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ONE
“Oh hell,” I breathed, pacing up and down the plush rug in the hallway. I nearly said the dreaded G word in my panic—God was anathema to vampires like my family. “Do youhaveto leave? Can’t you just stay?”
“And cramp your style?” Dad asked with a laugh, straightening his bowtie as he assessed the collection of bags and belongings my parents were taking with them, nodding in satisfaction when he found everything in order for their two weeks away. “We’d only get in the way, Roxie.”
“We’ll be fine in the hotel, love,” Mum said, smiling as she squeezed my shoulder. I’d inherited my pale blonde waves from her, and my blue eyes—though hers were red now. From dad, I got his shortness and his smirking mouth, his quick humour too.
I wished I could be more like Mum, who was effortless in her glamour. My glamour took three hours and copious amounts of setting spray.
“You’ll be fine here, Roxie,” she went on, her eyes glittering. “You don’t want your old mum and dad getting in the way of you and your suitors.”
When she saidoldmum and dad, she meant it—they were both nearly four hundred years old.
“But what if I don’tlikethem?” I asked, growing more desperate as she pulled on her long, burgundy coat, buttoning it up before grabbing her anti-UV parasol off the hook by the door. She looked like an old Hollywood actress, not even out of place among our manor house’s opulent decor.
What I really wanted to ask was what if they don’t likeme?Not only was I the odd one out in our long-lived family, with siblings who’d been alive—well, undead—for a hundred years or longer, I was the only born vampire in the family. The only born vampire in thecountry, hence the suitors currently travelling to our house via horse, train, and car. I was a rarity, and people were curious. The ruling families wanted to know what I was capable of—which wasn’t much—and wanted to marry any power I might have into their family lines.
Mum and Dad had stalled them as long as they could, giving me twenty-seven years without the families shoving their sharp fangs into my life, but time had run out. And as my parents kept reminding me, I was old enough to be searching for my mate—my love match—and certainly old enough to continue the family line.
It had never been a burden—the expectation that I’d marry, have children, and all that ancient gender role stuff. Mostly because I knew I’d always have my parents’ support, and if I ever point-blank refused to follow the vampire way of life, they’d make damn sure I could set myself upoutsidevampire society, away from the families’ rules and judgement.
Plus, it was the twenty-first century—I could have childrenandan awesome job.
But born or made, I was a vampire. Even if I didn’t have fangs, or drink blood, and even if I slept through the night and could go out in the sun without protection … I was still my parents’ daughter. I was still a vampire, deep down in my DNA, no matter how human I looked—or smelled. Iwantedto be part of this world, this life.
“If you don’t like them, new suitors will be found for you,” Mum replied, giving me a smile that steadied me the slightest bit. No matter what happened, I could call them at the hotel and they’d come straight home. I knew they would.
But while Mum and Dad would be there, ordering room service and watching TV in a ritzy king-sized bed, I’d be here, in our big manor house … alone with three men I’d never met before. Their scents filling the high-ceilinged rooms of my home, their voices echoing off the dark walls, their presence clinging like a spectre to chandeliers and sofas and long, glittering mirrors.
I swallowed, forcing my hands down to my sides after a brief, squishing hug I wanted to cling to.
“You can afford to be choosy,” Dad said with a crooked smile brightening his Ruby eyes. “You’re the only born vampire in a century; you’ll have men lining up for years for your hand.”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring my blush. It wasn’t that I didn’twantmen lining up just for a chance to meet me, to make me swoon and smile and laugh—because whowouldn’t?—but I couldn’t get past the crushing fear that I’d embarrass myself, or they’d be disappointed that I wasnormal. The last thing I wanted was to let the entire Calvert vampire line down.
Mum smiled, beaming with the excitement she’dbarelybeen holding back. “Remember, if you run out of conversation topics, I left you a list in—”
“The drawer under the mirror in the sitting room. I know,” I finished, amused. She’d told me at least six times just this morning.
“Why don’t you go get the car started, dear?” Dad suggested to Mum, his smile gentle and mischievous. That was Dad through and through; his cherubic appearance made him look sweet and soft, but he had a wicked side of inherited too. “You know you’re a far better driver than I’ll ever be.”
Mum’s low laugh set me at ease faster than her hug had. “Damn right, I am.”
She took the keys from the solid oak sideboard and gave my shoulder one last squeeze before she skipped down the steps to the car, more eager for today than I’d ever been. Andshewasn’t even the one being inundated with adoring men.
Dad craned his neck to make sure she’d gone and then leant close, a determined gleam in his sharp red eyes. He’d been turned at twenty-two years old, but there was no mistaking that he was a father when he looked at me like that—light and serious all at once.
“I know you’re a modern woman, Roxie, and I know you don’t follow the same social rules that your mum and I did. So there’s a box of condoms in your bedside drawer.”
I groaned, backing down the hall with my hands lifted to ward off his words, light catching on the beading of my red sleeves like a deadly solar flare. “That’s not necessary, Dad. Really.”
“I just want you to be safe, Roxie. And I’m not too ancient a relic to not realise that people are having sex before marriage these days.”
My face went even redder, making me the epitome of a blushing virgin. “I don’t—have any plans—”
“Well, just in case.” He crossed the hall and pressed a kiss to my temple, drawing back after a second to catch my eyes. “Don’t let them boss you around, and don’t hesitate to speak up when the moment calls for it.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling, face soft with affection. “I know you’ll make us proud. You always have.”
I withheld a groan as he poked at my insecurity without realising it. “What if I mess up like Piers?”
