A hand wrapped around the nape of his neck and held his head down. “Just breathe.” It was an order delivered in that same mesmerizing voice from the storehouse.
Gary took in great gulps of air, fighting off the dizziness. He made a poor attempt at humor. “I’m sorry, but it’s not every day I meet someone like you.” When the hand slowly retreated from his neck, he straightened up to look at the tall, powerful figure looming over him. He had never seen a more dangerous-looking individual. He swallowed his fear. “Are you going to kill me?” The words slipped out unintentionally.
Stop looking like the big, bad wolf, Savannah suggested. You’re going to give the poor man a heart attack.
Gregori sighed, exasperated. “If I was going to kill you, you would already be dead. What reason would I have for taking your life?”
Gary shrugged. “None, I hope.” He stood up carefully and let his breath out slowly. Up close the man looked even more dangerous. Like a hungry jungle cat.
“I have already fed this night,” Gregori said dryly.
“You’re reading my thoughts, aren’t you?” Gary tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. He had always wanted to meet the real thing. Always. From the first vampire movie he had ever seen, he had been fascinated, hooked. He was scared, no question about that, but this was the chance of a lifetime. “I’ve seen you. Does that mean you have to kill me? You let the girl go because she never saw you.”
Gregori nodded toward the street, and they both began walking, slowly putting the chaotic scene behind them. “No one would believe you if you told them. In any case, I could easily remove your memory of our meeting. The girl will not remember you.”
“I can hardly believe this myself. You’re right, you know. If I told you my own parents, they’d have me locked up. This is awesome, completely awesome.” He spun around in a circle, his fists clenched in victory. “Man, this is great.”
Bring him home, Gregori, Savannah suggested.
Not a chance, Savannah. This one is crazy, too. I do not need the two of you driving me nuts. Why would anyone with a half a brain want to meet one of us?
“I joined the society to see if they had any real evidence of the existence of—Gary hesitated—”vampires. You are a vampire, right?”
“You might think so,” Gregori said noncommittally.
“They said they had this vampire blood, you know. At first I thought it might be a hoax, but it was unusual, real interesting stuff. I’d never seen anything like it. I’m a biochemist, and this was such an opportunity. The blood made a believer out of me.” His words were tumbling over one another in an effort to get out. “Everyone thought I was crazy, even the members of the society, but I thought it might be really cool to establish contact with a real vampire. Unfortunately, they just wanted to capture them and slice them up.”
Gregori shook his head over the naivete of human beings. “Did it occur to you that a vampire might be a very dangerous creature? That maybe to lure one out into the open would cause your own death? Perhaps even the death of your family? Everyone you loved or cared about?”
“Why? Why would a vampire necessarily do that?” Gary challenged. He was clearly a man who thought the best of everyone.
Do you see why I avoid humans, ma chérie? They are silly, exasperating creatures.
You like him. You can’t hide it from me, even if you try to hide it from yourself. Invite him home.
Not for all the trees on this earth.
I want to meet him.
Savannah. She was up to no good, he was certain of it. Gregori’s hand went to the back of his neck, massaging deeply. What I should do is scare the holy hell out of him so he will get over this nonsense.
“So, are you?” Gary asked.
“Am I what?” Gregori was distracted. Why had he ever talked to this fool in the first place? Because Savannah was making him crazy. Savannah had made him do something dumb. He had read Gary’s mind and found him to be an interesting, likable person.