"Sexy, funny, well-written! Classic Kerrelyn Sparks"
Reviewed by Vicky Gilpin
Posted May 28, 2012
Romance Paranormal | Paranormal
Gregori Holstein, VP of Marketing, is chosen to talk to the
President of the United States to simultaneously demonstrate
a recently leaked video of vampires is the truth while
encouraging the president's official support to declare the
video a hoax. Primarily chosen because of his relative youth
and that he's never had blood from the vein, Gregori is
surprised when he hears the president's favor: to entertain
his daughters in order to demonstrate his trustworthiness. Madison is excited to see a vampire club and television
studio, but Abby Tucker is less intrigued with vampire
social life than with how their abilities might be able to
help her labwork. Her lifelong goal is to find a cure for
her dying mother. Sometimes gifts come where we least expect
them, but Abby hopes that the darkly sexy Gregori is a gift
wrapped in seductive packaging. Kerrelyn Spark's works may stand alone, but the layering of
characters and relationships makes reading them in order
more meaningful. SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE is an excellent read.
Abby and Gregori are great characters not only because of
the sparks that fly whenever they are together, but also
because of their combined strength and awkwardness around
each other. SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE is a quick read that
encourages one to spend a few hours with all of Sparks'
novels.
SUMMARY
The secret is out . . . Vampires do exist! When a video reveals to the world that vampires live among
us, it’s up to “young” vamp Gregori Holstein, VP of
Marketing, to persuade the U.S. government to declare the
video a hoax. But first the president wants a favor, one
that requires Gregori to spend forty-eight hours in very
close contact with the First Daughter. Abby Tucker would rather spend her nights in a lab than
attend her father’s state dinners. She’s dedicated her
life to finding a cure that will save her dying mother and
needs only two more ingredients. To find them, she’ll have
to venture into the most dangerous region of the world—
with a vampire. Her Armani-clad escort may be Undead, but
he still makes her heart race. And the greatest danger
won’t be the predatory hordes lying in wait for them; it
will be her undying desire for the Sexiest Vampire
Alive.
ExcerptCHAPTER ONE
Simone tore the man's shirt open and skimmed her hand
down his smooth, hairless chest and rippled abs.
"I have a hunger that cannot be denied," she murmured in
her husky French accent.
The man turned his chiseled jaw to expose his neck.
"Take me. My body, my blood-I'm all yours."
She trailed a finger along his carotid artery, then
suddenly shoved him away. "No! I can no longer bear it!"
With a dramatic swish of her pink silk negligee, she
rose to her feet. The voluminous skirt swirled around her
long legs, allowing a peek at her matching pink stilettos.
She lifted a pale hand to her brow. "What is a vampire
to do? For so many years I have endured the same taste. How
I long for something different!"
She moved forward, lowering her hand with a graceful
flutter. "I need something new, something rich, robust, and
sophisticat-ack!" She tripped on her nightgown and fell
flat on her face.
"Cut!" The director cursed under his breath, then leaned
toward Gregori and whispered, "Are you sure we have to use
her?"
Gregori hid his frustration, like he normally did, and
gave Gordon an encouraging smile. "She'll be fine. She's
the most famous model in the vampire world."
"Yeah, you've mentioned that about five times. But she
can't act. Hell, she can't even walk."
Gregori's smile faltered slightly as he inwardly winced.
He thought he'd scored a coup, convincing the famous Simone
to star in his commercial introducing the latest creation
in Vampire Fusion Cuisine, Blardonnay. But after three hours
of shooting, there wasn't a single successful take.
The director and film crew at the Digital Vampire
Network in Brooklyn had already polished off the crate of
twenty-four bottles he'd brought as a gift. The mixture of
synthetic blood and Chardonnay was no longer strong enough
for the director. Gordon tipped back a bottle of Blissky,
then gave Gregori a sour look.
"The sun will rise in about ninety minutes," he
muttered. "I'm calling it quits before my tortured crew
runs outside to fry themselves in a blaze of glory."
"It's not that bad," Gregori assured him. "With some
careful editing, we'll have—" Zip. "You'll still
get paid for your time."
Gordon snorted and took another swig of Blissky.
Gregori adjusted his tie while he considered his
options. He was the one who would have to answer to his
boss for spending a small fortune on a commercial that
wasn't happening. It wouldn't help matters if he criticized
Simone. She might look frail and delicate, but, enraged,
she could inflict a massive amount of damage with her
superior vampire strength.
There was the time she'd destroyed a dance club in
Manhattan when no one had recognized her. Gregori had used
a huge amount of vampire mind control to wipe the memory of
every terrified mortal who had witnessed her temper
tantrum. Unfortunately he hadn't been around to clean up
when a paparazzo in Paris had snapped her photo without her
permission. She'd tossed the photographer clear across the
Champs Elysées. Le Figaro had speculated that her
odd display of strength meant she was high on PCP. She'd
retaliated the next night by ripping a street lamp out of
the sidewalk and crashing it through the newspaper office's
plate-glass window. Somehow, she thought she'd proved them
wrong.
He adjusted his cuff links as he resigned himself to the
only logical course of action: playing the role of the kind
and sympathetic friend, otherwise known as major suck-up.
Sheesh, the stuff he had to do for his job.
He stepped onto the set, which consisted of thick ivory
carpet and an ivory satin settee. The male model sat
sprawled on the settee, not even attempting to help Simone,
who remained tangled in her negligee, wallowing on the
carpet like a nearly starved, beached whale.
"Simone, sweetheart, are you all right?" He lifted her
carefully to her feet. She was so thin, it was like
propping up a broomstick in a strong wind. "It's not like
you to fall down." Twelve times.
"It is these ridiculous shoes you made me wear. They're
too big." She raised her voice so everyone in the studio
could hear. "You know I wear a size five."
She wore an eight. Gregori knew because she'd begged him
to buy her a pair of Jimmy Choo sandals last Christmas.
He'd done it, not out of any special affection for Simone,
but for business reasons. As marketing director at Romatech
Industries, he knew the value of staying chummy with the
most influential personalities in the vampire world.
"Is your gown too long?" he suggested. "We could have it
shortened a bit."
"I like it long. It makes me look taller. And thinner."
Good God, if she was any thinner, she'd be
two-dimensional. "You look beautiful, Simone. But…I'm
afraid your concentration is off just a tad. Perhaps if we—"
"It's his fault!" She pointed a perfectly
manicured pink nail at the male model who was busy taking
off the shirt she'd ripped. "He's too ugly to work with."
Gregori glanced at the model. "He looks fine to me."
"Why, thank you, handsome." The male model winked.
Oh shit. "Simone, we can't keep replacing the
guy for you. This is the eighth one. The talent agency is
running out of guys, and we're running out of time, so do
you think you could possibly bring yourself to work with
this one?"
She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "He's repulsive.
I shudder when I have to touch him."
The male model wagged a finger at her. "It's not like
I'm enjoying it either, girlfriend."
"It's called acting, Simone," Gregori whispered. "You
have to pretend to desire him. He could be as ugly as a
turnip, but you make us believe he's stunning."
"But I am stunning." The model flipped his
long blond hair over his shoulders.
Gregori groaned inwardly. It was impossible to whisper
around a bunch of Vamps. They could hear everything. He
grasped Simone by her bony shoulders. "Let's be honest
about this, Toots. It's not the shoes, or the gown, or the
guy on the couch—"
"The name is Pennington," the male model interrupted.
"Pennington Langley, the Third. But please don't call me
Penny for short. I would hate to sound cheap." He gave
Gregori a flirtatious smile.
Suppressing a shudder, Gregori smiled back. Sheesh, the
crap he put up with for his job. "Simone. I've seen you
glide down a jillion runways as graceful as a swan. You can
do this."
She ducked her head as she pressed her hands against his
chest. "All right, I'll be honest. I—I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what? Failure?" He winced when her steel-like
nails dug into him.
"I never fail," she hissed.
"Right. Right, I knew that." He grabbed her hands to
keep her pink claws from ripping through his best suit.
"What are you afraid of, then?"
Her bottom lip trembled against her fangs. "The sun will
rise soon. I'm afraid of dying."
"Sweetcakes, we die at every sunrise."
"I mean real death! La mort finale!"
She clutched his lapels with her fists. "I heard Corky's
show tonight. Live with the Undead. She said we're
all in grave danger!"
"You'll be fine, Simone. You'll be staying at Roman's
townhouse where we have guards to keep us safe."
"Then Corky is right?" Simone shrieked and
gave him a hard shake. "The mortal world knows about us
now?"
He pried her bony fingers loose from his lapels. "Corky
ought to know. She's the one who posted the damned video."
Three nights earlier, Corky Courrant had filmed the
Battle at Mount Rushmore that had climaxed with the death
of her lover, the Malcontent leader, Casimir. While Gregori
could understand why a woman might be a little miffed over
the decapitation of her lover, he still thought Corky had
severely overreacted. She'd posted the video on YouTube,
claiming it was proof that vampires were real. That was an
unforgivable, traitorous act in their world, and yet Corky
was still employed at the Digital Vampire Network.
Apparently her infamy was good for ratings.
Simone's eyes filled with tears. "She said the mortals
will hunt us down and slaughter us in our sleep!"
"Oh my God!" Pennington sprang to his feet. "Is that
true?"
The boom operator glowered at him. "Don't you watch the
Nightly News? Stone Cauffyn said the secret is out,
and it won't be long before the mortals decide to kill us
off."
With a soft moan, Simone sank onto the carpet. Her
tears, tinted with blood, left pink streaks down her gaunt
cheeks. "La mort finale."
"It's the end for us all," the cameraman grumbled.
"We're doomed." The makeup artist sniffed and wiped
tears from her face.
"The Vampire Apocalypse," Gordon muttered, then took
another swig of Blissky.
Good God, no wonder the director and crew had jumped on
that case of Blardonnay. "Get a grip, guys," Gregori told
them. "Just because Corky posted a video that looks like
vampires getting their heads cut off and turning to dust,
that doesn't mean any mortals will believe it."
"Right," Gordon sneered. "Because mortals are always
making home videos where they cut each other's heads off."
"If you look at the comments, a lot of people are
calling it a hoax," Gregori said.
"It only takes one mortal with one stake to do me in,"
the boom operator mumbled.
"We're doomed!" The makeup artist collapsed on the
floor, clutching an empty bottle of Blardonnay.
"Doomed!"
"No, we're not! You guys got the official memo from
Roman, right?" Gregori asked. Roman Draganesti was not only
his boss and CEO of Romatech Industries, he was also Coven
Master of East Coast Vampires. "He wants everyone to remain
calm and go about your lives in a normal manner."
"Yeah, we know." Gordon upended his Blissky bottle, then
scowled when he discovered it was empty. "That's why we all
showed up for work today."
"We should be looking for some caves to hide in," the
cameraman grumbled, then his eyes lit up. "I know! We could
hide in mausoleums."
"Right." The boom operator scoffed. "Mortals would never
think about looking for us in a graveyard."
"We're doomed—"
"Enough!" Gregori interrupted the makeup artist.
"Chillax, people. It's going to be all right. Roman's got a
strategy meeting tonight with a bunch of Coven Masters."
"Do they have a plan?" Pennington asked.
"I'm sure they'll come up with something." Gregori
didn't know much about the situation except that Roman and
the head of MacKay Security and Investigation, Angus
MacKay, had spent the last two nights discussing the matter
with Sean Whelan-CIA operative, newly turned vampire, and
Roman's father-in-law. "The best thing for us to do is to
behave normally and not bring any attention to ourselves.
Just go to work, go home, drink your blood from bottles, and
no one will ever suspect you're a vampire."
"That's easy for you to say," Gordon grumbled. "You and
your buddies have security guards to watch over you during
the day. We do our death-sleep in apartments that mortals
could break into."
"We're doomed!" the makeup girl cried.
Gregori loosened his tie as he considered. Corky's
damned video was probably inciting panic all over the
vampire world. And the more the Vamps panicked, the bigger
the chance that one of them would do something really stupid
that made the problem even worse. They needed to feel safe.
He retrieved his smart phone from his jacket pocket.
"I'll tell you what. I'll ask Angus MacKay to send a day
guard here. We'll turn the building into an emergency
shelter. Then Vamps can do their death-sleep here, knowing
they'll be safe and protected."
Gordon jumped to his feet and swayed a little. "Are you
serious? You can do that?"
"Of course." Gregori smiled. "I'll make the
arrangements, so hurry up and announce it on air."
"Great!" Gordon dashed out of the studio.
The makeup artist eased to her feet and gave Gregori a
shaky smile. "Thank you."
"Not a problem." Gregori selected Angus's number on his
Droid while the rest of the crew thanked him. "Let's get
ready for another try at the commercial, okay?"
"Yes, sir!" the boom operator shouted with a grin.
Pennington put on a new shirt, while the makeup girl
applied new powder and lipstick to Simone.
Gregori breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe they'd get the
commercial done after all. Angus's phone sent him to voice
mail, so he left a short message explaining the need to
turn DVN into an emergency shelter for frightened Vamps.
"Excuse me."
Gregori glanced up from a quick look through his e-mail
to see Pennington standing nearby. "Yes?"
"I'd like to thank you for keeping us all safe tonight."
"Glad to help."
Pennington shoved his long blond hair over his
shoulders. "And I'd like to thank you for giving me the
opportunity to star in a commercial."
"No problem." Gregori didn't want to remind the model
that he was the talent agency's eighth choice, and he
wouldn't be here at all if Simone hadn't sent the first
seven guys packing.
Pennington sidled up closer. "What I mean is I'd like to
thank you…personally."
Yikes. Gregori stepped back. "No thanks. Sorry."
"But you're gay, right? I mean, you dress so well, and
you were so nice and sensitive to…her." Pennington
wrinkled his nose at Simone.
"A straight guy can't be nice?" Gregori muttered.
Simone snorted while the makeup girl brushed her hair.
"Why do you continue with this charade, mon ami?
You refused to have sex with me. You must be gay."
His mouth dropped open. The crew started whispering,
latching on to this tasty morsel of gossip. Shit.
"Simone, have you been spreading rumors about me?"
"No, of course not." She waved a hand dramatically. "I
know how much you enjoy your reputation as a young playboy.
But really, mon ami, you should stop acting so
cowardly and admit the truth. You'll feel much better for
it."
Cowardly? He reached into his pocket for a
stress ball. Dammit, he'd left them all at the office.
It was true that he'd rejected Simone without giving her
much of a reason, but it hadn't seemed diplomatic at the
time to be honest. He simply wasn't attracted to her. And
he wasn't gung-ho over the prospect of being lover number
five hundred and sixty-three. Simone actually kept count in
her journal. Along with a rating from one to ten.
She'd shown him the journal several times. It was rare,
she'd pointed out, for a man to score over a five. That was
why she was burdened with the sad task of trying out
hundreds in order to find a few who were worthy.
He'd let her down as gently as possible since he needed
to stay friendly with the celebrities of the vampire world
so he could be successful in his career. And right now,
success meant getting the damned commercial recorded. That
meant he couldn't afford to insult Simone or Pennington,
who was still regarding him with a hopeful smile. Damn, the
bull crap he put up with for his job.
"I—" His Droid vibrated. Thank God. "I've got to take
this. Excuse me." He paced across the studio. "Hey, Angus.
Excellent timing. So do you have a day guard you can send?"
"Aye," Angus replied. "I asked Robby and some of the
lads to teleport over there and leave Rajiv."
"Great. Thanks, dude."
"We're just about done here with our plan of action.
Talk to you soon." Angus hung up.
They had a plan. Excellent! Gregori smiled as he
pocketed his phone.
Gordon rushed back into the studio. "We aired the
announcement. Vamps are already teleporting into the
lobby."
"How many can you take in?" Gregori asked.
"Sly thinks we can take in hundreds," Gordon referred to
Sylvester, the station manager. "We have six large studios
and an enormous basement."
"Great!" Gregori gave everyone a thumbs-up. "You'll all
be safe with Rajiv watching out for you. He's a were-tiger
who can shift whenever he wants."
"A were-tiger?" the makeup artist's eyes grew wide. "Oh
my. He sounds so…"
"Sexy," Pennington whispered.
Gregori winced. At least the Vamps would be dead during
the day, so Rajiv wouldn't have to fight off a bunch of
advances. He slapped his hands together. "So now that
everybody's happy, how about we get this commercial done?"
The crew shouted a victory cheer.
"Places!" Gordon shouted, and everyone scurried into
position on or off set. "Let's do it, people! Mark it."
"Take number seventy-two." A crew member clapped the
sticks together on the slate.
Simone lounged on the ivory satin settee and leaned
toward Pennington. Her eyes burned with hot passion. "I
have a hunger that cannot be denied."
Pennington flipped his hair back to expose his neck.
"Take me. My body, my blood-I'm all yours."
She ripped open his shirt. One of the buttons popped off
and hit her in the eye.
"Ack!" She jumped to her feet, catching the boom
operator by surprise and ramming her head into the large
microphone suspended over them.
"Aarrgh!" She collapsed on the floor.
Everyone stared at her unconscious body for a few silent
seconds.
"Cut," Gordon muttered.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Robby MacKay strode into
the studio.
"No," the entire crew moaned.
"Rajiv is in the lobby." Robby did a double take at
Simone's unconscious body. "We left a few cases of
Chocolood and Bleer in the lobby so no one will go hungry."
"Chocolood?" The makeup artist ran from the room.
"Free Bleer!" The male crew members dashed after her.
Robby motioned to Simone. "Is she all right?"
Gregori sighed. "She will be. I'll teleport her back to
the townhouse."
Robby shook his head. "Leave her be. Angus and Roman
want you at Romatech."
"I'll drop her off on the way—"
"Nay," Robby interrupted. "They want you there now."
Now? The sun would be up in less than an hour.
What was so important that it couldn't wait another night?
Gregori turned to Gordon. "If Simone comes to, tell her I
was called away. We'll try again tomorrow."
Gordon grimaced. "Must we?"
"Yes, I'll-"
"I said now," Robby interrupted Gregori and
gave him a stern look.
"Okay! Don't get your panties in a wad." He glanced at
Robby's green and blue plaid kilt. "If you even wear
underwear."
Robby frowned as he grabbed on to Gregori's arm. "Let's
go."
Gregori stiffened with surprise. He was being escorted?
What was the big hurry—His thoughts cut off as everything
went black.
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