Free The Vampire's Seduction by Raven Hart Page B

beautiful woman with cropped silver-white hair and wide gray eyes stood facing me. Dressed in supple black leather pants and wearing a matching designer jacket, she looked like a female pop diva without her entourage. Only a large leather duffel bag sat at her feet for company.
    The most amazing thing, however, was that she wasn’t just a beautiful tourist lost in the historic district.
    She was a vampire.
    Jack let out a low whistle. Before I could speak, the woman dropped to one knee and bowed her head.
    “I can’t believe I’m standing before you,” she said, her voice low and intense. She looked up at me with those mesmerizing eyes. “William Cuyler, the legend.” Her voice contained such awe that it held me silent for a second. A second is a long time to be speechless in my world.
    “Get up,” I ordered. “And here you should add Thorne to my name.”
    She straightened then and waited for my invitation inside. She still seemed a little starstruck. “Yes,” she managed, “I’m sorry. William Thorne, not Cuy.”
    “You are Algernon’s kin, then?” It had to be so since she knew the name of my human heart. But how in hades had she managed to get to my door so quickly?
    “Yes, I’m Olivia. Alger is my sire.”
    “Aren’t you gonna ask her in?” Jack prodded with the same besotted tone he’d used when he first set eyes on that beast of a car he loved.
    Slightly bewitched myself, I’d almost forgotten he was there. But he made a point. I rarely conducted business out in the open for the world to see. And Miss Olivia would not cross the threshold unless she was invited.
    I found my manners. “Come in, please.”
    Jack
    Great googly-moogly, a female vampire. I felt my face go slack. There was no doubt about it. Vampires can always recognize one another. Somehow we can just sense another blood drinker. I had never, ever sensed a female vampire before now. William had always told me the females of our species of undead were rare, but he never said why. And here one was, a real, live—sort of—lumpy-in-all-the-right-places female bloodsucker.
    As she stepped through the door, the Rin Tin Twins, as I called them, were on the alert, their noses up in the air to pick up any scent of trouble, ready to react to any threatening motion. Reyha edged closer to the woman, trying to catch a better scent. She bared her perfect white teeth, and William gave his favorite pet a warning look.
    Big as life, Olivia reached out and gently cupped Reyha under her chin. “Aren’t you a beauty, then,” she said. The sound of her voice made parts of me want to stand up and howl, if you know what I mean. Then William ruined it all.
    “Jack, see to the lady’s bag.”
    I couldn’t help but scowl at him. Probably the only female vamp in this hemisphere shows up on his doorstep and without saying a word, he’s already got her on her knees. A blond bombshell in black leather—just exactly my type—lookin’ at William like he was Frank Sinatra, Prince William, and all four Beatles rolled into one. And what does he do? He treats me like a servant. Whatever kind of “legend” William turned out to be, how could his lackey—meaning me—compete with that?
    But I could try. “Deylaud? How ’bout you get the lady’s bag? I’ll pour Miss Olivia a drink.” I crossed my arms, daring William to order me away.
    Instead he opened the library door and gestured to the beautiful stranger. “Miss Olivia, won’t you please make yourself at home?”
    She proceeded into the room, and William shut the door behind her like she was a precious jewel that needed watching, but not by me. The front door stood open, and since Deylaud wouldn’t cross the threshold without permission, William nodded in his direction. “Get the bag.” Then he came close to me. “I have to tell this young lady that her beloved sire is dead.” He kept his voice low. “She’s going to be very upset . . .”
    “So you want me to clear out.”
    “Would you