Read Online Angel at Dawn by Emma Holly - Free Book Online Page B

put it on. As coy and pretty as any starlet, she turned just her face to him.
    “My driver’s waiting at the gate. Feel free to stop me before I get there.”
    Christian didn’t stop her, though he did admire the jiggle of her ass in the black panties. As he shut the door, he and Roy let out matching sighs. He suspected they both were wondering if Nicky was going to stroll across the hotel grounds in her underwear.
    “Wow,” Roy said. “You sure you want to send her away? I’m thinking she wasn’t lying about relishing her work.”
    “I’m thinking I don’t need the bitch queen finding more ways to get her hooks into me.”
    “Maybe you could consider it as using one hook to distract you from the other.”
    The other hook was Grace, of course. Though Roy’s words were too on the mark for comfort, Christian had to laugh at his wistfulness. “Maybe I should see if they deliver snacks for humans.”
    “Don’t think I wouldn’t,” Roy said. “I might seem old to you, but I ain’t too old for that.”
    Snickering at his own wit, Roy wandered into the kitchen to check the Frigidaire. He opened it and leaned in.
    “Well, I won’t starve,” he said dryly.
    Christian was sure Roy meant well, but his patience abruptly snapped. He was a vampire, for God’s sake. A predator to his bones. He didn’t need to be spoon-fed—or jollied out of bad moods.
    “I’m going out,” he said. “I’ll be back by daylight.”
    He waited just long enough to see Roy’s startled expression. Then he was off and whooshing through the Chateau Marmont’s sloping, tree-shaded grounds. Grace’s allure didn’t matter. The world was filled to bursting with warm and easily willing women. All Christian had to do was pick one.
     
     
    C hristian snarled in his sleep as a rough hand shook his shoulder. It couldn’t be time to get up. Every one of his limbs was lead.
    “It’s three fifteen,” Roy informed him, “and that starchy gal is bound to be early. Don’t make me douse you with ice water.”
    “ Scheisse ,” Christian hissed as he forced himself to sit up. His upper lip curled automatically, a reaction Roy wasn’t feeling kind enough to ignore.
    “Pull in your fangs, boy. The queen bitch sent you a care package.”
    Christian rubbed his face and groaned. He barely remembered stumbling in here at dawn. He’d had quite a run last night, down Sunset Boulevard and south along the coast, where he’d watched the waves crash beneath the cliffs at Point Vicente Lighthouse.
    After an hour, the sound had almost calmed him.
    “Put this on,” Roy ordered, tossing him a small container. “This’ll keep you from weaving around today like a drunk.”
    Christian stared at the object his reflexes had caught for him. “ Coppertone? ”
    “Sunscreen is what they call it. It increases the amount of time you can be out without smoking. There’s six more like it in the basket. The note says don’t be stingy when you smear it on.” Roy snapped his fingers to shock Christian’s drooping eyes back open. “Ticktock, son. Fourteen minutes and counting.”
    Christian pushed on shaky legs from the bed. Luckily for him, vampires didn’t need to shower or shave. Their energy threw off things like sweat. His jeans were where he’d dropped them, kept clean and soft as velvet by the same magic. He would have sat down again after he’d zipped them, but Roy was still standing there. With all he’d seen over the years, Christian in his glowing, glamour-free skin altogether didn’t mean much to Roy.
    “Why don’t you get that water?” Christian suggested. “I’m thirsty.”
    “Didn’t you feed?” Roy burst out in amazement. “You were gone all night!”
    “I was getting the lay of the land. I’m not going to start hunting before I know where I stand.”
    Roy opened his mouth, then gave up and shook his head. “You get a move on, and I’ll pretend I believe that.”
     
     
    G race had been having strange dreams all morning.