One Last Bite (2 page)

Jake’s eyes went as round as the UFOs Chuck used to be so fond of writing about. “You mean we’re going to spend a night at the museum?
Like the movies?
”

The films he was talking about were ones Sebastian never would have been familiar with before, except in passing. But since becoming part of the somewhat whacky Lamoreaux/Monroe brood, Jake had been spending a lot of time at the Inferno and his private penthouse – which meant that his personal DVD collection was no longer a tasteful mix of documentaries and classic films, but now looked like the children’s section of the local rental place. With Chuck’s help, he’d purchased just about every title ever released by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks… so he’d seen
Night at the Museum
and its sequel probably a dozen times, and knew exactly what Jake was thinking.

“
Not quite. This is an art museum. Just a bunch of stupid paintings hanging on the walls.”

Jake’s face fell.

“
But if you’re really good,” Sebastian told him in a conspiratorial whisper, “and let your mom and aunt enjoy themselves tonight, even though it’s going to be
bo
-ring, when we get back to the United States, I’ll take you to the Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian. We’ll spend a night at each and see what happens.”

The little boy flashed a grin that exposed the space where his two front teeth were missing, then jumped down from Sebastian’s lap and raced to his aunt’s.

“
Aunt Chuck! Aunt Chuck!” he cried, tugging at the arm of her turquoise blouse. “Did you hear that? Uncle Bastian’s gonna take me to the museum and make the dinosaur bones come alive.”

Taking only a moment to cast him a reproving glance, she hugged her nephew close and ruffled his brown hair. “If anyone can pull off such a feat, it’s your uncle.”

“
Hey!” Aidan put in from the far side of the table, sounding pained. “What about me? I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, too, you know.”

Leaning into him, Chloe slung an arm across his back and let her head fall to his shoulder. “Aw, poor baby. Are you feeling left out?”

He adopted a mock pout. “A little.”

“
You should be relieved,” she told him. “While Uncle Sebastian and Auntie Chuck are babysitting,
we
can jet off to all those exotic locales you’ve been promising to show me.”

That seemed to perk him up. “Ah, yes. The Egyptian pyramids. The Great Wall of China. Big Ben.”

“
Not to mention luxury hotel suites in Egypt, China, and London,” she said in a low, intimate voice that carried on the night air all the same.

Beside Sebastian, with Jake now perched soundly on her lap, Chuck chuckled and shot him an equally heated glance over the top of her young nephew’s head.

Aidan’s mouth tipped up in a wide, lascivious grin. “Now that does sound like a good plan. Let’s get this tour of the Louvre out of the way so we can move on to more of that.”

Chair legs scraped on concrete as everyone pushed back and climbed to their feet. Jake jumped down and rounded the table to stand between his mother and step-father, taking one of their hands in each of his own.

“
Don’t worry,” Chloe said with a wink as they strolled down
la rue
, “there’s no hurry. I have it on pretty good authority that we have an eternity to enjoy ourselves.”

About
Must Love Vampires

Nightclub dancer Chloe Lamoureaux just met the man of her dreams: Aidan Raines is charming, considerate, rich, and hot. Of course, he's a little mysterious about his age. And his favourite drink. And he's not much for sunlight. But he's asked her to marry him, and she's ready to do it.

Her identical twin sister, Chuck, isn't so sure. Maybe being a tabloid reporter has skewed her judgment, but to Chuck, Aidan and his brother Sebastian look like honest-to-Dracula vampires. Especially Sebastian: beguiling, seductive, and just a hint of dangerous. Maybe she wouldn't mind him taking a little taste. But with Chloe's life in the balance, she has to know - do they want hot love or hot blood?

Or maybe... a little of both?

Must Love Vampires

Coming September 27, 2011 from Kensington

"Heidi Betts pens another culinary masterpiece for our reading pleasure.

Must Love Vampires
 
is filled with humor…used in such a way as to delight

and entrance the reader.  [This story] will take its place on your keeper shelf.”

- SingleTitles.com

About The Author

National bestselling author Heidi Betts loves all things scary and paranormal… though she’s not a big fan of things that go bump in the night (
Hello! Sleeping, here!
). When she’s not writing about vampires (among other things), she often dreams of being an undead creature of the night—if only so that she can sleep all day, stay up all night, and never age another minute or gain another pound. The drinking of blood doesn’t necessarily appeal, but it’s something she thinks she could get used to.

Plus, she hears it tastes like chicken.

For news, information about upcoming books, and tons of mischievous fun, visit Heidi online at
HeidiBetts.com
and
HeidiBetts.com/WIPSandChains
.