Single White Vampire (Argeneau #3)(34)

"Thank you. Marguerite," she whispered, not even caring that the man looked as surly as ever. She would expect nothing less. He was here, and that was all that mattered. A smile of relief stretching her lips, Kate moved forward to greet him.

"You came." She hadn't intended to speak those words, or for her relief to show, but so it was.

Lucern scowled. "I said I would. I'm a man of my word."

Kate's smile widened even further; then she glanced down at the suitcase, overnight bag, briefcase and portable computer he held. "Here, let me take those for you."

She relieved him of the briefcase and portable computer before he could stop her. He didn't appear pleased by her help.

"I can carry my own things, thank you," he said. His words were stiff, and he tried to retrieve the articles. Kate ignored the attempt and merely turned to lead the way out, babbling with determined cheer. "Chris went ahead to the hotel to check us in, so all we have to do is ride there and settle in. I arranged for your flight to be tonight because I recalled you were allergic to the sun. The best I could do was to have you leave late in the afternoon and arrive in the early evening, which I figured was better than leaving and arriving in the daytime. This works out nicely, though, because now we have the whole night to relax before the others show up tomorrow."

Lucern had been scowling at Kate's back—her heart-shaped butt, actually, if he was honest—but at those words he jerked his eyes up to the back of her head and grimaced. He had wondered why his flight was booked for the night before the conference began, but he had just supposed it was what everyone did. Now he knew she'd done it out of concern for him. Or, more likely, concern that he would refuse to fly during daylight due to his "allergy." What a pain; now he had to be grateful.

"Here we are."

Lucern had been debating commenting on her kindness in having him fly at night, but gave up the idea as he saw the car she'd stopped beside. It was a black sedan, mini limo. She handed his portable and briefcase to the driver with a smile, then turned and tried to take Lucern's overnight bag while waiting for the driver to stow the items in the trunk. Lucern frowned and evaded her reaching hands. He moved to the trunk and put them in himself. The silly woman was trying to be helpful, but Lucern was used to things being the other way around. In the era in which he'd been raised and his attitudes formed, he was supposed to carry things for her—not allow her to carry his burden.

The driver closed the trunk and led the way to the back passenger door where Kate stood. Apparently, she didn't appreciate Lucern's gallantry in refusing her help. That fact was just as exasperating to Lucern. Someone should teach the silly woman that men were given the physical strength to bear the burdens in life. Women were given beauty to please the men. Deciding to ignore her, he followed her into the back seat when the driver opened the door, then fixed a dignified you-don't-exist-for-me look on his face and stared straight ahead.

The moment the door closed, he was enveloped in a cloud of her tantalizing perfume. He didn't know what it was she wore, but it should come with a warning: "Heady, and likely to cause confusion in those who smell it." He himself was certainly suffering confusion from it.

Annoyance overtook him. He'd been feeling betrayed for four weeks, ever since she'd rushed out of his house, and he'd been nursing that anger. Yet now, as the smell of Kate's perfume surrounded him, his anger was overwhelmed by an entirely different but equally passionate reaction.

Men suffered a terrible handicap, he decided with disgust as he found his anger edged out by lust. The amazing thing was that it had taken him six hundred years to recognize that fact.

"I tried to do everything I could to make sure this was as comfortable for you as possible," Kate said, drawing his attention. "What I'd like to do is outline what I've arranged. Then, if you have any suggestions, perhaps I could take care of them tonight so we'll be all ready before everyone else arrives. Okay?"

Lucern grunted assent, then wished he hadn't when she dug out a file from her capacious purse and shifted closer so that he could watch her open it. He really didn't want her closer. The scent of her was upsetting enough to his equilibrium; the feel of her was going to be…

Lucern inhaled deeply and sighed as she opened the file and unintentionally brushed his arm with hers. Then his gaze landed on the top page of the agenda. He frowned. "According to this, the conference started on Sunday."

"No," Kate said. Then she corrected herself, "Well, yes. They had some events for anyone who wanted to join ahead of time, but the official start isn't until tomorrow."

"Hmm." Lucern decided to keep his mouth shut. He should be grateful that she hadn't forced him to go through the pre-conference crap, too.

"So," his editor said with a return of her determined cheer. "Tomorrow starts with the morning walk with cover models. Then the brunch—"

"What the deuce is a morning walk with cover models?" Lucern interrupted. He'd already seen the agenda, of course—both on the internet and in the paperwork she'd sent him. But nothing had described any of the listed events.

"Er… well, actually, I'm not sure," she admitted. She cleared her throat, her smile a tad strained. "But it doesn't matter—you don't have to attend."

"I don't?" He peered at her suspiciously. Something she didn't want him to attend? That seemed strange. He had been sure that she was going to drag him to every single function.