The Accidental Vampire (Argeneau #7)

"Shit," Victor muttered, wondering how long Lucian had been there. "Elvi, come here."

"What is it, Victor?" she asked, returning to his side, concern marring her face. No doubt a response to the panic in his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"My brother is here," he said grimly, his gaze locking with the blond immortal's eyes.

"Oh," Elvi said. "How nice, I'll get to meet your brother."

"Yes," Victor groaned. He could have waited a long time for this meeting. At least until he figured out how to present the situation here in Port Henry in the least damaging light.

"You say that like it's a bad thing for me to meet him," Elvi said with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Victor assured her dryly. "Other than the fact that we're dead once he finds out what's been going on here, everything's fine."

"Oh, you." She chuckled and gave his arm a slap, obviously thinking he was joking or exaggerating, then turned to glance out at the crowd milling around the booth. "He must be the blond who looks so like you."

Victor wasn't surprised she knew which one was Lucian. He was the only stranger to her in the crowd.

"Who is the pretty brunette with him?"

Victor turned his gaze to the petite woman in white pants and a red silk top.

"I don't know," he admitted slowly.

"How do I look, Mabel?"

Victor glanced down to see Elvi peering down at the dress she wore with alarm.

"Damn," she said unhappily. "I wish we hadn't worn these stupid Elvira dresses. Do you think I should run home and change?"

"You're always lovely," Karen assured her. "Both of you could wear potato sacks and look lovely."

"I don't know," Elvi muttered, her gaze returning to the couple now moving toward the booth. She stared at the woman's elegant clothes and then back to herself, bit her lip, and then threw her hands in the air. "I need to change!"

"If you are, I am too," Mabel announced.

"I'll drive!" Karen offered.

Victor's mouth tightened. "Elvi."

She paused and glanced back. "What?"

"You don't have time to change," he said quietly. "Besides, I want you at my side for this."

Her eyes widened slightly, and Victor took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"It will be all right," she assured him soothingly, squeezing him back, and he glanced at her sharply to find her giving him a reassuring look. Sweet Jesus. She thought he was the one who needed comfort when it was her he was worried about, and he wasn't at all sure it would be all right at all.

"Just how bad is this?" Brunswick asked, a frown of concern wrinkling his forehead as his gaze slid from Victor's stiffening form to DJ's grim expression.

"Bad," DJ assured him.

"It will be fine," Elvi assured him, scowling at DJ.

Victor shook his head at her optimism and told the police captain, "Lucian is the head of the council and Elvi's broken at least two of our laws."

"The biting and the rest of us knowing about her being a vampire," Brunswick said with a nod, and explained to Mike, "According to Mabel, that's against their rules."

"Laws," Victor corrected. "Laws Elvi could be sentenced to death for breaking."

"Hmmph." Mike scowled at the approaching couple. "Maybe you should take this."

Victor stared at the crossbow that was now being offered, his mind boggling. Minutes ago the man was aiming it at Elvi, and now he was offering it in her defense. This had to be the craziest town-

"Should I go get the rifle Dad got me for my birthday?" Owen asked worriedly, reminding him of his presence. "I could take the car. I'd be back in minutes."

Victor scowled at the lad who had nearly got Elvi killed and said firmly, "No."

"Mr. Argeneau's right, son"-Karen patted his arm-"Leave this to us adults."

"Don't worry, Owen," Brunswick said firmly. "Nothing will happen so long as I'm here."

Victor rolled his eyes. Brunswick still didn't get it. Badge or no badge, he had no sway here. His authority and even his gun would be useless against Lucian's position and abilities. He didn't say as much, however, but simply pushed away the crossbow Mike was still holding out and hissed, "Put that away."

"It's tempting, though, isn't it?" DJ muttered and he didn't deny it. He loved his brother, but would kill him in a heartbeat to save Elvi. And he knew DJ was feeling the same way about Mabel.

"Victor," Lucian said in greeting as he and the woman reached the other side of the counter.

"Lucian," he said warily, his gaze curious as he noted the smile on the man's face and the affectionate way he now slid his arm around the brunette's shoulder.

"Hello, what's this," DJ murmured under his breath. "I've never seen Lucian smile. And who's the squeeze?"

"I don't know," Victor repeated as Lucian urged the woman forward into the booth before him.

They fell silent, waiting, and Victor tried desperately not to think about how bad this could be.

"You cut your hair," Lucian said with a grin.

Before Victor could respond, he found himself pulled into a quick hug. His eyes widened incredulously and he was a tad slow in responding to the greeting, his hands belatedly rising to weakly pat Lucian's back as he released him. His oldest brother hadn't been one to show affection in all the time he'd known him, though Victor had been told the man had been openly affectionate before the fall of Atlantis and the loss of his wife, Luna, and their daughters. It seemed that man was back.

As Lucian turned his attention to greeting DJ, Victor found his gaze sliding to the petite brunette at his brother's side, sure she was the reason for Lucian's softening.

"Brother..." Lucian stepped back to slip his arm around the brunette again and draw her forward. "I'd like you to meet my lifemate, Leigh Gerard, soon to be Argeneau."

"Lifemate?" DJ gasped incredulously. "Well, hello dragon slayer."

"Dragon slayer?" Leigh laughed as she shook the hand the immortal offered.

"Hmm. You must be a dragon slayer to have claimed this guy's rock-hard heart," DJ explained as he stepped back to make way for Victor to greet her. However, when Victor offered her his hand, she merely used it to pull him forward for a hug.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Victor," she said. "Lucian's told me a lot about you."

"Welcome to the family," he murmured, hugging her back. He then stepped back, squeezing Elvi's hand when she slipped it into his. He almost introduced her then, but put it off by asking, "When did this happen? The last I heard you were headed to Kansas to deal with Morgan."

"A lot's happened since I last talked to you," Lucian said with a grin, then added more seriously, "I'd have told you all about it over the phone but I couldn't get you on your cell."

"I forgot the charger and the battery ran out," Victor muttered, hoping his brother didn't read him and learn that he was lying through his teeth. The truth was that he'd shut the damned thing off once he'd realized he was attracted to Elvi. He hadn't wanted to have to report what was going on here until he figured out the best way to do so. He knew DJ had done the same in an effort to protect both Elvi and Mabel.

"Hmm." Lucian nodded and glanced to DJ. "And you? I couldn't get through on your number either. I suppose you forgot your charger too?"

"Oh, no, I have my charger," DJ said honestly, and then added the lie, "I forgot my phone."

Lucian's eyes narrowed. "Right."

The three of them fell silent, Victor ignoring the light tugs Elvi was giving his hand. He knew she was expecting him to introduce her, but was still hesitant to do so, so stood there silently, doing his best not to fidget under his brother's narrow gaze.

It was Elvi herself who finally ended the silence. Letting out an annoyed little cluck, she tugged her hand free of his and stepped forward, offering it to Lucian. "I'm Ellen Stone. Welcome to Port Henry."

"Hello, Ellen," Lucian said politely, accepting and shaking her hand even as he turned a questioning gaze to Victor.

"She's my lifemate," Victor growled in response to the look, and wasn't the only one to notice that he sounded less than pleased to say as much.

Elvi frowned at him, then forced a laugh and said, "Don't mind him. I think Victor's afraid you're going to want to kill me, but I'm sure you won't once we explain everything. This is my friend, Mabel. She's DJ's lifemate and this is-"

"Excuse me," Lucian said over Victor's groan when she dropped that bomb and then tried to jump right into the introductions he'd neglected. "Why would Victor think I'd want to kill you?"

"Because I've bitten mortals and everyone knows I'm a vampire," she explained.

Victor groaned again.

"Now, now," Brunswick said, stepping nervously to her other side. "You'll have the man thinking you're some rogue or something. She's not a rogue," he added firmly to Lucian.

Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"I'm Captain Teddy Brunswick," he introduced himself, offering a hand. When Lucian automatically took it, he added, "I'm head of the police force here in Port Henry so you can believe me when I say you needn't fear Elvi breaking your laws now that she knows them. I've known her all my life. She's a good God-fearing, law-abiding citizen of this town. She hasn't broken a law ever in her life. Not even jaywalking..." He paused and pursed his lips, then added reluctantly, "Well, except for when she stole my patrol car tonight. But it wasn't really stealing, it was borrowing. I mean we were threatening to lock them in the cold room and I did leave the keys in the car, so it was more like borrowing than stealing if you see what I mean."

When Victor groaned again, Mike stepped nervously forward and tried to help matters.

"Teddy's right," he said firmly. "It wasn't stealing really. And Elvi didn't know she wasn't supposed to bite us, none of us did or she never would have bitten all the boys as they turned eighteen. Besides, she only ever bit the willing."

"Well, except for when she bit Mabel while she was sick with the turning," Karen interjected, then quickly added, "but Mabel forgave her and they're still friends and Mabel bit her back during her own turn so it kind of cancels it out, right?"

"Who are these mortals?" Lucian asked Victor with bewilderment.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mike held out his hand, "Michael Knight, fire chief for Port Henry. And this is my lovely wife, Karen."

"I thought they didn't want to kill you anymore, Elvi," DJ muttered under his breath. "And I didn't realize Brunswick had it in for you too."

Sighing, Victor decided it was time to intercede, but before he could, Harper said, "She didn't put the ad in the single's column, and has never been to Toronto. She isn't the source of the rumors going around the clubs."

"I put the ad in," Mabel admitted.

"And the rumors around Toronto were caused by Brunswick hitting the club scene there in search of other vampires," Edward announced.

"Si," Alessandro nodded. "They were looking for the mate for the Elvi."

"We didn't know we were doing anything wrong," Teddy assured him. "We won't do it again."

When Lucian turned his way, Victor ran a weary hand through his hair and said, "Look Lucian, there's a lot to explain here. Maybe we should head back to the house and discuss this."

"You aren't going without me, son," Brunswick announced firmly. "I'm the law in this town and no one's hurting Elvi."

"We'll just follow you over," Mike announced, making it obvious he was backing the police captain.

Karen glanced toward the crowd still gathered around the booth and said, "I think we should all go."

A rumble of agreement began among the crowd. Before it could grow too loud, Lucian snapped, "Enough."

Victor waited tensely as Lucian's gaze slid over the crowd of people who had closed in on the booth. He couldn't help noticing that they had that same lynch-mob look they'd had in the restaurant that first night when he rushed up, stake in hand, threatening Elvi. If Lucian noticed it, he didn't look concerned, though he did shift himself closer to Leigh in a protective manner.

Finally, he turned his attention to Elvi and asked, "Elvi Black?"

"No... well, yes, but no," she said quickly, and explained, "My name is really Ellen Stone, but everyone calls me Elvi Black. Black is my maiden name, you see, and Elvi is... well, a nickname."

Lucian stared at Elvi for a minute, then nodded and turned to first Brunswick, then Mike, his wife, each of the other immortals, and finally to Victor.

Victor didn't resist or try to block Lucian when he felt the ruffling in his mind, knowing that his brother had already read Elvi's thoughts as well as those of Brunswick, the Knights', the other immortals, and probably half the crowd outside the booth if not all of them. It was the quickest and easiest way to get to the truth of the matter and probably the only way to sort this one out.

Apparently finished, Lucian relaxed and glanced at Leigh. "I believe Bastien is going to have to rent a bigger hall. We'll be adding several more names to the guest list for our wedding."

Victor let his breath out in a slow hiss, his shoulders relaxing, but stilled when Lucian turned back to him.

"Just for the record, Victor," he said, "you couldn't take me in a fight. I'd have slaughtered you. But I understand the reason you would have tried. She's quite special. Almost as special as my Leigh."

"I'm still surprised that I'm not going to get called before the council or receive any kind or punishment," Elvi murmured, leaning her back into Victor's chest and resting her arms on his as they watched Lucian's car pull out of her driveway several hours later. "I expected some small punishment at least."

"Lucian is the council, or at least the head of it. What he decides is usually law," Victor explained, then laughed and added, "and he considers making us live here to keep an eye on the people of Port Henry to ensure they don't tell anyone as punishment."

"'He does not," Elvi laughed, slapping his arm lightly.

"He does, he said so," Victor assured her with a grin.

Elvi just shook her head. "I really like him and Leigh. It's a shame they couldn't stay the day. They could have taken the room you and DJ used to have."

"They like you too," Victor assured her, hugging her closer and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "But they have a plane in Toronto waiting to take them down to Kansas to take care of a few things at Leigh's restaurant before they head to Europe. Lucian's worried about our sister-in-law and wants to check on her."

"Marguerite," Elvi murmured with a nod. "Leigh explained that they can't reach her and her daughter's had a baby."

"Yes." He hugged her close, his eyes searching the sky. Mention of Lissianna's baby reminded him of a last issue he had to cover before he could be sure there were no obstacles to their future.

"Love, I know you want to have children, but..."

"But?" she asked and he could hear the frown in her voice.

Victor opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated and unwound his arms from her waist to catch her hand and draw her to a deck chair. Settling himself in it, he pulled her down onto his lap, cocooning her in his arms before he spoke.

"My son, Vincent, can't survive on bagged blood," he announced.

Elvi glanced up at him with surprise. "He can't?"

Victor shook his head. "He has a genetic anomaly that won't allow it. On a diet of bagged blood, he'd starve to death."

Elvi frowned. "I thought the nanos fixed things and made us perfect."

"Not perfect, better. Stronger, faster, healthier..." He shrugged. "They apparently don't see this anomaly as something that needs to be repaired."

"Oh," Elvi murmured thoughtfully, then asked, "How does he survive, then?"

"He has to feed directly from the source," Victor answered.

"He has to bite people," she clarified.

"Yes."

She was silent for several heartbeats and then asked, "He inherited it from you?"

Victor sucked in a breath, he'd known he'd have to tell her, but hadn't imagined she'd guess. "How did you-?"

"You've been here a week, Victor, and never once fed in front of me," she said solemnly. "Besides, I overheard DJ offering to cover for you that first night. And another time. I didn't understand then why, but this explains everything." She tilted her head to ask, "Is that why you disappeared for a bit when we were at the Night Club?"

"Yes," he acknowledged warily, but she just nodded and leaned into him again.

"Do you mind?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Mind what?" she asked, sounding confused.

"About my having to bite other women?"

"Well, you could bite men too," she pointed out with amusement.

"Yes, and I will, but there will be times when it's a woman who will be most handy," he said quietly.

Elvi shrugged. "Why should I mind? If it's the only way for you to feed..." She shrugged again.

"Marion minded," he murmured.

"Marion died before there were blood banks, she must have had to feed by biting as well. Why would it bother her?"

"She was afraid I'd find the women attractive, I think," he admitted.

Elvi gave a laugh. "Then maybe there was something wrong with Marion. It's hard to find someone attractive when you're thinking of them as dinner. At least, it was for me. I certainly didn't find any of those eighteen-year-old boys attractive."

She peered at him solemnly. "Victor, even if you found them attractive, I know you wouldn't do anything with them. I'm your lifemate. I doubt you're likely to run into another woman you can't read while out feeding. I'm not insecure enough to fret over that." She tilted her head. "Is that why you haven't told me until now?"

"That and I worried that you might be upset at the idea of having children who would have to feed that way as well. Bastien says the chances might be fifty-fifty as to whether they are or not, it depends on whether they take after the mother or the father. It's something of a stigma among our people."

"Well, then, I guess we'll have to hope they take after me," she said reasonably. "But if they don't we'll deal with it. We can deal with anything together. I love you."

"I love you too," he breathed, hugging her close. "How did I get lucky enough to find you?"

"Mabel put an ad in the single's column," she reminded him teasingly and Victor laughed and hugged her close, and then stood with her in his arms and started up the stairs to the sunroom.

"I was thinking we might like to take a trip in the near future," he murmured as he paused at the top of the stairs.

"Oh?" Elvi asked, pulling the sunroom door open so that he could carry her in.

"Yes. To California. To see my son."

Elvi glanced at him sharply. "Really?"

"Really," he said softly. "It's time. And somehow I don't think it will be painful anymore."

"I love you, Victor Argeneau," she whispered, hugging him tightly as he carried her through to the bedroom.

"I love you, Ellen Elvi Black Stone... But I can't wait to change your name to Argeneau so I know what to call you."

"Just call me 'Love'," she whispered and kissed him as he lowered them both to the bed.

You don't want to miss the next book in the bestselling

Argeneau Family series.

Here's a sneak peek at

Vampires Are Forever

coming to you February 2008

from Avon Books.

"Thanks, just set it there on the table," Thomas said as the bellhop followed him into the suite's sitting room. When the man did and then turned, mouth opening to inform him of all the amenities on offer, he waved him to silence.

"I in good, thanks," Thomas assured him. Offering the man a tip for seeing him to his suite and carrying the knapsack, Thomas urged him toward the door.

"Thank you, sir," the bellhop's mouth spread into a grin that he quickly softened into a more businesslike smile. "Just ring the desk if you need anything. Ask for Jimmy and I'll get you whatever you need."

"I will. Thanks again," Thomas murmured.

Closing the door behind the bellhop, he then turned and stepped back into the sitting room of his suite. Classy, luxurious, tasteful... Nothing less than he'd expect. Aunt Marguerite always had shown good taste.

Moving forward, Thomas collected his knapsack and headed for the door leading into the rest of the suite, intending to place it in the bedroom. The ring of his cell phone made him pause, however.

Dropping the knapsack back on the table, he pulled the phone from his back pocket and flipped it open as he dropped onto one of the love seats.

"Yo?" he said lightly, already knowing who it would be.

"You arrived all right, then?" Bastien asked.

"Of course, dude. The flight was smooth sailing."

"And Inez had no problem finding you at the airport?"

Thomas's eyebrows rose. "Inez?"

"Yes. I called her to meet your plane and take you into the city."

Thomas could hear the frown in Bastien's voice, but ignored it, his mind on his arrival in Heathrow as he suddenly recalled a little dark-haired woman running through the airport, waving. Thomas had noticed her, but Etienne hadn't mentioned there being anyone to meet him so had just assumed she was there to collect someone behind him and kept walking. Now that Bastien mentioned Inez, however, he recalled the pristine and tucked-up little miss he'd met some months ago in his cousin's office and knew she was who had been waving so frantically. She'd been less than pristine and tucked-up at the airport that morning. That woman had looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.

"Thomas?" Bastien said impatiently. "Did she not show up?"

"Yes. She was there," he answered truthfully, a knock drawing his gaze to the door of the suite. Standing, he moved to answer it.

"Good," Bastien was saying as Thomas opened the door. "She's very efficient as a rule, but I did wake her up at five in the morning to collect you and I worried that she hadn't made it there in time."

"Yes, she-" Thomas stopped abruptly as he recognized the woman at his door. His gaze slid over her limp dark curls, her slightly wrinkled clothes, and her makeup-free face with it's irritated scowl. Inez Urso. A very angry Inez Urso, he added noting the fire flashing in her eyes.

When her mouth opened, Thomas instinctively slammed the cell phone to his chest to prevent Bastien's hearing the tirade he suspected was coming. He wasn't wrong. The phone had barely hit his chest when a barrage of words shot from her full, luscious mouth and poured over him. Unfortunately, very little of it was in English. Portuguese would have been his guess. He gathered that was her mother tongue and the language she slipped into when upset, and Inez Urso was definitely upset.

When she began to move forward, Thomas automatically backed up, allowing her into the room. He was too distracted to do otherwise, finding it fascinating how a woman who had looked perfectly plain on first sight could become almost beautiful as she berated him. Her eyes were flashing, her cheeks were flushed with anger, her lips flapping so rapidly they were almost a blur. She was also waving a finger angrily under his nose as she backed him up, something he normally found vastly annoying if the women in his family tried it. But coming from this short woman, he found it kind of cute and couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth.

Big mistake, Thomas realized at once. Inez Urso did not like his amusement and her rant took on some real energy. Unfortunately, that's when he became aware of the cluttering coming from the phone.

Thomas scowled down at it, then glanced toward the door closing behind the little barracuda still lecturing him, judging whether he could get her back out of the room long enough for him to deal with Bastien. It didn't seem very possible, at least not without being rude, and Aunt Marguerite had raised him better than that.

Giving up on the door, he glanced toward the one leading to the rest of the suite and back to the woman and then held up a hand for silence. Surprisingly-she obeyed the directive, her tirade ending at once, but then he supposed she'd been close to winding down. At least, her eyes had lost some of their heat, becoming more subdued. Inez was still breathing rapidly from her anger, though, and Thomas found his eyes falling to her slightly heaving chest, noting that with every inhalation, her blouse was stretched tight, almost seeming to threaten to pop a button.

A sharp inhalation drew his gaze back up to her face. Her dark brown eyes were flashing again, her mouth opening to go at him once more. Thomas didn't blame her at all... really... it was perfectly rude to stare at a woman's chest. Aunt Marguerite would be pissed at him too. Still, he didn't really have time to apologize properly, or let her vent with Bastien's voice still squawking into his chest, so Thomas raised his hand again for silence and said, "Hold that thought."

Inez blinked at the order, but closed her mouth and Thomas gave her an approving smile before whirling away and rushing from the room. He hurried through the small dining area in the next room, judged it too close, and continued on into a small hallway with two doors leading off of it. The first led into a spacious marble bathroom, the second a bedroom. Knowing the bathroom would have a lock, Thomas slid inside, closed and then locked it for good measure lest the woman follow to finish her lecture. He then took a breath and raised the phone back to his ear. "Bastien?"

"What the hell was that about?" his cousin growled.

"Oh, I... er... sat on the remote control and accidentally turned on the television. Some foreign film was playing and I couldn't figure out how to shut it off," Thomas lied blithely.

"Right," Bastien said with open disbelief. "What was the name of this movie?"

"The name?" Thomas echoed and then scowled. "How the hell would I know?"

"I don't know, Thomas. I thought maybe you caught it before you turned it off. It sounded terribly interesting. I quite enjoyed it when the woman called the man an idiot for making her drag her butt out of bed at five o'clock in the morning and haul herself down to the airport without either tea, or a shower, only to have him ignore her and march out to get in a taxi and take off to the Dorchester Hotel."

Thomas closed his eyes on a sigh as he recalled Bastien spoke several languages, including Portuguese.

"Hmm," Bastien said suddenly. "That's the same hotel I booked you into. What a coincidence."

"All right, all right, so it wasn't the television," Thomas muttered irritably and then asked, "Did she really call me an idiot?"

An exasperated sigh came through the line. "How could you walk right past her, Thomas? Why would you? For Christ's sake, I called her to make things easier for you, and you just-"

"You didn't mention that anyone was picking me up at the airport," Thomas interrupted grimly. "Neither did Etienne. He said you had a plane waiting at the airport and had booked a room at the Dorchester. That's it. There was no mention of anyone waiting for me at the airport, so I just hopped in a taxi."

"Well, when you saw Inez-"

"Bastien, I met the woman once for about three minutes in your office almost six months ago," Thomas pointed out dryly and then acknowledged, "I did see her waving and rushing toward me at the airport, but didn't recognize her. I thought she was there for someone else. How was I to know otherwise when no one told me she would be meeting me," he ended, emphasizing every word.

"All right, I get the point. You didn't know," Bastien said.

"Right," Thomas sighed.

"Okay." A moment of silence passed and then a sigh slid from the phone and Bastien said, "I should have contacted you myself and told you she would meet you rather than counting on Etienne. You'll have to apologize to her for me."

"Are you sure you told Etienne?" Thomas asked.

"What?" Bastien asked his voice short. "Of course I did."

"Of course you did, because you wouldn't ever make a mistake. Those are for lesser immortals like Etienne and me."

"Thomas," Bastien said wearily.

"Yes?" he asked sweetly.

"Never mind. Look, she's there to help you. Let her. She knows London and she's a damned efficient woman. One of our best employees. She gets things done, that's why I decided to have her help you."

"'You mean that's why you decided to have her babysit me, don't you?" Thomas asked dryly.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, then Bastien took a breath, but before he could speak, Thomas said, "Don't worry about it. I know you think I'm useless. Me, Etienne, and anyone under four hundred years old. So don't worry about it. I'll apologize to her for you and let her help me."

He pushed the off button on the phone before Bastien could respond and tossed it irritably on the marble counter as he headed for the door. He'd grasped the doorknob when a thought made him pause. Releasing the doorknob, Thomas turned back to briefly pace the room.

He didn't want another berating by Bastien's underling. While it was cute and he'd found it fascinating to watch the fire dance in her eyes as she'd spat words rapid fire at him, it would have been more entertaining had he understood some of it. Besides, he didn't know London and this woman obviously did and while he'd like to be able to find his aunt all by himself and be the hero of the moment, the main concern was finding Aunt Marguerite. Common sense said he would probably get farther faster with help, and Inez was the only help on offer. But she was no doubt in a really rotten mood right now and he couldn't blame her. Bastien might owe her an apology, but Thomas felt he owed her something too. He might not have known she was coming to collect him, but the woman had gone out of her way to do so and been ignored and left behind for her trouble. He wished to offer his own apology as well.

After pacing the room twice, Thomas reached for the hotel phone on the bathroom's marble counter.

He punched the button for room service and quickly placed an order, then hung up and moved to the tub. His cell phone rang as he pushed the button to drop the tub's stopper into place, but-knowing it would be Bastien with more orders and instructions-he ignored it and grabbed the bottle of bubble bath off the counter. Thomas dumped a generous amount of the liquid in and turned on the taps, then sat down on the side of the tub to wait for it to fill.

Inez dropped wearily to sit on one of the love seats situated on either side of the fireplace and scowled at the knapsack on the table in front of her. The man couldn't even bother with proper luggage. He was staying in a five-star hotel and checked in with a knapsack. It was the only article of luggage in the room and the only thing he'd been carrying when she'd seen him at the airport.

She glared at the offending article and then realized what she was doing and shook her head, her eyes closing in dismay. She was losing it. Inez never lost her temper, yet here she was not just glaring at luggage, but having greeted her boss's cousin by berating him like a harridan and cursing him in two different languages. Her boss's cousin!

Dear God, she hadn't just lost her mind but probably her job too, once Bastien heard about this. Thomas Argeneau was probably on the phone in the other room right now complaining to him.