Sexiest Vampire Alive

Chapter Fifteen

Abigail stumbled as a wave of dizziness swept over her.

Gregori caught her by the upper arms. “Are you all right?”

“I—” She rubbed her brow. “I think so.” Why on earth was she feeling faint? She never fainted. Correction, she’d fainted two nights ago when she saw Gregori floating on the ceiling. From the moment she’d met him, her life had gone haywire.

“When’s the last time you ate?” he asked, still holding her steady.

“I—” She searched her fuzzy mind. “I’m not sure.” Where was she? Oh, right, Romatech. She’d just witnessed a family drama and discovered that Sean Whelan was a vampire.

And something more . . . but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. It was like trying to remember a person’s name when it was on the tip of your tongue. Somehow she knew it was important, but it flitted away and was gone.

She gazed up at Gregori, who was watching her carefully. His brow was furrowed with worry. His eyes . . . strange, he looked upset. And his mouth, there was something familiar about his mouth.

Her lips tingled, and she licked them.

He sucked in a breath of air, and his grip on her arms tightened.

“Miss Tucker, are you all right?” Charles asked.

She glanced at the Secret Service man, who was rubbing the back of his neck and frowning. “Yes, I—”

“Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Gregori interrupted. “I had a gourmet chef brought in. He’ll be terribly disappointed if you guys don’t stop by to eat.”

“Oh, that was very kind of you.” Abigail let him escort her down the hall. She resisted an urge to touch her mouth. Why did she feel like she’d been kissed?

Charles followed close behind.

The hallway was lined with windows on both sides, and the gardens outside were well lit. To the left, she spotted a basketball court.

“It’s a lovely facility,” she murmured. “I’d love to see one of the labs.”

“Of course,” Gregori said quietly.

“Do you actually produce synthetic blood here?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “We package synthetic blood intended for mortal use in plastic bags. We do that 24/7. At night, when the Vamp employees come in, they bottle synthetic blood and Fusion Cuisine for the Vamp population.”

“Do the mortals who work here know about Vamps?” Her gaze wandered once again to his mouth.

A pained expression crossed his face. “Most of them have no idea.” He opened some double doors and ushered her into the cafeteria.

It was a typical-looking employee cafeteria—rectangular-shaped tables and plastic chairs, but she liked the view of the basketball court and garden. “There’s no one here.”

“Most of the night shift are Vamps, so they don’t eat here,” Gregori explained. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll bring you some food.” He strode away to the kitchen.

She sat where she had a view of the garden. In the distance she could see a gazebo with some sort of flowering vine growing over it. Very pretty and romantic-looking. If she had enough courage, she’d ask for a tour. Just her and Gregori. And maybe he would kiss her.

She shook her head. Why was she so obsessed with kissing all of a sudden? It was ridiculous when she had so many important things to worry about. Like her mother. The trip to China. But she’d fallen asleep last night remembering the feel of his hands and mouth on her skin. He’d come so close to kissing her when they’d shot the commercial. And she had wanted it.

She touched her mouth. A kiss from a vampire. What folly.

Charles leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You had a moment of dizziness?”

She lowered her hand. “Yes.”

“So did I. Something’s not right.” He straightened, frowning as he surveyed the room.

It was definitely strange. It wasn’t like her to feel dizzy and weak. She’d had dinner with Madison at seven. She glanced at her watch. Ten forty-seven? She’d been at Romatech for forty-seven minutes?

“Hello!” a woman’s voice said behind her.

Abigail twisted in her chair to see a woman entering the cafeteria. Late sixties perhaps? Abigail estimated her age by the gray streaks in her dark hair and the thin lines on her face, but she was still a handsome woman. A very happy one, too, since she was smiling broadly. She was wearing expensive black pumps and a stylish suit that reminded Abigail of the way her mother used to dress on the campaign trail.

“How do you do?” She strode straight toward Abigail. “I’m delighted to meet you.”

Charles held up a hand to stop her. “Identification, please.”

The woman halted. “I didn’t bring my handbag.” She planted her hands on her hips with a huff. “Really, young man, do I look like some kind of terrorist to you?” Her eyes glimmered with humor as she looked him over. “On second thought, I might insist that you search me thoroughly.”

Charles gulped. “That won’t be necessary.”

Abigail smiled as she rose to her feet. Whoever this woman was, she liked her.

“Mom!” Gregori strode toward them, carrying a tray. “What are you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet me?” She gave him a stern look. “I came to meet your date, of course.”

“She’s not a date,” Gregori gritted out between clenched teeth as he set the tray on the table.

Abigail’s smile widened. The emotions crossing Gregori’s face were priceless. Shock, horror, then mortification.

“What is this?” His mother inspected the two dishes on the tray.

“Lobster and asparagus risotto,” he mumbled, setting the dishes on the table. “One for each of my guests. I don’t recall inviting you.”

“Well, it smells lovely!” his mother exclaimed. “I’ll take one. Thank you.”

“Mom,” he muttered. “This is a business meeting.”

“I’d be delighted for you to stay,” Abigail said. It was just too much fun watching Gregori squirm.

“Aren’t you the sweetest thing?” She extended a hand. “I’m Radinka Holstein. Please call me Radinka.”

“I’m Abigail Tucker.”

“Don’t shake her—” Gregori groaned when Abigail shook his mother’s hand.

Radinka clasped her hand in both of hers and held tightly. Then she let go with a wide grin. “Yes, at last! She’s the—”

“No!” Gregori shouted, then winced. “Sorry.” He leaned close to his mother. “Wishful thinking, that’s all.”

She huffed. “I’m never wrong about these things.”

Gregori’s hands clenched, then released. “Take a seat, Mother. Have some risotto.” He grabbed a set of eating utensils wrapped in a napkin and banged them onto the table. Then he set a plate of risotto in front of her.

Abigail sat across from his mom, and Gregori handed her a napkin and the other risotto.

“Fair warning,” he whispered. “She’ll bring up children in less than five seconds.” He straightened. “So how did you know I was here tonight, Mother?”

She unrolled her napkin. “Roman, Angus, and Emma just teleported to the school, and they brought Shanna and her sister and mother with them. The mother wanted to meet her grandchildren.” She smiled at Abigail. “Did you know vampires are able to father children?”

Gregori groaned.

Abigail’s mouth twitched. She recalled Gregori mentioning this at the nightclub, but she was curious to hear more. “How very interesting.”

“So what brings you here, Mom?” Gregori asked.

“It’s very simple.” She shook out her napkin and placed it in her lap. “Emma told me you were here with your date, so I asked her to teleport me here, so I could meet her.”

“She’s not a date,” Gregori muttered. “She’s the president’s daughter.”

“I know that.” She looked at Abigail, her eyes gleaming. “She’s everything I ever hoped for. And as pretty as can be. Don’t you think she’s pretty, Gregori?”

“Mom—”

“Now don’t be shy. You should tell her how you feel.”

Abigail covered her mouth to hide her grin. The big tough vampire couldn’t control his mother. She glanced at him to find him glowering at her.

“She’s beautiful,” he whispered.

Her heart stuttered. Memories from last night swirled in her head. He’d admitted that he wanted her. His eyes had glowed red with desire.

Her gaze settled once again on his wide sensual lips. Good Lord, she was obsessed with the man’s mouth. All she could think about was kissing him.

“Now leave us alone a minute.” Radinka motioned toward Charles. “Don’t you need to bring the gentleman some food? And we need something to drink.”

Gregori grunted and stalked toward the kitchen.

“How is your mother, dear?” Radinka asked. “I have always admired her. She seems to have a great deal of inner strength.”

Abigail swallowed hard. “Yes, she does. Thank you.” She fiddled with her napkin. Somehow she had a feeling that Gregori didn’t understand how desperately she wanted to help her mother. “I’m trying to find a cure for her.”

“That’s very admirable of you.” Radinka tried the risotto. “Excellent. Is my son treating you well?”

“Yes.” Abigail felt a blush sweeping across her face as she recalled Gregori’s lips and fingers caressing her neck.

She watched him as he approached them with a tray. He set glasses of ice water in front of each of them, then gave Charles a plate of risotto.

He turned toward them, frowning. “This is just the first course. The chef has Chilean sea bass coming up next. And he selected a wine for you.”

“Wonderful! Thank you.” Radinka smiled at him, then at Abigail. “Isn’t he sweet?”

Abigail grinned. Radinka’s matchmaking efforts were far from subtle.

“May I ask why you’ve been so careful to stay out of the public eye?” Radinka asked.

Her smile faded.

Gregori lifted his eyebrows, obviously waiting for her answer.

“I was never comfortable with all the attention,” she mumbled.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And?”

“And when I went to college, I wanted to be left alone so I could concentrate on my studies. My papers were all published using my mother’s maiden name, May.”

“Abigail May?” Gregori asked.

She nodded. “I did my doctorate on a formula I developed that would put a person into stasis. I intended to use it for accident victims to keep them stable until they made it to surgery. Or if my mother took a sudden turn for the worse, we could use it to keep her stable.”

“How interesting,” Radinka said.

Abigail sighed. “The military wanted to develop it as a weapon, a way to put the enemy combatant into stasis. I went along with it because I thought it was better than killing the enemy. So I let them work with the formula, and they gave me free use of their labs and resources for my own research. It’s a secret military installation, so I can’t afford to have any media following me.”

“You’ve dedicated much of your life to helping your mother,” Radinka concluded.

“Yes.” Abigail glanced at Gregori. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

He adjusted his tie. “I’ll see if Roman is available to meet you now.” He dashed toward the double doors and left them swinging in his wake.

He’d certainly been in a hurry to leave. Abigail picked up her fork and poked at her risotto.

Radinka huffed. “He forgot to bring us the wine.”

Abigail shrugged. “I’m not sure he understands how important my mother is to me.”

“He may not want to admit it, but he does.” Radinka sighed. “You see, my husband died from bone cancer. Gregori had just started his master’s degree at Yale when we got the news. He quit school, came home, and spent all the time he could with his father. He knew what was coming, but he was still devastated when Heinrich died. We both were.”

“I’m so sorry,” Abigail said. So this was the sad place Gregori had gone to when she’d told him about her mother’s illness. He did understand what she was going through.

Radinka’s eyes glimmered with tears. “It was a difficult time. So much sadness. And so much debt. Gregori lived at home and worked two jobs to help pay it off. I took a job here as office manager for Roman Draganesti. As soon as the debt was paid off, Gregori finished his master’s at NYU. He’s such a good man. So loyal and hardworking. I hope you don’t hold it against him that he’s a vampire.”

Abigail didn’t know what to say. “Well, I—”

Radinka reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “Please don’t think ill of him. It was all my fault.”

“Your fault? How?”

Radinka sat back and sniffed. “After a few months of working the night shift here, I started to catch on. Roman is a brilliant scientist, but a bit absentminded when he gets involved with a project. He would leave half-empty bottles of blood in his office. And since I was raised in the old country, Czechoslovakia, I was aware of all the old vampire tales. I soon figured it out.”

“Did you tell him?” Abigail asked.

Radinka nodded. “And I swore to keep the secret. I needed the job. And Roman needed me. It worked out well until Gregori got it into his head that it wasn’t safe for me to work and commute at night. He wanted me to work during the day, but of course, that was impossible. We argued about it.”

She sighed. “I lost my temper and told Gregori I worked for vampires. You can imagine his reaction.”

Abigail took a sip of water. “What did he do?”

“At first, he was afraid I’d lost my mind. Then when he started to suspect it was true, he was worried for my safety. He drove here to confront Roman. And that’s when it happened.” A tear ran down Radinka’s face. “My poor son. He was only trying to protect me.”

Abigail leaned forward. “What happened?”

“He was attacked in the parking lot. We found out later it was Casimir, the leader of the Malcontents. He overpowered Gregori and ripped open his neck. Drank his full and left him to die.”

Abigail swallowed hard. Poor Gregori.

“We didn’t have all the security cameras back then. A guard finally found him when he was making his rounds.” Radinka wiped a tear from her face. “I’d already lost my husband. I couldn’t bear to lose my son, too. I begged Roman to transform him. And he did.”

Abigail took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She couldn’t blame Radinka. She’d be desperate, too, to save a loved one. “It must have come as a great shock to Gregori.”

“Yes, I believe it did.” Radinka dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “But he tried not to show it. He’s tried so hard to fit in. Roman offered him a job here, and he’s worked awfully hard. He’s vice president of marketing now, you know.”

Abigail smiled. Radinka was clearly proud of him. “How old was he when was transformed?”

“Twenty-nine.” Radinka ate some risotto. “But that was back in 1993. It’s high time he stopped playing around with those silly Vamp women. He needs to settle down with a nice mortal girl. I won’t live forever, you know, and I want some time with my grandchildren.”

“I’m sure you do.” Abigail tasted the risotto. It really was excellent. She glanced over at Charles, who had cleaned his plate. “There’s more food in the kitchen,” she called to him. “And some wine. Could you bring it out?”

He frowned, looking Radinka over, then hurried off to the kitchen.

Radinka snorted. “Does he really think I’m going to hurt you? My own future daughter-in-law?”

Abigail’s mouth dropped open. “I—I think you may have misunderstood my relationship with your son. We’re not dating.”

Radinka shrugged. “All in good time.” She pointed a fork at Abigail. “But I’m not getting any younger, so don’t wait too long.”

“But I—”

“At least two grandchildren,” Radinka continued.

Abigail stuffed her clenched fists into her raincoat pockets, then felt something bump against her knuckles. She peered into her pocket and found a ball. Where on earth did this come from? She pulled it out to look at it.

Radinka chuckled. “Did Gregori give you one of his stress balls?”

Abigail gave it a squeeze. Did he? When?