Page 4 of Top Secret Vampire

He didn’t cringe—or even look her way, for that matter—which sparked my curiosity. If a cross didn’t bother him, what other vampire lore might be incorrect?

“I assume you’re Wolfram?” I strode over to him and held out my hand. “I’m Reese Hamilton, your new client.”

He stared down at my hand for a long time before reaching out to take it in his own.

When he suddenly dropped to his knees, I gaped at him, my lips twitching.

Reylor grinned. Hannah frowned.

Tracy took stuttering breaths while Wolfram leaned over to kiss the back of my hand. He gazed up at me with a look I couldn’t define.

Heat flared deep inside me at his touch. I hadn’t felt attraction for someone for such a long time, I could barely remember when. I’d lived in an apartment in New York City. Food delivery was my best friend. I wrote during the day and made myself work out for exercise each night. I didn’t get out much, let alone date much. At all, actually. It has been so longsince my girly parts had seen action, they must assume there was a drought of biblical proportions.

“If you’ll come this way.” Wolfram rose to his feet and gestured to the hallway. “We can begin.”

“Sure thing.” I walked beside him down the hall. “Does anyone call you Wolf for short?”

“It’sWolfram,” he intoned in a growly voice that made everything inside me throb. “Wolfram Xavier Vladimir Zegrath, if you would be so kind.”

“Whoa, that’s . . .” A mouthful. “If it’s okay to ask you a personal question, do you drink blood?” A woman needed to know stuff like this if she was going to work closely with someone.

“I’m avampire, my dear,” he drawled, his intent gaze on my face. “We all drink blood.” He had black eyes. I’d never seen eyes that color before, but I liked them. They were like a deep, dark pool of mystery, and I was a sleuth eager to delve into his secrets.

“Not to be unkind, but you sound a bit stuffy,” I said. While cute, this guy was a walking vampire cliché, from his starched white shirt to his raven-wing hair and eyes. If this was Halloween, he wouldn’t need a costume.

“I’m anythingbutstuffy,” he said.

“Vladimir, huh?” I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Don’t you find that a bit of a cliché?”

Pausing, he blinked down at me. “Why would I?”

“Vampire. Vladimir?” My low laugh rang out, and I swore he shuddered, which made my girly bits slump. It looked like the long drought would continue. “I mean . . .” I flicked the edge of his cape and leaped up to tap his bow tie. “Cliché.”

“I am not a cliché.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” I took his hand and squeezed it.

This time, there was no mistaking it. A shiver ripped through him, transferring itself up my arm.

Wolfram stiffened his spine and smoothed his face. “As for the name Vladimir, I’m older than Dracula. One might even sayhecopiedme.”

“Oh.” My mouth formed a circle. “How old are we talking about here?”

“Veryold.” He waved for me to enter his office, and I sashayed past him, hoping he was staring at my ass.

I wasn’t sure why my heart had perked up for this man alone, but I was eager to find out.

And where had my avoiding dating resolution gone?

It had flown out the window—with a bat. Ha.

“Wait. Wait!” Tracy scurried down the hall after us and scooted inside Wolfram’s office before he could shut the door.

“Please, have a seat,” he said smoothly.

My skin tingled, and he was only stating something general, not . . . telling me to remove my clothing. Bare my neck for his fangs.

My inner wannabe vampiress needed to chill out. This was a business arrangement, not a dating app hook-up.

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