The Devil Made Me Do It by Alysha Ellis Read Free Book Online

thing, something to do with being…umm…dentally challenged, and I didn’t want to give offence. I’d be happy to sup with the short spoons from now on.”
    When Vlad handed the spoon to Jess, she smiled at him. “Do you have a lot of old and mysterious traditions here? You must have seen some astounding things in your lifetime.”
    Vlad nodded.
    “I’d love to hear about some of them, if you wouldn’t mind telling me.”
    Vlad’s lips peeled back into a cadaverous smile, revealing a pair of yellowed, triangular fangs. Jess gripped the Devil’s hand but kept her expression light and interested. After a few minutes she became so absorbed in what Vlad was telling her, she forgot his chilling appearance.
    “Do you remember that boy Abraham, Sir? The one who came to the castle and stayed with me a while?” Vlad tilted his head and smiled reminiscently. “I lost count of the, ah, girls he availed himself of. Three at a time at one point, I believe.”
    The Devil’s lips flattened. “You were too generous, Vlad. You should have let the girls turn him.”
    Vlad clasped his corpse-white hands together. “I thought we had time. He was enjoying himself so much, I never thought he’d sneak out like that.”
    The Devil’s brows drew together. “Who could predict he’d go back to England, shorten his name to Bram and make a fortune writing a tell-all exposé?”
    “Not I,” Vlad said sadly. “I paid for the error though. After his book was published, we were so overrun with young men trying to find the girls we had to leave Transylvania forever.” He turned to Jess with a sigh. “It was dreadful, people searching the castle all day, calling to each other in loud voices, we couldn’t get a wink of sleep. And the smell! These people reeked of garlic! I don’t know who was cooking for them but they’d clearly never heard of moderation.” Vlad gave a little shudder. “No point dwelling on the negatives though. Let me tell you about the vampires who have made careers as politicians.”
    He launched into a series of anecdotes, naming names. Several aspects of government economic policy began to make sense to Jess, once she understood blood sucking vampire wasn’t always a metaphor.
    When the meal was finished, they rose to go. Jess stood on tiptoe to kiss Vlad’s cheek. “Thank you. I enjoyed hearing all your stories. They were fascinating.”
    Outside, the Devil gave Jess a hug.
    She hugged him back but asked, “What was that for?”
    “For being so kind to an old man who has very few opportunities to tell his tales to someone new. Some people would have ignored him or been bored or frightened.”
    Jess shook her head. “I was…surprised for a moment, but I couldn’t have been bored. He has had such interesting experiences.”
    The Devil looked at her with gratitude. “Thank you. Many of my people have experienced lifetimes of cruelty and prejudice. You treated Vlad with respect.”
    This time the warmth Jess felt wasn’t sexual, but it was strong and compelling, flowing through her from her head to her toes. The way he said my people showed his pride and affection for them. His treatment of the young werewolf was another indication of how seriously he took his responsibilities as monarch, and Hubert’s response revealed how well he performed that role. He was such a complex, multi-faceted creature, and every new side he showed Jess increased her admiration for him, made it even harder to face the time when he would make her leave.
    “Jess, I want you to…”
    His words interrupted her thoughts, washed over her like ice. He was going to do it now. Tell her the tour was over, send her home. Even if it was only for a few minutes, she wanted a reprieve. She looked about her frantically. “What’s that place over there?”
      “Jess, I need to talk to you. There’s something important I have to say.”
    “Later. Please. Tell me later. I haven’t seen this bit of the castle, and it looks