Sexiest Vampire Alive (41 page)
Read Sexiest Vampire Alive Online
Authors: Kerrelyn Sparks
“But you could have healed her. And then I wouldn’t have needed to give my blood.”
“But you did need to give it. You needed to learn how to trust.” The angel motioned to Abigail. “And she needs to learn how to forgive. It is better this way, don’t you think?”
“Well . . . maybe.” Gregori looked at Abigail. “You mean she’ll forgive me now?” He glanced back at the angel, but he was gone.
Gregori sighed. “Say hello to Father Andrew for me.”
A
bigail woke at the sound of her mother calling her.
“Mom?” She scrambled off the couch and rushed to the hospital bed. “What’s wrong? Shall I call for the nurse? Is it time for more medication?” She glanced at her watch. It was four in the morning.
“Abby, look at me.”
She blinked when she realized her mother was sitting up. And her cheeks were rosy. “Mom, what happened?”
Belinda’s eyes twinkled. “An angel came to see me.”
Oh God, her mom was hallucinating. “It’s probably the medication.”
“The angel told me everything would be all right, and then, your Gregori came.”
“He’s not
my
Gregori, Mom. I don’t want to ever see him again.”
“But he saw you, dear. He told me he loved you and would do anything for you. And he gave me some of his blood.”
“
What?
” Abigail’s heart lurched.
Belinda touched the bandage on her arm. “I feel so much better.”
Abigail ripped off the bandage and saw the puncture mark on her mother’s arm. “When did this happen?”
“When the angel gave me a transfusion from Gregori. He was such a handsome man. The angel, not Gregori. Although Gregori is quite handsome, too.”
“Gregori was here?”
“Yes. With an angel. He told me his name is Buniel.”
Abigail shook her head. She didn’t know what to make of this, but one thing was for sure, her mother was looking a hundred percent better. “We’ll have to run some tests.”
“Later.” Belinda waved a dismissive hand. “What’s important now is that you find your Gregori before the sun rises. He loves you very much.”
“Mom—”
“And he left this for you.” Belinda pulled a package out from under her blanket. “It’s small. I think it might be an engagement ring.”
“Oh my God.” This was proof that Gregori had really been here. Her name was scrawled on the package in his handwriting.
“Well, open it! I want to see if it’s a ring.”
“Mom, are you saying you would approve of me and Gregori?”
“Sweetie, he saved your life. I know that he’s . . . different, but he’s a good man. He gave us his word that he would protect you on your trip, and he nearly died to keep his word. You don’t let a man like that get away.”
“He—he messed with my mind.”
Belinda snorted. “All men mess with our minds, one way or another. But Gregori is a good man. Even the angel said we should trust him. Will you please open the package?”
“Oh, right.” She ripped open one end and pulled out the contents. Underneath a layer of thermal wrap, she found a vial of blood. It was labeled “Gregori Holstein.”
Belinda wrinkled her nose. “He gave you blood? That’s not very romantic.”
Tears came to her eyes. “Oh, it is. It means he trusts me.”
“Well, you’d better hurry up and meet him.”
Abigail blinked away her tears. “Yes, Mother. Thank you.”
She dropped the vial of blood inside her handbag and retrieved her cell phone. After a moment’s hesitation, she punched in the number for Angus.
“Miss Tucker?” he answered. “What can I do for you?”
“Could you possibly teleport me to Romatech?”
In one minute she was standing by the side entrance to Romatech. Angus swiped his card, then opened the door for her.
“Thank you.” She walked inside.
“Any time, lass.” He walked beside her, his kilt swishing around his knees. “I gather Plan C worked.”
“Excuse me?”
He chuckled. “Go easy on the lad. He’s been lost without you.” He opened the door to the security office and went inside.
She took out her phone and sent Gregori a text message.
I would like to pick up my plants. I’ll meet you in the foyer at Romatech.
A message came instantly back.
When?
She grinned and texted back.
About ten seconds.
She stepped into the foyer, and in about five seconds, Gregori zoomed in at vampire speed.
He halted abruptly. “Hello.”
“Hello.” She bit her lip to keep from laughing. He looked so darned nervous. “I came to get my plants.”
“Of course. This way.”
She walked beside him down a hall.
“How have you been?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Busy.”
He nodded and slanted a look her way. “How is your mother?”
“Not bad. She seems a bit better.”
“Oh.” He frowned. “That’s good.” He opened a door. “Your plants are in here.”
She walked in and looked around. “What a beautiful lab.”
“It’s yours.”
“What?” She spun to face him.
“It’s yours, if you want it. Roman wants to hire you. And you can work on whatever you like.”
“Like this?” She removed his vial of blood from her handbag.
“Yes.” He shifted his weight. “But that is yours to keep, no matter where you work. I trust you.”
She set the vial and her handbag down on a table. “I know what you did for my mother. I want to thank you. I can’t thank you enough, actually. And I understand that you have a duty to protect your kind. It was wrong of me to judge you when you were trying to do the right thing.”
“Then you forgive me?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. Can you forgive me?”
He lunged forward and pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Abby, I love you.”
She laughed and hugged him tight. “I love you, too.”
“Thank God.” He kissed her brow. “I have something hard in my pants.”
She snorted. “Your phone?”
“No.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a large golden disc. “It’s a medal of honor. Angus gave it to me.”
“Oh, it’s beautiful.” She took the disc and examined it. “Congratulations.”
“There was a big ceremony to thank me for saving the Vamps. And Roman named me his heir apparent. That means I’ll be the next Coven Master for the East Coast.”
“That’s wonderful! You must be thrilled.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “Actually, it doesn’t mean much to me if I can’t share it with you. I want to be with you, Abby.”
“You do?” She set the medal down on the table.
“Yes. And I’ll make you happy. You’ll see. You can have all the freedom you want. You can work at your old job or here with me. And if you want to live close by, we can buy a house.”
“Are you asking me to live with you?”
He stepped back. “Well. Actually, the thing is . . .” He pulled a stress ball from his pocket and squeezed it. “I know how much you value your freedom, but I thought we might have a . . . uh, more binding commitment.”
She bit her lip to keep from grinning. “More binding?”
“Yes.” He tightened his fist around the stress ball. “Not that I intend to imprison you in any way. I realize a commitment to a vampire could last a really long time, and I don’t want you to feel trapped—”
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
The ball exploded in his hand. “Oh God, yes.” He tossed the ball on the floor and fell to his knees. “Marry me, Abigail.”
She fell to her knees and cradled his face in her hands. “I will.”
He grinned. “You’ll marry me?”
She laughed. “Yes!”
He levitated them both up onto their feet. “You’ll have children with me?”
“Yes.”
“And sex on the ceiling?”
She laughed again. “Yes.”
“And you’ll dance disco with me?”
She feigned a frown. “Now you’re pushing it.”
He laughed and hugged her tight. “I love you, Scholar. Falling for you was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I love you, too.” She nestled her cheek against his chest. Marry a vampire? It was the craziest thing she’d ever do.
Or maybe not. She glanced up at the ceiling. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
He chuckled. “I’ll lock the door.”
T
here would be no sexiest vampire alive without the sexiest husband alive. I am forever grateful to my husband, Don, for deftly demonstrating how a man can be serious, yet funny. Strong, yet charming. My thanks to my children, who are always encouraging, and my best friends/critique partners, who are extremely wise and know exactly when to give me a hug or a needed kick in the rear.
My thanks to everyone at HarperCollins/Avon Books: Pam from publicity, Adrienne from marketing, Tom from the art department, publisher Liate, executive editor Erika Tsang, and assistant editor Amanda. Thanks also to my agent, Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency.
And finally, I cannot express how grateful I am to all you readers. Thanks to you, the Love at Stake series has been more successful than I ever dreamed.
K
ERRELYN
S
PARKS
is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the
Love at Stake
series. Each book in the series has landed on the
USA Today
bestseller list, but when the fourth book,
The Undead Next Door
, jumped onto the
New York Times
list at #14, even the Undead sat up and took notice. That same book was nominated (not by the Undead) for the RITA® Award for best paranormal romance of 2008.
Please visit Kerrelyn (who is rumored not to be Undead since she pays taxes and eats chocolate) at her website, www.kerrelynsparks.com, or write to her at P.O. Box 5512, Katy, TX 77491-5512. She would love to hear from you!
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In the bestselling Night Huntress series, Cat grapples with her borrowed ability to commune with the dead, tries to find some quality time with her sexy vampire husband, and has to take on a phantom murderer . . . but how can she kill someone who’s already dead?
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