Chapter 8
Chapter eight
Cora
Holy shit.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Cora had always suspected that vampires were real.
It only made sense. There were simply too many stories, too many mythologies across nearly every culture for them to be completely fabricated.
Of course, the real thing wouldn’t be at all like the books and movies.
It was why she had written her film differently, the way she imagined vampires might be if they did exist in some form or another.
But to have this definitive confirmation standing before her?
There was a decent chance she could die happy now.
At least, she could if he would agree to be in her movie.
“So will you?” she asked again when Saiden just gaped open-mouthed at her. “I’m sure you have all kinds of important vampire duties, and there’s probably some kind of rule about exposing your kind, but we can work around that.”
The possibilities started racing through her mind, and she bounced on her toes from excitement.
“We’ll give you a fake name and a wig. Something more old-world looking.
And I’m sure we could find you a prosthetic nose.
Not an ugly one, just something different enough to alter the shape of your face.
Maybe we’ll give you a scar. I think most girls are into that, and it works with your character.
Whatever we go with, I promise no one will recognize you.
And I’ll keep the rest of the crew in the dark, too.
Except Jinx, she’s my bestie and AD. But don’t worry, she’ll totally keep your secret. You have no idea how perfect this is.”
Cora let out a squeal and whirled around to look at Saiden. She frowned when she realized his jaw still hung open slightly. “What?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Saiden blinked, shook his head, then closed his mouth before approaching her. “You believe that I’m a vampire?”
“Of course,” Cora replied, giving him a confused look.
Why was he surprised that she believed him when that was his entire goal?
She wasn’t an idiot. He had fangs and obvious supernatural powers.
Not to mention an allure that was proving to be more than a bit challenging to fight off now that she knew he wasn’t insane. What else would he be?
“And your response is to ask me to be in your film?” He enunciated his words as if that might change her question.
“Well, yeah. What else would I ask you?”
He threw up his hands. “I was expecting you to ask me if you could become a vampire. It is what literally every person asks when they find out the truth.”
Cora wrinkled her nose. That was the last thing she wanted from him.
Sure, other people in her situation would probably jump at the chance.
Saiden was beyond gorgeous when he wasn’t scowling, and even when he was, if she was being honest. Most straight women, and probably a significant number of men, would kill to spend eternity with a guy that hot.
Cora, on the other hand, had no intention of living forever, and certainly not as a vampire.
“Yeah, that’s a hard pass from me,” she insisted. “Like the hardest of passes. No amount of money in the world would have me hopping on the vamp train.”
She couldn’t quite read the expression on his face, but he seemed almost upset by her declaration. Was it a vampire pride thing? Did she insult him in some way by not begging to spend forever by his side? It was always sad to witness a fragile male ego in action.
Saiden slumped back against the wall, and she walked over to pat him on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. It’s nothing personal.
I’m sure you’re a wonderful vampire, and there are plenty of girls out there who would love to be with you for all time.
I’m just not one of them. Becoming immortal is…
Well, let’s just say it’s so far off the table that it’s on the floor in the next room over.
But it would mean the world to me if you acted in my film.
” She paused, remembering the McLaren he arrived in.
“And maybe kicked in a little of that vamp money to help fund things.”
Saiden gawked at her. “It’s not… That’s not…” He scrubbed his face then blurted out, “I’m not trying to spend an eternity with you.”
“Good,” Cora said. “We’re on the same page. So, what’s with the fluster?”
“Most mortals do ask me to turn them into a vampire.”
And we were back to that; it was a fragile male ego thing.
She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Well, I guess I’m not like most mortals.”
“No, you are not,” he agreed, and she fidgeted under the intensity of his stare.
“Soooo… Getting back to my movie,” she began.
“And people say I have a one-track mind,” he muttered, standing up straight. “I’m afraid that is never going to happen for a multitude of reasons.”
“Damn,” Cora exhaled, her entire body going slack with defeat.
She knew it was a long shot, but a girl could dream.
“I guess this is the part where you wipe my mind, and I forget all about you? Any chance you can just erase your face but leave the rest? That whole knife and chair thing was a whole new level of badass. I want to put it in my script.”
Saiden scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “While I do appreciate the compliment, that’s not going to be possible either. I need to make you forget about more than just my visit here, but don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Cora did not like the sound of that. He needed to work on his soothing voice because she was pretty sure he was lying through his very pointy teeth. Not to mention she refused to believe it whenever someone said ‘everything will be fine.’ Life had taught her that was rarely the case.
A thought crashed into her brain, and she recalled the litany of questions he asked earlier.
“Wait… This doesn’t have anything to do with my script, does it?” Horror spread through Cora when she saw his subtle flinch. “No,” she cried, backing away from this man who suddenly posed a very different threat to her. “You can’t. My film is everything to me.”
“I am so sorry,” Saiden said, and the look of pain in his eyes told her that he really did regret it.
“There are some things in your film that we can’t have getting out to the public.
We’ve stayed hidden by playing it safe and containing certain aspects of our existence.
I’m going to have to compel you to destroy your script and any notes. ”
Anger gripped her in a chokehold. Who the hell did he think he was to show up here and ruin her entire life?
“Why can’t you just compel me to change whatever it is that you don’t like about my story?” she argued.
The pitying look he gave her was almost too much. She didn’t want pity. She wanted to keep her damned movie and possibly knee him in the groin again for tormenting her.
“Because,” he began slowly, as if speaking to a toddler who just got told they can’t have ice cream before dinner. “The constant exposure to the modified script would eventually trigger a memory. Having you destroy the entire thing and move on is the only way to be sure. I really am sorry, Cora.”
Anger faded to despair, and her eyes ached from the pressure of holding back tears as the reality of the situation hit her. He was a vampire, and there was literally nothing she could do to stop him.
“Please,” she begged him softly. “Anything but that. I won’t tell anyone about you, I swear. Just please don’t do this.”
“I have to,” Saiden replied gently, stepping back into her space.
He lifted a hand, and for a second she thought he might caress her cheek.
He must have changed his mind because he dropped his hand to her shoulder instead, the other one following suit to lock her in his grasp.
Claiming the entirety of her focus with nothing but his presence, he captured her amber eyes with his and whispered a single word.
“Forget.”