Cursed Kiss (Paranormal Romance) by Helen Scott Taylor Page B

something?"
    "Heavens, no! Nothing so dramatic." Monique placed her goblet back on the polished oak tabletop, picked up an exotic red flower, and twirled the stem between her fingers. "I simply wanted to pursue a business opportunity, the sort that comes along only once in a lifetime."
    "Some kind of elixir of youth," Clare guessed. "That's why you look so young."
    "Something like that." Monique ran her hand down the sleek length of her dark hair. "My latest discovery will change our world forever."
    "You're coming back to take over, then?"
    Monique tapped a fingernail on the table between them, her expression hardening. "On the subject of taking over…Edward was supposed to become president of Moray."
    Her tone had changed, grown dangerous. Clare had not expected to have to justify her actions to her grandmother. "I was the majority shareholder. I saw no reason not to take the top job. Do you have a problem with my decision?"
    The moment of tension stretched until Clare almost couldn't bear it, then Monique's face relaxed. "It made things slightly more difficult than expected, but if you're stronger than Edward, I want you in charge." Monique's eyebrows rose. "He's angry, of course, but that doesn't matter."
    "You've been in contact with Edward?" As the question left her mouth, she realized that of course the two of them were in cahoots. That made sense and explained Edward's superior attitude. But it still didn't explain why her grandmother had faked her death to come here and why she'd left her precious company in the hands of others. Then another thought occurred to her, one that made her anger rise.
    "Is there really a problem with the Taldom's blood additive, or did you fake that to manipulate me?"
    "I prefer the word motivate."
    "Manipulate, motivate, whatever." Clare gestured in irritation. "You set me up to find Luka and send him back here, didn't you? Oh, and by the way, I refuse to put his blood in our products anymore. I can't believe you did that."
    Monique ignored her tirade and sniffed the red flower. "I love this scent." She held out the bloom to Clare.
    It smelled like overripe fruit. Sickly, on the edge of rotten.
    "This is called Red Death." Monique stroked the red petals across her cheek. "Handled carelessly, the flower is deadly. But when heated in water to just below boiling point, it's possible to generate a mother tincture that has incredible properties as you can see." She patted the smooth skin of her cheek. "First we'll add it to Faceglo, then I've plans for a new formulation called Bodyglo. It'll be a license to print money."
    Using a plant extract in Faceglo was preferable to using blood, but there had to be a catch. "Any side effects?"
    Monique dropped the stem on the table and framed her face with her hands like a fifties model. "Do you see any problems?"
    There was no doubt her grandmother looked great, but she'd said the plant was deadly when handled carelessly. "It'll take years of research to develop a product we can bring to the market safely."
    Monique's dreamy gaze hardened. "You let Edward deal with that side of things. He'll update us tomorrow."
    Clare felt her jaw go slack. "Edward's here?"
    "No, but he comes when I call him. The three of us can sit down together and do some planning."
    There was so much to take in, facts and questions spun around Clare's head. She hardly knew what to think anymore. Despite that, her thoughts kept going back to Luka as if he were an anchor.
    "You set it up so I'd bring Luka here. Why?"
    "Enough questions for now." Monique rose and clapped her hands. All conversation ceased abruptly. Her gaze traveled over the guests. Some returned Monique's appraisal, most looked away, a few fidgeted. "It's time for some entertainment. Who's going to oblige me?" Slowly Monique's gaze drifted back and settled on Pablo. "Ah, the Spaniard."
    An almost imperceptible sigh of relief whispered from the other guests.
    Clare snapped to full attention, no idea what was about to