Kerrelyn Sparks: How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

Roman studied the small switch and U-shaped cut. At the base of the U, a small tube protruded with a clamp on the end. "You put a tube in her?"

"Yes. It's specifically designed to simulate a real artery. We developed a circular pattern inside her." Laszlo ran his finger over her body to show the location of the false artery. "It travels through her chest cavity, then up one side of her neck and down the other, finally returning to the chest."

"And you fill it with blood?"

"Yes, sir. She'll come packaged with a free funnel. Blood and batteries not included."

"They never are," Roman noted dryly.

"She's easy to use." Laszlo pointed at the doll's neck. "You remove the clamp, insert the small funnel, select two quarts of your favorite blood from Romatech Industries, and fill her up."

"I see. Does she light up when she's running low?"

Laszlo frowned. "I suppose I could put in an indicator light-"

"I was kidding." Roman sighed. "Please continue."

"Yes, sir." Laszlo cleared his throat. "The switch here turns on a small pump inserted inside her chest cavity. A false heart, so to speak. It will cause the blood to flow through the artery and simulate a real pulse."

Roman nodded. "And that's where the batteries come in."

"Mmm," Gregori's voice sounded muffled. "She keeps going and going."

Roman glanced at his vice president and found him raking his teeth over VANNA's big toe. The red glow in Gregori's eyes served as a different sort of indicator light. "Gregori! Back off."

With a low growl, Gregori dropped the doll's foot. "You're no fun anymore."

Roman took a deep breath and wished he could pray for patience. But no self-respecting God would want to hear the supplications of a demon with a mortal sex toy. "Has she been tested yet?"

"No, sir." Laszlo flipped on VANNA's switch. "We thought you should have the honor of being first."

First . Roman's gaze swept over the doll's perfect body, a body that now pulsed inside with lifegiving blood. "So at last, a vampire can have his cake and bite it, too."

Gregori smiled as he smoothed out his black dinner jacket. "The taste test challenge. Enjoy."

Roman arched an eyebrow at his vice president of marketing. No doubt, this testing was Gregori's idea. He probably thought his boss needed a little excitement to feel alive. Unfortunately, he was right.

Roman extended a hand to touch VANNA's neck. The skin was cooler than a real human's, but still very soft. Beneath his fingertips, the artery throbbed, strong and constant. At first, he felt the pulse with only his fingers, but then the pounding sensation crept up his arm and into his shoulder. He swallowed hard. How long had it been? Eighteen years?

The pulse spread inside him, filling his empty heart and all his senses. His nostrils flared. He could smell the blood now. Type A Positive. His favorite. His entire body throbbed in sync with the female. His rational thought seeped away, overpowered by a driving sensation he hadn't experienced in years. Bloodlust .

A growl vibrated deep in his throat. His groin hardened. He curled his fingers around the doll's neck and dragged her toward him.

"I'll take her." With lightning speed, he tossed her onto a velvet reading chaise. She lay still, her legs still bent and now sagging open at the knees. The erotic sight was almost too much to bear. The small amount of blood in Roman's veins cried out for more. More woman. More blood.

He sat and brushed her blond hair away from her neck. Her dopey grin was a bit disconcerting, but easily ignored. As he leaned over, he caught sight of a reflection in her blank, glass eyes. Not him, for his form could not be mirrored. All he could see were the red, glowing lights of his own eyes.

VANNA had turned him on. He turned her face away to expose her neck. The pulsing artery within her sang out, Take me. Take me .

With a low growl, he pressed against her body. His fangs sprang out, causing a ripple of pleasure to surge through his body. The scent of blood rushed through him, stripping away the last shreds of self-control. The beast within was unleashed.

He bit her. Too late, his frenzied mind realized an unusual fact. Her skin might feel soft on the

surface like a human's, but the inner texture was totally different. Tough, thick, rubbery plastic. If this was relevant, it didn't register, for the smell of blood shattered his thoughts. His instincts claimed victory, howling in his brain like a starving animal. He sank his fangs in deeper and deeper, till at last he felt that sweet popping sensation as he broke through the arterial wall. Heaven. He was swimming in blood.

With a long suck, the blood gushed into his fangs and filled his mouth. He gulped it down and greedily drank more. She was delicious. She was his.

He smoothed a hand down to her breast and squeezed. What a fool he'd been, content to sip blood from a glass. How could that possibly replace the hot rush of blood flowing through one's fangs? By the devil, he'd forgotten how sweet this was. It was a total body experience. He was rock hard. All his senses were on fire. He'd never drink from a glass again.

With another tug on her neck, he realized he'd drained her dry. Good to the last drop. But then a touch of clarity broke through the sensual daze. Bloody hell, he'd lost control. If she were mortal, she'd be dead. And he would have murdered another child of God.

How could this possibly advance the cause of civilized vampire behavior? This doll would remind every vampire how intensely pleasurable it was to bite. No vampire, even the most evolved, modern-day Vamp, could partake of this experience without wanting the real thing. All he could think about now was biting the first live female he came across. VANNA was not the answer to human preservation.

She was the death knell to their existence.

With a groan, Roman ripped his mouth away from her neck. Blood splattered onto the doll's white skin, and at first, he thought she'd sprung a leak. But no, he was sure he'd drained her dry. Damn, the blood was coming from him. "What the hell?"

"Oh my God," Laszlo whispered.

"What?" Roman looked at her neck and there, lodged in the tough plastic, was one of his fangs.

"Sheesh!" Gregori stepped closer for a good look. "How'd that happen?"

"The plastic—" More blood dripped from Roman's mouth. Damn, he was losing his lunch. "The plastic is too tough and rubbery inside. Not at all like human skin."

"Oh dear." Laszlo attacked another button with his nervous fingers. "This is terrible. The texture was so real on the outside. I didn't realize… I'm so sorry, sir."

"That's the least of our problems." Roman wrenched his tooth from the girl's neck. He'd explain his unfortunate conclusions later. For now, he needed his fang fixed.

"You're still bleeding." Gregori handed him a white handkerchief.

"The feeding vein that connects to the fang is open." Roman pressed the handkerchief against the gaping hole where his right fang should be. "Thit."

"You could use your own healing powers to seal the vein shut," Laszlo suggested.

"It would be clothed permanently. I'd be a one-thided eater for all eternity." Roman removed the bloody handkerchief from his mouth and reinserted his fang into the hole.

Gregori leaned over to look. "I think you got it."

Roman released his hold on the tooth and attempted to retract his fangs. The left fang did as it should, but the right one fell from his mouth and landed on VANNA's stomach. More blood seeped from the wound. "Shit." Roman stuffed the handkerchief back in his mouth.

"Sir, I suggest you go to a dentist." Laszlo picked up the fang and offered it to Roman. "I've heard they can put a lost tooth back."

"Oh, right." Gregori snorted. "What's he supposed to do, waltz into a dental office and say, 'Excuse me, I'm a vampire and I lost a fang in the neck of a sex toy. They're not going to line up to help him."