Read Online Drawn to the Vampire (Blood and Absinthe, Book 4) by Chloe Hart - Free Book Online

of musical quality to it. It wasn’t hard to imagine being seduced by a man with a voice like that.
    Kit frowned. This was a man who treated women so cavalierly that one of them had actually cursed him. She didn’t want to think any aspect of him could be seductive.
    “Character points for the cloak, by the way,” she said flippantly. “Bram Stoker meets Bela Lugosi, with a little Nosferatu thrown in for good measure.”
    “You do that when you’re nervous, you know.”
    “Do what?”
    “Make sarcastic remarks. Do I make you nervous, Kit?”
    “No,” she said firmly.
    Luke chuckled again. “You’re a bad liar,” he said, a teasing note in his voice. She almost smiled at him, but she caught herself in time and pursed her lips disapprovingly instead.
    Kit turned back to the ocean and Luke continued to stand beside her, the two of them watching the waves crash in. They listened to the wild music of the sea for several minutes, the silence between them oddly companionable.
    “How did you know where to find me?” she asked eventually.
    “I followed my nose.”
    She wrinkled her own at that. “Huh?”
    “Vampire senses, Kit. You have a very distinct scent. I could follow you anywhere.”
    That was on the disturbing side. Kit wasn’t sure she liked the idea of the vampire tracking her like a predator.
    “A distinct scent,” she said quickly. “Is that a polite way of telling me I stink? I really do need a shower and a change of clothes. I’m sure you’ve got a shower somewhere, but I don’t have anything to wear besides what I have on. I didn’t even pack a bag when I got on the plane yesterday. I suppose I ought to do some shopping…”
    “Can you wait a few more hours? You’ll be able to take care of all of that where we’re going.”
    “Really. And where’s that?”
    “Paris.”
    “Paris?”
    “Paris.”
    “The land of the dead is in Paris?”
    Once again she detected a smile within the depths of his hood.
    “Not exactly,” he said. “But there’s a portal there, in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.”
    “I’ve heard of it. Isn’t Oscar Wilde buried there? And Chopin?”
    “Among others.”
    “How will we travel?”
    “By plane.”
    “Oh. From London?”
    Luke shook his head. “There’s a private airfield not far from here. I’ve arranged for a small jet to fly us to France.”
    Kit raised her eyebrows. “A private jet? Very impressive. Maybe the women who fawn over you aren’t so dumb. Apparently you’re rich as well as good-looking.”
    Another faint smile. “One of the advantages to living forever is that you have plenty of time to meet wealthy and important people. The man whose plane we’ll be using is one of those. He owes me a favor.”
    “I probably don’t want to know what that is, do I?”
    “Nothing to shock your innocence. I catalogued his rare book collection.”
    “Hm. You’re a man of many talents, Mr. Cadris. So when are we leaving?”
    “Now, if you like. I’ve made all the arrangements. We can take your rental car and leave it at the airfield. I’ve hired someone to drive it back to London for you.”
    “Wow. You really think of everything, don’t you? Are you sure you can just…up and leave like this? Your Vice-Chancellor doesn’t mind?”
    He shrugged. “Merton wasn’t exactly thrilled, but he’s used to me by now. Once in a while I get restless and take a trip somewhere. He’ll need to take a couple of lectures for me, but there are only a few days left before the end of term.”
    “Did you tell him why you were leaving?”
    “No. He had a bee in his bonnet last night about some vision he’d had, something about a mysterious female stranger. So I decided not to tell him that I’m leaving because of a mysterious female stranger. He thinks I’m going to Prague to do some research.”
    “Oh. But what if you—”
    At that moment a tiny wavelet broke at her feet, leaving behind a small white shell on the damp sand. Kit stooped to pick it up,