Sexiest Vampire Alive (19 page)

“But Josh—” Madison whined.

“I said
no
! We’re leaving now.”

Madison gasped. “Why, Josh. It’s not like you to be so . . . forceful.” She bit her lip as she looked him over.

He spoke into the communicator at his wrist. “Charles, meet us out front. We’re leaving now.” He grabbed Abigail with one hand and Madison with the other and steered them toward the door.

Abigail glanced over her shoulder at Gregori, who was watching her with a frown. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at Romatech?”

Josh halted, an incredulous look on his face. “How can you even consider seeing him again? You’re not safe with him.”

She pulled her arm from Josh’s grasp. “It’s my decision, not yours.”

His eyes narrowed. “It’s your father’s decision, and when he finds out what happened here—”

“Nothing happened!” The beginning of panic seized hold of her. If Josh told her father to cancel the alliance, then her trip would never happen. “You’ll report
nothing
.”

“My first priority is your safety.” He pointed toward Gregori. “You are not safe with that man.”

“He’ll behave himself.” Abigail raised her voice. “You will behave, won’t you, Gregori, in order to keep the alliance between my father and your people?”

“Yes.” His hands clenched, then relaxed. “I will do whatever it takes to keep my people safe and to help Abigail successfully complete her mission. You have my word.”

“There, you see?” Abigail lifted her chin. “So you will not report this . . . this
accident
to my father. You will not destroy his last chance to save his wife, or my last chance to cure my mother.”

“She’s my mother, too,” Madison insisted. “If you tell Daddy what happened here, I’ll tell him you’re lying. Abby will back me up.”

“Have you both lost your minds?” Josh spun around to glare at Gregori. “Have you done something to them?”

“No.”

Josh scoffed. “Like you would tell the truth.”

“He would never do that,” Abigail insisted. “The Vamps need this alliance as much as we do.” She lowered her voice. “Come on, Josh, you know there’s no way I can sneak into China on my own. We need their help.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it. I don’t trust them.”

“Look at it this way,” she continued. “It’s to our advantage that he likes me personally. He’ll be better motivated to keep me safe on the mission.”

“That is true.” Gregori stepped toward them. “I would never let any harm come to her. I would protect her with my life.”

Abigail’s heart squeezed in her chest, but she didn’t dare look at Gregori. She couldn’t let Josh see her face soften with desire.

Josh gave Gregori a long, hard look, then turned back to her. “Very well. We will continue with this alliance for now. For your mother’s sake. But you are never to be alone with him, do you understand?”

She nodded. “Agreed.” She risked a quick glance at Gregori, expecting him to look relieved that she’d saved the alliance and saved his neck. Dad would not have reacted well to Josh’s report of a red-eyed vampire lusting for his daughter.

But Gregori was scowling at her. Why was he angry?

“What time shall I come to Romatech tomorrow night?” she asked.

His hands fisted. “Ten o’clock.”

She nodded. “I’ll be there.”

“Madison?” Maggie asked. “There’s a casting call tomorrow night for one of the soap operas. You could audition, if you like. Phineas, too.”

Madison gasped, then clasped her hands together. “Really?”

Josh shook his head. “You shouldn’t do it.”

“Are you kidding?” Madison squealed. “This is my chance to be a star!” She bounced up and down. “Thank you, thank you, Maggie! I’m so thrilled! Isn’t this exciting, Dr. Phang?”

Phineas grinned and punched the air with his fist. “Oh yeah! The Love Doctor strikes again!”

Josh groaned. “This is a disaster.”

“No,” Abigail corrected him. “It’s the beginning of a whole new future. For all of us.”

Her gaze met Gregori’s. He was still scowling at her, still watching her with a fierce, hungry look. She had no doubt he intended to keep the alliance with her father. And he intended to honor his vow to help her with the mission and keep her safe.

But his promise to behave himself?

She didn’t believe that for one second.

Chapter Fourteen

T
he following night Gregori paced across his office at Romatech, stress ball in hand. He’d told Angus and Roman that everything was progressing well. Luckily Phineas had backed him up, claiming the date with the president’s daughters had been a great success.

Bullshit
. He gave the ball another squeeze. He’d come damned close to completely blowing his mission. Thousands of Vamps depended on him to forge an alliance with the U.S. government and prevent the Vampire Apocalypse. And what did he do? Molest the president’s daughter in front of an audience. In front of a Secret Service man!

“Stupid, stupid,” he muttered to himself. At least Gordon had erased the video so Corky Courrant couldn’t get her evil hands on it and post it on YouTube.

But he couldn’t erase his actions. The whole alliance could have fallen apart if Abigail hadn’t stepped in. She’d saved his ass. Not because of any affection she felt for him. She’d saved him out of desperation to save her mother.

Just as he had suspected, the secret trip to China was connected to her mother. No doubt her Ph.D. in biochemistry was also connected to her mother. Everything Abigail did was due to her determination to save her mother.

Such love. Such dedication. She was incredible. Brilliant, beautiful, and capable of so much love.

But not for him. Her description of his lovemaking kept repeating in his mind.

An accident.

The stress ball exploded in his hand.

“Shit.” He threw it away and grabbed another one.

An accident
. Had she felt nothing at all? Had she stood there, bored and mentally compiling a grocery list, while he spiraled completely out of control?

He’d never felt an attraction like this before. Romance was supposed to be fun. He loved the thrill of the chase, the giving and taking of pleasure. Simple, easy fun. But there was nothing simple or easy about Abigail.

She was impossible, but it didn’t deter him. She was forbidden, but that only made her more tempting. A desperate desire had dug its claws into his heart and was threatening to consume him entirely.
Shit
. What was she doing to him? He’d actually forgotten he was in the studio.

He could have sworn she’d felt something. Her heart had definitely raced. But then, her heart rate always sped up whenever he came near. It could mean that she was afraid. Or worse. Repulsed.

Vamp women didn’t care if he was a Vamp. But it could be a deal breaker for a lovely mortal like Abigail. She’d fallen on the couch in the Oval Office, trying to escape his handshake. She’d fainted when she saw him on the ceiling. And she’d scooted halfway around the booth at the nightclub to get away from him.

Could it be that she didn’t even like him? So many Vamp women had chased him over the years, maybe he’d lost the ability to know when he was being rejected.

What a joke. The
womanizer
falls for the one woman who doesn’t want him.

He threw the ball against the wall, and it burst in a cloud of white powder. He was crazy to fall for Abigail. The president wasn’t going to allow his daughter to get romantically involved with a vampire.

Josh clearly didn’t approve of him. When Gregori had teleported home an hour ago to put on a fresh suit, he’d discovered that his condo had been searched. Probably Josh and Charles, looking for something negative to report to the president so the alliance could be broken. Or maybe they had hoped to find him asleep and vulnerable to attack.

Thank God he’d slept at Romatech. He wasn’t sure how far Josh and Charles would go to keep Abigail safe from the evil clutches of a vampire.

And he still wasn’t sure how she felt. That alone was enough to drive him completely bonkers.

The desk phone rang, and he picked it up. “Yes?”

“She’s here,” Emma told him. “The limo with Abigail Tucker just went through the front gate.”

He picked up another stress ball. “I’ll meet her at the front entrance. Can you tell Roman she’s here?”

“I’m afraid not,” Emma replied. “He had to leave for a moment.”

“
What?
” Gregori squeezed the stress ball. “He agreed to meet her. He knows how important this is.”

“Don’t worry,” Emma reassured him. “Roman will be back soon. There’s a bit of a family drama going on right now. He and Angus had to teleport to the school to bring Shanna and Caitlyn back.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Gregori felt a twinge of worry for the women. Shanna had only recently been transformed and was still adjusting. Caitlyn had undergone the painful transformation into a were-panther and was now expecting twins. “Are they all right?”

“They’re fine, but their mother isn’t,” Emma explained. “She called Caitlyn, and apparently, she was screaming and terribly distraught—”

“Darlene is never distraught!” Sean Whelan shouted in the background. “She’s always perfectly calm!”

“Well, she isn’t calm now,” Emma told him. “Gregori, Roman’s coming back soon. Caitlyn and Shanna are meeting their mother here at Romatech.”

“All right.” Gregori hung up, wondering what was wrong with Sean Whelan’s wife. Maybe she’d finally figured out what a jerk he was.

He stuffed the stress ball in his pocket, and strode to the main foyer.

The night shift at Romatech was small compared to the large number of mortals who worked during the day, but he had warned them that the president’s daughter would be touring the facility. The marble floors had been polished, the offices and laboratories tidied up. He’d arranged for the cafeteria to be kept open late, and a gourmet chef had been brought in to cook a few of his specialties.

Phineas had requested the night off, so he could return to DVN with Madison. He’d called earlier to report Josh was watching him like a hawk. Gregori supposed Charles would be coming with Abigail.

He punched the code on the security pad by the front door to unlock it, then stepped outside to wait. A light rain had left the black-topped parking lot wet and gleaming under the lampposts. As usual, his gaze drifted to the spot where his life as a mortal had ended eighteen years ago. Casimir had attacked him and left him dying on the dark asphalt.

Then there was the other spot where he’d been caught in the blast of a car bomb set by the Malcontents. There’d been a church service that night in the Romatech chapel, led by Father Andrew. The chapel was a sad and empty place now, just a vase of flowers on the altar in memory of the mortal priest who had become a father to them all.

Gregori sighed. Everyone was glad Casimir was finally dead, but the cost had been too high.

His gaze wandered back to the first spot where he’d been transformed. Twice he’d cheated death in this parking lot.
You’re not immortal, you fool
. He could die as easily as Father Andrew. He should stop playing at life and make his life mean something. But what gave life meaning?

Father Andrew would have said
love
.

Headlights flashed in the distance, pulsating like a strobe light as a limo passed through the wooded grounds.

Abigail
.

She was coming. His heart squeezed with a knot of longing.

The limo came to a stop under the porte cochere. While Charles climbed out of the driver’s seat, Gregori opened the back door.

“Step back, please.” Charles gave him a stern look, then rushed over to assist Abigail.

Gregori moved back. Apparently Charles had been warned that the lusty vampire wanted to jump on Abigail like a rabid dog.

Unfortunately, the minute he saw her emerge from the limo, he did want to get his paws on her. He had to swallow hard to keep from drooling. And it wasn’t like she was dressed in a sexy outfit. She was wearing jeans, a navy and green plaid blouse, and a green raincoat.

She was beautiful.

The mist in the air had made her hair curlier, her cheeks rosier, and her skin look even more dewy soft. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked around.

He inclined his head. “Welcome to Romatech, Scholar.”

She smiled. “The place is huge! And the grounds are beautiful. I’m already impressed.”

“Great.” Gregori swiped his ID to unlock the front door, then followed them inside the foyer.

“I’ve noticed several cameras,” Charles said as he watched Gregori punch in the code to reactivate the locks. “Is there a security problem here?”