Page 5 of Grayson’s Challenge

“Do I look like I’m your maid?”

Grayson smiled at her sweetly. “No, though I saw at the Halloween Party how great you looked in a French Maid outfit.”

Not that his sister needed sexy clothes to look ravishing. She’d inherited their mother’s beauty, as well as her brain.

“Oh, flattery? That’s your angle?”

“It works. At least with most women. I’m told I’m very charming.” He smirked.

“So I hear. Unfortunately for you, I’m immune to your charm.”

“Well, it was worth a try.” Grayson shrugged, not surprised that she didn’t want to run errands for him.

“See you later, Grayson,” Isabelle said and headed for the door.

The main lights came on again. “Looks like everything is working,” Sebastian said.

“Thanks, Sebastian.” Grayson looked at his clipboard. “We’re pretty much done here for tonight. The food and drinks will be delivered tomorrow during the day. Guess, we can pack up now. How about you and I go out for a drink? I know this bar close to my loft. There are always tons of hot chicks.”

“You mean the Black Velvet? I think half of Scanguards has been there. Adam’s dubbed it the Sure Thing.”

“The Sure Thing? How fitting!”

“Yeah. Wish I could come, but I have to go over to the Mezzanine and help out with the setup for tomorrow night. Sorry.”

“No worries, next time,” Grayson said and patted him on the shoulder. “But you’re coming to the Scanguards party tomorrow night, right? Not the one at the Mezzanine.”

“I’ll go to both, actually. Probably Scanguards first, and then to the Mezzanine afterwards.”

“Why’s that?”

“’Cause I really need a little action, and there won’t be any available women at the Scanguards party, other than women like your sister.”

“She’s way out of your league, buddy!”

And it appeared with every year, Isabelle became more selective when it came to relationships, no matter how short they turned out to be. It seemed that she wasn’t interested in a relationship. Not that he could blame her. Why get tied down with one person, when there was so much variety to choose from.

“Trust me, I would never date a woman I practically grew up with. It would be like dating my own sister, if I had one.”

“Oh, I get it. Where’s the mystery in that, right?”

“Totally.”

“Well then, thanks for all your help.”

“See you tomorrow,” Sebastian said and left.

Grayson set the clipboard down on the bar in the middle of the large room, and stepped behind it. Just because the lounge was closed, didn’t mean he couldn’t pour himself a quick drink. He snatched a clean glass and poured 0-negative blood from one of the taps. He felt famished and downed the glass in one big gulp. But his hunger wasn’t stilled yet. He wanted more than just a glass of human blood. He wanted sex.

He’d been so busy preparing for the New Year’s Eve party that he hadn’t hit the clubs and bars in almost a week. He’d poured all his energy into this event just to please his father and make him realize that he’d changed and was ready to lead. That he wasn’t an impulsive kid anymore. That he could be relied upon. But would his father even notice all the work he’d put into this project? He sure hoped so, because Isabelle had guessed correctly: he was after the position to head the new Scanguards branch in New Orleans. It would finally give him the chance to show that he was a born leader, and he would be physically far enough away to escape his father’s constant scrutiny.

He knew that Cain, the vampire king of Louisiana, had already arrived in San Francisco, and would attend the Scanguards party. Grayson needed to impress him too, because Cain had a say in the matter as well, because the branch was a joint venture between Cain’s kingdom and Scanguards.

Knowing that a lot hinged on tomorrow night’s event, Grayson knew that he needed to relax tonight so he could be his confident self at the party. And what better way to relax than to take a woman to his bed tonight to release the tension he was feeling?

The Black Velvet it was. Definitely a sure thing.

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