulder, but he dodged right and off to her date's side, before she could spot him. Nice to know she could feel his presence…
    Salena felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck, and a chill ran down her spine. However, when she looked behind herself, no one was there. She was sure she was being watched, though. But, of course, she would be jumpy after the other night and her meeting with Heloise, so she tried to push it from her mind. There was a pleasant gentle breeze out tonight, and all the stars were lit up. She inhaled deeply, catching the sweet fragrance of the magnolia trees lining the street, but then something else—something musky. Again, she looked around in panic, but, again, she didn't see the man she'd thought she'd find. Not really wanting to cross his path again, especially if he was the killer being sought, she said a very quick good night to Michael and hurried to her car parked nearby. She also hurried because she was sure Michael was hoping for a good night kiss.
     

Chapter 17
    An hour later, Salena was climbing into bed. As she glanced at the clock, she was glad to be on vacation; she'd hate to be distracted at work by all of this. Eyes still open and searching the dark room, she ran through mental images of her house, as she thought of every lock and assured herself it had been checked. That wasn't enough, though, so she got back up and checked every one of them again.
    While in the living room, she turned on the late news, and that wasn't a good idea. The coverage was about the still unsolved murders. Autopsies, so far, only showed that the female victims had died of exsanguination, but the ME wasn't sure how as the only wounds were the small—and strangely fading—bite marks. The newscaster joked that maybe it was by a vampire, which made his coworker about fall out of her chair and Salena too. Extremely wound up by her nerves now, she turned the TV off and sat on the floor to practice yoga stretches. After the relaxing moves, she decided to paint but only after putting down the drop cloth. Fool me once . Every stroke of the brush to complete the tranquil scene on the canvas helped soothe her frayed nerves and, eventually, she was ready to go back to bed. Thinking of pleasant things now, she inescapably drifted off to sleep.
    Devin watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept. She looked peaceful now as the moonlight streamed across her delicate features. He wondered what she was dreaming about and then wondered why he cared; he'd never cared before. This woman was only supposed to be his next meal, but there was a magnetic pull to her, and he had to find out why. He didn't really want to hurt her—he just wanted to be close to her, and he desperately wanted to taste her again. The last thought made him creep closer to her bed. He could smell the honeysuckle and lavender again, and he could also smell her pheromones calling out to him, like a siren to a ship—enticing him to come closer, to take a taste. So he did… He knelt beside her bed and kissed her bared shoulder, where her nightgown had slipped. She only stirred briefly, so he continued a trail across her collarbone to her slender neck. Nuzzling her sensitive area there caused her to wake, but he spoke to her in a hypnotic and sensual voice; he spoke in his old language—Romanian—"Shh, visaþi, relaxa" Shh, you're dreaming, relax .
    She wasn't quite so sure she was dreaming, but she felt like she couldn't move, couldn't voice