Where Winter Finds You (Black Dagger Brotherhood #18)- J.R Ward Page 0,50

to their own practices during the same season. Usually he saw only the bad sides of Homo sapiens, the intolerance and the injustice and the brutality—which was what happened when you were living with a secret in plain sight of all of them. It was good that vampires could be easily mistaken for their likes, but no one with a set of fangs in their upper jaw ever forgot that if humans learned the truth, things were more likely to go badly than well for the species.

So yeah, he tended to pay attention to their bad deeds, as a lot of vampires did.

But passing by these houses? He could see them in another light—and it also made him feel better about what he’d done.

“Here we are,” he said with a surge of triumph.

* * *

Therese sat forward. The house Trez was pulling into was a gray-and-white Cape Cod, with glossy black shutters, a bright red front door, and cheery dormer windows in the roofline that looked like friendly eyes. Brass coach lanterns glowed on either side of the entrance, and there was a light on a stand halfway down a shoveled walkway. There was also an attached garage, a short-stack driveway that had been plowed, and bushes that had been set with strings of white lights, clearly so that the property fit in with the rest of the neighborhood.

“Is this where you live?” she asked.

“You sound so surprised.” He turned the car off. “I’m not so bad, am I?”

“Oh, God, no. I mean… I pictured you living in an apartment in a high-rise downtown.”

Trez smiled with what seemed like a curious satisfaction. “That’s because I did. Come on, let’s go in.”

Therese got out of the car and couldn’t look away from the pretty picture of the sweet house set back in its snow-covered yard, with the lights glowing and even—

“Is there a fire going?” She pointed up to the brick chimney. “There’s smoke.”

“I set one for us.” He took her hand and led her up the walk. “Let me show you inside.”

From out of his pocket, he took a copper key and put it into the front lock. As he turned the deadbolt, she frowned.

“Do you ever wear a coat?” she asked.

He glanced down at himself as if he were surprised he didn’t have one on. “You know… I should, shouldn’t I.”

“It’s okay. You look handsome with or without outerwear.”

Instantly, he got dead serious and focused on her mouth. “How about with nothing on.”

“Even better.”

They were both smiling again as he opened the door, and as he let her go in first, her only thought was that they needed to finish what they had both started in their minds hours ago. Except as he willed the lights on, she gasped.

The interior of the house was done in soft dove gray and white, with pine floors that were the color of honey. Throw rugs were scattered with care in between cushioned furniture and thoughtfully arranged details, and through an archway, she saw a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and counters made of gray granite.

Her feet started walking before she was conscious of wanting to explore. Before she knew it, however, she was looking through the kitchen, going down a hall to find a study and a little bathroom, and standing at the base of the stairs and wondering what was up above.

“There are also two bedrooms and a common room underground,” he said. “You can go up, if you’d like.”

Therese nodded and put her hand on the varnished banister. There was no creaking underfoot as she ascended, and when she got to the top, she made a turn and learned where the fire was.

The master suite took up the entire top floor, and the bed alone would have made her never want to leave. It had a canopy of gossamer-thin white gauze that draped down onto the pale gray rug. The duvet on top of the mattress was big as a cloud and looked twice as soft, and there were so many pillows, the queen-sized expanse had little room left on it.

“What do you think?” Trez asked behind her.

She focused on the fire that was quietly crackling. “Is that a fur rug?”

“Faux fur, but yes.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Not long.”

Therese glanced over her shoulder. “Is it okay for me to put my bag down?”

“You can do anything you want here.” He smiled. “Think of it as your own place.”

She bent to the side and set her purse on the floor