SINGLE WHITE VAMPIRE Page 0,45

do not," Lucern insisted, following, squeezing himself up against Kate to leave room for the luggage trolley.

"Can we talk about this later?"

Kate gave an impatient nod at the bellhop and pushed the button for their floor. At least Lucern presumed it was their floor. He hadn't a clue, though she had said someone named Chris had already checked them in. He supposed this Chris was another editor. He wondered if she would be as annoying as Kate.

He glanced at the bellhop, confused at Kate's desire to put this off. The man was a servant, hardly worth worrying about. Although he didn't want to argue either. "No. There is nothing to discuss. I do not need to be worked on."

"You do," Kate insisted. "And I'm not going to talk about this now."

"There is nothing to talk about."

"There is," she snapped.

The bellhop gave a soft chuckle, and Lucern glared at him. There had been a time when servants knew their place and would have been deaf and dumb to such discussions. That time wasn't now. He constantly forgot how rude the world had become.

The doors opened and the bellhop moved the trolley out; then he led them down a long hall past countless doors. At the end he stopped, pulled out a card key, opened the door, then pushed the trolley in.

"Which room do these go in, ma'am?" he asked, pausing in the center of a large chamber set up as a living room.

His question drew another scowl from Lucern. He was the man; the fellow should have addressed the question to him.

"I'm not sure. Just set them here. We can manage, thanks." Kate accepted the card key from the fellow and handed him a tip, making Lucern scowl again, this time at himself. He was the man; he should have tipped the bellhop. He should be more on the ball. His only excuse was that it had been a long day. His flight had been at three p.m., but he'd had to leave for the airport at one to get through security. He had worn a business suit, hat and sunglasses, and slathered on sunscreen, but of course, some of the sunlight had got through. His body had sustained damage that his blood was already working to correct. He was feeling depleted and needed to feeda state he was beginning to associate with Kate Leever.

The click of the door closing drew his gaze back to her, and Lucern picked up their argument immediately. "I do not need to be worked on."

"Lucern," his editor began wearily. Suddenly losing her temper, she said grimly, "Look. You're named after a dairy product, you look like an Angel wannabe, and you talk like a bad Bela Lugosi. You need work!"

"Wow, Kate."

Lucern turned to see a tall, slender blond man entering the room. He was clapping his hands slowly, an irrepressible grin on his face. "You'll have to give me pointers on handling writers. I've never seen it done quite like that."

"Oh. Chris." Kate sighed unhappily.

"This is Chris?" Lucern asked with dismay.

His editor stiffened again but said simply, "Yes."

"You never said he was a man. Make him leave."

Kate's eyes narrowed on him, fury burning out of them. "Look, Lucern"

"Nope," Chris interjected. He put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "Kate, he doesn't sound like Bela Lugosi. The smarmy accent is missing."

Kate's ire turned on her coworker. "I meant he uses old-fashioned terminology."

Chris merely arched an eyebrow. A moment later he added, "And his hair's too dark for him to be an Angel wannabe."

"Shut up! Stay out of this."

The editor laughed, apparently unoffended. "And Allison and Chuck were worried you couldn't handle this guy."

"Who is this gentleman?" Lucern asked Kate stiffly. If she said it was her husband, boyfriend or lover, he feared he might have to perform some violence.

"Chris Keyes," Kate announced. "He's an editor at Roundhouse, too. Chris Keyes, meet Lucern Argeneau, aka Luke Amirault, the vampire writer."

"A pleasure, Mr. Argeneau." The lanky editor stepped forward and offered his hand in welcome.

Lucern automatically shook, but he asked, "You're an editor?"

Keyes nodded.

"What do you edit?"

"Romance, like Kate."

Lucern nodded slowly, then asked hopefully, "Are you a homosexual?"

Chris Keyes's eyes rounded in shock.

"Lucern!"

Lucern glanced at Kate with annoyance. She sounded just like his mother when she barked like that. Taking in the way his editor was flushing and then paling by turns, he decided not to mention it.

A sudden burst of laughter drew his gaze back to Chris. The young man's stunned expression had given way to