Gregor's Reason: The Night Movers Vampire Series Book 3
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Gregor’s Reason
The Night Movers Vampire Series, Book Three
Helen Bright
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Epilogue
Sergei’s Story - Chapter One
Sergei’s Story - Chapter Two
About the Author
Gregor’s Reason: The Night Movers Vampire Series, Book Three
Copyright © Helen Bright 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Kindle Edition
ISBN (13-digit): 978-0-9933971-7-2
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious, any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or any events past or present are purely coincidental.
Edited by: Avril Stepowski
Cover by: Aubrey Gross
This book is dedicated to Auntie Joyce, who passed away April 2015 aged 89. We love and miss you, Auntie Joyce and will hold you forever in our hearts. I hope that Chloe’s story gives everyone hope that you can rebuild your life after being a victim, just as you did.
Dance with the angels Joyce. Until we meet again x.
Chapter One
Chloe
The orders had been coming in since the shop opened at 8:30 am this morning. I’d had orders coming through by text on my mobile before that, since getting the news that Julia Staithes had her little boy, Rory, at 10:36 p.m. last night.
I had drafted in my assistant Pam to work all day instead of her usual six hours; and I was making sure my Saturday girl Emma was working, covering the till and gift areas. Pam, me and Michelle, my young apprentice, were busy making up all the orders for the new mum and baby in the back room of my shop.
I had taken over the little flower shop in Barrowfield after it was left to me by my Aunt Joyce in her will just over a year ago now. I wasn’t sure what to do with it at first, because when I went through the books it didn’t seem that my Aunt had been making much profit in the last few years. Still, I didn’t have the heart to change the little shop into something else.
I had spent lots of happy school holidays here over the years, making up bouquets of flowers with my Aunt in this very same room, and she had always told me the shop would be mine one day. She suffered a massive stroke last July and had sadly passed away a week later without regaining consciousness.
When her will was read it revealed that my Aunt had left me the flower shop and the apartment above it, her little minivan and a large collection of earrings, a pair of which I was wearing today.
I retained Pamela, and for a short time, while we sorted everything out with the solicitors, I just kept the shop as a florist’s. But, after all the legal stuff was sorted out, Pamela and I sat down and discussed any changes we would like to see happen to enable the business to survive. We decided to diversify a little and also sell various gifts, candles, and small decorative items, as well as party products. We redecorated and gave the shop a new name, Chloe’s Flowers and Gifts, and have been doing well financially for the last ten months.
I have been taking various flower arranging courses, and I am really enjoying my work, I just wish my Aunt Joyce was here to see how well her little shop was doing now.
I have enjoyed the challenges that my new business has given me. I love what I do, and although the business came to me in sad circumstances, it also came at a time in my life when I needed a change and a new direction and purpose.
I had married my ex-husband Craig when I was a loved up twenty-six-year-old. We had been engaged for over two years beforehand, and I thought I was so lucky to meet such a sweet guy after a previous abusive relationship. The boyfriend before Craig had become violent towards the end of our time together.
The emotional scars from that relationship lasted longer than the bruises he gave me, and I swore off men for a while. So when Craig came around with his thoughtfulness and gentle ways, I thought my dreams had all come true. Granted, there wasn’t as much passion as I would have liked in our sexy time, but I thought we could work on that, and passion wasn’t everything, right?
Craig’s family was quite wealthy and gave us enough money to buy our first home as a wedding gift. His mother and father were wonderful people and had Craig, who was an only child, quite late in life.
They were very much in love and after being married for fifty-two years passed away within four months of one another, his father having a massive heart attack after losing Craig’s mum to bone cancer.
That was three and a half years ago. A month after Craig’s father’s funeral, Craig sat me down to discuss something. I thought that it would be what we were going to do about his parent’s home and belongings; what I didn’t expect him to tell me was that he thought he was gay.
To say I was shocked was an understatement. In fact, I was so shocked and unbelieving of what he had just said that I burst out laughing. Afterwards, when I realised that he wasn’t joking, I went through a whole range of emotions and actions.
I cried, I screamed, I shouted, and I also paced up and down and threw a hairbrush and two lipsticks at him. I ordered Craig to leave our home, but he wouldn’t. He kept saying he was sorry, that he didn’t want to hurt me, and that he would always love me, just not as a husband should love his wife.
It took over a week for me to calm down, and at least two months to accept this new development. As I have said previously, Craig and I didn’t have a lot of passion in our relationship. I used to feel like it was because he wasn’t as attracted to me as I was to him.
Craig was tall, fit, and very good looking, with blond hair and baby blue eyes; and he often turned the heads of other women whenever we went out. I, on the other hand, was short, plump, and pear shaped, and although I wasn’t unattractive, my light brown hair and pale freckly skin did make me a little ordinary, although my blue/green eyes were quite pretty.
But, as it turns out, I could have been a playboy model, and it still wouldn’t have made Craig get all fired up and passionate, I just didn’t have the right genitalia to get his motor running.
After six months of coming to terms with Craig’s sexuality, and with divorce proceedings underway, I moved out of our home. We had sold Craig’s parent’s house, and I used some of the money from the sale of that for the rent on a modern apartment near to where I worked, and Craig was happy for me to do that.
My parents owned a B&B on the
Costa Blanca in Spain, and although they offered me a room in their home, I wanted to stay in the UK, so I could keep my job as a medical secretary, which I’d had for years.
Craig eventually met a great guy called Jake, and I could see that he was really happy. We finally divorced, and Craig made sure that I had a great settlement, so I was okay, financially. I know some people think that I’m crazy to remain such great friends with Craig and his now husband Jake, but I still love him dearly (although now only as a friend), and I adore Jake.
They helped me decorate the shop, and we see one another regularly. Their friendship helped me out a lot when I gave up my job and made the sixty-mile move from the outskirts of Nottingham, where I lived previously, to the little flower shop in Barrowfield, South Yorkshire.
I have made quite a few friends during my time in this village, the new mum, Julia Staithes, being one of them.
Chapter Two
Chloe
After Julia’s husband, Alex, sent me the text last night to let me know about baby Rory’s safe arrival, he was the first to place the order for Julia’s flowers. Of course, this order also had to include a helium balloon as was customary for the couple, since Julia had first bought Alex one on the day she proposed to him. I don’t know what it was about them that Alex loved so much, but love them he did.
Alex wanted to say thank you to his wife for making him the happiest man on earth, for loving him and making him a father. I suggested red carnations, instead of roses for the flowers, as they were Julia’s favourite. I had also included baby’s breath and various bits of greenery to bring out the red in the bouquet.
Inside the arrangement was a single small heart shaped red and white balloon on a stick which said thank you. The customary helium balloon was white with red lettering that said I love you. Alex wanted this to be all about Julia, as he knew baby Rory would end up spoiled by everyone else. He was right about that.
The next order came from Joshua York and his fiancé Keeley, not ten minutes after Alex sent his text. They requested a blue floral arrangement with an ‘It’s a boy’ helium balloon. Keeley also wanted to send a blue teddy from her daughter Daisy.
Keeley and I were also friends, and I had provided the floral arrangements and fairy lights that decorated the secret garden at Gregor Antonov’s Manor House, where her engagement party was held.
Gregor was next to request an arrangement. Unlike everyone else last night, Gregor’s request came by a phone call. What made this even more special was that Gregor was in Russia at the time, so it was good to hear his voice.
He was flying in today and would be staying at his home in Rothley for at least two months on this visit. I was glad. I had missed the flirty friendship we had going on when he wasn’t around, and I hoped we would get the chance to spend more time together while he was over here.
I first met Gregor when I called over to Rothley Manor to deliver some flowers for Keeley (Gregor’s P.A), who had been staying at the Manor at the time. Gregor took me on a tour around his home and flirted shamelessly while we discussed what type of floral arrangements would suit the rooms in his new home.
I couldn’t believe it when after my tour Gregor had asked if I would go out to dinner with him. I wondered why he was asking someone like me, I mean Gregor is a tall, good looking, sexy Russian billionaire, and I’m just a plain nobody that just happens to own a flower shop.
I will admit to taking much better care of my appearance since I moved to Barrowfield. I kept my hair short and styled in a pixie cut, and it’s a shiny chestnut brown at the moment, instead of the dull brown it once was. I have a healthy tan from all the time I spend outdoors at the flower markets and garden centres. Yet, for all that, and the twice weekly swimming sessions and Zumba class I did, I was still a little too chunky in the hips and thighs, and at nearly thirty-five years old my boobs had started to gravitate in a southerly direction. So why would Gregor be interested in flirting and spending time with me?
For whatever reason, I had been extremely happy about it. Gregor was not only nice to look at, with his short brown hair that had just a few fleck’s of grey in the sides, piercing blue eyes and GQ model looks; but he was also smart, charming, generous to a fault and always treated me with the utmost respect.
Of course, I would have loved him to rip my knickers off and fuck me up against the nearest hard surface whenever we were alone; but that was never going to happen. Unless I suddenly grew a few more inches in height, lost about thirty pounds in weight and got a head transplant. But a girl can dream if nothing else.
Gregor’s bouquet for Alex and Julia was going to be made up of white carnations and deep blue Gerbera’s interspersed with blue Irises. Gregor said he had also bought Julia sapphire and diamond earrings to celebrate the birth and show her how special she was…. Another reason right there why women seem to swoon when in Gregor’s presence.
But for some reason, even though Gregor had all these great qualities, and was more swoon-worthy than a handsome A-list movie star, I found myself wondering just what Gregor’s dark secret was. I suppose with my track record with men anyone would understand my wariness, but there was just something different about Gregor, something that I just couldn’t quite put my finger on…
Chapter Three
Gregor
We landed at Doncaster airport at 6.30 p.m. after a flight that been full of the worse turbulence that I had ever experienced. Even the normally laid back Sergei had looked anxious and worried until the aircraft came to a stop. Only Yuri hadn’t seemed affected by our troubled flight.
Yuri loved this particular Gulfstream jet that we had flown in on. It was the four fifty model, so wasn’t the biggest one we owned. But it was still very comfortable, luxurious even, and again I was reminded how fortunate it was that I was able to ‘acquire’ this fleet of airplanes, at much less expense than if I was to have bought them outright.
Yuri was a trained pilot, but had flown nothing near the size of this aircraft and hadn’t yet expressed any interest in doing so. Perhaps I should ask why, and encourage him to try it.
We collected our luggage from where we had stowed it. There wasn’t much, as we had left a lot of our belongings here from our last visit.
The pilot and cabin crew were staying here for two weeks because they were transporting another born immortal from the UK to Barcelona during this time. The immortal in question had used our services on a number of occasions, and the pilot and crew we employed told me that he was a favourite passenger of theirs. This was good to hear, as we had only one other immortal on this crew, and I liked to know that the humans I employed were safe.
On exiting the aircraft, I immediately spotted my P.A Keeley in the VIP area where we entered the airport. The smile she wore was infectious, and I felt my spirits lift as I walked into her embrace.
“It’s great to see you, Gregor,” Keeley said in-between kissing my cheek.
Before I could reply, Yuri picked her up and twirled her around.
“Keeley, you are more beautiful than ever. How is my little Daisy, and the new baby, too? I cannot wait to see them both,” Yuri voiced loudly.
“It’s good to see you too, Yuri. Daisy and Rory are both good. We can call over to see them before I take you to the Manor, and I have photos of the new baby, here,” Keeley said sliding her thumb over her phone screen.
Sergei snatched the phone up first and flicked through the pictures with one hand and grabbed Keeley by the waist with the other.
“He is very cute; how much did he weigh?” Sergei asked.
“Nine pounds six ounces,” said Keeley with a beaming smile.
“So has he done it?” questioned Sergei, with much humour in his voice.
“The earring? Yes, he is wearing it Sergei, but I have to say it’s really not Alex, at all. I can’t believe that’s what you bet him,” Keeley replied.
“What did you do now Sergei?” I asked, but he couldn’t seem to answer me for laughing. Yuri spoke instead.
“Alex was so sure he was going to be right from what they said at the last ultrasound, that he told Sergei he could name his forfeit. Sergei told him that if he won the bet, Alex would have to wear an earring again, like he did in the eighties. I didn’t think he would do it, though.”
“Well, he said I would have to shave off my hair if I was wrong and I accepted his bet, so he had to accept mine,” Sergei insisted as he finally stopped laughing. Keeley just shook her head at him and proceeded to show me photographs of Alex and Julia’s son as we walked through the airport.
Keeley insisted that the baby had Julia’s mouth but had a look of Alex and Freya around the eyes. Yuri and Sergei both nodded and agreed with Keeley, but to me, he just looked like a baby, albeit a chubby faced one at that. Perhaps I would see a difference when we saw him face to face.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of babies. I haven’t had a great deal to do with them in fact. I just visited and brought gifts to celebrate their birth, but nothing more than that. Not many in my circle of friends have become parents over the years, but my human employees had families, and I always made sure I welcomed their safe arrival into this world with a monetary gift for their future.
I wouldn’t need to do this with Alex’s son, however, so I will have to be more inventive with little Rory’s gift. Julia, on the other hand, will be given sapphire and diamond earrings, to show her how special she is to me for giving one of my best friends a child to love, and her love, also. Two very precious things.
I brought Chloe a gift too, and it’s one of many that I have stored away at my favourite jewellers in Russia. It was a gold bracelet with floral charms made from various coloured precious gems. Flowers for my little flower girl. It’s a nickname I gave her during the time we spent together on my last visit to the UK. I was ever the gentleman with her those few short weeks ago, but with the way I felt right now, I wouldn’t stay that way much longer. During our time together I took her out to dinner numerous times, and we also went to the cinema, which I detested due to the amount of noisy people who kept insisting on getting up and squeezing past us regularly. I should have just hired the whole cinema that night, and if Chloe wants to go again, that’s just what I will do.