Enticed By Blood: A Sweetblood World Vampire Romance Read Free Page B

tried to regain control of her roiling stomach. Andre had been telling her he wasn’t married, then, without warning, he’d swept her into his arms and ran so fast it had made her head spin. She couldn’t even say how they got through the wrought iron gate surrounding the courtyard, because, suddenly, they were just here.
    “What…happened?” she gasped.
    He stared into the darkness as if he expected the boogie man to jump out, then he jerked open the leaded glass door and shoved her inside.
    A shiver ran down her spine when she noticed his eyes. They looked so...strange. Unlike most people when you move from the dark into the light, his pupils were huge, eclipsing all but the thinnest ring of his golden irises.
    “Andre, please, you're scaring me. What is going on?” Something out there had spooked him and she wanted to know why.
    “I’ll explain later, but I have to take care of a few things first.”
    As he spoke to a guy behind the front desk, she stood there, dripping wet and numb, and looked around.
    Overhead was a large crystal chandelier hanging from the second story coved ceiling. A baby grand piano stood opposite a small women’s boutique, and high backed chairs were scattered around the brocade carpet in several seating groups. Plastic blocked off the arched hallways on either side of the front desk, reminding her that the place was undergoing renovations. She wondered if there were even any guests here.
    Andre soon disappeared, leaving her to follow the hotel clerk upstairs.
    A few minutes later, she stood in the middle of a suite located in a private wing on the third floor. Somewhere along the line, she’d been given a thick towel, so she absently blotted her wet hair.
    Given the men’s running shoes in the corner, a copy of Le Monde on the bed, and the faint hint of Andre’s cologne in the air, this was not a normal guest room. It was his own personal suite.
    He expected her to stay with him.
    Before she could decide whether she was okay with these arrangements or not, a woman from housekeeping showed up at the door with toiletries and several changes of clothes, including pajamas.
    “That was fast,” Juliette said, reaching into her handbag for a tip.
    The woman shook her head. “Thank you, but Mr. Lescarbeau has taken care of everything. He left instructions saying if the clothes don’t fit to please call down and we’ll send up something else.”
    It sounded like he expected to be gone for a while, which was hard to imagine in this storm. “Did he…ah…say when he’d be back? I…um…didn’t get a chance to ask him.”
    “No, ma’am.” The woman reached for the door and hesitated. “When Mr. Lescarbeau goes out like this, he doesn’t come back for quite a little while.”
    Juliette wanted to know if he did this often, but she was struck with a different thought. “How long have you worked for him?”
    The woman had a faraway look in her eyes. “Oh, let’s see. About ten years, I suppose.”
    A long time. Juliette nodded and bit her lip. “Can I ask you a question that may seem a little…unusual?”
    With a grin that lit up her whole face, the woman crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her ample bosom. “I’ve seen a lot of unusual in my day. Both my grandmother and mother practiced the voodoo arts. Nothing surprises me.”
    The housekeeper’s demeanor was non-judgmental, so Juliette continued. “Has Mr. Lescarbeau ever been…married?” She hoped to God the answer wasn’t, “ Oh yes. In fact, he’s married now. ”
    “Not to my knowledge,” the woman replied, shaking her head.
    Relief rushed over her. So he had been telling the truth. But why had he left San Francisco without even a goodbye in the first place? And tonight, when she’d made several references to him having a wife, why had he not corrected her?
    The housekeeper was looking at her with an expression Juliette could not decipher. “That is not such a strange question, dearie.”
    Juliette waited