Free How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks Page A

you?”
    Zoltan swallowed so hard that his eyes watered. “She didn’t beat the— Look. Whomever I choose to see is none of your business.”
    “It is my business when it affects security,” Howard argued. “From what I can tell, you have no regard whatsoever for your personal safety. There are no guards here. No working surveillance cameras. You let strangers roam about the castle that you publicize as a vampire castle, and you let everyone in the vicinity know you’re a Vamp.”
    Zoltan shrugged and drank more blood.
    Howard sat back, folding his arms across his chest. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think I know what’s going on here.”
    “Really?” Elsa’s eyes widened as she ate more ice cream. “What?”
    Howard leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “Gregori explained it to me. When a Vamp reaches his five hundredth birthday, he normally falls into a state of deep depression.”
    “Oh no.” Elsa gave Zoltan a worried look.
    He snorted and drank more blood.
    “And Zoltan here is about eight hundred years old,” Howard continued. “So he could be seriously depressed.”
    Elsa winced. “The poor man.”
    Zoltan gritted his teeth. “I’m not so old that my hearing is gone.”
    Howard leaned closer to his wife. “It explains everything. Why he’s so careless about his own safety. Why he’s no longer interested in his job. Why he insists on seeing a woman who beat the crap out—”
    “She didn’t beat the crap—” Zoltan took a deep breath. “This is ridiculous. I’m not depressed.”
    Elsa gave him a sympathetic look. “You won’t be able to get better until you admit the problem.”
    “I’m fine !” Zoltan tossed the empty bottle in the recycle bin so hard that it shattered. He winced. Sometimes he forgot how strong he was.
    Howard and Elsa exchanged a knowing look.
    Zoltan groaned. “I’m not depressed. I’m just . . . tired.” And lonely . “I’m going now.”
    “Wait!” Howard jumped to his feet. “You can’t leave without a sat phone. And you shouldn’t face the Amazon warrior without some weapons. You’ll need a knife, a sword, and a handgun.”
    “I can’t go on a date fully armed!”
    Elsa’s eyes lit up. “This is a date?”
    Zoltan winced. Now he’d said more than he had intended to. “Maybe.”
    Elsa looked at her husband. “This is a good sign. If he’s dating, maybe he’s not so depressed after all.”
    “But if he were thinking clearly,” Howard whispered back, “he wouldn’t date a woman who beat the crap out—”
    “She didn’t beat me!” Zoltan strode toward the door. “I’m getting the sat phone, then leaving.”
    “Wait!” Elsa rushed toward him. “You shouldn’t go on a date empty-handed. Do you have flowers or something?”
    Zoltan paused. Elsa might have a point. “What should I bring?”
    Elsa frowned, considering, then her face brightened. “I have a box of chocolates I haven’t opened.”
    Howard stiffened. “That was my gift for you.”
    “You can get me some more.” Elsa squeezed her husband’s arm. “This is an emergency. Zoltan needs something now.”
    Zoltan nodded. “Chocolate might be good. I doubt she gets much of it.”
    “Maybe it’ll keep her from beating the crap—” Howard stopped when Zoltan glared at him.
    “The box is in our bedroom.” Elsa started out the door. “I’ll be right back.”
    “We’ll be in the armory,” Howard called after her.
    Zoltan made his way quickly to the armory with Howard right behind him, asking questions along the way.
    “What’s her name? Where does she live? Does she look like Xena, the warrior princess? Why did she beat you up?”
    Zoltan ignored him and selected a sat phone off a shelf in the armory.
    “Let me see that.” Howard grabbed it and started pushing buttons. “Okay. It’s charged up and working well. I’m putting in my number and Angus’s and Mikhail’s. If anything goes wrong, I want you to call. Either Angus or Mikhail