Sexiest Vampire Alive(61)
“The government would definitely say we doona exist,” Angus growled. “And then they would secretly come after us and drain us all dry.”
“They would become an enemy instead of an ally,” Roman concluded.
Angus gulped down a swallow of Bleer. “I know ye doona like it, lad, but ye did the right thing.”
Gregori sighed. He still felt guilty.
“Do you know any more about the mission she wants to go on?” Roman asked.
“She mentioned to Laszlo that she was looking for some plants in the Yunnan province of China.”
Roman’s eyes widened. “That’s where I got the—”
“Yes, I know, for the Stay-Awake drug,” Gregori interrupted. “Laszlo told her about it. Of course, she doesn’t remember that now.”
Roman nodded. “I’m not surprised she wants to go there. It’s extremely biodiverse. Over two thousand plants are endemic to the area.”
“And I can understand why her father wants the trip to remain secret,” Angus said as he rose to his feet. “I’ll put together some plans. Stop by the security office later tonight.” He strode from the office, the bottle of Bleer in his hand.
“Where is she now?” Roman asked.
“In the cafeteria, eating a gourmet meal,” Gregori replied. “I’ll take her to my office in about ten minutes. You can meet her there.”
“All right.” Roman sipped some Bleer. “You’re doing very well, Gregori.”
He balled his fists. “If she ever finds out—”
“We’ll make sure she doesn’t.”
“I feel like an ass, especially when I keep trying to convince her I’m trustworthy.”
“You are trustworthy. You have thousands of Vamps trusting you to keep them safe.”
Gregori sighed. “I guess the needs of the many outweigh the needs of one.” Even if he was falling for the one.
He strode back to the cafeteria. Roman and Angus had both confirmed he’d done the right thing, but he still felt guilty. She didn’t remember going to a lab, but he suspected that on some subconscious level, she remembered the kiss. She kept looking at his mouth.
Did that mean she wanted to kiss him? Could he be that lucky? He’d admitted last night that he was attracted to her, but he still didn’t know how she felt about him.
He did know how she felt about mind control. Her words came back to taunt him. If someone messed with my mind, I’d want to kill him, too.
He jammed a hand into his pocket to squeeze his stress ball, but it was empty. Oh, right. He’d given it to her.
He stopped with a jerk.
Shit. He adjusted his tie. If the ball caused any trouble, he’d bluff his way through.
Back in the cafeteria, the chef had taken a seat at the table with the ladies, and they were all eating and drinking wine while Charles sat at another table, eating and watching.
The chef gave him an annoyed look. “You did not tell me I would be cooking for ze president’s daughter,” he said with a French accent. “I would have made many more dishes.”
Abigail smiled and touched her stomach. “I’m so full. I couldn’t have eaten any more. And it was all fabulous. Thank you.”
“Yes,” Radinka agreed. “It was superb. Thank you.”
The chef inclined his head. “You are most welcome. And if you ever need a guest chef at the White House, you will remember me, non?” When Abigail nodded, he slapped his hands together and grinned. “Merveilleux!”
“We need to go to my office now,” Gregori told Abigail. “Roman will meet you there.”
“You go on without me.” Radinka stood and gave Abigail a hug. “I’ll see you later, my dear.” She sat back down and poured more wine into her glass. “It’s not often I get a night off.”
As they walked toward Gregori’s office, Charles followed about ten feet behind. Gregori glanced back at him, wondering how he could get rid of their shadow. Mind control would be the easiest solution, but he didn’t want Abigail to see that.
She leaned close and whispered, “I’m afraid your mom thinks we’re dating.”
“Is that all?” He gave her a wry look. “I’m surprised she didn’t pick out names for all five of our children.”
“Five? She only mentioned two.” Abigail blushed.
Gregori chuckled. “Don’t let her get to you. She’s been trying to marry me off for years.”
“You . . . were never tempted?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to be free. No worries, no responsibility.”
“No debt?”
He shot a look at her. “She told you about that?”