She pressed a hand against her thundering heart. “His eyes turned red! Glowing and red!”
“Really?” Madison glanced at Gregori, still pinned underneath Josh.
“I wasn’t going to bite you.” Gregori frowned at Abigail, his eyes returning to their usual grayish-green.
“His eyes were red?” Simone asked. “Impossible!”
“I saw it,” Abigail whispered. She’d been a fool to let herself be attracted to a vampire, to think that he might want her for anything other than a snack.
“Abby, I can explain,” Gregori told her, then glared at Josh. “Get off me! I could teleport away. Or throw you across the room.”
Josh didn’t budge. “I can’t allow you to hurt her.”
“I’m not going to hurt her!” Gregori shouted.
“It’s true!” Maggie said as she stepped onto the set. “When a vampire’s eyes turn red, it doesn’t mean hunger. He wasn’t going to bite her.”
“That’s right.” Phineas gave Abigail an encouraging smile. “Chillax, dudette. He didn’t want to bite you.”
She wondered if she’d overreacted. “He didn’t?”
“Naw.” Phineas smirked. “He just wanted to jump your bones.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Phineas,” Gregori growled. “Let me handle this.”
“I think you’ve scared her enough,” Maggie told him, then turned to Abigail. “I’m sorry you were needlessly frightened. I would have warned you if I had known Gregori would . . . react like that.”
Abigail nodded, still stunned. She didn’t know what to say, but a whirlwind of thoughts kept circling in her mind. He wants you. A vampire wanted her. A playboy was attracted to her. It wasn’t political. It wasn’t an act. He actually wanted her.
Gregori pushed at Josh. “Will you get off me now?”
Josh slowly straightened. “I’m watching you. Keep a distance from her.”
He scrambled to his feet. “I am not going to hurt her.”
“No, definitely not,” Maggie agreed. “The fact that his eyes turned red proves that he has . . . developed tender feelings toward her.”
Phineas snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”
Gregori shot him a warning look.
He shrugged. “Don’t give me the evil eye. You were the one about to star in an X-rated porno flick.”
Abigail gasped. He wanted her that badly?
“Oh my God,” Madison breathed.
Gregori glared at Phineas. “Don’t you know when to shut up?”
Phineas grinned. “We could call it Undressed by the Undead. Or Debbie Does the Undead.”
“Enough!” Gregori yelled.
“C’est impossible!” Simone marched onto the set. “Gregori cannot desire a woman. He is gay!”
Abigail blinked. What?
Gregori spun toward the French model. “I am not gay!”
“Of course you are! You refused to sleep with me. You must be gay.”
He clenched his fists, then released them. “Simone, the truth is . . . I didn’t want you.”
She gasped. “How can you say that? It is an honor to share my bed!”
“I’m sure all your lovers felt extremely honored. I just didn’t want to be number five hundred and sixty-three.”
She huffed. “I see how you are. You were afraid! You thought I would give you a bad ranking in my journal.”
“I don’t like to be judged,” Gregori told her, then glanced at Abigail. “By anyone.”
She winced. She’d judged him unfairly, assuming he was a playboy just because Pru and Constanza had made him sound that way. He obviously didn’t sleep with every woman who wanted him. He’d refused Prunella and the model Simone. He didn’t want them.
But he wants you. She swallowed hard. At last, a man who desired her as much as she desired him. The attraction was mutual.
But impossible.
Simone stalked up to Gregori. “I am the most beautiful woman on earth, but you prefer that”—she glanced at Abigail with a sneer—“that mortal to me?”
“Yes.”
“You bastard!” Simone slapped him so hard he stumbled to the side. “I will never star in a commercial for you again!” She teleported away.
“Good riddance!” the director shouted. “Now we can finally do a decent commercial.”
The crew cheered and applauded.
Abigail watched Gregori as he rubbed his jaw. “Are you all right?” It looked like Simone had walloped him with super vampire strength. He glanced at her, and her heart stuttered. He hadn’t hesitated to confess his attraction to her.
He stepped toward her. “Abby, can we talk somewhere in private?”