Nightwalker by Unknown

like you and I don't trust you. Is that clear?
    I am not a cat lover," Cassie snapped and then felt the wind go briefly out
    of her as the heavy animal leaped lightly to her lap. He settled down at
    once and closed his eyes, paws tucked under his chest.
    Out in the hall, Cassie heard a man's voice responding to Justin's
    inquiry and a short time later the two men walked into the library. She
    looked up to see a pleasant-faced, sandy-haired man with vivid hazel eyes
    smiling at her.
    "Reed Bailey, Miss Bond. My father owns this old heap of a house. I
    didn't know he'd finally managed to rent it out until yesterday. I just got
    back from a business trip and he announced he'd leased it for a month to
    a young woman from San Francisco. I couldn't imagine who'd want to stay
    in this old pile but I figured I'd better come up and see how you were
    faring after the storm. Dad's leaving for Hawaii with Mom today so he
    won't be available to act as landlord, I'm afraid."
    "Thank you, Mr. Bailey." Cassie waved him regally to a seat as Justin
    stood like a dark shadow in the doorway. He looked harder and colder
    than ever, she realized vaguely before she turned her attention to her
    guest. "The electricity went out last night, but it was back on this
    morning."
    "Call me Reed," the man said, smiling. He was probably around
    thirty-five, Cassie guessed, and blessed with that easy, good-natured
    charm some people seemed to develop in their infancy. Not at all like
    Justin's dark, dangerous sensuality. Much safer than that. "And I'm not
    surprised about the electricity. Most of the houses in town lost it, too.
    Quite a blow. Look, I realize you probably didn't know what you were
    getting yourself into when you took the lease on this place." He glanced
    around disparagingly. "It must have been a shock when you walked in the
    door. I don't want you to feel obligated to stay. I'll be glad to see that your
    money is refunded. Dad keeps insisting that the place has historical value
    and that's why he's hanging on to it. Has visions of some historical society
    buying it one day and giving him a fortune for it. Personally, I don't think
    there's much hope. Say, are you all right? What happened to your leg?"
    "She took a fall on the basement stairs," Justin told him coolly from the
    doorway.
    "Good Lord! Did you fall all the way down them?" Reed looked horrified.
    "No," Cassie assured him quickly before Justin could answer again. "I
    slipped and caught myself. I was hanging on the edge when Justin found
    me. Never did get to the bottom," she added with a quick smile. "I thought
    it might be interesting to explore but I guess I'd better wait awhile."
    "As I recall there's nothing much down there, anyway," Reed said,
    glancing curiously at Justin and then back at Cassie. "Probably best to
    stay off those stairs. I wouldn't want a lawsuit on my hands," he added
    with a slow grin.
    "Believe me, I'll be careful. This really is a fascinating old house,
    though," Cassie went on chattily, relieved to have someone else around to
    help mitigate Justin's presence. "And I don't think I want my money back,
    Reed. As soon as I get one of the bedrooms ready upstairs, I'll be fine."
    "Well, if you're going to stay, I suggest you use the room at the east end
    of the house. The bed in there is reasonably new, I think. The last owner
    put it in. It doesn't look like dad bothered to have the place cleaned," he
    added unhappily as he glanced around again.
    "I told the agent not to worry about that. I'll take care of it myself. I only
    need one bedroom and the kitchen plus this library, I think."
    "Only one bedroom?" Reed asked the question very cautiously, not
    looking at Justin.
    "Mr. Drake will be leaving to return to San Francisco very soon," she
    informed Reed smoothly. Justin said nothing but Cassie could feel his
    narrowed gaze on her.
    "I see." Reed shifted a little awkwardly, as if he felt the tension in the air
    between the other two people. "Well, if you're