Cora’s throat bobbed, her rough swallow audible, and her eyes dropped to his mouth, to the exact spot he knew his fangs would emerge when feeding. “Just one,” she croaked out.
He gave her a pitying look, confident he knew exactly what she would ask. It was what they all asked. “And what would that one question be?”
Cora lifted her face, and something bright twinkled in her eyes now. All traces of fear were replaced with a dancing excitement.
It was going to hurt him to crush her little heart.
Patiently, he waited for her to ask the age-old question that every vampire had to deal with.
“Will you be in my movie?”
Chapter eight
Cora
Holy shit.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Cora had always suspected that vampires were real. It only made sense. There were simply too many stories, too many mythologies across nearly every culture for them to be completely fabricated. Of course, the real thing wouldn’t be at all like the books and movies. It was why she had written her film differently, the way she imagined vampires might be if they did exist in some form or another. But to have this definitive confirmation standing before her? There was a decent chance she could die happy now.
At least, she could if he would agree to be in her movie.
“So will you?” she asked again when Saiden just gaped open-mouthed at her. “I’m sure you have all kinds of important vampire duties, and there’s probably some kind of rule about exposing your kind, but we can work around that.”
The possibilities started racing through her mind, and she bounced on her toes from excitement.
“We’ll give you a fake name and a wig. Something more old-worldlooking. And I’m sure we could find you a prosthetic nose. Not an ugly one, just something different enough to alter the shape of your face. Maybe we’ll give you a scar. I think most girls are into that, and it works with your character. Whatever we go with, I promise no one will recognize you. And I’ll keep the rest of the crew in the dark, too. Except Jinx, she’s my bestie and AD. But don’t worry, she’ll totally keep your secret. You have no idea how perfect this is.”
Cora let out a squeal and whirled around to look at Saiden. She frowned when she realized his jaw still hung open slightly. “What?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Saiden blinked, shook his head, then closed his mouth before approaching her. “You believe that I’m a vampire?”
“Of course,” Cora replied, giving him a confused look. Why was he surprised that she believed him when that was his entire goal? She wasn’t an idiot. He had fangs and obvious supernatural powers. Not to mention an allure that was proving to be more than a bit challenging to fight off now that she knew he wasn’t insane. What else would he be?
“And your response is to ask me to be in your film?” He enunciated his words as if that might change her question.
“Well, yeah. What else would I ask you?”
He threw up his hands. “I was expecting you to ask me if you could become a vampire. It is what literally every person asks when they find out the truth.”
Cora wrinkled her nose. That was the last thing she wanted from him. Sure, other people in her situation would probably jump at the chance. Saiden was beyond gorgeous when he wasn’t scowling, and even when he was, if she was being honest. Most straight women, and probably a significant number of men, would kill to spend eternity with a guy that hot. Cora, on the other hand, had no intention ofliving forever, and certainly not as a vampire.
“Yeah, that’s a hard pass from me,” she insisted. “Like the hardest of passes. No amount of money in the world would have me hopping on the vamp train.”
She couldn’t quite read the expression on his face, but he seemed almost upset by her declaration. Was it a vampire pride thing? Did she insult him in some way by not begging to spend forever by his side? It was always sad to witness a fragile male ego in action.
Saiden slumped back against the wall, and she walked over to pat him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. It’s nothing personal. I’m sure you’re a wonderful vampire, and there are plenty of girls out there who would love to be with you for all time. I’m just not one of them. Becoming immortal is… Well, let’s just say it’s so far off the table that it’s on the floor in the next room over. But it would mean the world to me if you acted in my film.” She paused, remembering the McLaren he arrived in. “And maybe kicked in a little of that vamp money to help fund things.”
Saiden gawked at her. “It’s not… That’s not…” He scrubbed his face then blurted out, “I’m not trying to spend an eternity with you.”
“Good,” Cora said. “We’re on the same page. So, what’s with the fluster?”
“Most mortals do ask me to turn them into a vampire.”
And we were back to that; itwasa fragile male ego thing.
She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Well, I guess I’m not like most mortals.”
