The air was hot and filled with the smell of burning chemicals and smoke, but none of that bothered a vampire.“Have you seen Miss Vendram?”Right, ...f course she’d be worried about her lover.“No. I know she wasn’t here, though. Rest assured. Miss Jenning is in the basement bunker, and says the neonates here are down there with her. But, she thinks Miss Pol is still up here.”“Amanda?” Isabella groaned as she leaned over the metal railing and looked down the spiraling stairs. “She’s in here? Damn.. She came close, using her greeneyes to bore deeply into my soul. She held me with her eyes for but a moment,and then a slight grin spread over her curved ruby lips. She sat down in thelarge cushioned chair without another word. After She sat Herself down, I quicklyfollowed. ?I did NOT tell you to sit down.? Many times in life I have had need for quickreactions; a slip on a wet floor, the swing of a baseball bat, and the dodgeof a punch. My reactions did not fail me on this moment as I. .. but what should he say. She met hishesitation with raised eyebrows again. "She's right, isn't she?" shesaid. "She is in charge now. You'd better do what she says."His bride, his lovely Monica, wanted him to look foolish in front of her.A shock went through him, but its passing took a huge chunk of his self-esteem with it. He became a foolish man in the space of an instant,almost stupid, in front of Monica and her mother as he weakly slid hisshirt sleeves into the sleeves of Veronica's coat,. ‘Kiss me, Matthew, please!’ He put his arm around my waist and pulled me flush against him as his other cradled my face. His hand felt warm and comforting on my face. ‘Lisa, are you sure?’ he asked warily. She answered by kissing him. This time he didn’t hold back. He kissed her back. For them it was a kiss worth a year of daydreams, stolen glances and more deliberate than accidental touches. They kissed for a long time . Their lips molded together, tongues teasing. They broke the kiss when.