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beam ceiling in 73

    frustrated disbelief. “You’re kidding me, right? When did it happen? Uh-huh. Is she okay? The doctors said what— ? Well, no wonder she fell down the stairs!
    Karl, I’ve already booked the hair and makeup person-nel and there’s no getting the deposit back on the rental space for the shoot! You know the deadlines as well as I do. There’s no way we can wait until she’s ready and still make the cutoff dates. And finding another model on such short notice is going to be impossible. . . .” Kristof paused and glanced over his shoulder at Lilith, who was pretending she wasn’t eavesdropping on his conversation.
    “Is something wrong?” Lilith asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.
    “Hold on a minute, Karl—I think I might have someone we can use. She’s a brand-new face and a natural in front of the camera! Is she pretty ? She’s an absolute knockout! She doesn’t have Gala’s Malibu Barbie vibe, but she is classy. Very classy. How about we push back the shoot a day or so? I’ll email you the pictures I’ve taken so far and you can decide whether you want to go with her or try and book another model through one of the agencies. Uh-huh. Great! I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”
    Kristof slapped the cell phone shut and turned to grin at Lilith. “That was the U.S. rep for Maison d’Ombres. Guess what? Your pal Gala dropped some 74

    acid last night and ended up at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She’s not going to be available for three months.
    Look, I realize that this is exceptionally short notice, not to mention a seriously huge leap—but I wasn’t bullshitting when I told the rep you’re a natural talent.
    Not only do you have the looks, Lili, you have the fire .
    I can see it in your eyes. You were born to be in front of the camera.”
    “You think I’m that good?” Lilith said, pretending to hesitate.
    “Princess, you are so far beyond good it’s scary ! Just tell me you’ll take the job, Lili.”
    “Okay, I’ll do it.”
    She had originally intended to use her mesmeric abilities to beguile Kristof into offering her the modeling job, but it was nice to know that she didn’t have to rely on blatant mind control in order to get what she wanted.
    Lilith couldn’t remember the last time she was so happy. The mixture of excitement and elation she was feeling was better than shopping, sex, and feeding combined. Not even looking in a mirror could compare to the rush that came from standing in front of a camera.
    But the greatest thrill of all came from pretending she was no longer Lilith Todd, super-rich vampire debutante, but Lili Graves—a girl with no fixed history and no true past, but with a world of limitless possibilities 75

    before her. As Lili Graves she was free to be whatever she wanted to be—even a human.
    How messed up was that?
    “I’m going to go get myself a drink,” Sergei announced.
    “Can I get either of you anything?”
    Jules nodded and handed him a red-stained glass.
    “Yeah, another scotch.”
    “Anything for you, comrade.” Sergei smiled crook-edly.
    Once Sergei was safely out of earshot, Carmen leaned across the divan, her green jersey halter dress providing Jules with an unobstructed view of her cleavage.
    “I thought he’d never leave,” she purred as she placed a hand on Jules’s upper thigh. He shifted about uncomfortably but did not remove her hand from his leg. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to ask you this. . . .”
    “Ask me what?”
    “What do you think, silly?” Carmen replied coquett-ishly. “Do you want to escort me to the Grand Ball?”
    “No.” The answer was as bald and blunt as a billiard ball.
    Carmen drew her hand back. The look on her face was one of utter disbelief. “ What did you just say?”
    “I said: ‘no,’ as in I do not want to escort you to the Grand Ball.”
    “But—I thought you liked me!” Carmen’s voice 76

    wavered, threatening to crack.
    “I like banging