He didn’t appear discomfited by her scrutiny, as he tilted his head in acknowledgment, took the keys and placed them on the hood of her car. “After Diego has had a look, your keys will be returned to you, and we can get you unpacked. For now, please follow me. How was your drive?”

If he wanted small talk, she would oblige. Looking at her car one last time, she fell into step beside him and tried to get her muscles to unclench. “It was good, thanks. The last part, especially along the coast, was gorgeous.”

“That stretch of road is one of my favorites in all of the world,” Raoul said.

She gave him a quick glance. His accent was indefinable, but something in the way he spoke lent weight to his words, as if he had seen many beautiful sites from all over, which, if he had been working for Xavier del Torro for any length of time, he probably had.

As they entered the main house through the side door, he asked, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”

Hunger had turned into a sharp, unrelenting spike that drove through her abdomen, but her stomach was also tied into knots. She said cautiously, “No, I haven’t.”

Raoul gave her a smile. While their initial encounter had turned her into a mass of nerves, he appeared entirely at ease. “I am to give you a quick tour, and we’ll take your things to your room. Then you will be speaking with Xavier again. When he’s done with you, you can take the rest of the evening to get settled. Jordan will make up a supper tray that can be brought to your room later. We had roast chicken for supper, and there were plenty of leftovers, unless you’re a vegetarian?”

So the tour was their chance to search her car. At least they would get it over with quickly enough and feed her supper. She told him, “Roast chicken sounds great, thanks.”

“Good. I’ll let Jordan know.” He led the way through the house with a purposeful stride. “The main house here has almost twelve thousand square feet. There are also four other buildings—including a garage, a guesthouse, a gym with a pool, a steam room and a dry sauna, and the house where most of Xavier’s attendants live.”

Now that she had truly committed to this course of action, she focused on what he was saying as she looked around. The kind of wealth needed to support such a property, especially a beachfront estate in California, was mind-boggling.

She tried not to gawk too much, but the house had a restrained elegance that was utterly beautiful, with an understated use of simple, high quality furniture in lots of space. “How many attendants does he have?”

“Counting you, right now he has twenty,” he said. “Eight stay in his house in the city, including Russell, who manages both properties. Eventually you’ll get the chance to meet them. Here, several attendants keep the grounds and pool, or they work with me. Jordan is the cook. Angelica is in charge of maintaining the main house, along with the guesthouse. Both Jordan and Angelica have assistants. In the attendants’ house, we divvy up the chores to keep the house clean. You’ll be expected to pitch in.”

She rubbed the back of her neck and nodded. “Makes sense.”

Xavier had said that he kept a small household by most standards—if that was so, she could only imagine what an extravagant Vampyre household might look like.

The setup was almost like a modern American version of Downton Abbey. Except with Vampyres.

There was so much to take in, many of the details blurred on her again. Even then, Raoul didn’t take her through the entire house, although he did tell her facts just as though she were a guest—the main house had six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, formal reception rooms, a study with an extensive library filled with original editions, a gourmet kitchen that was mostly used when they had guests, a terrace off the master suite, and an extensive wine cellar. It even had a small ballroom.

They paused at the arched doorway of the ballroom, which was an extension off the main floor. Forgetting the last of her discomfort, she gave up trying not to gawk, for it was simply exquisite, with a vaulted ceiling and three walls comprised of floor-to-ceiling Palladian-style windows that were framed with the same elegant black iron as the rest of the house.

Immaculate parquet floors glowed a warm golden brown in the dying light, and the ballroom offered an unobstructed view of the lawn that fell away to a rocky beach and the ocean. Aside from a black baby grand piano strategically positioned in one corner, the gleaming room was empty.

Raoul waited while she took in the scene. When she turned to look at him with wide eyes, he gave her a small smile. “Others might say differently, but I think this is the jewel of the place.”

“It’s breathtaking.”

“Yes.” He turned and led the way back to her car. “The house has metal shutters with an automatic electronic sensor system. As soon as the sensors detect direct sunlight, the shutters close. The system is very well built and almost soundless, but I did want to let you know in case you’re around when it happens.”

“It doesn’t close up the entire house when the sun rises?”

“No, some Vampyres prefer complete enclosure and have systems that instigate a total house shutdown, but Xavier likes the views and the fresh air, and it’s safe enough as long as the direct sunlight is blocked. As the sun moves from east to west, the appropriate shutters close while others open. It’s quite efficient, and as elegant as the rest of the house.”

And as elegant as its master.

Whatever else might be said about del Torro, she thought reluctantly, he had superb taste and a certain self-assurance.

As they stepped outside again, the last of the daylight was fading from the sky and well-positioned lights had turned on, dotting the outside grounds with bright illumination.

When they reached her car again, her keys lay on the roof. She gave Raoul a quick look. At his nod, she scooped them up and tucked them into her pocket. The doors were unlocked, which was the only sign that her car had been searched. Everything else looked the way she had left it.

She had two suitcases in the trunk and pulled out one, while he took the second. They walked together along the path to the attendants’ house, which was an attractive building in the same style of architecture as the main house and lay tucked into one corner near the protective wall that surrounded most of the property.

“You’ll have your own room for privacy, but everything else—kitchen, living room, dining room, TV room, etc.—is communal,” Raoul told her. “You’ll share a bathroom with a few others. I’ll show you the gym tomorrow, and you’ll get the chance to meet everyone.”