“For the lovely vampiresses, all carefully vetted and selected, I assure you.” She waved her fingers. “Now up, the two of you. I want the whole family present. You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
Viktor groaned when he realized what she was talking about. Of course. Today was the day his suitors were supposed to arrive. Three mysterious women, all with questionable motives. He’d avoided thinking about it until now, although that was almost impossible with Stasia’s network broadcasting teasers about the event every single commercial break during the news hour. Curse the modern advent of digital film. He missed the good old days, when vampires didn’t show up in photographs. Now, they didn’t have the luxury of near invisibility.
He’d started avoiding television and the radio and simply stuck to reading the newspaper. At least there, he could cut out the offending pieces. And his love life was certainly not something he wanted to read about in black and white print.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he told his grandmother. If he quit reading the leaflet now, he’d have to start all over again. And that was just another headache waiting to happen. It wasn’t until he felt her cold, judging stare that he looked up from the papers again. “Did you need something else?”
“Surely, you’re not going to wear that?” She looked him over slowly.
It wasn’t like he’d fallen out of bed and walked straight to the office this morning. He was wearing reasonably nice pants and a light blue button up shirt that had become slightly wrinkled over the day. Still, there was no arguing with the Vampire Queen of Monstrana. Sighing, he pushed himself out of the chair.
“I’ll go change. See you there in ten minutes.”
The halls were empty on the way to the royal chambers. Viktor kept his head down and replayed the recent figures over in his head. His country’s economics were sound, but he’d made some inquiries lately on how to capitalize on some of their other resources. Tourism, for instance. It was tricky territory, especially for a secret supernatural haven, but not one to be ignored. They’d just recently allowed humans onto the island. But they were kept strictly to one side of the island, where they were none the wiser.
Coming aro
und the corner, he collided with someone small and light, bouncing her right off his chest and flat on her back. He looked down at the offender, his lips twisted in a stern frown. “What are you doing here? No one’s allowed in this part of the castle.”
She helped herself up without glancing at him and brushed off her curvy bottom. “If no one’s allowed in this part of the castle, why are you here?”
He huffed at her impertinence and strange accent. An American. It figured. “These are the royal chambers. Maid staff is only allowed in during morning hours.”
“Funny how you just automatically assume a woman is a maid.”
She looked up at him for the first time and he felt his breath catch in his lungs. She had large doe eyes, the color of blue cornflowers in the spring, set in a heart-shaped face framed by long wavy chocolate brown hair. Petite enough to barely reached the height of his chin, she had ample curves in all the right places. Her face was angelic, although the annoyed expression on it warned him appearances could be deceiving. She wore a casual outfit of khaki pants and a pink blouse with the customary magical ring of a vampire on her right index finger. As he breathed in, he caught a slight whiff of vodka.
“I’m not assuming anything.” He felt his cheeks grow warm. It had been a long time since anyone had made him all flustered. He didn’t like the disarming feeling. “But you’re not allowed back here.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms and popped a hip. Her pink lips formed a maddeningly sexy pout that made him feel woozy all of a sudden. “Can you at least tell me where I can find Miranda Nelssen? I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here. I need to speak with her.”
“You’ll find the staff quarters down one floor.” He moved to walk past her. This meeting was uncomfortable. Why had this maid made him feel like he was fifteen-years-old again? That had been a very long time ago.
“Thanks,” she shouted behind him, making him wince at her rudeness.
Someone needed to have a talk with her superior.
?
Cate tried to follow the rude man’s directions, but found herself back at the suite the guards had dropped her off at in the first place. She huffed and did a tight circle, trying to decide what to do. That man had been absolutely no help.
First of all, he’d nearly knocked her out with the rock-like quality of his abs. No one had a right to be that chiseled and sexy. Or pale. People in this country really needed to increase their Vitamin D. Then, he’d practically accused her in his thick Monstrana accent of sneaking onto the royals’ floors.
She clenched her teeth in anger. Why was it that all the drop-dead gorgeous men tended to be such jerks? She’d already learned her lesson with Charlie. No need to go back down that road.
Her quick peruse of the hallway did nothing. No one was coming to help.
Maybe this wasn’t a mistake. Maybe Miranda had set her up in these swanky rooms as a special treat for the weekend. Much better than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. She wouldn’t put it past her best friend. She’d always wanted to stay the night in a castle and this was finally her chance.
Grabbing the luggage she’d abandoned, she pushed through the solid double doors into the suite that the guards had indicated belonged to her. A gigantic room met her, along with a king-sized four-poster bed with a plush navy comforter that could swallow you up whole. Marble granite surrounded a dark fireplace on the opposite side and two lounging chairs stood in front of it. There were several doors leading off, which she assumed went to a private bath and a closet or two. Treading softly on the thick red carpet, Cate dropped her luggage and simply stared at the grandeur of the room.
“Oh, girl, you’ve spoiled me.” She held out her arms and did a little spin, ending in a free-fall onto the bed. It was as comfy as it looked.
“There you are.” A young woman with crazy curly hair marched through her open doors and planted herself in front of Cate. She wore a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and a loose black t-shirt that fell off one shoulder. A similar earpiece as the guards hung from her shirt. “I’m Stasia. And you’re late.”
She looked up at Stasia. The intruder had honey brown eyes lined with thick dark lashes, lovely fair skin with a caramel undertone, and a bossy tone. In all, she instantly liked her.
“Late? I don’t understand. What’s going on?”