La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust by Cd Hussey Page A

there really was something out there that
was more than human. She wouldn't be able to rest until her
questions were answered.
    * * *
    Fighting her way through fatigue and the
monotony of the morning speakers, Julia was the first one to pick
up her notes and jet out of the conference hall. She'd deliberately
sat near the exit so she could make a quick escape at lunch.
    Dave caught her just as she was about to
sneak out of the hotel lobby. "How are you feeling?" he wondered as
he jogged up to her.
    She clutched her stomach in an automated
response. "Better. Thanks."
    "Do you want to get some lunch?"
    "I'd love to, but I've got to run some
errands." The look on his face told her he knew she was blowing him
off. Again.
    God, she hated being so rude. Didn't she tell
herself yesterday when she'd blown him off the second time that
she'd try to be more social? So he'd been weird about Armand. She
couldn't really expect anything different from him. Generally
speaking, engineers were conservative by nature. Every guy she
worked with in Alton would have regarded Armand the same way Dave
had, and she would've shrugged it off. Why should Dave be any
different?
    And wasn't she the one freaking out about
Armand's humanity and questioning whether or not he was safe? Pots
could not call kettles black.
    Rude or not, she desperately needed to get
down to the Square. There were too many unanswered questions that
she was pretty sure a certain fortune teller had the answers to.
There was no reason to be a complete bitch though.
    "I'm going to the parade tonight," she told
him. "Why don't you and Mike and Beth join me?"
    That perked him up. "There's a parade?"
    "Yeah, a Halloween parade. The route isn't
far from here."
    "That sounds fun. Do you want to get dinner
first?"
    Actually, she just wanted to grab a piece of
pizza and chill in her room for a while. "Unfortunately, I've got
an obligatory check-in call with my sister that's bound to take at
least an hour." That wasn't a complete lie. She was planning
on calling Clare. "The parade starts at 7:30. Why don't we hook up
for drinks first?"
    "Sure. Want to meet at Pat O'Brien's?"
    Julia clutched at her stomach again, this
time with a grimace. "Um..."
    "No more Hurricane's for you, eh?"
    She gave him a half-cocked smile. "If I never
have another Hurricane I will die a happy woman."
    Dave laughed. "Well, okay then. Hmmm," he
tapped his freshly shaven chin. "How does the Absinthe Tavern suit
you?"
    "Perfect. I've always wanted to try
Absinthe."
    "Great. See you at 6?"
    "Sounds good," she said as she headed for the
door. "See you then."
    It was warmer today than it had been since
she arrived in New Orleans. So much so, that even though she'd
draped her coat across her arm, she was sweating under her long
sleeve shirt as she briskly walked towards the Square. Maybe it was
just the humidity. The air was so thick with moisture that even the
breeze was stifled.
    The Square was bustling with activity.
Paintings hung in colorful rows on the wrought iron fence
surrounding the central park, and dozens of tables with fortune
tellers and caricature artists crowded the stone streets. A brass
band played upbeat jazz tunes at the foot of the cathedral. Even in
the clutter, she immediately spotted the Rom.
    And he her. Their eyes met for one brief
second before he turned and started walking in the opposite
direction.
    What a bunch of bullshit. Shaking her head,
Julia jogged after him, weaving through the crowd, dodging children
and people snapping endless pictures of the iconic church.
    "Wait," she called when she was barely 10ft
behind him. He didn't slow, and Julia was pretty sure he even
kicked his stride up a notch. Well, two could play that game.
Lengthening her jog into a sprint, she cut around a group of obese
tourists fanning themselves with folded maps of the city while
complaining about the heat before skidding to a stop directly in
front of the smarmy fortune teller.
    He started to turn away. "Please,"