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Who knew vampires had such a romantic streak? Stepping into the shower, she wondered what other surprises the day might bring.
Additional gifts, flowers, and treats arrived all day long. Shortly after she finished her shower, a waiter from a nearby restaurant knocked on the door bearing her breakfast on a silver tray, along with a single red rose in a delicate crystal vase.
Kay smiled, thinking how sweet it had been for Gideon to order her something to eat.
A full-body massage came an hour later, followed by a manicure and a pedicure.
As the manicurist was leaving, lunch arrived, accompanied by another red rose.
She had barely finished eating when there was another knock on the door. She opened it to find several personal shoppers from Bloomingdale’s standing in the hallway. After introducing themselves, they laid out a wide array of clothing for her consideration—everything from dresses to pants, shoes to hats, nightgowns to slippers.
Reluctant at first, Kay soon got into the spirit of things. She chose a couple of casual dresses by Tahari and Calvin Klein, jeans and T-shirts by Guess, shoes by Ferragamo, a handbag by DKNY, a nightgown and robe by Natori. As Kay signed the receipt, she hoped Gideon had been serious when he said money was the least of his problems, because she had just spent a small fortune.
The sun was setting when the ladies from Bloomingdale’s packed up the rejects, thanked her profusely, and left the apartment.
Kay was standing at the window, gazing at the darkening skyline, when Gideon ghosted up behind her. Slipping his arms around her waist, he drew her against him. “How was your day?”
“Wonderful. Thank you.” She turned in his arms and smiled up at him. “I hope you really are rich.”
His gaze moved over her. “Whatever that outfit cost, it was worth it. You look terrific.” Better than terrific, he thought with an admiring glance. A sleeveless black dress made of some clingy material outlined every delectable curve. A pair of black, sling-back pumps did wonderful things for her legs, which were long and shapely.
“I should look fantastic, considering the small fortune this little black dress cost you.”
He laughed softly. “You’re right. You do look fantastic.”
“So do you.” Her gaze moved over him. He looked gorgeous in a dark green, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of khaki pants with a crease that looked sharp enough to cut steel, and black leather boots. “It was very thoughtful of you, sending all those clothes over, but really, something a little less expensive would have served just as well.”
“Nothing but the best for my lady werewolf,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s only money, and if you don’t spend it, what am I gonna do with it?”
“Well, I’ll be more than happy to spend it for you, since you have so little regard for it. Where did you come by it all, anyway?”
He lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. “In the beginning, I pilfered what I needed from the rich. But then, as I got richer, I invested it. And now …” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “Now, I have more than I need.” He grinned at her. “And finally, someone to spend it on.”
“‘Pilfered’? Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day.”
“True.”
“How long have you been a vampire?”
“Three hundred and sixty years, give or take a decade or two.” His hands spanned her waist, his thumbs lightly stroking back and forth. “In answer to your next question, I was turned when I was twenty-seven by an ancient vampire who had grown weary of living but who didn’t want her very old, very powerful blood, to go to waste.”
“So, she turned you against your will?”
“Most assuredly. For someone so ancient, there was little substance to her,” he recalled. “Or so it seemed. But she was a lot stronger than she looked. I tried to fight her off, but she held me down easily. ‘I’m going to give you a wondrous gift,’ she said, and then she buried her fangs in my throat. When it was done, she took me to her home and told me what I needed to know to survive.
“It was near dawn when Lisiana told me good-bye. When I asked where she was going, she told me she was over a thousand years old and she was tired of living. ‘I’m going out to meet the sun,’ she said. ‘Do what you wish with the house. Keep it, sell it, burn it down.’” He paused a moment. “Before I could ask her anything else, she was gone. When I woke up that night, I was a vampire. I never saw her again.”
Kay stared up at him. It was an incredible tale, she thought, and then she grinned. “You seem to be a magnet for older women. What are you doing with me?”
Gideon threw back his head and laughed. “Damned if I know.”
Moving to the sofa, Kay sat down and crossed her legs. “You seem to like being a vampire.”
“No sense being miserable over something that can’t be changed,” he said, sitting beside her. But the truth was, once he’d gotten over the fear and the shock, he did like it. “What about you? You like being a werewolf?”
She tossed his words back at him. “‘No sense being miserable over something that can’t be changed.’ I was born this way.”
“So, basically, when the moon’s full, you turn furry.”
She nodded.
“How does it usually affect you? You didn’t go all Lon Chaney the other night and start killing everything on two legs, so I’m assuming you have at least some control.”
“Yes. I’ve never had the overpowering urge to go on any kind of killing spree, although”—a faint blush heated her cheeks—“I feel the need to hunt, but only deer or rabbits and the occasional squirrel.”
He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa, his fingers lightly stroking her bare shoulder. Her skin was soft, and warm, and baby smooth. “So, are all werewolves as benign as you are?”
“The civilized ones. I’ve heard there are a few who go totally feral and kill anything they come across, but, thankfully, I’ve never met one.”
He mulled that over a moment before asking, “If you bite someone, do they turn fanged and furry?”
“No. That only works with vampires. Werewolves are born, not made.”
He grinned wryly. What would happen, he wondered, if a very old vampire tried to turn a very young werewolf?
During the next week, Kay gradually changed her sleeping habits so that instead of sleeping until eight or nine in the morning, she slept until one or two in the afternoon, which meant she ate breakfast about the time she would normally have been eating lunch, which she skipped altogether. Gideon took her out to dinner except when he needed to feed. On those nights, she dined alone, and then they spent the rest of the evening together.
