My Wicked Vampire Read Free

“You’re right, of course. I have more serious things to think about than a woman who grows plants that feed on sexual energy.” He exhaled wearily. “I’m considering retirement, Sparkle.”
    Sparkle sighed as though Holgarth was heading down a well-worn path. “You just won’t let it go. Get this through your head: Ike wasn’t your fault. This was a hurricane so huge it almost filled the Gulf of Mexico. Even you can’t stop a force of nature that massive. You did what you could.”
    “That’s precisely the point. I couldn’t do enough. I saved the castle, but I couldn’t help Bolivar Peninsula.” Holgarth closed his eyes as if in pain. “I couldn’t save the Balinese Room. All wiped away.” He shook his head. “I heard Frank Sinatra sing at the Balinese Room.” His hat slid to the side, but he didn’t straighten it. “It was my pride. I thought I could do it all. I should have called in Ganymede to help. I’m too old, too weak to carry on my duties as the castle’s wizard.”
    Okay, this was officially too far out there even for Cinn. This guy wasn’t joking. He thought he was a real wizard. She wondered about the contract she’d signed. Maybe she should’ve read it a little more closely. Was there an escape clause?
    Sparkle reached across the table to put her hand over his. “Of course you’re not too old. The castle would be so much less…dynamic without you.”
    From the little she’d seen, Cinn thought the castle would do a happy dance if Holgarth left. But that was just her.
    Holgarth opened his eyes. “No, you’re not changing my mind. Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin interviewing possible replacements—a nearly impossible task—for my job.” Pushing his chair back, he stood, wrapped his robe more tightly around him, and swept from the room.
    Sparkle turned troubled eyes Cinn’s way. “Hurricane Ike devastated him as well as Galveston Island. Before the storm he was so secure in his power.” She sounded like she actually believed all the wizardry talk. “Now he’s just a shadow of his former self. Would you believe that you’re the first person he’s worked up the energy to insult since the storm?”
    “Yay for me.” Cinn didn’t know if Sparkle heard hermuttered sarcasm, because her boss was already standing to leave.
    “Well, the intros didn’t go exactly as planned.” She guided Cinn out to the hotel lobby and toward the door that would lead to the castle’s great hall. Sparkle held the door open for her.
    Cinn marveled at how guests could step back in time just by passing through this door. Behind it was an authentic-looking great hall complete with a massive fireplace, a long banquet table set on a dais, and stone walls covered with tapestries and ancient weapons, among other things. Customers could really get into their fantasies here. She knew from the brochure left in her room that several other areas of the castle were also reserved for fantasy sessions. Cinn hadn’t been here long enough to explore anything but her room, the castle’s restaurant, and Sparkle’s Wicked Fantasy club.
    But as exciting as everything around her was, Cinn’s common sense was telling her there was something really weird going on. She needed to find somewhere else to work with her plants. “You know, now that I’ve had time to think, I’ve decided that maybe this job might not be the perfect fit for me.”
    Sparkle didn’t seem surprised. “Look, I know the guys didn’t make a great first impression, but I want you to meet one last manager. Then if you want out of your contract, you can give me the usual two-weeks’ notice.”
    “Two weeks?” Not good. “I can still send you my plants no matter where I go, so why can’t I just leave? I know you spent money on the greenhouse, but I can pay for that.” Eventually. With many, many monthly payments.
    “I’ve already put you on the castle’s list of attractions. I’ll need time to replace you.” Sparkle attempted to