Playing With Vampires - An Izzy Cooper Novel by Kendra Ashe

intend to do anything wrong,” I suggested, though I didn’t actually believe any such nonsense.
    “Hmm … maybe,” Tim agreed, though I could tell he didn’t believe it either.
    We were met at the door by Mister Olsen, which pretty much dashed Marty’s vampire theory. With Mister Olsen being out and about at midday, it was unlikely he was a vampire.
    “Miss Cooper, I believe,” he said, offering me his hand.
    Mister Olsen was wearing another black suit. I hadn’t quite decided if he reminded me of a banker or a mortician.
    “Actually … it is Special Agent Cooper, and this is Special Agent Lehman,” I informed him, taking the hand he offered.
    As soon as my skin made contact with his, I had to rethink the vampire situation. He was out of his coffin at midday, but he sure felt as cold as a corpse.
    “Agent Cooper,” he acknowledged with a nod, “what can I do for you?”
    “Is Mister Dupree in? We’d like to ask him a few questions … and you?”
    “You are in luck. Mister Dupree is in today. If you’ll come in, I’ll let him know you are here.” He moved aside so we could enter.
    As soon as I stepped through the door, I caught a big whiff of lemon oil. It was everywhere. That’s when I noticed that all the wood had been polished, even the wooden floor.
    “The place is looking good,” I told him.
    “Thank you Agent Cooper. We are excited to move forward with Misty Haven. I hope you both will be coming to our grand opening.”
    I gave him an evasive smile.
    “We’ll just wait right here,” I said, reminding him of why we were visiting in the first place.
    “Excuse me. I’ll locate Mister Dupree now.” Olsen walked off, leaving Tim and I alone.
    “Looks like he isn’t a vampire,” Tim whispered.
    “Looks that way … but his skin was as cold as ice when I shook his hand.”
    Olsen returned before Tim could come back with one of his theories.
    “Mister Dupree will see you in his study,” he informed us.
    “Actually, I would like to ask you a few questions,” Tim cut in.
    “Okay,” Olsen nodded. “Agent Cooper … if you’ll follow me.”
    Olsen led me down the main hall, and turned into another hall that wasn’t as well lit. The few sconces on the walls didn’t provide a lot of light. There was a window at the end of the hall, but it was stained glass, which filtered out a lot of the sun’s radiance.
    We paused in front of a set of double doors. Olsen went in and then motioned for me to follow.
    The drapes were drawn, which made the room even darker than it would have been. The only light came from a single lamp and the flickering flames of candles.
    At first the room appeared empty, but then I noticed movement. He was sitting in a red velvet wingback chair, his face shrouded in shadow.
    “Mister Dupree … this is Special Agent Cooper,” Olsen introduced me.
    As I stepped forward, he stood.
    Suddenly the room began to spin. I was bombarded with thoughts and strange feelings. The very first thought that entered my mind was that I’d seen him before. He was the stranger I’d seen at the Founder’s Day Celebration.
    There was no way I’d ever forget that face, or those eyes. They were the eyes of a predator … an extremely hot and sexy predator, but a predator nonetheless. The color of his eyes was startling, kind of blue gray fluorescent. His wavy, golden blond hair fell around a set of linebacker shoulders.
    Although he wasn’t dressed as formally as Mister Olsen, it was obvious Dupree liked to look good and had no problem spending a ton of money to ensure he did. His pants enhanced his male physique to the point I was reminded of what Marty told me about vampires and sex.
    I quickly slammed the door on such thoughts.
    No way was I going there, not even in my mind. Men were parasites, even very rich and sexy men.
    To take my mind off Dupree’s male assets, I decided to think about how nice and peaceful a convent would be. Maybe it was time to give some serious thought to