Date with a Vampire Read Online Free Page A

Wear it till you come back.” Ann draped it around Melody’s neck and clasped it shut. “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because we were talking about cannibals, but it’ll make me happy knowing you’ll have it on.”
    Melody hugged Ann tightly. She couldn’t have asked for a more considerate friend. And she had to admit, she was beginning to feel a bit better.
    — : : —
    Blakesley’s intent stare was disconcerting. “I do believe I’ve come to like your new look, sir.”
    Guystof gingerly touched his newly cropped, spiky hair. He’d worn it shoulder-length for hundreds of years, and the gelled hairdo felt unnatural. Perhaps stepping out of his seventeenth-century comfort zone wouldn’t be as easy as he’d anticipated. Certainly he didn’t look forward to donning his modern attire. Cargo pants and Birkenstocks lay at the opposite end of the fashion spectrum from his customary Armani ensembles.
    The first thing he’d done after arriving in New York City was to update his appearance. That meant a shopping spree through Bergdorf Goodman and an appointment with Dominick, the city’s premier hairstylist. A necessary evil if he was to become one of the bachelors on Dream Girl . And his transformation had done the trick. The producers’ decision to choose him had been unanimous. He’d left Tristate Studios with a plane ticket for Fiji.
    Guystof had one day to perfect his image; then he was off to a tropical island paradise to meet the woman he needed to make fall in love with him. That would be quite a task. He knew nothing of modern American women, but he knew one thing: he’d have to be comfortable in his own skin if he was to succeed. And that meant getting used to jeans. With a tug at his crotch, he pulled his pants down a bit and let out a sigh of relief. Denim would take some getting used to.
    Guystof walked over to the window and looked out at the vast array of skyscrapers—all glass and steel sparkling like giant crystals. The view from the forty-second floor of the New York Hilton was spectacular.
    The bright afternoon sun warmed his face, and he smiled. No need to hide from its rays now. He twisted the gold crested ring he wore on his right hand. Beneath the LeBreque shield was a tiny vial given to him by Blakesley. It held enough potion to keep him human for the duration of the show. One drop daily was all he needed to suppress his hunger for blood. He could do all the things mortals could, and that included enjoying the sunlight. But, as with anything that seemed too good to be true, there were drawbacks. Too much of the potion could be disastrous. Its side effects were unknown. Ambrus, his grandfather and a very fine sorcerer, had conjured the potion back in the sixteenth century in the hopes of reversing the curse that had turned his family into vampires, but he was burned at the stake before he’d finished testing it. Luckily, he’d entrusted it to Blakesley for safekeeping.
    Guystof couldn’t worry about the potion’s dangers now. This was his only opportunity to compete with the other bachelors on an even playing field. Being a vampire had too many disadvantages. And if he hoped to win, he had to appear as human as the next guy.
    Guystof turned his back to the sun and looked across the room to his companion. He would miss the old man. Although Blakesley couldn’t accompany him on his trip, he might be able to serve him in other ways. “Keep an eye on Theo, will you?”
    Blakesley chuckled. “Don’t trust your brother?”
    “I’d be a fool if I did.”
    “No need to worry, sir. You can count on me.”
    Guystof crossed the room in three long strides. He stood beside Blakesley and clamped his hand on the old man’s shoulder. “I know I can. You know as well as I how important this game is.”
    — : : —
    When the white stretch limo sent by Tristate Studios to take Melody to the airport parked in front of her townhouse, it seemed like the whole neighborhood lined up on the sidewalk