Page 18 of Vampire's Vixen

He was tall—well, tall for me.

Around five-eleven, Zandre had long wavy black hair, drawn back in a sleek ponytail. His eyes were jet black, ringed with crimson—the surefire sign that he was a vampire. His skin was smooth, like fine alabaster, and he had chiseled features—a long Roman nose, ridged cheekbones, and bowed lips. He was absolutely beautiful, reminding me of some gothic prince.

I tried to pull my gaze away, to pay attention to what was going on, but it was difficult. I finally found my tongue and stood, reaching out to shake hands.

“You must be Zandre,” I said, shivering at his touch. His hands were ice cold, reminding me that this man was actually one of the undead. He had been through the Veil and returned, not as one of the Unliving, but as an actual vampire. “I’m Maisy Tripwater. Welcome to Married At First Bite.”

He smiled, the corners of his lips turning ever-so-slightly upward. As he opened his mouth to speak, I caught sight of his fangs. They were down, and the sight of them immediately reminded me that he was a predator.

“Hello, Ms. Tripwater. Thank you for seeing me at this time. Obviously, I cannot travel about during the daylight hours.” He looked around. “You have a lovely and welcoming shop.”

“Thank you. So, how about you tell me why you’re here. Every client has a different story about why they seek out my services.” I sat down, taking up my pen. I liked taking notes by hand.

He paused, then cleared his throat. “Two hundred years ago, I was the son of a banker. This was before I became a vampire. I was madly in love with a woman named Eugenia. She was my everything. Shortly after we married, she came into the bank where I worked for my father. She wanted to talk about dinner or something of that sort. Anyway, right then, a group of bank robbers burst in, and they killed her in front of me. They also shot my brother. I was hit by a bullet, but I played dead and the men left.”

I caught my breath. “What a horrible thing to happen. I’m so sorry.”

“Time heals, I suppose, but in the case of Eugenia, it hasn’t. She’s still on my mind. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. Our love…it was meant to last.”

“So…do you want me to contact her spirit?”

He shook his head. “No. I know that she’s reincarnated, and I know that she now resides here, in Midnight Point. She may not remember me, but I believe she’s come back so that we can be together. I’d like you to approach her for me.”

I sat back, uncomfortable. I wasn’t in the habit of running down past-life loves, especially when I doubted the woman in question would remember her past life as clearly as Zandre seemed to. It seemed stalkerish.

“I’m not sure if I can do that, especially if you have your sights fixed on one person in particular. Have you two met?”

He shook his head. “No, but if she would just talk to me, I’m sure she’d remember me.”

An uncharitable thought ran through my head that yes, she’d remember him from then on, but not in the way he hoped. I tapped my pen on my notebook.

“Why don’t you give me her name and let me look into this. Meanwhile, just in case it doesn’t work out, I need you to fill out some forms for me. If she’s not the actual person you think she is, I might still be able to find you the woman you need.” I didn’t want to argue with him, but I was here to match him with the right person, not the person he assumed he should be with.

Zandre gave me a long look, then said, “All right. What do I do?”

“First, I need a nonrefundable fee of five hundred, then we’ll get started. If you make it to the altar, I charge an additional thousand dollars.”

He pulled out a credit card and silently watched me run it through my scanner. After I gave him his receipt, I sat him in front of my spare laptop to fill out my extensive questionnaire. After he finished, he returned to my desk.

“All right, what’s this woman’s name, the one you’re convinced is your reincarnated love?” I asked. I’d look into it—stranger things had happened—but I was leery of his request. Especially since he was a vampire. But at least he had come to me, and not approached her himself.

“Denise Rober. She’s a teacher over at Shifter Creek Preschool Academy.”

He handed me his phone, opened to the local online news site. It had a story on the preschool, and a picture of her. A dog shifter, she looked to be in her mid-thirties, so at least she wasn’t some teenager. She was tall, athletic, and had long brown hair. There was nothing particularly striking about her. Nothing that caught my eye, at least.

“How do you know she’s the reincarnation of Eugenia? Did a psychic tell you? Is there something that connects Denise with Eugenia, like…a common ancestor or something? I need all the information that you can give me.”

I wanted to see where he was coming from. It was important to know how his mind worked, so I could wean him off the idea that his only option was this woman. She could be married, she could be gay, she could hate vampires, she could be anything but interested in Zandre.

He hemmed and hawed for a moment, then finally said, “I saw that picture, and I knew that it was her. I know it sounds crazy, but the moment I saw her, I knew.”

I frowned. How to best work this so he didn’t go away angry, and so that he didn’t try to take matters into his own hands?

“Zandre, what will you do if she’s married? Maybe even gay? You have no idea of what her life’s like?—”

He stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know about that, but I doubt she’s married. I’ve never seen her with a guy.”

I groaned. “Tell me you haven’t gone stalking her.”

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