"You're a playboy."
Chapter Twelve
Shit. Gregori sat back and adjusted his cuff links. There was no mistaking the censure in Abigail's voice, which meant there were now two points against him: vampire and playboy. No wonder she kept scooting down the booth. She expected him to either bite her or ravish her.
He'd figured Pru and her friend were up to no good. They had their own agenda, obviously, and that included scaring Abigail away from him. He'd heard them talking as he'd approached the table.
He took a sip of Bleer and set the glass down. "Just for the record, I've never had sex on the ceiling."
Abigail stiffened and her cheeks turned pink. "It's none of my business." She ventured a glance his way. "Is that true?"
"Yes. Did those ladies claim that I slept with them?"
"No." She shook her head, and her blush deepened. "But they want to. Along with hundreds of others."
"Hundreds?" He tried not to laugh. "I'm not much of a playboy, am I, if I've neglected to sleep with hundreds of willing victims?"
She tilted her head, considering. "That would depend on how large a pool of volunteers you started off with."
He lifted his eyebrows. Did she think he was operating in the thousands? "Well, thank God I'm with a scholar. I'm sure you can devise a formula for determining the correct number."
She frowned at him. "It's none of my business."
"No, it's not." He gulped down the last of his Bleer.
She drank some of her soda.
So he hadn't been a saint. She had no right to judge him. He clunked his empty glass onto the table. "After about five thousand or so, I stopped counting."
She gasped. "Fivethousand?"
He glowered at her. "I was kidding."
"It's not amusing."
"I'm not laughing." He leaned toward her. "Why are you so prickly all of a sudden? Are you jealous?"
She snorted. "Jealous of what?"
"Five thousand make-believe lovers."
She lifted her chin. "If you must know why I'm upset, it's because I have serious doubts you can be trusted. I don't want to be left abandoned in the middle of China while you take off chasing women."
"China? Is that where we're going?"
"We aren't going anywhere. I'll have to report to my father that you're not suitable."
Shit. He loosened his tie. The personal insult was bad enough, but he had too many Vamps depending on him to make sure the alliance with the president went through.
He twisted to face Abigail, resting one arm across the back of the booth and the other along the table. "You judge me guilty without a trial? Where's your evidence? How many women here have I slept with?"
She shrugged.
"The answer is none," he continued before she could answer. "If you don't believe me, call them over and ask them yourself."
"You would have slept with Prunella Culpepper if you had more time."
"How do you know that?"
"You told her the sun was setting in thirty minutes, and you needed the entire night to worship and pleasure someone as beautiful as her."
He snorted. "That was a rejection line. I turned her down."
"Because you only had thirty minutes."
"I'd take thirty minutes with you!" He froze. What the hell was he saying? She looked equally shocked, her pretty eyes wide and her soft lips parted. It had been so long since he'd kissed a mortal. Her lips would be warmer than a Vamp's. Sweeter.
"Well, don't you two look cozy?" an amused voice asked.
Gregori shifted to face front and gave Phineas an annoyed look. Abigail attempted to scoot farther away from him, but since his arm was stretched along the back of the booth, he grabbed on to her shoulder and blocked her movement. She nudged him in the side with her elbow.
"I'm having a great time!" Madison grinned as she sat down. "Dr. Phang is a wonderful dancer."
"You're pretty hot yourself." Phineas winked at her. "You make the other chicks look half dead."
Madison laughed, then beamed a smile at her sister and Gregori. "I'm glad you two are getting along. Dad will be so relieved."
"Be sure and tell him that," Gregori said with a smile that only wavered slightly when Abigail nudged him harder in the ribs.
"I'm going to get something to drink," Phineas said. "Anybody want something from the bar?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Abigail murmured.
"Me too." Madison took a long drink from her martini.
"I'll take another Bleer," Gregori said.
Phineas nodded and strode toward the bar.
Madison set her martini glass down and gave him a confused look. "Did you say beer?"
"Bleer. Half blood, half beer," Gregori explained. "It's part of Vampire Fusion Cuisine. We call it VFC for short."
"VFC?" Madison's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, that's like KFC, but for vampires." She giggled. "You guys are so funny."
Gregori smiled. "We aim to please."
Abigail turned toward him an inquisitive look. "Is there a lab that comes up with this stuff?"
He nodded. "Romatech Industries."
Her eyes widened. "The lab that invented synthetic blood?"
"Yes. That's where I work."
She blinked. "You have a job?"
He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. "You think I spend my entire life partying?"
"So are all the Vamps here drinking Bleer?" Madison asked as she peered around the room.
"They could be drinking a number of things," Gregori explained. "Straight synthetic blood in their favorite blood type or something like Chocolood, chocolate-flavored synthetic blood."
Madison grinned. "Oooh. If I was a vampire, that's what I would drink."
Gregori smiled. "It's very popular among the ladies. And for those who overindulge, we can help them shed a few pounds with Blood Lite."
Madison laughed. "You guys are so cute." She gulped down the rest of her martini.
"Dietetic blood?" Abigail asked.
He nodded. "It has an extremely low blood sugar and cholesterol count. And then there's Bubbly Blood: half blood, half champagne, for those special vampire occasions."
Madison laughed. Even Abigail looked amused.
"And there's a new one, a favorite among the Scottish vampires - Blissky. Half blood, half - "
"Whisky?" Madison guessed.
Gregori winked at her. "You got it, Sweetcakes."
Madison giggled, then leaned toward her sister. "A vampire called me Sweetcakes."
Abigail grimaced. "I can hit him, if you like."
"Why?" Madison asked as she reached for her sister's neglected martini.
"It's embarrassing," Abigail muttered.
Madison took a sip. "It is?"
"I wasn't embarrassed," Gregori said. When Abigail shot him an irritated look, he smiled and squeezed her shoulder.
Madison drank some more and licked her lips. "Tell me some more funny vampire drinks."
"We're introducing a new one in a few weeks. Blardonnay: half blood, half - "
"Chardonnay!" Madison lifted her arms like she'd score a touchdown, then burst into giggles.
Gregori grinned. "You got it, Toots."
Abigail shuddered. "Toots?"
Her sister giggled some more, then hiccupped.
Abigail winced. "Maybe you should stop drinking."
Madison waved a dismissive hand. "I always get loopy at nightclubs. It doesn't matter. Josh won't let anything bad happen to me." She lifted her martini glass and saluted the Secret Service man who was watching her carefully from a short distance. "Love you, Josh!"
An angry look flashed over the guard's face before it returned to its usual deadpan expression.
Gregori felt a surge of sympathy for the two Secret Service men. They were babysitters just like he was.
"What do you do at Romatech?" Abigail regarded him with a hopeful look. "Are you a chemist?"
Damn, he hated to disappoint her. Again. "No. I'm vice president of marketing."
"Oh." She fiddled with her glass.
"Here's your Bleer." Phineas slid one across the table to him, then sat on the booth opposite Madison. "Cheers." He clinked his glass against Madison's martini glass.
"Bottoms up!" Madison downed the rest of her drink.