A Taste Of A Vampire

“There have been no decisions made about what will happen to this estate,” she told him firmly. Claire set her coffee cup on the table between them and wondered if it would be rude to say that she had other things to do in order to cut their meeting short.

He smiled, and she saw him trying to read her. “That’s fine, as long as you’re well aware that if it does go up for sale, I would like to be the first to be considered as a buyer for it. I have my own estate a ways from here, and I’ve taken good care of it all of my life. I’d certainly take very good care of this one as well, as good as it always has been looked after, and I’d keep on the staff that you have. It’s best, I believe. They know the place so well.”

She felt her heart skip a beat. He had somehow hit on her biggest concern: the staff. She wondered at what he said, and felt a shimmer of relief move through her at the thought that if he did take it, she would be free of the responsibility of running it, and all the staff members who lived and worked there could stay on. It was a tempting possibility.

She bit at her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment and then looked back at him as he watched her closely. “I’ll think about that.”

“I’d be glad to get it, but I will say, I’d be very sorry to see you go. You’re the loveliest woman I’ve seen around here in a very long time. It makes me wish that you came with the house.” He winked at her and she felt a flush of pink rush to her cheeks.

He was much bolder than she had first realized, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. “I’m not for sale.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

He chuckled a little and lifted a brow. “I’m certain that you aren’t, but perhaps you’re free for supper tonight?”

A surge of adrenaline shot through her. “No, thank you, I have a lot to take care of around the house here.”

He shook his head. “You really can’t say no. First, I’m the best date to have around here—the catch of the area as it were—and second, you need to get out and see the countryside and meet some of the locals. There’s no better way to do that than to spend an evening out with me. I’ll take you for a drive and show you around, and then we’ll get some good local food, and you can meet some of the people who live around here. Don’t tell me no; come with me. Let me show you some fun.”

She wanted to say no, but he had yet again made some good points just when she was fed up with him. She did want to see the countryside and meet some of the people, and as interesting as the house and the grounds were, she had been there for three days and not left it once.

With a sigh of resignation, she gave him a nod. “All right. I concede. What time should I be ready?”

He stood up and smiled with satisfaction. “Let’s say one this afternoon. We’ll go look at some of the countryside and an old church, and then we’ll go to supper afterward.”

She rose from the sofa and bit at her lower lip again for a moment. “Should I change?”

He gazed at her body and again and shook his head slowly as his eyes took their time traveling back up to meet hers. “No, you look perfect just as you are.”

“Thank you,” she said half-heartedly. She walked to the door, sure that she was done with their meeting, whether he was or not.

Together they walked to the front door and he took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, kissing the back of it and letting his lips linger there. “Thank you. I have truly enjoyed meeting you.” He held her hand a moment longer and then finally let it go and walked out to a red sports car that was parked haphazardly in the driveway.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head, not entirely certain of what she thought or felt about him. He was far too bold, but he was honest and he had made a claim to keep the staff on if he was allowed to buy Grayson Manor. Though she hadn’t made up her mind at all about what she was doing, that had become a factor of enormous importance to her.

She spent the day perusing the house in more depth, and took some time talking to the staff. She liked getting to know them better and hearing about their lives in and around the area. It felt more like a dream that was slowly becoming real to her, than any reality she had ever known. It was surreal to her that a life and an existence such as the ones that the staff led at the grand house in the countryside even existed.

Drake picked her up later that afternoon just as he had said he would. He had showered and changed, and looked dapper in a dark suit jacket and a blue button up shirt that brought out his eyes. Claire wasn’t sure what to expect, especially when he closed the door on his sporty little red car and pulled out of the estate onto the narrow road, zipping along at a speed much higher than it was probably legal to go, but then he slowed the car down a little and laughed.

“Are you impressed?” he asked, looking over at her with a sidelong glance.

She pursed her lips and looked back at him. “Not really. Perhaps I should have mentioned that I’m from Manhattan. Middle-aged men in sports cars are as common as coffee shops on every corner.” She kept her tone even, and sounded disinterested.

His mouth twisted slightly into the shadow of a frown, but then he lifted one corner of it into a smile. “Perhaps I can show you something that isn’t likely to be common in New York.”

He chuckled then and drove along the road for a ways, until he turned off on a smaller road that wound through the countryside. He finally stopped the car and put it in park, reaching over Claire’s lap to the glove box. She still wasn’t used to sitting on the passenger’s side of the car, but it was a little less strange for her than it had been the first time she’d ridden in a car with Colin Dent.

Drake opened the glove box and pulled out two pairs of scissors and Claire looked from them to him in surprise.

“Are we shearing sheep?” she asked with a hint of curiosity.

He laughed and his blue eyes lifted to meet hers. “Not today, but if you’d like to, I can certainly arrange it.”

They got out of the car and he led her over a small stone wall into a field filled with lavender. “Should we be doing this? Isn’t this someone’s land?” she asked in annoyance, looking around them suspiciously.