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sterile red evidence before her. Shuddering, she hopped back another few feet, only to
feel something terribly warm and solid against her back bringing her up short. The strong,
familiar scent of his aftershave snaked into her nostrils as she went rigid with fear.
His voice came to her from a place alarmingly close to her jugular. "I wondered how long
it would take you to find that."
Never one for dancing, she nevertheless executed a perfect pirouette away from him, as if
her life depended on it. With the relative safety of a room between them, she turned,
chuckling a little. "This  " her throat was so dry she couldn t continue. Swallow. Breathe.
Good. "This is just a prop, right?" Please, please, please let it be a prop, she prayed
fervently.
Vlad was infront of her, and she hadn t seen him move. "What good would a prop be
without an audience?"
Vicky had been annoyed at the heroines in enough horror/slasher movies to know that
this was a good time to depart. All she had to do was get out of here alive. Anything else
was gravy; there was nothing in her purse that was worth her life. Nor was dignity a
concern as she simply turned tail and ran toward the heavy oak door. When she got to it,
she couldn t open it, although she knew she hadn t locked it when she came in. Pulling
on the doorknob was useless. He wasn t going to let her go. Shit, shit, shit. Breathing
heavily, she leaned her forehead against the door for a moment, unwilling to give up so
soon.
So she turned, and he was leaning casually against the kitchen doorframe, watching her,
one foot crossed over the other. "Open the fucking door."
He tsked. "Such language."
Well, if she was going to die, she was going to die. What the hell. "Open the fucking
door, please," she said with as much attitude as her shaking voice and jelly legs would
allow.
Vlad didn t want to play with her, but he also didn t want to lose her. He d taken a
chance and put the blood there, waiting for her to find it and come to a correct
conclusion. It was an interesting test of modern attitudes  hers in particular. He d
wondered if she d shrug it off as another "lifestyle choice". Apparently not. Even after
working with him for the past several months, she was still in fear for her life. Some
superstitions run deep. "I would like you to stay and talk to me for a few minutes, then
you ll be free to go." If she pressed her back any closer against the door she was going to
have splinters. "I won t hurt you."
Her eyebrow rose. "Not  I can t but  I won t ."
"Even vampires have free will."
Somehow, that thought did not relax her.
"Why would I kill you when you re only half-finished typing?" Humor was such a large
part of her personality, he was hoping that it would put her at ease. No such luck.
He inclined his head. "Would my word mean anything to you?"
"Does it mean anything to you?" she countered.
"You ve read my story. You tell me."
She relaxed somewhat. Of course, it was the story of his own life that she d been slaving
over with him! "There s not much about your early time as a vampire to recommend
you."
He nodded slowly. "But I ve made changes, haven t I? For the good?" Her answer
seemed very important to him as he pinned her with that pointed, intense gaze.
"It would seem," she answered hesitantly, still very wary.
"Then talk to me for a moment. I don t want to lose you. You re the first modern woman
I ve met, really, and I like you. I value your opinions about my writing, but more than
that, I like you."
Victoria was still wild eyed, and didn t look very likely to comply with his request.
Though it galled him to have to beg, he made a small bow. "Please. I guarantee I won t
harm a hair on your head. You ve seen my stores of blood. I m not a ravening beast."
Curiosity was going to kill more than the cat. Vicky inclined her head and waited for him
to move. "You first."
He walked into the office ahead of her, taking the chair that he always used. She
remained standing near the door, as if that position granted her the illusion of safety. Vlad
wasn t about to remind her that if he truly wanted to, he could kill her before she even
had a chance to turn around and start for the door, but bringing that up wasn t going to
help him any.
"Now that you know my secret, I don t want anything to change about our relationship."
She snorted derisively.
"Why should it? I ve been a vampire since long before you began working for me. The
only difference is that now you know my name is no lie."
"But I m food to you. I m in danger; I can feel it."
Vlad considered this. "No, Victoria, danger is driving without a seatbelt, which I know
you do frequently. Danger is running a red light, which I also know you do occasionally,
or speeding." She d done all of those things in the months she d been with him. "You re
not in danger with me, you re vulnerable. I could have killed you at any time in the past
few months, yet here you are."
"Must you keep harping on the fact that I m a complete idiot not to have put two and two
together before this?"
Now he was angry. "Don t you ever let me hear you say that about yourself again, or you
will end up over my lap, young lady!" Vicky s eyes bulged, and for a moment, she forgot
to be scared about anything besides the idea of ending up bare-bottomed over this
dangerous giant of a man s lap, made ready by him to receive his own brand of thorough,
caring discipline.
Refusing to allow him to see how scared she was, she raised her chin and swallowed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]