Once Burned

"One is fine. I'll look forward to it," he said, smiling. He had dimples and they made his rugged features look younger, making me guess he was my age when he was changed over. Then he turned to Vlad, bowed, and left.

Silence fell on the dining room, broken only by the crackling sounds from the triple fireplace that took up the wall behind Vlad. I stared at him, silently assuring him that he'd made a huge mistake.

Finally, Vlad spoke, but it wasn't to me.

"You may serve dinner now."

The room was suddenly filled with half a dozen attendants, each bearing a large domed platter that had delicious scents emitting from it. But although the food they uncovered and placed on the table looked even better than it smelled, oddly enough, I was no longer hungry.

Chapter 13

I'd figured Maximus would be prompt, and I was right. As soon as the clock struck one, a knock sounded on the door.

I opened it, forcing a smile even though that was the last thing I felt like doing. Despite the bed being the softest, most comfortable one I'd ever lain on, I'd hardly slept and my whole body felt sore. All the various scrapes, bumps, and bruises over the past few days must've caught up with me. Add that to disturbing dreams I had the few times I did fall asleep, and I was in a miserable mood.

Some of that must have shown on my face, because Maximus's smile faded as he looked closely at me.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a little groggy. Guess I had too many things on my mind to get a good night's sleep."

"It might be the altitude," he offered, though the faint furrow in his forehead told me he wasn't sold on my excuse. "It can make humans feel very tired until they're acclimated to it."

His "humans" comment didn't faze me. After living for years with Marty, I was used to it.

"Must be it," I said, putting more effort into my smile.

The slight flaring of his nostrils told me it worked. "You look lovely," he said, voice deepening as his gaze moved over me with more than concern this time.

"Thank you." I ran a hand through my hair, letting a swath fall over the scar by reflex. "You look good, too. Very GQ."

I wasn't lying. He wore a crew-neck navy sweater that looked like it was woven from silk, and his black pants were dressy yet casual. Add that to his great height, attractively hewn features, and thick, muscular build, and he'd make most feminine hearts flutter.

Most, but not mine. I appreciated him taking care with his appearance, but I didn't feel any spark when I looked at him. If my hormones could've been hooked up to a machine, only a flat line would have registered. You're tired, I reassured myself. Maybe Maximus was right about the altitude messing with me.

The altitude didn't stop you from lusting over Vlad yesterday, a dark little voice taunted.

I ignored it. I was tired, that was all. Soon, I'd be thinking half a dozen sleazy thoughts about Maximus. Hell, I might even act on some of those thoughts.

"Shall we?" he asked, drawing my attention back to him.

I'd show that egotistical Romanian prince he was nothing special. "Absolutely."

"Where would you like your tour to begin?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Wherever you want."

"Let's start at the beginning," Maximus said as led me down the ornate hallway. "This was originally a monastery built back in the fifteenth century."

"This house is a former church?" I asked in disbelief.

"Monasteries were more than that back then," he replied, gesturing to the huge windows we came to. "They were also strategic strongholds. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was trying to invade Western Europe, and Romania was one of the countries in its way."

"So that explains the high walls and lookout towers," I said musingly before adding, "And they're still used today."

"Vlad has enemies," Maximus replied, slanting a look at me.

I snorted. "Yeah, I noticed after I was kidnapped by them."

"This wasn't where he lived when he was prince," Maximus went on, leading me past the parlor to the staircase. "He didn't move in here until the seventeenth century. The walls and monastery were practically in ruins, but he restored them. Built the third and fourth levels of the house on top of them, as well as added new amenities to the first and second floors."

"Like the indoor garden?" I asked jokingly.

Maximus grinned. "Shrapnel insisted on that. He's a horticulturist at heart, but he'd never admit it."

The huge vampire Marty had described as "creative" in his torture techniques secretly liked to play with plants?

"What other surprises do you have in store?" I asked, adding dryly, "Let me guess: You're the real Roman commander that Russell Crowe portrayed in Gladiator."

He chuckled, running his hand along my arm and not drawing away at the currents that flowed into him.

"No, but with the right incentive, you could get me to wear that short leather skirt and pretend to be."

His tone was light, yet underneath was a tinge of sensuality. I might not be thinking any naughty thoughts on this date yet-dammit!-but Maximus was letting me know he was.

"Tell me more about the restoration process," I said, wondering why I didn't feel so much as a twitch at the thought of kinky role playing with Maximus. "Were you around back then?"

If he was disappointed at how I'd changed the subject back to the house, he didn't show it.

"Oh yes. I was in charge of the rebuilding, in fact. By then I'd been with Vlad for centuries and he trusted me to make sure everything was completed while he was off in Slovenia . . ."

Three hours later, my head was whirling. Maximus took me through the first three floors, which were staggeringly huge. Vlad's house was also littered with enough priceless artifacts to make any museum curator weep with envy. Forget the tapestries, portraits, furnishings, and various jewel-studded objects-the Weapons Room was like walking back in time. It had armor, chain mail, swords, shields, and various other items of war, many with the Dracul family standard or the Order of the Dragon emblazoned on them.

I kept my right hand plastered to my side when Maximus showed me that room. I knew these had been used in battle; the dents and scratches were mute testimony to that. It almost seemed like the room gave off a pulse from all the essence-heavy items in it.

Despite my interest, I felt steadily worse as the day wore on. By the time Maximus brought me back to my room, I was so tired and achy that all I wanted to do was sleep. Maybe my brain was overwhelmed from everything I'd learned, and the lack of a decent sleep was catching up with me.