Chapter 11

“Not the real Dracula, right?” Lynda pulled her shirt down over her stomach. “As in Vlad the Impaler?” The idea of meeting their dad and the legendary figure had her wanting to vanish into a corner. He was the vampire king in Eastern Europe, and his reputation followed him long after his ‘human death.’

“Wish I could say I was wrong,” Andrei shook his head, “but I can sense him.”

Mihnea emerged from the first bedroom and Pierre out of the second.

“Father's here, now?” Pierre asked, a worried expression marring his features. “I feel his presence, and he seems agitated.”

“Why? What does he want?” Her mouth dried. The original vampire was coming here? Suddenly she didn't think of this place as a safe house anymore. What would Dracula think about a human with his three sons, even if he had planned to mate those sons with a human? She wasn’t the designated human, so would he have a problem with her presence? Like he might think she forced her way in between the princes and their prospective mates?

“We need to hide her.” Mihnea glanced at the other two and after a sharp inhale, spun to Pierre. “Hide her in your room. Her scent is already there, with luck, he may think she was there yesterday.”

Pierre picked her up and zipped her into his room. “Hide.” He opened the door to his closet. “Try not to make a sound and breathe as shallowly as you can.”

Her heart hammered and she couldn’t catch a breath at all as she climbed behind winter coats.

A door slammed nearby, and she jumped.

Pierre closed the door. His footsteps faded. Sweat rolled down her back, and she resisted the urge to scratch or move. Already, kneeling behind clothes, her legs were cramping. What would Vlad do if he discovered her and why were all three vamps worried about him finding her? She swallowed.

A short time later, shouts echoed, then heavy quick footsteps. The closet door was ripped away, and a man in his mid-forties with black, curly hair peered in. He wore a black tuxedo and a crimson cape. His power wafted across the floor to her, and it was only the knowledge that she had nowhere to run that kept her from bolting.

Vlad snatched her up by the throat and yanked her out of the closet. He smiled as she wrestled against his hold. “Why were you hiding her from me? Is she a gift? I am rather thirsty this evening.”

“No!” Andrei dashed forward, putting his hand on Vlad’s arm, then jerking it away as the elder vampire snarled.

“This is Lynda. The human with the matchmaking system.”

Vlad lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes at her. Darkness swirled in his pupils, and she shivered as panic gripped her, squeezing her throat. What if he didn’t like her and decided to use another matchmaking firm? Or kill her and take the database for himself…though he’d have to get her passwords out of her…and she didn’t think he was the patient type when wanting information. She got squeamish just getting her nails trimmed, how much more would she endure before she caved to torture?

Not letting go of her, Vlad Dracula marched out of Pierre’s bedroom. Her feet dragged along the wood floor as she struggled to keep up with his pace.

“Well?” Dracula tossed her aside. She landed on the couch where she and Andrei had made out. Her body heated at the memory.

Mihnea shifted a fraction in front of her as though to block his father from reaching her again. In a flash, Vlad had his son up and across the room, Mihnea crashing into the wall behind him.

Both Andrei and Pierre hissed jumping in front of her.

“Such dedication to one woman that you all defy me?” Vlad seethed, his fangs extending. “I will drain your human and rip her to pieces.”

“You will not touch her!” Andrei launched himself at Vlad, but before he touched the other vampire, his neck was broken.

“No!” Lynda jerked away from Pierre. “Stop fighting, or I won't let you use my program to find mates for your sons.” Rage mixed with terror boiled through her, and she shook. If saving Andrei, Mihnea, and Pierre meant forfeiting her heart and making matches for them, she'd do it.

“Now!” Vlad straightened his tux jacket. “You've played with my boys long enough. Anyone else and they'd have ripped your throat out and taken what they wanted. I don't understand your appeal unless you've bewitched them?” He arched an eyebrow.

“I'm no witch, but evidently your sons have learned manners over the years that you seem to be lacking.” Inside she was trembling, but she’d stood up to bullies her whole life. True, Vlad could kill her in a second and she bet no one had ever stood up to him before...unless the countless victims he had impaled in the past added into the calculation. Her mouth dried and she swallowed as he stalked toward her. He shoved Pierre aside so hard that the vampire broke off a slab of the marble bar.

Vlad narrowed his gaze at her, his breath brushing across her cheek. “You will fear me, child, one way or another.”

His fangs extended, but she straightened her shoulders instead of cowering.

“Touch me, and I promise you will never find the biological mates for your sons that you crave so desperately.” She hoped he believed her, otherwise she was fixing to be Dracula's snack. And she didn’t think he'd care if he killed her like Andrei nearly had. “I'm the only one with the largest database of human women and am able to merge my criteria with Andrei's system. So, unless you'd like to wait another hundred years or so for my competitors to hope to reach my level, then you'll back the hell down and let me do my job.” And pray he wasn’t into medieval torture anymore and extracted my passwords that way.

Dracula’s eyes flashed so darkly that terror gripped her, and she couldn't stop herself from gasping and taking a step back. Her shoulder bumped into someone.

Andrei!

For a moment, all three vampires, recovered from their father's wrath, faced him. Vlad's gaze flicked to them, then back to her before his glower transferred into a laugh.

“No wonder my boys are taken with you.” He clapped a hand on Mihnea's back. “Reminds me of your mother and her strength.”

Everyone visibly relaxed around Lynda, but she couldn't stop thinking how close she came to death...again. As much as she was falling for Andrei, Mihnea, and Pierre, being around them too long was dangerous. Now with their father in town, even more so. Vlad was feared in his time for good reason. So many vampire legends had been sired by him. Modern rumors said he was as bloodthirsty and barbaric as he was in the past. Once he took out an entire island because the bartender refused to add blood to his drink.

“What do you need, my dear, to finish your work so I may have grandsons who walk in the moonlight and under the sun?”

She wet her lips, not stepping any closer to him. “A laptop. I need to ensure that the data isn't corrupted or won't damage my program.”

“Ah...this modern age.” He clapped his hands once. “My sons will get you whatever you need. But you have until tomorrow night to provide me with the results.”

“This can't be rushed, there are protocols and the women notified and meetings set up if they even agree. Not to mention some might not agree with being a broodmare or even be interested in vampires.” Because of the parameters of Vlad and not any of his sons having offspring after the curse, she’d have to widen her net at first then narrow it down from there. Plus, she didn’t think he’d be forgiving if she made a mistake and the human women weren’t able to get pregnant. The compatibility of a hormone which could allow a woman to conceive with another species, like vampires, isn’t all there is to getting pregnant. The woman may not be capable of carrying a child because of a health problem or something else that might prevent pregnancy. The woman could be capable of breeding with a vampire, but that didn’t mean conception was possible. Then even all three of her saviors wouldn’t be able to stop Dracula from killing her. And somehow she doubted listing out the possible issues would earn her any points with the legendary vampire.

“What woman wouldn't want the privilege of giving birth to my grandsons?” Vlad took her hand in his cold one. It took everything she had not to recoil when he kissed her knuckles. “Besides the women will be treated like a princess, and their every need met including an allowance and paying any of their debts.”

She nodded and eased her hand away from his grasp. “That's very generous of you, but not everyone can be bought.”

Vlad’s smile did not reach his dark eyes. “Come, Andrei, get this woman what she requires to find your future brides.” He turned to the door before calling over his shoulder, “And no more spilling any of your seed on worthless sluts or I will kill the woman responsible no matter how valuable she may be.”

As soon as he left, Lynda fell onto the couch and didn't think her body would ever stop shaking.

“What are we going to do?” Lynda asked. “Your dad wants results now, and I can’t guarantee any of the women who match you will even accept the position of mating with a vampire especially with Dracula as a father-in-law.”

Pierre cringed, and Mihnea clenched his fists. The muscle in his jaw twitched.

“If it wasn’t for this stupid curse,” Andrei cupped her cheek, “we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with anyone else.”

Her mouth dried and she licked her lips. Did he mean they’d all choose her? No, she couldn’t afford to entertain whimsical fantasies no matter how tantalizing. “I’m running the data. You all deserve a chance at having children and being happy.” Even if it wasn’t with her. She blinked rapidly and lifted her chin. “I need my laptop from my apartment. And my cell phone and purse are still at the restaurant, I guess.”

“I’ll get your computer,” Andrei said.

“Pierre will stay with you while I retrieve your other items.”

God, how was she going to survive turning these men over to other women?

* * *

Two hours later, Lynda reviewed Andrei's data. He'd purchased a new laptop and a pair of sandals for her as a replacement for her lost heels. Now he’d started her a hot bath. Pierre had brought her a glass of wine to calm her nerves which sat empty on the table beside her. Mihnea had massaged her upper back and shoulders.

“Lynda, you must sleep. It's late. You'll have all day tomorrow to get this evaluation done.” He caressed her cheek.

“Right.” She yawned. “I just have to set off this virus scan I created, and it can run and do its thing.”

A moment later, Mihnea lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bath. She could barely keep her eyes open as Andrei washed her with Mihnea helping hold her upright. If she wasn’t so exhausted, she’d give into her arousal of having two men touching her even if their intent was only to get her cleaned up and ready for sleep.

Pierre dashed in with a towel. “Your bed is ready.”

She stood, and Pierre wrapped the warm towel around her. One of the men, she couldn't open her eyes to figure out which, set her in a bed. He smelled of Andrei. Two male bodies lay on either side of her, and she felt the bed move under a third weight at her feet.

“What about your father—Vlad?” She whispered.

“Don’t worry about him.” Andrei shifted to her right, his voice strained. “We’ll figure something out. Sleep for now.”

With these three surrounding her, she felt loved and protected. How was she going to walk away from them? If she didn't though, Dracula would kill her.