A Vampire's Honor by Carla Susan Smith Read Free Book Online

Vienna.” That I would have liked to have seen—or maybe not. “He thought I might want to thank him for his generosity by making love on them.”
    â€œOh Jeez,” I muttered under my breath.
    â€œExactly. It took him two days to realize I wasn’t going to speak to him again until he got rid of them all.”
    â€œI’m surprised it took him that long,” I blurted out.
    â€œSo was I, but thankfully he did. And then he explained that this was how he had pampered the last woman he had been with—”
    â€œThe last one?” Despite what she’d just told me, I’d assumed Anasztaizia was the only woman in the big guy’s life. The only one with any meaning at least.
    â€œAleksei is over three hundred years old,” she said softly, patiently. “He had other women before me. This particular one was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge. I think she might have been painted by Lautrec, or maybe he wanted to paint her. In any case, Aleksei became jealous, and they almost broke up.”
    â€œAnd you’re okay with this?”
    â€œRowan, dahlink, she was a can-can dancer who’s been dead for over a century. What can she do to hurt me?”
    I sat back down and looked at her. She was lovely and wonderful and had fully accepted that however much time she was going to have with Aleksei, she would make the most of it.
    â€œIf it’s important to you, Rowan, then it’s important to Gabriel.” She reached over and patted my hand. “But remember, he’s a vampire, not a mind reader, and while he may be incredibly intuitive, even he needs to have things spelled out for him every now and then.”
    She was right, and I knew it. Anasztaizia made me see my problem with Gabriel from a different perspective. One that was going to let me put down some ground rules without being confrontational. “You really are the best!” I said, giving her a hug.
    â€œI’m happy to help,” she replied, handing me the rest of the Esterházy torte, which she’d boxed up.
    I had parked the Charger close to the brick wall at the far end of the alley behind the restaurant, only now I was blocked in. A black delivery van was parked behind me, and so close I had zero maneuvering room. Freaking moron! Clutching my car keys, I opened the restaurant’s back door and called Anasztaizia’s name. “You know whose van this is?” I asked as she came down the hallway, her pointy-toed Manolo Blahnik pumps clicking on the tiled floor.
    She frowned as she looked at the van and then shook her head. “Sorry, dahlink, I’ve never seen it before.”
    â€œYou think someone’s getting a delivery?”
    â€œOn a Sunday?” Her face told me that was a big no. “It’s probably someone having lunch.”
    â€œBut why park here? It’s kind of out of the way.”
    â€œPerhaps that’s reason enough. Why don’t you take my car?”
    â€œOh, I can’t do that,” I said, turning down her generosity.
    â€œWhy not? I’m going to be here for at least another two hours. By that time the van will probably be gone and I can drive your car home. If not, I can get a ride with one of my guys.” One of her guys meant any of the kitchen staff who would be working in a few hours.
    â€œYou sure you don’t mind?”
    She grinned. “Didn’t you already tell me I was the best? Let me get you the keys.”

Chapter 5
    A nasztaizia drove a red Mazda MX-5 Miata with a retractable hard top that I would have loved to have put down, but an unfamiliar car always makes me nervous. Especially when it’s someone else’s pride and joy. I thought perhaps I might indulge myself when I returned the car to her later, but right now I needed to familiarize myself with the dashboard. Leaving the hard top up was probably the reason my injuries weren’t more extensive, because I never saw the truck that