Rednecks 'n' Rock Candy

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication www.ellorascave.com Rednecks ‘n’ Rock Candy ISBN # 1-4199-0853-7 ALL RIGHTS RE...

Author: Mays Judy

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An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Rednecks ‘n’ Rock Candy ISBN # 1-4199-0853-7 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Rednecks ‘n’ Rock Candy Copyright© 2006 Judy Mays Edited by Mary Altman. Cover art by Syneca. Electronic book Publication: November 2006 This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory: S – ENSUOUS E – ROTIC X - TREME Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic. S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. E-rated titles might contain material that some readers find objectionable—in other words, almost anything goes, sexually. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry in terms of both sexual language and descriptiveness in these works of literature. X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Stories designated with the letter X tend to contain difficult or controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

REDNECKS ‘N’ ROCK CANDY

Judy Mays

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Chuck E. Cheese: Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. Little League: Little League Baseball, Inc. John Deere: Deere & Company Corporation

Rednecks ‘n’ Rock Candy

Chapter One “Are you fucking crazy?” Throwing the bright red cushion she was holding to the floor, Mandi leaped off the couch and stomped into her small kitchen. The scent of vanilla from the candles she’d lit did nothing to calm her agitation. Amber had to be out of her mind! Chuckling, her friend trailed after her. The evening breeze swaying the bright yellow curtains and spreading the scent of fresh herbs growing in colorful pots on the kitchen windowsill did nothing to calm Mandi either. Wooden legs screeched against white linoleum as she shoved a chair out of her way. How could Amber do this to her? “You’ve barely been here fifteen minutes, and you drop this bomb on me?” She yanked open a cabinet door and grabbed a bottle of tequila and two tall glasses. “Here!” The glasses clattered onto the tabletop. When they stopped wobbling, she poured the liquor into them. “A couple of good, stiff shots will bring you to your senses.” Still chuckling, Amber pulled the oak chair back to the table, sat down and accepted the glass. “This is more than a shot!” Tossing the tequila into the back of her throat, she swallowed. “Mmmmm. ‘S good, but I’d really like this better mixed in a margarita. And I am not crazy.” Snorting in disgust, Mandi gulped down her tequila, then poured more into both glasses. “Yes you are. My God, Amber, you haven’t even known this guy eight months and you want to marry him! I mean, just what do you know about him? He could be a serial killer or rapist or terrorist or something.” Grinning, Amber cupped her glass in her hands and swirled the golden liquid. “Rusty is not a serial killer, rapist, terrorist or something! I know all I need to know about him.” She set her glass down, rose and stepped to the refrigerator. “The least we 5

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can do is have lime and salt with all this booze. You gotta have some limes in here. What gourmet chef doesn’t have fresh limes?” Feeling as if steam was coming out of her ears, Mandi slapped the table. “Damn it, Amber. Who cares about limes? Pay attention! I’m trying to save your life here. What does this Rusty guy do for a living? Can he support you?” Eyebrow cocked, Amber looked back over her shoulder. “Support me? You have to be kidding! Like I expect any man to support me. I can support myself, thank you very much! My new publisher loved my vampire romance and offered me a contract for three more. I have a four-book deal!” “I know that!” Sniffing, Mandi gulped another mouthful. “So, how do you know this guy isn’t marrying you for your money?” The sharp, fresh aroma of citrus filled the air as Amber sliced the limes. “Shit, Mandi! Rusty has a degree in geography from Penn State with an emphasis on surveying and cartography. You should see the gorgeous copies of ancient maps he draws! He makes plenty of money selling them on the internet.” Mandi poured more tequila into her glass. “Well, what about his name? Rusty Nipple! Marry him and you’ll be Amber Nipple. What will you name your kids? Everybody will laugh at them.” “Nipple is a common name where he comes from. Nobody will laugh at our kids’ last name—if we have any.” Mandi’s glass rattled against the tabletop. “Nobody will laugh at their name? Are you going to live there too? In the middle of nowhere? All of your neighbors will be hicks!” Amber returned to the table with a bowl full of quartered limes and the salt shaker. Mandi grabbed a slice of fruit. “Damn it, Amber. You need to talk about stuff like kids and where you’re going to live and, and… You know what I mean. Finding out everything about him is important! What if he’s a control freak or something and won’t

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let you leave the house without his permission after you’re married? Maybe he’ll be a wife beater!” Her friend stared at her. “Are you kidding?” “What if he is? Are you absolutely sure he isn’t?” Knowing her reasoning was becoming ridiculous—any man who tried to beat Amber would find himself in the same condition of as Lorena Bobbit’s ex-husband and have to have his dick sewed back on after Amber chopped it off—Mandi poured salt along the side of her thumb. After swallowing another shot, she licked the salt then sucked on the lime. She glanced back up at her friend and her heart fell. Fuck! Amber had that bullheaded expression on her face that meant she was going to do whatever she wanted, no matter what Mandi said. Amber’s firm voice confirmed Mandi’s fear. “Listen. I’m going to marry Rusty whether you like it or not. How can you be so negative? You’ve never even met him.” Reaching across the table, Mandi grabbed Amber’s hand. “I’m just trying to make sure you aren’t making a mistake. You’re my best friend, and I love you. I don’t want you to be hurt.” Amber squeezed Mandi’s hand. “I’m not going to get hurt, I promise. Rusty is everything I could possibly want in a man. He understands me, and we have more in common than you could even begin to imagine.” Mandi sniffed. “What about Midnight? How does she feel about Rusty?” Amber giggled. “It did take her awhile to warm up to Rusty, but she likes him just fine now.” Mandi snorted. Amber had to be lying about that. Her cross-eyed black cat with the crazy teeth didn’t like anybody but Amber. “Did I ever tell you what Rusty did with Aunt Ernestine’s ashes?” Mandi shook her head. “He dumped them in Midnight’s litter box.” Mandi blinked. “He did?”

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Amber nodded her head, then squeezed Mandi’s hand again. “Yes, he did. Come on. Say you’ll be my maid of honor. Pleaaaase.” Mandi sighed. If this Rusty guy poured that old witch’s ashes in a cat’s litter box, he couldn’t be all bad. She sighed again and stared into Amber’s face. “You know I’ll be your maid of honor. I’d never have forgiven you if you’d asked somebody else. Besides, if I don’t keep an eye on you, who will? Who else is a bridesmaid?” “Just you. We’re planning a small wedding. Now, how about I mix us a pitcher of margaritas and we can talk about your dress? You get to pick whatever color and design you want.”

Three hours later, Amber carried Mandi to her bedroom, dropped her on the bed and pulled a blanket over her. Mandi’s head lolled to the side, exposing her neck. Amber smiled to herself. Last year, she’d have been sure that any vampire in his or her right mind wouldn’t have been able to resist the temptation and would have bitten that vulnerable neck. After all, that’s how vampires in books and on TV were portrayed. Boy, was everybody wrong! Right now, Amber had absolutely no urge to bite, but then that might be because Mandi was her best friend. Or maybe because Mandi was female. Amber had bitten another man a couple of months ago, but it had made her so horny, she hated to think of what might have happened if Rusty hadn’t been there. The urge to have sex, to have a man’s hard cock buried deep inside her, had been overwhelming. Yep. It was a good thing Rusty had been with her. Shaking her memory free of Rusty’s luscious body, Amber left the room and pulled the door shut. It was just past three a.m., so she had plenty of time to get back to her motel, drink some of the blood she’d brought with her and put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. She could stay awake during the day if she had to, but her skin and eyes were far more sensitive than they used to be. Better to sleep most of the day and

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work at night. Since she wrote novels and Rusty drew maps, the schedule worked very well for them. Stopping long enough to write a note saying she’d gone back to her motel to shower and get some sleep, Amber made sure the apartment door was locked before she headed for her car. Mandi had agreed to be her maid of honor. Now all Amber had to do was figure out how to tell Mandi her best friend was now a real-life, long-toothed, bloodsucking vampire.

***** A cloud drifted over the moon as Brad nodded to his cousin. “Glad you could make it. Because of the fog, three semis and half a dozen cars were involved in a chain reaction accident down by the river, so the state cops couldn’t be here. And there’s another big car wreck in Mifflintown caused by a drunk driver, so I couldn’t get any help there either. This isn’t a major bust, so unless I wanted to call it off, Gina and me would have to handle it ourselves.” An owl hooted as a cool breeze shook the nearby pine trees. Rusty stopped by his side and nodded a greeting. “Since you called me, you must not think so. What about Earl? He’s your deputy, too, you know.” Snorting, Brad shook his head. “No. Earl’s better off directing traffic at that accident. His heart is in the right place and he’s settling down, but he’s apt to shoot somebody if I bring him along. Besides, we’ll be dealing with locals.” “Then why do you need me?” “They’re still making meth, and, for all I know, using it. Who knows how they’ll react. And, I don’t have to worry about you shooting somebody by accident.” Rusty’s toothy grin flashed in the darkness surrounding them. A dry twig snapped when a shadowy form appeared. Rusty glanced to his left. “Shit, Gina. Can’t you be any louder? I heard you coming a mile away.” 9

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“Up yours, asshole.” “Christ,” Brad muttered. “Stuff it, you two. We aren’t kids anymore, and we aren’t here to swipe pumpkins from old man Tittle’s field. Gina, we’re police officers. Try to act like one.” She stuck out her tongue at him, but then nodded and unsnapped the flap on her holster. “Buddy and Frank are inside just like they’re supposed to be, but two guys just pulled up to the shack.” Frowning, Brad stared into his deputy’s face. Buddy and Frank were supposed to be alone. “Who are they?” “Never saw them before, but the car has a Jersey plate.” Brad looked in the general direction of the shack. “Fuck. Buyers, probably.” She shrugged. “Maybe.” “You want to call it off?” Rusty asked. Another wispy cloud drifted over the moon. Brad shook his head. “We know they have meth there now. I want to bust them and get the drugs tonight. Let’s go.” He paused. “Rusty, you’re just here for backup. Stay out of sight unless we need help.” Again moonlight glinted off his cousin’s teeth. “If you say so. You sure you and Gina can handle four of them?” “I’ll decide that when we get closer to the shack. Let’s go.” As Brad knew he would, Rusty disappeared almost immediately. “Ever wish you could be like him?” Brad glanced over at his other cousin. For a moment, he was silent. When he answered her, his voice was firm. “Nope. I’d have to give up coaching my Little League team. And don’t get any ideas, Gina. You wouldn’t be able to stretch out in the sun in those two pieces of string you call a bathing suit anymore.” Gina stared at the spot where her vampiric cousin had disappeared. “Sometimes I think it might be worth it.” 10


“Yeah, well, don’t even think about it. Get your mind back on the business at hand. We have a drug bust to make.” With an exasperated look on her face, Gina headed for the other side of the dilapidated cabin. “Shit,” Brad mumbled to himself a few minutes later as he clutched his pistol in both hands and leaned against the outside wall of the shack. The two men from Jersey were inside with Frank and Buddy. The two locals wouldn’t have been hard for Gina and him to handle, but from the conversation he could hear, the two strangers were definitely trouble. They had already browbeaten Frank into lowering his price with unspecified threats. He glanced to the rear of the car, but he couldn’t make out the license plate in the dark. He’d have to get closer before he could see it. The owl hooted again. “What the fuck was that?” growled one of the buyers. “Owl,” Frank mumbled. “Hoo. Hooo. Hoooo.” “Sounds like somebody’s out there sending signals, to me.” “Jesus H. Christ, Jeff,” his partner said. “You watch too many fucking movies. Who the hell would be sending signals?” “Cops?” “Not tonight, they ain’t,” Buddy interjected. “Big wreck down by the river and another one in Mifflintown. All the cops are there. Heard about it on my scanner.” “No way all the cops are in those two places.” Jeff’s partner’s voice became more exasperated. “Shit, fuckhead. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. How many cops you think they have around here?” “I still don’t like it. Let’s just get the stuff and get out of here.” Brad heard a thunk. “Twenty-five grand. Give us the stuff.” 11

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Chairs scraped against the wooden floor and men moved around the shack. Brad eased himself to the edge of the wall and peeked around the corner. Gina gave him a quick wave. He nodded to himself. They had them from two sides. As soon as all four men were outside, they’d make their move. Unoiled hinges screeched. Footsteps thudded across the porch’s creaky floorboards. Brad stepped around the corner, gun held at arm’s length before him. “Freeze.” Frank and Buddy reacted as expected. They dropped what they were carrying and lifted their hands into the air. The two men from Jersey didn’t. Instantly, both dropped to the ground, rolled and came up firing the revolvers they’d been carrying. The last thing Brad remembered was a stinging sensation on the side of his head and what felt like a hard punch into his neck.

When the shots exploded, Rusty burst from his hiding place among the mountain laurel about fifty feet in front of the shack and leaped across the small clearing. He saw Brad go down, saw Buddy and Frank turn and saw them run toward Gina. When Frank jerked a gun out of the waistband at the back of his jeans, Rusty bent in mid-run, grabbed a rock and bounced it off the back of Frank’s skull. As the now-unconscious man fell, Rusty turned his attention back to the two strangers. Gina could handle Buddy herself. Launching himself into the air, he tackled the man closest to him. The heavily muscled man immediately started to struggle. Grasping the man’s upper arms, Rusty jerked him around, stared into his face and opened his mouth. Blood drained from the man’s face when he saw Rusty’s fangs, but then he jerked his gun up and pulled the trigger. As the bullet whistled past his ear, Rusty sank his fangs into the man’s throat. 12


Hot blood from the pulsing jugular flowed into Rusty’s mouth. After one involuntary swallow, he pulled his mouth free and dropped the man’s body. Looking around, he spotted the dead man’s partner gaping at him. When Rusty stepped toward him, he turned and ran to his car. Rusty leaped after him. Gina’s shout stopped him. “Brad’s been shot!” Twisting in midleap, Rusty landed on the porch and fell to his knees next to Gina. Blood was pooling around Brad’s still body. Gina had both hands pressed against a wound in his neck. Blood spurted between her fingers. “I can’t stop the bleeding!” “Fuck!” Rusty covered her hands with his, then slowly drew them away. “His jugular got a hole in it.” Tears rolling down her cheeks, she shook her head. “No! I don’t believe you! Brad’s not gonna die!” She pressed her hands more firmly against his wound. Blood spurted more fiercely. Laying a bloody hand on her shoulder, Rusty said, “I can save him. But—would he want me to?” Hope leaped onto Gina’s face. “Yes!” Rusty stared at her, then looked down at his mortally wounded cousin. He’d saved Amber’s life in a similar situation, and she was definitely happy now. Still, Brad wasn’t Amber. “Are you sure? His life as he knows it will be over.” “No more Little League,” Gina murmured. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He’s too young to die. Save him.” Nodding, Rusty yanked his T-shirt over his head and handed it to Gina. “Press this against his throat.” Sliding his arm beneath his cousin’s shoulders, Rusty cradled Brad’s head in his arm and used his teeth to rip a jagged tear in his other wrist. 13

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Brad moaned. His eyelids fluttered. A gurgling sound escaped from his mouth as he tried to take a breath. Rusty pressed his wrist to Brad’s mouth. “Swallow my blood, Brad, unless you want to die.” For a few seconds, time seemed to stand still. Then Brad swallowed.

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Chapter Two “Shit, but this bra is itching the dickens out of me,” Mandi mumbled. Pulling off to the side of the road, she stopped the car, leaned forward, unhooked her bra, pulled an arm through her shirtsleeve with the bra strap and then pulled the offending garment out of her other sleeve. Running her finger along the strap, she grimaced. There it was— a rough patch. How in the world did that happen? Muttering under her breath, she tossed the bra onto the passenger seat. Should she get a new bra out of her suitcase? She wiggled her shoulders and both boobs bounced. “Ahhhhh.” It was so much more comfortable this way. She grimaced in her rearview mirror. “At this rate, my boobs will be sagging to my waist by the time I’m thirty. I should put a bra on, but I sure as hell don’t feel like digging through a suitcase in the trunk to find one.” Looking out her window, she made a face at the black-andwhite cow that was looking at her over the top of a fence. “Stupid cow. Stupid bra. Stupid directions. If Amber had given me decent directions, I would have found her house by now and could have changed into another bra there.” All she’d seen for the last twenty miles were cows and houses that had Christmas lights dangling from the porch eaves. The question was, had they been put up early or never taken down from last year? Shit, that one trailer had fourteen plastic statues of snowmen, Santa Claus and reindeer in the front yard—with one big, orange jack-o’-lantern in the middle. A flashing red light caught her attention, and she glanced into her rearview mirror. A white and green SUV was slowing to a halt behind her. Mandi ground her teeth together. “Fuck, cops. Not a state police car, though. Must be local. Just what I need—some redneck sheriff ogling me.” She glanced down at her chest and sighed. At least her nipples weren’t sticking out.

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There was a knock on her window, and a young, sandy-haired man with buckteeth nodded to her. Mandi rolled down her window. “Can I help you, Sheriff?” He tried to maintain a stern expression but then grinned. “I’m just a deputy, ma’am. Deputy Earl Biggs. You lost or something?” “Yes. How did you know?” “Sadie Dunkelburger called about a strange car driving back and forth six times in front of her house. She figured somebody was plannin’ on murderin’ her in her bed.” Mandi tapped the steering wheel with her fingernails. Some old lady had counted how many times she’d driven by? Didn’t people here have anything else to do? Oh well, maybe this deputy could point her in the right direction. “I’m not planning on murdering anybody, Deputy. I’m looking for my friend Amber Blake’s house. She gave me directions, but I can’t seem to find her lane. There aren’t any street signs.” The deputy took off his hat, then grinned. “Amber Blake? Don’t sound like a local name.” He scratched his head. Then he said, “Nipple.” Mandi looked down at her chest. “What?” He wasn’t fazed. “You’re lookin’ for Rusty Nipple’s woman.” Wrenching her gaze up from her chest where her nipples had decided to see what was going on, Mandi gripped the steering wheel with both hands, swallowed and kept her voice as calm as she could. “Amber is not his woman. He doesn’t own her. She’s his fiancée.” The deputy nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I said—Rusty’s woman.” Gritting her teeth, Mandi growled. “Could you please just tell me how to get to her house?” He grinned and pointed. “Road’s right there.” Mandi stared ahead. She didn’t see anything that looked like a driveway. “Where? I don’t see any paving.”

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“Ain’t paved. It’s that dirt road right there not twenty feet in front of you. Cost a hell of a lot to pave it. Cheaper just to fill the potholes with loose rock in the spring.” Squinting, Mandi tried to see where the deputy was pointing. All she saw were weeds and brambles and, finally, an ivy-covered mailbox. Was that it? “Oh, okay. Thanks for your help.” She glanced back at the deputy. He was staring at the bra lying on the seat beside her. She didn’t hide the irritation in her voice. “What? You’ve never seen a woman’s bra before?” Blushing fire-engine red, he yanked his gaze from her bra to her chest. His face turned red all the way up to his eyebrows before he jerked his gaze to the sky. His voice was four octaves higher when he started to talk. “It’s startin’ to…” His voice returned to normal. “G-get dark. Best you be drivin’ on. The lane back to the house is just over a mile long. Watch out for the potholes. Have a good day—er, night, ma’am.” After one last quick glance at her chest, he stumbled back to his vehicle, scrambled in and gunned the engine. Dust flew as he peeled out and disappeared down the deserted road. “Idiot,” Mandi mumbled as she put her car into gear and eased forward, braking to a stop next to the mailbox she’d just noticed. There was a lane on the other side. She glanced back at the mailbox. This had to be the place. That was Amber’s name. Easing her foot off the brake, she turned into the lane.

***** Muttering obscenities, Brad settled himself into his patrol car. Damn Earl anyway. Amber was expecting her friend—what was her name? Mary, Marty, Maggie, or something like that—to arrive today, and that had to be who Earl had talked to. But 17

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then he had to ramble on about Sadie Dunkelburger getting murdered in her bed and a woman with nice tits driving around half naked looking for Amber Blake’s house. Best he drive out there to make sure everything was okay. Amber and Rusty would be back from New York City in a couple of days, and he’d promised to keep an eye on the house and make sure Amber’s cat was fed. He snorted. A cat. He was babysitting a damned cat. Why couldn’t Amber have a dog like everybody else? Hell, he’d rather baby-sit one of those snippy, prissy poodles instead of a cat. Cats could take care of themselves. “Yeah, but most cats aren’t cross-eyed and don’t run into walls,” he muttered. He glanced at the sky through his dark glasses. Almost sundown—he’d soon be able to take the glasses off. Actually, since it was late October, he probably didn’t need them because the sun wasn’t very strong at this time of the day. Brad rubbed the back of his neck. His new life sucked. And it had as soon as he’d woken in Rusty’s house six weeks ago, the morning after he’d been shot. Brad remembered getting shot. He also remembered knowing he was dying. Drinking his cousin’s blood had saved his life, in a manner of speaking. Brad wasn’t quite sure how it worked. Neither was Rusty. His cousin just knew it had worked with Amber when she’d been mortally wounded, so he had been pretty sure it would work again. Brad just wished he’d had more time to think about it. Mumbling to himself, Brad started his cruiser, backed out of his parking spot and headed toward Amber’s farm, half his mind on his driving, the other half on his new life as a vampire. When he’d woken that first morning after he’d been shot, Rusty had been standing beside his bed holding a mug full of deer blood. Just the thought had made Brad gag. He’d refused to drink it, and Rusty had threatened to tie him down and pour blood down his throat if he didn’t. And he would have been able to. Brad had been as weak as a newborn kitten. He’d been sure its taste would make him nauseous. However, once he’d gotten the blood past his eyes and sipped it, he’d started to feel better immediately. Now, he made 18


sure he drank at least a cup a day. He still wasn’t crazy about the idea, and his life would be much simpler, as far as he was concerned, if he could just eat rare steaks, but that didn’t work. His body required blood or he became lethargic and confused. Neither was an ideal state for a vampire. Someone could put a stake in his heart if he wasn’t careful. Flipping on his signal, Brad turned left. He was a vampire. Christ! Who’d have believed it? Even now that he knew better, he didn’t think any normal person would believe vampires even existed—except maybe fucked-up teenagers and crazy city slickers. Yet here he was, and his life was screwed up good now. His job as county sheriff was compromised since his ability to travel in daylight was hampered, and he’d had to rely more and more on his deputies to assume many of his duties. People were starting to notice. The only logical thing to do was to drop out of the race for reelection in November. In less than a month, the county would elect a new sheriff, and come January, that person would become responsible for everything. What the hell was he was going to do then? Vampire or not, he still had to pay taxes. How the hell was he going to support himself? What kind of job could he get? But the worst part about being a vampire was having to give up coaching Little League. A lot of people were still pissed at him about that. No excuse he’d come up with had satisfied them. Fuckin’ hell. He was tempted to just tell them the truth and then bite somebody. That would fix them. Flipping his turn signal on again, he slowed down and headed up Amber’s driveway, thankful that she had decided to have it paved in the spring even though it was going to cost a lot more than she’d like to pay. But the account set up by her deceased uncle to maintain the property had plenty of money in it, and, after driving out to inspect the property himself, Amber’s lawyer agreed that paving the lane could be considered maintenance. It did have too many potholes, and some of them were deep enough to swallow a small car.

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“Fuck,” he muttered. “Is this what I’m going to do for the rest of my life? Baby-sit Amber’s cat when she and Rusty go away? What kind of life is this? Maybe I’d be better off dead. At least then I wouldn’t have to listen to snide remarks about being too selfish to coach the kids anymore or listen to Gina bug me about what it’s like to be a vampire. It’s fucking lousy. That’s what it’s like.” A dark shape bolted across the lane just in front of his cruiser. Was that Amber’s cat? Hadn’t he closed the back door early this morning after he’d stopped to put food out for the little monster?

***** The third pothole Mandi jolted into bounced her off the driver’s seat. As her ass settled back down, she glanced into her rearview mirror. How much farther to Amber’s house? Surely she’d gone a mile by now. Her small car shook when the right front wheel dipped into another hole. “Damn it, Amber!” she yelled out her open window. “You need to get your driveway fixed. When something falls off my car, I’m sending you the repair bill!” The setting sun flashed into her eyes as she rounded a bend. Blinking, she ducked her head…and lurched into another pothole. As she steered out of it, there was a loud pop and her entire car tilted left. Mandi slapped both hands down on the steering wheel. “Damn it!” Jerking up the door handle, she shouldered the door open, slid out and slammed it shut. Two steps confirmed her fear. The driver’s side front tire was flat. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I can’t afford to have a flat tire!” She looked around. Off to her right was newly painted red barn. Past the barn but straight in front of her was a white house with green shutters. Baskets of dangling red geraniums hung from the rafters of a porch that stretched across the front of the house. A couple of rocking chairs swayed in the gentle breeze. Roses, marigolds, more geraniums and mums in myriad colors were planted in front of the house on both sides of the wide set of six steps leading up to the 20


high porch. The front screen door was painted the same inviting shade of green as the shutters. A couple of orange jack-o’-lanterns were placed strategically on the right side of the top two steps with a shock of dried cornstalks leaning against the steps next to them. Mandi sniffed. Okay, so Amber had a really nice-looking house. She glared back at her flat tire. Amber still had a really bad driveway. “Fucking road.” She contemplated the tire. How long would it take to change it? Her spare was in the trunk underneath everything she had packed there. She shook her head. No way was she unloading her stuff to deal with a dirty tire. “I’m not changing it. Amber’s Rusty can do it. He has to be good for something, damn it.” She kicked the tire. “He was probably supposed to fill in these potholes anyway. That’s what these country guys do, don’t they—work outside?” Still muttering obscenities, Mandi grabbed her keys and purse. She might as well go and find the house key before she started hauling her stuff in. Blowing some wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face, she trudged toward the house. “Damn it!” She kicked a loose stone. “Why did Amber have to go to New York City the day before I got here? So what if she wanted to meet her new agent and her editor? She could have picked another time, couldn’t she? They would have understood. Good God, she’s getting married in two weeks. She has to have a ton of stuff to do yet.” Stopping, she fisted her hands on her hips and stared at the house again. It looked even better the closer she got—definitely a nice place to visit. A short swath of lawn led around both sides of the house. The lawn gave way to forest, and Mandi could see the tops of more trees behind the house. Bright leaves of red, orange and gold blazed on the trees. As colorful and festive as they looked now, forest still surrounded the house on three sides. Mandi looked back over her shoulder. Amber’s front yard stretched down to the barn which had a wide meadow in front of it. Beyond that was more forest. Except for

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the thin line of the driveway, Amber’s property was completely surrounded by woods. Talk about being cut off from civilization! Mandi shivered. A raucous caaaaa exploded out of a tree off to her right, and a big, black crow flapped over her head toward the woods. Spooky. She shivered. “I wouldn’t want to live here.” As she looked back to the house, a different black streak exploded out of an azalea bush just of ahead of her and wobbled a zigzag path toward the house, only to disappear among the yellow and orange mums planted next to the porch steps. “Midnight? Is that you?” Hurrying to the steps, Mandi dropped her purse and keys. The spicy fragrance of autumn flowers surrounded her as she waded into the small pond of blooming plants. “Midnight? Here, kitty, kitty. How did you get out? I know Amber doesn’t let you outside. You’re handicapped.” “Meooooooow?” The cat’s call echoed from under the porch. Mandi looked around. “Oh shit. Now what?” Stooping, she peered between a huge orange mum and a rosebush with a few late blooms. “Midnight? Where are you? Here, kitty, kitty. Come on out. It’s me, Mandi. You remember me, don’t you?” Inching forward on her hands and knees until she reached the latticework behind the flowers, Mandi squinted and peered into the darkness under the porch. “Midnight? Are you in there?” Dampness seeped into the knees of her jeans. “Meoooow?” A musty, loamy odor that smelled like dead bugs and slimy earthworms wafted from beneath the porch. Again Mandi blew wisps of hair off her forehead, then wrinkled her nose. First a flat tire and now a runaway cat. What next? “Midnight! Come out here right now. What

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will Amber say? Who knows what’s under there that could bite you. Or you could get fleas. Do you really want that to happen?” Mandi pushed against the latticework. One of the strips moved to the side. “So that’s how you got under there. Come on, Midnight. The ground is wet.” A pair of crossed eyes appeared before her face and stared at her from the darkness. “Here, kitty, kitty. Come on out, Midnight. I’ll feed you.” Still on her hands and knees, Mandi backed away. Midnight followed her. She backed into the rosebush and one of the bush’s thorny branches immediately grabbed her ass. Her shriek scared Midnight back into the darkness. Lurching forward, Mandi freed herself from the thorns, then leaped to her feet, rubbing her ass as she did so. A deep voice rumbled behind her. “Problem, ma’am?”

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Chapter Three Déjà vu wrapped itself around Brad as he removed his sunglasses and stuck them into his chest pocket. Less than a year ago, he’d stood in almost this exact spot and watched a woman’s ass wiggle as she stuck her head under this same house’s front porch. Of course, at that time there hadn’t been dozens of flowers planted everywhere. He had to admit, though, that all these reds, yellows, oranges, purples and whites sure framed the soft blue denim hugging this particular ass mighty nicely. And this wasn’t the same woman. This wiggling ass definitely wasn’t Amber’s. No sirree, Bob, this ass was a bit rounder, a bit plumper—the kind of ass he liked to cup, caress and fondle while he was burying his cock deep inside a wet pussy. He waited for the familiar rush of blood, the familiar stirring of his cock that was always there whenever he saw a nice ass. After a few seconds, he snorted silently to himself. No blood rush, no stirring, not even a twitch. Nothing. No feeling whatsoever. His dick was as dead as a doornail. Hell, he hadn’t even pissed since he’d been changed. Rusty said it would be six months before his kidneys worked again. Being a fucking vampire wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Brad shook his head. Rusty said his dick would start working again—sometime. Gritting his teeth, Brad closed his eyes. Fuck! He sure as hell wished Rusty could tell him how long it would take until he could get a hard-on again. He opened his eyes. The woman had pushed herself to her feet. Nope, definitely not Amber. She was at least four inches shorter, five-foot-three maybe, with curvy hips and nice legs covered by the soft material of her tight jeans. A thick, dark ponytail stuck out from the back of her head and bounced against her shoulder blades as she turned her head from one side to the other.

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Then, as soon as he spoke, she spun around and his attention was pulled from her sweet, blue-jeaned ass to a plain white T-shirt that covered a pair of jiggling breasts— breasts with nipples that were poking against her shirt as if they were staring back at him. Brad licked his lips. He liked jiggling breasts with hard nipples even more than he liked a tight ass. He shifted his weight. His cock was relaxed against his left leg, limp as an overcooked noodle. When she saw him, the woman started. After a quick intake of breath, she sputtered, “Who are you?” Even though she was standing in the house’s shadow a good fifteen yards away, Brad could see her as plain as day. One good thing about being a vampire was that he could see at night better than he used to be able to during the day. Cocking an eyebrow, Brad dragged his gaze away from her tight nipples, up along her smooth neck—his eyeteeth began to ache—and stopped at a square chin. Stubborn, then. In his experience, stubborn women were good in bed because they kept going— and kept him going—until they were completely satisfied. The woman stamped her foot, and Brad let his gaze drift to her mouth. Her cherry lips were drawn into a tight line, and the nostrils of her pert nose were flared. A rosecolored flush surged up her neck and over high cheekbones. Finally, Brad made eye contact. Chocolate-colored eyes sparkled with dark fire. She was pissed. Brad started to grin, then froze. Had his cock just twitched? “Are you deaf or something?” the woman snapped.

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Brad waited a moment, then focused his attention back on the woman. His cock was exactly the same as it had been for the last month and a half—dead as road-killed possum. Taking off his hat, Brad nodded back at his cruiser. “Juniata county sheriff, ma’am, and I should be asking who you are. This is private property. And why the hell were you trying to crawl under the porch?” Sniffing, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m supposed to be here. I’m meeting my friend, Amber Blake.” Damn, he couldn’t see her nipples anymore. He raised his gaze to her face again. “How do you know this is the right house?” More sparks flashed from her eyes. Brad grinned. The angrier she got, the prettier she got. “Because I’m willing to bet my last nickel that nobody else around here has a crosseyed, long-haired black cat under her porch.” He stopped grinning and stepped forward. “Ah fuck. How’d that damn cat get out?”

Mandi stepped back as the big sheriff stomped toward her. He knew about Midnight? “Do you know Amber?” Stopping in front of her, he nodded. “I’m Brad Keister, Rusty’s cousin.” Mandi choked on her laugh. Keister? His last name was Keister? That was almost as bad as Nipple. What was next? Somebody named Boob? He stuck out his hand. She stepped back. The rosebush grabbed her ass again. “Ouch, damn it!” Mandi jumped forward and landed against his torso. He grasped her upper arms to steady her. “What’s wrong?” 26


Flattening her hands against his chest, she spread her fingers wide. My, oh my, oh my. Every inch was all hard muscle. “You okay?” “What?” Mandi looked up and fell into a pair of eyes the color of a storm-tossed ocean. Her senses practically shut down. There were no sounds except his breathing, no scents except his own—hot and male. She felt only his body against hers. She was blind to everything except him, the sheriff, Brad Keister. Mandi tried to blink and couldn’t, tried to wrench her gaze away and couldn’t. One look into his eyes and she was lost. She’d fallen in over her head, and some part of her consciousness knew it. Secrets swirled in the blue depths of his eyes—dark secrets that would never be revealed to the light of the sun, dark secrets that sank their roots into the very depths of his soul…and hers. She fell even deeper into his stare. He blinked. Mandi watched his eyelids fall, noted his long, dark lashes, and felt the subtle spell that had gripped her fade away. His lips moved. Her sense of hearing returned as his hands tightened on her upper arms. “Are you okay?” His fresh, male scent swirled around her. She blinked, then blinked again. Her voice came out in a breathy whisper. “Yes.” White teeth flashed in a grin. “You going to stop rubbing my chest then?” Mandi blinked yet again. More of her senses returned.

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Her fingertips tingled, and she wrenched her gaze from his face to his chest where she was tracing slow circles around the buttons on his shirt pockets. His muscles jumped beneath her hands. Gasping, she jumped away from him—right into the rosebush again. It slapped her ass. “Damn it!” She leaped forward into his arms and grabbed his shoulders. Hooking her ankles together behind his back, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

As the force of her leap caused him to step back, Brad wrapped one arm around her slender waist and the other at the top of her thighs, just below her ass. This was by far the craziest woman he’d ever met. Still, she felt pretty good wrapped around him like this, her crotch pressed tightly against his abdomen. Maybe, if she shifted, she’d slide a little lower. He spread his fingers over the side of her rib cage. “If you wrap your legs around every man you meet, there must be a lot of happy men in the world.” “Put me down!” Leaning his head back, he cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her. “You’re the one who jumped on me.” Her face was full of consternation. “That’s because I backed into a rosebush, you idiot!” Brad slid the arm up against her ass. Something pricked his wrist. “Ouch!” She squashed her breasts against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Damn, but she felt good. Too bad he was wearing a shirt. The thought of her hard nipples rubbing against his bare chest sent a shiver dancing down his spine. Unhooking her ankles, she tried to lower her legs. However, Brad kept his left arm locked against her right thigh and under her buttocks so she was only able to lower one 28


leg. He didn’t want to let her go just yet. It had been too long since he’d had his arms wrapped around a squirming woman. He chuckled. “You have a thorn in your butt.” “I know that,” she hissed in his ear. “Put me down so I can get it out.” “I wouldn’t be much of a public servant if I didn’t help you.” Sliding his hand over her behind, he cupped and squeezed her ass cheek. “Get your hands off my ass, or I swear I’ll go Mike Tyson on you and bite your ear off.” Her warm breath slid past his ear and swirled around the back of his neck. Warmth pooled deep in his stomach. Brad’s imagination began to run wild. If she’d bite his ear, what else would she bite? His canine teeth began to ache even more, and he had to concentrate to keep them from growing. Then, without any warning, his cock twitched. Brad froze. She wiggled against him. More warm breath meandered over his earlobe. His cock stirred again. Breathless, he waited—waited for the familiar rush of blood and tightening of his balls. It didn’t come. Still, joy flooded his body. His cock had moved. This woman in his arms, Amber’s friend, had made his cock move. It wasn’t dead. He squeezed her ass once more. She dug her nails into the back of his shoulders. “Quit feeling me up and put me down, or I’ll sue you for harassment.” “You’re the one harassing me.” He slid his fingers to the thorn and nudged it. She growled in his ear.

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“It’s in deeper than I thought. Hold on,” he murmured. One quick yank had it out. Immediately, he rubbed his thumb against the spot. One leg still wrapped around his waist, the other pressed tightly against the length of his thigh, she snarled, “Put…me…down, or I swear I will bite you.” Please, bite me, he thought. “You’ve threatened an officer of the law—twice,” Brad answered with a chuckle. “That’s a felony.” Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she arched her back against his arm and stared at him. Her movements pressed her crotch even more firmly against him. “I what? Are you nuts?” Grinning into her angry face, Brad finally loosened his hold on her other leg. If she’d been pissed before, she was spitting mad now. But that didn’t matter. Nor did it matter that his cock was hanging limp against his leg. He’d felt it move, and this woman had caused it. He and she were going to become much, much better acquainted. He stepped back, propped his hands on his hips and said, “What’s your name again?”

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Chapter Four Gritting her teeth, Mandi tried to swallow some of her irritation as she glared at the sheriff. He couldn’t remember her name? Mandi knew he’d been told she was coming. When Amber had called to explain that she had to go to New York, she said she’d told Rusty’s cousin that Mandi would be arriving today. Idiot! Well, if he couldn’t remember her name, she wasn’t going to tell him. She was better off getting rid of him. “Look, Sheriff Keister…” “Call me Brad.” “Sheriff. I am Amber’s friend. If she were here instead of in New York, she’d tell you that.” He nodded. “I believe you. Nobody else would try to get that crazy cat out from underneath the porch.” He grinned and her stomach rolled. Never had she seen such a gorgeous smile. Nobody could have teeth that white! And he had a dimple on his chin. He had a bump on his nose too. He also needed a haircut. Windblown light brown hair brushed against his collar and hung down over his broad forehead. Her gaze returned to his eyes. They were such a clear, beautiful blue! This sheriff, Brad Keister, may not have been a classically handsome man, but he was definitely appealing. Then, as if on cue, Midnight stepped out from among the yellow and orange marigolds and rubbed her head against Mandi’s leg. “Meoooow?” Wrenching her stare and mind away from the man standing before her and castigating herself mentally for even thinking he was handsome—she was not in any way interested in a hick sheriff from the middle of nowhere—she focused her attention on the cat. “Midnight! How did you get outside?” Shooting what she hoped was a withering glare at the sheriff, she stooped and gathered the fluffy black cat into her 31

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arms. And, for once, her friend’s crazy cat cooperated and stayed there. Now all she had to do was get rid of the sheriff. “It’s nice the way you stopped to check on things here, but you can see that everything’s all right. You can go do your job now.” Stepping to her left, Mandi clutched Midnight with one arm, stooped, picked up her car keys and purse, then hurried up the porch steps to the front door. “Amber keeps her spare key under that pot full of river stones.” His voice followed her. She heard the amusement in his tone but refused to turn around. “I know that.” “Then why were you starting to stoop to look under the doormat?” “Fucking asshole,” Mandi mumbled under her breath as she shoved her car keys in her pocket, shrugged her purse strap up onto her shoulder and grabbed the edge of the wide pot sitting next to the doormat. She pushed. She pulled. It didn’t budge. The cat began to squirm. A sharp claw dug into Mandi’s side. Biting her lip, she refused to acknowledge the pain. She’d be damned if she let this hick sheriff think she needed help. “I’ll get it.” Warm breath caressed the back of her neck. Mandi almost jumped out of her shoes. How did he get behind her so fast? Why hadn’t he made any noise? The porch steps had creaked when she walked up them and this guy had to weigh at least a hundred pounds more than she did. Before she could comment—or scramble away from his big body—he had the key in the latch and had opened the door. Turning, he smiled down at her. “You go on in and make yourself at home, and I’ll get your suitcase from your car.” With a nod, he headed down off the porch. Wishing he’d just get in his cruiser and go, Mandi watched him stride toward her vehicle. From the back, she had to admit to herself, he was pretty nice to look at. 32


Normally, she didn’t like men so big. This guy had to be at least six-two. But, even though he wasn’t all bulky with muscle like some guys his size, he did have nice, broad shoulders. What’s more, there was no beer belly on him. She’d been plastered tight against his torso. His abs were rock-hard. Her gaze dropped down. This hick sheriff had a nice keister too. Chuckling at her own joke, Mandi pulled the screen door shut, then dropped the squirming cat to the floor. With a meow, Midnight scampered drunkenly toward the back of the house, her crossed eyes hampering her only once when she stumbled into a potted plant sitting next to the doorway. Shaking her head at Amber’s unique pet, Mandi looked around her friend’s living room. The walls were painted a bright, welcoming yellow. Deep gold draperies framed the windows. A couple of Oriental carpets were strategically placed in front of the door and between the comfortable-looking sofa and the stone fireplace. A chair and ottoman were on one side of the sofa and a recliner was on the other. Square pillows in bright orange, red, and yellow added a splash of color. Tables with lamps completed the cozy scene. A thunk on the porch had Mandi spinning to look out the door. “How long you planning on staying?” the sheriff asked as he dropped her third suitcase. Mandi sniffed. He probably knew absolutely nothing about fashion. “I wanted to make sure I had the right clothing. I never really got a chance to ask Amber what I needed. And she did mention a couple of parties. And I’ll be throwing her a bridal shower. And, of course, there will be the rehearsal dinner.” He shook his head and mumbled something about women. Then, “What’s in the cooler and all those bags in the backseat?” “Food.” Cocking an eyebrow, he looked her up and down. “Just how much do you eat?”

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God, but he was starting to be more of a pain in the ass than the thorn had been. Why didn’t he just go? “I’m a chef, and Amber loves my food, especially my crème brûlée. I plan on cooking gourmet meals for her, so I brought the ingredients I’ll need.” “Gourmet chef, huh? Crème brû—what?” “Brûlée. My specialty is a chocolate raspberry, but I only make it when I can get very fresh raspberries. It’s too late in the season for those. But, as I was driving here, I found a quaint roadside vegetable stand where the women wore old-fashioned dresses, and I bought some fresh apples. They let me try their cider, and I bought some of that too. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted any so fresh. Anyway, with the fresh apples I got, I’ll make an apple cinnamon brûlée.”

As she rambled on about apples, cream, cinnamon and such, Brad turned and headed back to her car for the bags of groceries. Probably just as well that she brought them since Amber and Rusty didn’t have much of a variety of food in the house. Lots of meat, a couple of different kinds of beverages, maybe some crackers, and that was about it. One thing he’d learned since becoming a vampire was that, so long as he had blood, his body was content. Psychologically, he still wanted to eat, but his digestive system had become more…delicate. Raw meat was fine—so were dairy products. As a matter of fact, it seemed that he could digest small amounts of any animal products. But vegetables—forget it. No more salad, fresh sugar peas or corn on the cob for him. Fuck, but he really loved grilled corn on the cob. When he reached her car, he opened the back door and surveyed the inside. Shit, but she had enough food back here for an army. Silly woman must have thought they didn’t have grocery stores around here. And who the hell was going to eat all of it? He sniffed. Nothing smelled interesting. Grunting, Brad pulled the cooler off the backseat and set it on the ground. Then he grabbed the four shopping bags, jiggling them a little to see if the handles would hold. 34


After hoisting the cooler up onto his shoulder, he slid his left hand through the handle loops and headed back to the house. The suitcases were gone from the porch. He grunted again. She was stronger than she looked. Those suitcases had been heavy. “Where you want this stuff?” he called as he toed the door open. Both hands gripping the handle of the largest suitcase, she was dragging it up the staircase. She paused long enough to glare down at him. “Kitchen. Where else?” Brad smiled. She was still pissed at him for pulling that thorn out of her ass. “That suitcase is heavy. Let me put this stuff in the kitchen and I’ll carry them up to the spare bedroom for you.” The suitcase thunked up another step. “I can manage myself. Just put those things in the kitchen and you can go do your sheriff stuff.” Still smiling, he strode to the kitchen, set the bags on the table and swung the cooler to the floor. Then he returned to the living room, grabbed the other two suitcases and leaped up the stairway. She was lugging the suitcase down the hallway. “Spare bedroom is on your right.” The suitcase thunked to the floor as she spun around. “Are you still here? Honestly, Sheriff, thank you for your help, but I can manage myself.” As Brad stepped forward, she stepped back. Reaching past her, he grabbed a doorknob, turned it and pushed the door open. “There you go. I’ll say goodnight now.” The relief on her face made Brad chuckle. Spinning on his heel, he left her staring after him. He hurried down the stairs and out the door. Before leaving, though, he got the tire jack from his patrol car and changed her flat tire. After finishing, he tossed the flat tire into his car. He’d make sure it got fixed. Then he opened the passenger side

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door of her car and slid in. A quick search of her glove compartment had her insurance information in his hands. He grinned. Her name was Mandi. Mandi O’Brien.

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Chapter Five Rising up onto her tiptoes, Mandi put the last box of pasta into the now much fuller cupboard. “There. That’s everything.” She frowned. When she’d lived in Philadelphia, Amber had always had a well-stocked pantry. Her cupboards were never this bare. Maybe Rusty ate a lot. She glanced down at Midnight. “You know, I found a website with gourmet recipes for cat food. There was one there for salmon that I’m going to make for you.” Midnight ignored her and continued to wash a front paw. “Humph. Like you even care.” Lifting her hands over her head, Mandi stretched. “Damn, but I’m tired. Driving always does that to me.” She glanced at her wristwatch. 8:30 p.m. Definitely too early to go to bed. She rolled her shoulders. “A nice, long soak in a tub filled with hot water will be nice.” Stooping, she patted the cat’s head then headed for the upstairs bathroom. Once there, she turned on the water in the big, old, claw-footed tub, adjusted the temperature and dumped in a couple of healthy dollops of the lily-scented bubble bath she found in the bathroom closet. Amber wouldn’t mind. After lighting the vanilla-scented candle sitting on the back of the toilet, Mandi turned off the water in the now mostly full tub, stripped off her clothing and sank into the warm, bubble-filled water. With a long, contented sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Lily-scented steam mixed with the delicious odor of the vanilla candle as the warm water cradled her tired body. Oh yes, this was just heavenly.

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“Aw, fuck!” Brad stared through his windshield. Even without the headlights, he wouldn’t have had any problem seeing the huge Holstein bull standing in the middle of the road. As he eased his cruiser to a halt, the black-and-white bull snorted, lifted its head and sniffed. “I told Tittle at least a dozen times to reinforce his fuckin’ fence,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m getting sick and tired of having to wrestle that damn bull back into his pasture. Tomorrow he gets a citation for endangering the public.” Cursing silently to himself, Brad eased out of the cruiser. Damn bull broke through the fence almost nightly. Most of those nights, Brad found it waiting in the middle of the road. “Yeah, it’s me. You can sense what I am, can’t you?” The bull pawed the ground again and shook its head. Flecks of foam dribbled from its mouth and splattered against the macadam road. About four feet in front of his car, Brad planted his feet and flexed his hands. “Come on, you son of a bitch. Let’s get this over with.” Foam flew as the rage-filled bull bellowed, shook its head and charged. Brad met the charging thousand-pound animal head-on. Stepping to the left as the bull reached him, Brad grabbed its short horns, twisted its neck and threw it to the ground. “Steer wrestling in the rodeo isn’t as hard as it looks,” he told the bull through gritted teeth as he forced it to its knees. Sinking his fangs into its neck, he sucked its rich, thick blood into his mouth. After drinking his fill, he tightened his hands on its horns, took a deep breath and heaved the bull over the fence. It landed with a thud that had dirt flying three feet off the ground. The air rushed from its lungs with a whoosh as the bull staggered to its feet and wheezed until it could breathe again. Then it bellowed, raised its tail and lumbered off toward its barn.

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Brushing his hands against each other, Brad shook his head. You’d think the thickheaded bastard would have learned his lesson by now. Night after night, Brad threw him back into his pasture and did a makeshift job of fixing the fence. And the morning after every one of those nights, he was waiting for Calvin Tittle when the old farmer headed for the barn at five a.m. to milk his cows. All the old bastard ever did was laugh and ask Brad if he fixed the fence. “One of these days, I’m going to wring that bull’s neck,” he mumbled as he shoved the fence rails back into place. “Then I won’t have to worry about it trying to gore my guts out.” Fifteen minutes later, Brad was back in his cruiser, patrolling. After another twenty minutes, he glanced at the dashboard clock, then stared out through his windshield. A dark road stretched before him. The houses he passed were just as dark, except for a light on here and there in houses with babies. Clothed in wisps of mist, the half-moon hung low in the cloudy, starless sky. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear an owl hooting in the large oak he just passed. Cornstalks rustled on his right as a small herd of deer slipped through the field on his left. Nothing illegal or nefarious was happening in Juniata County—and the woman who had brought his cock to life was twenty-five miles away. “Fuck this. I want her,” he growled to himself in the rearview mirror. Stomping on the brakes, he let the cruiser skid to a halt, backed up in a three-point turn and headed back the way he had come. Just how much more would being around her affect his cock? When he reached the road to the house, Brad turned off his lights, drove slowly to the barn and parked his cruiser behind it. Sliding from behind the wheel, he headed back to the house. The memory of Mandi’s breasts crushed against his chest, her supple legs wrapped around his waist and her sweet breath flowing past his ear leaped into his memory. When she’d threatened to bite his ear, his cock had moved. He had to come back, had to see what she was doing. 39

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The house was dark but for one light—the light in the spare bedroom in the back corner of the house. Moving silently and swiftly as only a vampire could, Brad stopped next to the golden-crowned oak tree. Flexing his knees, he leaped upward and landed lightly on a thick bough. Stepping across to another branch, he leaned back against the trunk of the tree and stared into the slightly open window. Luckily for him, the curtains were pulled back and, more importantly, the leaves were still thick enough to hide him from view. Crossing his arms over his chest, he snorted to himself. Here he was, an officer of the law, spying on a woman alone in a house. Hell, he should be arresting himself. Then Mandi stepped into his view wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt.

Staring into the full-length mirror, Mandi pulled the scrunchie off her ponytail, shook her hair loose and grabbed her brush. After a few strokes, though, she put her brush down. “Damn, Midnight,” she said to the cat that had curled up on the bed. “I forgot my body spray.” She grabbed the bottle of vanilla- and fig-scented body splash, pulled the oversized neck of her shirt out and spritzed herself. “Brrrrr, Midnight, this stuff is cold. Still, I insist on smelling nice.” She slid her hand under her shirt and sprayed her stomach, then continued down one leg and up the other. Midnight sneezed. “Sorry, kitty, but if you don’t like it, you can leave.” The cat sneezed again and wobbled to the other side of the bed. Smiling, Mandi lifted her shirt and sprayed her back. When the spray hit the small cut the thorn had made, she gasped, dropped the bottle, lifted her shirt and looked over her shoulder into the mirror. A small red scratch was visible low on her ass cheek. “Damn! That stung,” she muttered as she examined her butt in the mirror.

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Outside in the tree, Brad’s guilt over spying on Mandi fought with the enjoyment he got from watching her. What the hell are you doing, Keister? You’re an officer of the law peeping in a woman’s window like some voyeuristic teenager. The heady scent of fresh vanilla, sweet fig and warm woman drifted out the slightly open window, and he inhaled deeply. His eyeteeth began to ache. Fuck, but she smells good enough to bite—or better yet, eat. When she lifted her shirt and he got a good look at her naked ass, his guilt vanished. Brad leaned forward. Christ, her ass is even better-looking than I thought. He flexed his fingers. Then when she rubbed her behind, his cock twitched. Sighing with pleasure and relief, he leaned back and smiled. So what if he was acting worse than a horny teenager? This woman had brought his pecker, just about the most important part of his body, back to life. That mattered more than a little peeking. Now that he knew how she affected him, he’d come back tomorrow evening and pitch a little woo. He’d seen all he needed to. He could finish his nightly rounds a happy man. Before Brad was able to leap down out of the tree, Mandi turned around, still holding the her shirt up and away from her ass, and, in the process, revealing the rich, mahogany curls between her thighs to his intent gaze. As a quick daydream of sliding his own fingers through those curls leaped into his mind, his cock exploded to life. Blood surged into it from every extremity. Gasping at the sudden shock—and pain—he ripped the button on the waistband open. The zipper of his fly slid down of its own accord as he reached into his pants and freed his now aching cock. Fisting his hand around its rock-hard length, he pumped once, twice, then had to grab a nearby branch to keep from falling out of the tree as his hot cum spurted into the air.

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Chapter Six “Christ.” Leaning his head back against the trunk of the tree, Brad closed his eyes. “Christ,” he gasped again. Opening his eyes, he looked down at the hand he had wrapped around his still hard and throbbing cock. “All that did was blow the froth off the top of the beer,” he muttered. “Still a lot of juice left to squeeze out.” He looked back through Mandi’s window. She stood in the middle of the room with a puzzled expression on her face. Her Tshirt was still up around her waist and she was sliding her fingers into the curls between her thighs. Brad’s cock jerked in his hand. She thrust her thighs forward. He pumped his cock. Her hips jerked. Brad sucked in a deep breath. This new development was very interesting. Was she reacting to him on some unconscious level? There was only one way to find out. He began pumping his cock slowly and steadily. Mandi moaned and shimmied her hips. Her fingers slid lower. “Oh yes, baby. That’s it. Play a little for me.” Closing his eyes, Brad leaped into a fantasy where he was half reclining on the bed next to Mandi and sliding his fingers down through her silky curls until he reached her wet pussy. There, he rubbed her hard little clit a few times, then slid first one, then a second finger into her and pumped them. Bending his head, he captured her mouth with his in a long, tongue-twisting kiss, then 42


nibbled his way down her neck and across her collarbone to suck on a cinnamoncolored nipple as she arched her breast into his mouth. A louder moan from inside the house caused him to open his eyes. Still fisting his cock—up, down, up, down—he watched as Mandy, her T-shirt bunched around her waist, staggered backward until she reached the wall. There, she braced herself, spread her legs apart and rubbed her clit. Her moans grew louder as she pumped her hips against her fingers. Hard nipples pressed against her shirt and seemed to watch Brad as he fisted his cock faster and faster, up and down, up and down. Mandi sobbed again and slapped her other hand against the wall. Brad began to pant as he imagined himself burying his cock deep inside her, her pussy muscles grabbing and sucking him. He groaned. Her pussy would be hot and wet and tight, he just knew it. Inside the house, Mandi rolled her head from side to side against the wall. Her sobs were replaced by a low keen. Brad’s balls drew up tight and began to burn. “Come on, baby. That’s it. Rub harder. That’s it. Come for me. Now!” As cum erupted high into the air a second time and his canines lengthened, Brad clutched the branch at his side and watched Mandi rhythmically beat her fist against the wall. Arching her back, she pushed her hips forward as she moved her fingers into her cunt. Then her legs shook, her knees wobbled and she slid to the floor where she leaned her head back against the wall and sucked huge gasps of air into her lungs. Slowly, Brad released his cock and stared at his shaking hand. Christ, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d come that hard and long. Of course, it had been awhile. Still, he felt a little weak in the knees himself. If he didn’t have his back braced against the trunk of the tree, he’d have probably fallen out. Did vampires break bones when they fell out of trees? A groan from the bedroom caught his attention, and he watched Mandi stagger to her feet, stumble across the room and collapse on the bed. 43

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“I know exactly how you feel, honey. It was as good for me as it was for you.” He rubbed an extended canine. “Except next time, my cock is going to be buried inside of you.” He rubbed his tooth again. “Hope you don’t mind if I bite you. I have a feeling coming will be even better, then.” After stuffing his still semi-hard cock back into his pants—he was sure he could have gone a third round—sucking in a few deep breaths and making sure his knees had stopped shaking, Brad leaped lightly to the ground and headed for his cruiser. Now he could finish his rounds. Then he’d go home and rest for the day. Tomorrow was another night and Mandi was going to get to know him much, much better.

Lying exhausted on her bed, Mandi stared at the ceiling. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, and she was still sucking extra air into her lungs. What the hell had just happened? One minute she’d been examining the scratch on her ass and the next she’d been so horny she didn’t know which way was up! Never had she experienced such a powerful urge for sex or such a powerful orgasm, not even when she was with a man. And against the wall? She didn’t masturbate against the wall. She always got comfortable either lying or sitting, no matter what room she was in. She shuddered and glanced around. Why had she felt like she wasn’t the only one here? Shivers dancing up and down her spine, she looked around the room again. Except for Midnight, she was definitely alone, yet she could swear she’d felt a man’s hand slip between her thighs, felt his fingers sliding in and out of her pussy, felt his mouth move from her lips to her breast. Then the weight of his body had settled on her. Muscular thighs had spread her legs wider and a thick, rock-hard cock had slid into her—one that stretched her, filled her, satisfied her more than any other ever had. Mandi closed her eyes. The memory of that hard cock being buried deep inside her surged to the forefront of her memory. She groaned as her pussy muscles contracted again as if they were still clasping it and sucking it in as deeply as they could. Her orgasm had been so powerful, she’d been unable to stand on her feet. That had never

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happened before when she masturbated. Sure, single sex was very satisfying, and she had often been able to draw out her pleasure until her eventual, wonderful climax, but she’d never, ever drawn such a powerful response with just her fingers—or a vibrator— as she had tonight. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling again. There wasn’t anyone else here. She was alone. Even though her body thought a man had satisfied her, the greatest sex she’d ever experienced had happened in her mind. What the hell was going on? Turning her head to the side, Mandi stared at her reflection in the dresser mirror. Her face was flushed. Well, that was to be expected. She frowned. Were her lips swollen? She shook her head. No way. That was impossible. It was just her imagination, and if she weren’t so damn exhausted, she’d get out of bed and look closer. Then she’d see that everything was normal. Yep, thinking her lips were swollen was just her imagination, and she had a great imagination. She often imagined herself with a man when she masturbated. That buff guy from her gym, the new tight end for the Eagles football team—the one with the really tight end—or even Brad Pitt. All of them were handsome men and perfect specimens for any woman’s fantasy, and pulling their faces into her mind was easy. Mandi continued to stare at herself. Why, then, was the man’s face that had appeared in her mind been that pain-in-the-ass sheriff, Brad Keister? Then, after one final shudder, she lifted her hand and rubbed the side of her neck. And why the hell did her neck itch so much?

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Chapter Seven As the warm, yeasty smell of freshly baked bread filled the air, Mandi meandered around the now-spotless kitchen. She dragged a finger along the countertop, then stared out the window onto a hill filled with the late blooms of wild roses. She’d spent the morning scrubbing Amber’s kitchen. Then in the afternoon, she’d made enough bread dough for three different loaves of bread—cinnamon raisin, whole wheat and tomato basil. She’d had to do something to keep her mind off last night’s explosive orgasm and pounding bread dough had been the perfect occupation. All three loaves were baked and cooling on the table. So what the hell was she supposed to do now? She glanced at the clock. Five o’clock on a Friday afternoon. Her gaze fell on the old wooden recipe box she’d set next to the old-fashioned metal toaster when she was cleaning the counters. Lifting it, Mandi examined it more carefully. Raised vines and flowers meandered around the sides and the name Molly was carved on the lid. Sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs, she set the box on the table, opened it and carefully lifted the yellowed cards and pieces of paper from inside. She smiled. Sometimes old recipes turned out to be real treasures. “Merooooooooow?” Midnight wove between her legs, then shuffled over to the newspapers stacked in a box in the corner. She jumped in, turned around once and proceeded to give herself a bath. “Let’s see what we have here. Liver and onions?” Mandi sniffed. “I don’t think so. Hot bacon dandelion dressing. Shoo fly pie. Hmmm. I think I’ll try that one someday. What’s this one—squirrel pot pie? Eat a squirrel—no way!” She lifted a particularly tattered card. “Peppermint rock candy. I haven’t had rock candy in years. Let’s see—

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water, sugar, light corn syrup, red food coloring, peppermint oil and confectioners’ sugar. I have all of that right here.” An hour later, she smiled a satisfied smile and inhaled the spicy peppermint aroma wafting from the hardening sheet of candy lying in the pan before her. “Hmmm. Doesn’t that smell wonderful, Midnight?” The cat blinked her crossed eyes and grinned a Cheshire cat grin. Mandi stared back at her. “I can’t just keep cooking and baking. What do people around here do on a Friday night?” “Sit on the porch and watch the sun go down.” Whirling, Mandi grabbed a knife out of the knife block next to her. Amusement evident on his face, Brad Keister stepped farther into the kitchen and inhaled. “Hmmmm. Smells really good in here. You bake that bread?” She clenched the knife tighter. “It didn’t bake itself.” He stared at the knife and chuckled. “That’s the third time you’ve threatened an officer of the law.” “I’m not threatening you. I’m defending myself.” “Against who?” Gritting her teeth, Mandi shoved the knife back into the knife block. Damn arrogant hick sheriff. “What do you want?” she asked again. “I thought you might be a little bored, so I came by to take you to supper if you wanted to go. Don’t matter much to me.” For the first time since he walked into the kitchen, Mandi noted that the sheriff wasn’t wearing his uniform. Instead he was in jeans and a blue shirt. “Is this rock candy?” he continued as he looked down at the sheet of red candy. He poked his finger at it. “Watch out! It’s…” “Son of a bitch, that’s hot.” He stuck his finger in his mouth. 47

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Crossing her arms over her breasts, Mandi smiled her own Cheshire cat smile. He got just what he deserved. “I tried to tell you I just poured it out of the pot, but you had to poke at it like a little kid.” He pulled his finger out of his mouth. “I haven’t had homemade rock candy in years.” “I didn’t make it for you. It’s for Amber and Rusty.” He grinned. “They’ll share with me. So, do you want to go get something to eat or do you just want to stay here and watch television? I think Amber gets four channels.” Mandi blinked. “Four?” He nodded. “No cable here. Amber and Rusty have been talking about getting a satellite dish, but right now there’s only an antenna to pick up the Harrisburg stations.” She blinked again. “Harrisburg stations?” “Those are the only signals Amber can get because of how the house sits between these two ridges.” Mandi fought to keep her mind on television, cooking, cleaning…anything except how his blue shirt complemented his blue eyes or how broad his shoulders were. The minute she thought about that, her memory jerked her back to last night’s fantasy of this particular man screwing her until she wasn’t able to stand up. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” she muttered to herself. “Did you say something?” Mandi blinked, focused on his face, then wrenched her gaze away. That look in his eyes was entirely too speculative. Well, he could speculate all he wanted. That was as far as he was going to get. But she wasn’t going to cut off her nose to spite her face. Sitting here for the rest of the night with only four television channels was not in the least bit appealing. She may as well go and find out what Juniata County nightlife was like.

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“Umm, yes. I’d like to go for something to eat.” She focused her attention on his chin. “But, this isn’t a date. I’m agreeing to go because I have a flat tire, so I can’t drive anywhere myself.” “The flat is fixed. I just need to put it back on your car.” She wrenched her gaze to his eyes. “What?” “I put your spare on last night and took your tire to get fixed. I wouldn’t try driving your car down the driveway until you get your other tire back, though. That spare is just one of those factory donuts—good enough to get you to a service station if you get a flat on the freeway. It would never make it down Amber’s bumpy driveway.” Mandi stared at him. Why did he change her tire for her? She’d been pretty rude last night. “Um, thanks. What do I owe you?” His white teeth flashed as he grinned. “No charge. Just think of it as your public servants earning their salaries. So, you want to go eat dressed like that? We’re not too fancy around here, but you might want to wear something that doesn’t have flour on it.” His intense gaze was locked on her chest. As shivers danced up her spine, Mandi glanced down. He was not the type of guy she was attracted to! So why was she wondering what his kiss would taste like? A light thump as Midnight jumped out of the paper box shook her out of her reverie. “Um, yeah. I’ll go change. Be right back.” Spinning around, she practically ran out of the kitchen.

Sitting on her haunches at his feet, Midnight looked up at Brad, batted his leg and yowled. He looked down at her. “She was too busy to feed you, wasn’t she?” Stepping to a cupboard, he opened it and pulled out a box of cat food. After dumping some in the cat’s dish, he set it on the table and leaned back against the counter. Midnight staggered over to her bowl and began to eat.

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Brad stared at the doorway to the living room and grinned. Mandi had been wearing a bra today, but that hadn’t stopped her nipples from waking up and popping out to say hello.

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Chapter Eight As Brad slowed down to pull into the parking lot, Mandi stared at the flashing neon sign. A pink, dancing pig doffed its top hat and grinned ludicrously. Above it in garish green letters flashed the name Pisser’s Pork Palace. Brad chuckled at the look of disbelief on her face. “Why in the world would anybody want to eat in a place with a name like that? It’s…it’s…disgusting.” Brad shook his head. “Folks here don’t mind. Besides, Pisser makes the best pulled pork sandwiches and chili in a four-county area.” “The owner’s name really is Pisser?” “Nickname.” “Why in the world would anyone put that name on his restaurant? And how did he ever get such a disgusting nickname?” Brad opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Mandi continued, “Never mind. I probably don’t want to know.” Brad answered anyway. “His given name is Percival.” She simply stared at him. “When his mom was carrying him, she got into a big fight with her mother-in-law about what the baby’s name should be if it was a boy. Her husband’s family had always named boy babies after dead relatives. Her mother-in-law told her she had to name the baby Ezekiel or Jebediah, and that was that.” Mandi sniffed. “I’d never let some other woman pick my baby’s name.” Chuckling, Brad swerved the truck to avoid a dog strolling across the parking lot.

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She grabbed the dash to keep from knocking shoulders with him. “Shouldn’t that dog be tied up?” “That’s Bullet. He’s Pisser’s official greeter. He’ll be at the door waiting for us.” “A dog…in a restaurant? That’s unsanitary!” “Naw, Pisser makes Bullet stay outside. He used to let him inside, but the customers would sneak him pieces of pork, and his constitution is too delicate for Pisser’s hot sauce. Not good for business to have a dog puking in the middle of the floor.” Grinning at the revulsion on her face, Brad continued, “Anyway, Pisser’s mother agreed with you about some other woman naming her son. Hell of a shouting match between the two women. Then Pisser’s father got involved and said the baby had to be named after a relative. Pisser’s mom asked if it could be named after a relative from her family. Thinking he was putting an end to the argument, he said yes. When the baby was born, she named him Percival Grayson after some great-great-uncle she’d had. Well, you can figure with a name like that he got picked on until he started defending himself. Then one of his uncles started calling him Pisser since he was such a little pissant. Nickname stuck. Pisser likes it better than Percival anyway.” She shook her head. “But to put that name on a restaurant. Why would anyone want to eat in a place with a name like that?” “’Cause the food’s good, honey. Like I said, the best in four counties. You do like pulled pork, right?” She shifted in her seat. “I don’t think I’ve ever had any.” “That’s right. You’re a gourmet chef. Guess you don’t eat much common food. You’re in for a treat tonight then.” After sliding out his side, Brad opened the door for Mandi and held out his hand to help her out of his truck. He didn’t miss the flicker of surprise in her eyes, and he chuckled to himself. She definitely hadn’t expected gallantry from a hick sheriff.

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Stepping aside to let her precede him, Brad locked his gaze on her gently swaying blue jean-clad ass and grinned. Damn, but he was a happy man. He had Mandi here with him, and his cock twitched every time she spoke. Not that he was counting on crawling into her bed tonight. No, he didn’t force any woman to do anything she didn’t want to. Those twitches just felt so good, though, and he had Mandi to thank. Buying her a nice meal was the least he could do—even if she didn’t think it was going to be all that nice yet. As Brad had predicted, Bullet was waiting for them when they reached the door. After a loud woof, he sprang forward and stuck his nose in Mandi’s crotch. Gasping, she staggered back against Brad’s chest. “Get him away from me.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Brad shifted her to the side, reached down and grabbed the dog’s collar. “You have better manners than that, Bullet. Go lay down.” After a huff and a woof, the dog trotted away.

Muttering under her breath, Mandi let Brad guide her into the restaurant. Once inside, she was greeted by a cacophony of children shrieking, mothers scolding, two competing jukeboxes and the odors of spicy barbecue sauce, cigarette smoke and stale beer. Off to her left, adults sat around linoleum-covered tables or on stools at a scarred bar. On her right, small children ran amok past more linoleum tables into polyethylene ball pits or an air-filled moonbouncer. Older kids played numerous video games. Someone dressed in a pink pig costume was dancing with a group of children while several waitresses hustled among the tables on both sides of the restaurant. “My God. This must be what hell looks like.” Placing his hand against the small of her back, Brad guided Mandi into the bar. “Pisser saw one of those Chuck E. Cheese places once and figured the idea would work here. Kids on the right, adults only on the left.”

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With a cough, Mandi waved her hand in front of her face. “Isn’t there a no-smoking section?” Brad pointed to two unoccupied booths in the very back of the bar. “That’s nosmoking back there. Come on.” When Mandi slid into the booth opposite Brad, a big-bosomed, crimsoned-haired waitress in a sleeveless, low-cut blouse and short denim skirt appeared practically out of nowhere and bent toward him. Black barbed wire tattoos flashed on both fleshy upper arms as she threw them around his neck and exclaimed, “Brad, sweetie! Where ya been? Haven’t seen ya around here in a month of Sundays.” As his face disappeared into the woman’s cleavage, Mandi stiffened. Just who did this tattooed slut think she was? Then she abruptly leaned back. Why should she even care? Brad Keister didn’t mean anything to her. He could bury his face between anybody’s boobs if he wanted to. It didn’t matter to her…did it? Memories of last night resurfaced and Mandi shivered. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and a definite itch tickled her pussy. No! This wasn’t happening. No way was she attracted to a country sheriff. The sooner Amber got back and got married, the sooner Mandi could get back to civilization. Across the booth, Brad grabbed hold of the waitress’s arms and freed his face from her bosom by pushing her away. “Evening, Henrietta. I’ve been busy.” Mandi squirmed as the waitress flattened both palms on the table and leaned toward the sheriff. A red heart tattoo that read “I love Brad” appeared as both boobs threatened to spill out. “I’d like to order, if you don’t mind,” Mandi snapped. “You can stick your boobs in his face later.” The waitress’s head snapped around and she glared at Mandi. “Shut the f—” Brad grabbed her arm. “Henrietta, this is Amber’s friend Mandi from Philadelphia. She’s here for the wedding. She’ll have a beer and a pulled pork special. I’ll have a bowl of chili and a soda.” 54


“Brad, how the hell are you?” boomed a big man with an even bigger belly. “Henrietta, get back to work.” Mumbling curses under her breath, the waitress shot a hate-filled glare Mandi’s way, spun around and disappeared among the customers. “Make sure she doesn’t spit on my food,” Mandi stated to the man who now stood next to their booth. “Pisser, this is Amber’s friend Mandi. Mandi, Pisser.” The big man chuckled and stuck his hand out. “How do? Don’t mind Henrietta. She still thinks Brad’s gonna marry her and take her away from all this.” “I don’t give a damn who she marries,” grumbled Mandi as she struggled to ignore the agitated butterflies in her stomach. “She needs a major attitude adjustment. She’d never work in any restaurant I owned.” Pisser’s face brightened. “You own a restaurant?” “Mandi here is a gourmet chef,” Brad interjected. “No shit! Hell’s bells but I’ll have to make sure you get the best I have. See you in a bit.” Mandi glared at Brad. “What the hell have you gotten me into? I have a floozy barmaid wearing enough hairspray to snap her hair in half ready to strangle me and a guy named Pisser cooking my meal. Am I going to survive the night?” The flare of fire that flashed briefly in Brad’s eyes had another shiver dancing up and down her spine. “Well, honey, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

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Chapter Nine Before she could reply, beer from the mug that was thumped down before her sloshed onto the table and splattered the front of her blouse. “Hey!” The crimsoned-haired waitress smirked at her as she carefully set Brad’s soda before him. “Sorry.” His tone was admonishing. “Henrietta.” The waitress simpered and gazed into Brad’s face. Brad frowned at her. “That’s enough. We don’t need you to wait on us any more. Go take care of other customers.” The waitress stiffened. Slowly she straightened away from Brad, blinked a couple of times and nodded. “Go wait on other customers.” Spinning on her hot pink three-inch heels, she sauntered away. Brad picked up his soda and sipped it. Yep, there were advantages to this vampire thing. He was finally able to keep Henrietta from hanging all over him. All he had to do was stare into her eyes and tell her to get lost. Besides, she couldn’t bring his cock to life. While she’d had his face buried in her boobs, he’d been more disgusted than excited. His sense of smell was a lot better than it used to be, and Henrietta…smelled bad. She reeked of cigarettes and cheap perfume. It was enough to turn a vampire’s stomach. “Thank God for small favors.” Cocking an eyebrow, Brad stared at Mandi. “She listened to you.” Looking down at her wet blouse, Mandi grimaced. “Which way to the ladies’ room?”

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He pointed to a dark alcove. “In there to the left.” As she slid out of the booth and walked past him, he smiled at her. She scowled back. Sighing, he leaned back and sipped his soda again. Not the best way to start the evening. “Here’s your food, Brad. Where’s your date?” Pisser asked as he set the plates he was carrying down. “Bathroom. Henrietta sloshed beer on her.” “Fucking bitch is getting out of control. She thinks just because she let me screw her, she can get away with whatever she wants. I should toss her out on her ass.” Inhaling—Pisser did make the best chili around—Brad shook his head. “She needs the job. Her mom’s not doing well, and she takes care of her.” The big man nodded, then smiled. “I’ll put her in the pig costume and let her entertain the kids for a week. That should straighten her out.” Brad nodded. “Good idea.” “Hello again, little lady,” Pisser said as he stepped back to let Mandi slide into the booth. “I’m sorry about Henrietta. She’s been having a rough time with her mother being sick an’ all. You jus’ come back for a free meal any time you want.” “Thank you, Mr…” “Jus’ call me Pisser. Everybody else does.” Brad chuckled silently at the exasperated look on Mandi’s face. “Try your sandwich. I bet you’ll like it.” “Yeah, take a bite. I put this one together for you myself,” their host added. She stared down at the platter before her and Brad smiled. A bun the size of a small pumpkin was overflowing with slow-roasted pork slathered in Pisser’s secret barbecue sauce. She lifted her hands toward the sandwich but then paused. Grabbing her knife and fork, she cut into it. Stabbing a piece of pork, she slid it into her mouth and chewed. 57

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Brad glanced up at his friend. Pisser was holding his breath. Mandi finished chewing, swallowed and looked up. For the first time that evening, a look of pure pleasure was on her face. “This is good. What do you put in your sauce?” Grinning from ear to ear, Pisser shook his head. “Sorry, little lady, that’s a secret I’m not tellin’ nobody. Glad you like it, though.” Turning, he stomped back toward the kitchen. “Hey, Myrtle, that gourmet chef says the pork’s good.” Brad smiled at Mandi. “You made his night. He’ll be bragging about the gourmet chef who likes his food for the next six months.” She smiled back. “It is good.” “Want to try the chili? Pisser doesn’t put beans in his. It’s all meat, tomatoes, four different kinds of peppers and secret spices.” He scooped some onto his spoon and held it across the table. After a quick glance at his face, she half stood, leaned across the table, slid the tip of her tongue around her pink lips and opened her mouth. Sliding the spoon into her mouth, Brad tipped it as her lips closed around it. As he pulled it back out, she tilted her head back slightly and swallowed. Brad’s gaze slid down her slender neck to the open buttons and the shadowy vee of her cleavage. Both nipples strained against the damp material of her blouse. The scents of vanilla, disinfectant soap and warm woman wafted to him over the spicy odors of the food. Her scent was too tantalizing for his body to ignore, and his reaction was instantaneous. He quickly pulled his spoon back and dropped it in his bowl. For a man who hadn’t been able to get a hard-on for a month and a half, he wasn’t having any trouble now—not when Mandi was leaning toward him with a wet shirt plastered against her tits. Spreading his legs wider, he shifted to relieve the pressure on his confined cock. Worse yet, his teeth ached. The thought of burying them into the side of

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her neck as he thrust his aching cock into her hot, tight pussy exploded into his mind, and he struggled to maintain control. His teeth he managed, but not his cock. How the hell was he going to get out of here without everybody seeing the condition he was in? “Wow! This is good. I’ve been to a couple chili cook-offs in Texas, and this is just as good as anything I had there.” Jerking his attention away from the erotic thoughts in his mind, Brad stared into her face and struggled to concentrate on her words. However, his mind was far more interested in her body than her words. As he focused his attention on her face, she slid the tip of her tongue to the corner of her mouth to catch a droplet of sauce there. Visions of that tongue swirling around his cock appeared in his mind and he groaned. “Is something wrong?” The concern in eyes was real. Her voice was low. Brad shook his head. Reaching across the table, she covered his hand with hers. “Are you sure? You’re not looking too well all of a sudden.” A song about taking a woman to bed began playing on the jukebox. Her hand was warm. The scent of vanilla drifted upward from her wrist. His gums around his eyeteeth began to ache. He wanted her, wanted to—no, had to—bury his cock deep inside her. Brad glanced at her hand, then stared into her face. Her nostrils were flared and surprise flashed in her eyes. Slowly, she slid a pink-tipped finger along her collar, and a button slid out of its buttonhole. He dropped his gaze to her cleavage. The dark shadow there invited exploration. Pink lace peeked out from beneath her blouse. The music from the jukebox swelled to a crescendo. 59

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His balls began to burn. Fuck! How could she get even sexier in a couple of minutes? He could barely keep himself from grabbing her and pulling her across the table. And something told him she wouldn’t react very well to his manhandling. Her fingers moved slightly and caressed the back of his hand. Her voice was a throaty purr. “Brad? Are you okay?” With his other hand, he grabbed his soda and gulped it. “I’m…fine. Just some food going down the wrong pipe.” Her look became skeptical, especially since he knew she knew he hadn’t eaten anything yet. His cock began to throb. A woman’s form appeared beside the booth. “Brad?” Gina’s voice washed over him like a bucket of icy water, and he wrenched his attention to his cousin. Gina was on duty tonight, so what was she doing here? He stared into her face. “What’s wrong?”

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Chapter Ten Eye contact broken, Mandi leaned against the high back of her seat and sucked in a huge gasp of air. What the hell had just happened? She’d been ready to crawl across the table and throw herself into Brad’s arms. Shit! She’d only met him yesterday. No man had ever affected her like this. What was so special about him? He certainly wasn’t the best-looking guy she’d ever gone to dinner with, nor was he probably the smartest. He definitely wasn’t the wealthiest. Not that money mattered—she did just fine on her own. But there was something…different about this guy. Something really different. She glanced over at him. His attention was now completely focused on his deputy. At least Mandi thought the svelte, dark-haired woman was his deputy since she was wearing a uniform like Brad had been wearing the first time she’d met him. Pursing her lips, Mandi contemplated the handsome sheriff. Maybe that was it. He gave his full attention when he listened to someone. Too many men of Mandi’s acquaintance fiddled with whatever they had at hand, glanced at their watches or answered phone calls in the middle of conversations. Brad didn’t. He’d concentrated on her when they were talking. His voice interrupted her contemplation. “Mandi, this is my cousin Gina. I’m sorry, but there’s a problem I have to take care of. Finish your meal and she’ll give you a ride home.” A shudder danced up Mandi’s spine as she stared into his blue eyes. Passion stared back at her. She blinked, nodded at Gina, then looked around. The local yokels were all staring at them. A couple of obviously unattached men grinned at her. One of them was missing three teeth.

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“Um, can I get this wrapped up to take with me? I think I’d rather eat it back at Amber’s house.” A slow smile meandered across Brad’s mouth. “Good idea. You can take my chili with you and I’ll pick it up after I’m finished.” Sliding out of the booth, he turned his attention back to his cousin. “Here are my keys. I’ll take your patrol car.” Moving far faster than Mandi expected, he leaned over and kissed her mouth. Before she could react, he straightened and strode across the room. Fingertips resting against her lips, Mandi watched him disappear out the door. “Pisser,” Gina called. “We’re taking this food with us.” “Sure thing, Gina. Have it wrapped up in a jiffy,” he said as bustled over to the booth and took the dishes away. “Come on,” Gina said with a wry smile. “We’ll wait by the door. Otherwise every unmarried man in the place—and some of the married ones—will be over to introduce themselves to you, even if Brad did kiss you.” A vision of a gap-toothed smile in her mind, Mandi didn’t waste any time sliding out of the booth. “What happened?” Gina looked back over her shoulder as she led the way to the end of the bar. “Sorry. It’s an ongoing investigation, so I’m not allowed to discuss it.” “Oh, sure. I’m sorry.” Gina’s smile was genuine. “Don’t be. It’s just one of those police things. So how do you like it around here so far?” Mandi looked around. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, our pizza’s ready. Mom says to get your butt over here,” called a runny-nosed boy from the wide doorway to the bar. The short, pudgy guy who walked past Gina and her winked.

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A skinny guy in very tight blue jeans took a long drag from his cigarette and smiled at her as he put money into the jukebox. He wiggled his hips in an invitation to dance. At the bar, a scraggly bearded man in a John Deere cap grinned at her, then chugged some beer out of a long-necked bottle. “Want a beer, sweetie-pie?” Mandi gulped and looked at Gina. “Ummm, it’s definitely not what I’m used to.” Pisser sauntered to their end of the bar. Laughing, Gina turned to him and grabbed the two white boxes he was holding. “Put it on Brad’s tab. Let’s get out of here, Mandi. I’d hate to have to arrest one of these rednecks for putting the moves on you.” Loud laughter followed the two of them out the door. “They’re all pretty much harmless,” Gina continued as they walked to Brad’s vehicle. “It’s just some of them don’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer after they’ve had a couple beers.” She handed Mandi the boxes. “You hang on to these. Brad will have a fit if any of Pisser’s chili spills in his truck. Then again,” she continued with a sideways glance, “you might be able to get away with it.” Balancing the boxes in one hand, Mandi yanked open the passenger side door. “What?” Gina grinned at her. “Brad’s never kissed anybody in Pisser’s before. At least nobody that didn’t kiss him first.” A mental picture of Henrietta appeared in her mind’s eye, and anger flared. Slut. I’ll bet she tries to kiss him whenever Brad goes in. Climbing into the truck, Mandi frowned at the anger she’d just experienced. Why should she care if some woman kissed the sheriff? Her mind roiling, she fastened her seat belt and settled the two boxes on her lap. Her fingers drifted to her lips again. He kissed very nicely. “So…what do you think of Brad?”

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Warmth spreading up her neck and onto her cheeks, Mandi dropped her fingers and set her hand on top of the boxes. “Umm. He’s been nice to me. Carried my luggage into Amber’s house and brought me here for something to eat.” Mandi didn’t miss Gina’s grin as she backed the truck out of the parking lot and headed to Amber’s house. At least that’s where Mandi thought they were going. How anyone could live in a place without street signs, she didn’t know. Gina glanced at Mandi. “He was shot about six weeks ago.” Mandi stiffened. He’d been shot? “Was he hurt bad?” Gina’s smile was bittersweet. “It could have been worse, I suppose. He’s not dead…I guess.” Mandi stared at Gina. Not dead, I guess? What did she mean by that? Before Mandi could open her mouth, though, an angry bellow interrupted her. She was barely able to keep the boxes on her lap from sliding onto the floor when Gina slammed on the brakes. Gina jerked the gearshift into park. “Shit.” Mandi stared through the windshield. “Why is there a cow in the middle of the road?” “That’s not a cow. It’s a frickin’ bull. A mean one. You stay in the truck.” About a hundred yards in front of them, a huge black-and-white bull stood in the middle of the road shaking his head. “Enough is enough,” Gina muttered. Shoving the door open, she stepped out of the truck and pulled her pistol from its holster. “Damn bull is a dangerous nuisance, and somebody’s going to get hurt one of these days.” “Hold on there. Wait!” As an elderly man dressed in a plaid shirt and green jeans hobbled to Gina’s side, a pair of barking dogs launched themselves at the bull. In a matter of minutes, they’d

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herded the angry bull into a pasture alongside the road. Tail in the air, the bull lumbered toward a distant barn with the dogs nipping at his heels. Gina holstered her gun. “Listen, Calvin, if I find that bull in the middle of the road again, I’m putting a couple of bullets between his eyes. One of these days he’s going to kill somebody, and then you’ll be in really deep shit.” Anger evident on the man’s face, he spun around and stomped over to the fence rails lying by the road. After an obvious struggle, he had them back in place. Without so much as a goodbye, he followed the bull’s path to the barn. “Make sure you send your boys out to strengthen that fence tomorrow!” He ignored Gina. “Fucking asshole.” She slid back into the truck and yanked the door closed. “Why was that bull in the middle of the road?” She shifted back into gear and stepped on the gas. “Calvin Tittle’s family has been raising Holstein bulls for over a hundred years, and, according to them, that fence was good enough for the rest of them. What’s more, Calvin can’t handle taking orders from a woman. As far as he’s concerned, I should be married, barefoot and pregnant.” Mandi sniffed. “Idiot.” Gina grinned. “Lots of those around here. Best get used to them.” Mandi shook her head. “I won’t be around long enough for that to be necessary. As soon as Amber is married, I’ll be heading back to Philadelphia.”

Gina nodded but smiled to herself. Brad didn’t kiss women in public places. Nor had she seen so much life in his gaze since he’d been shot. Somehow, she didn’t think Mandi would be going back to the big city as quickly as she thought she would—not if Brad had anything to say about it.

*****

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“How long since you gave them the speeding ticket?” “About an hour.” “Fuck.” “Something wrong?” Brad looked at his deputy. “From your description, it sounds like the car that was involved in that drug deal six weeks ago.” Earl’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “The drug buyer that got shot. You think his buddies are back lookin’ for trouble?” “I don’t know, Earl. Could be they were just passing through to State College or Lewistown. Just stick to what you’re doing. I’ll send this on to the state police. They’re better equipped to deal with these guys than we are.” After nodding to his deputy, Brad slid back into the cruiser. Hopefully, Earl would forget about those Jersey guys and go on about his regular business. It was a damn good thing Earl was thinking more about his pregnant wife instead of his job and had forgotten to check their license plate number in his cruiser’s computer when he stopped them, or they might have tried to shoot him too. Fuckin’ good luck that Earl had told Gina about the ticket and then she’d had enough sense to tell him about it. The last thing Brad needed was a dead deputy. Brad glanced into the rearview mirror. Earl’s patrol car was headed in the opposite direction. Good. At least he followed orders. Brad sighed. Now all he had to do was find Gina and threaten her within an inch of her life to keep her from trying to find these guys. She still wanted revenge for when they’d shot him. And just because she learned a few things from the Special Forces guy she’d dated while she was in the service, she thought she could handle anything. Brad shook his head. Problem was Gina could handle just about anything.

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He looked down at his watch. Nine-thirty. Gina would have left Mandi at Amber’s house by now and left again. Sighing, he shook his head. Damn pain in the ass cousin. He had to hunt her down instead of spending more time with Mandi. Fuck. So much for finding out just how much life Amber’s friend could bring back to his cock.

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Chapter Eleven While Midnight snuggled in her lap—obviously the cat hadn’t forgotten her from when she was Amber’s roommate—Mandi sat on the porch and rocked slowly back and forth. The sun had fallen behind the house, so the entire front yard was cast in shadows. Rain, buckets of it, had fallen earlier in the day and now a fresh, cool autumn breeze danced around the flowers that were still blooming. Their scents, combined with the tart tang of fallen apples from the trees behind the barn, helped to calm Mandi’s nerves. After Gina had dropped her off the previous evening, she’d spent entirely too much time castigating herself for not only her reaction to Brad but also the fact that she was nervous as a schoolgirl on her first date waiting for him to come and retrieve his chili. Then, around ten-thirty, he had called and said he was tied up for the night and would see her sometime tomorrow. Again, her reaction—first disappointment because he wouldn’t be coming, then happiness because she’d see him the next day—had frustrated her. She wasn’t supposed to feel like that about a man she’d just met! So she’d found an old movie on one of the four channels Amber’s TV got, cuddled up on the couch to contemplate her attraction to Brad and had promptly fallen asleep only to have another hot, erotic dream that left her covered in sweat—a dream in which Brad Keister had once again figured prominently. She’d spent the morning picking out the best of the overripe apples that still hung on the trees or had fallen to the ground and, using another recipe from the old box, she’d made apple butter and an apple pie in the afternoon. “It’s a shame about all those apples, Midnight. Amber really should have let someone pick them so they didn’t go to waste.” Purring, the cat kneaded Mandi’s thigh.

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“With so many empty quart and pint jars and lids back there in the pantry, it just didn’t make sense for me to just sit here all day. Busy hands keep me out of trouble.” The cat focused her crossed eyes on Mandi’s face and stared at her. “And busy hands keep me from thinking about…things,” Mandi muttered, mostly to herself. “I can’t go on cooking and baking forever, but if I don’t, I start to think…” She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the dream of the night before. Once again, in her dream, Brad had loved her long and well. She’d awakened both satisfied and horny as hell. The cold shower hadn’t helped. After a shiver danced up her spine, Mandi stroked Midnight. “At least Amber called. They’re supposed to come home tomorrow night sometime. She’d better get her ass in gear. The wedding is just over a week away, and I haven’t found any ribbons or favors or anything.” The cat started to purr again. Mandi opened the bag on the table next to her and the sharp scent of peppermint enveloped her. She grabbed a piece of rock candy and popped it into her mouth. The sound of an approaching vehicle rolled up the lane, and, in a minute, the sheriff’s truck appeared. Another shiver danced up Mandi’s spine.

Brad eased his truck to a stop well in the shade, took off his sunglasses, stuck them in his shirt pocket and got out of the truck. The breeze swirled and the scent of peppermint reached him. He inhaled. More peppermint, now mixed with Mandi’s own particular scent—vanilla and woman. Brad inhaled more deeply, then swallowed. He’d never be able to smell peppermint again without thinking about her.

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Smiling, he strode up the walk and climbed the porch steps. “You going to share that with me?” Silently, she held out the bag. Brad slipped his fingers inside, picked a piece and slid it into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he savored the taste for a minute. Then he opened them and smiled at her. “I haven’t had candy this good in a month of Sundays.” She flushed. “Thanks. Oh, um… I ate your chili.” Leaning his hips against the porch railing, he grinned wider. “It was good, wasn’t it?” She nodded. “Good as any gourmet chili?” She sniffed. “Chili is not something that lends itself well to a gourmet dinner.” “Pisser will be sorry to hear that. Since you liked his pork so much, he’s planning on changing the names to gourmet pulled pork sandwiches and gourmet chili.” A long sigh escaped from Mandi as she shook her head. Brad chuckled. “Don’t mind Pisser. I don’t think you have to worry about any other gourmet chefs showing up to tell him he’s wrong.” She looked up into his face. “I know.” For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Her eyes widened and she parted her lips. The pink tip of her tongue appeared briefly. Brad’s cock twitched. Tucking Midnight under one arm and grabbing the bag of candy with the other, she leaped out of the rocking chair. “I made an apple pie. Would you like a piece?” “I’d like that very much.” He’d choke it down if it killed him. Stepping forward, he grabbed the door handle, pulled the door open and stepped back for her to precede him. 70


Once inside, she dropped Midnight to the floor and led the way to the back of the house. His eyes on her swaying backside, Brad sidestepped the cat and followed her into the kitchen. “For a gourmet chef, you sure spend lots of time making homey things,” he said as he mentally counted the jars lined up along the counter. “Is that apple butter?” After dropping the bag of candy on the table, she grabbed a couple of plates from the cupboard. “There were so many apples on those trees and I hate to see good food go to waste,” she answered as she set the plates then the pie on the table and looked up into his face. Her brown eyes were far darker than he remembered. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, but a few wisps had escaped and fluttered over her forehead. He let his gaze slide down her neck. The top two buttons of her blouse were open. Was she wearing that pink bra again? Blood pooled low in his groin, and his cock did more than twitch. His gums began to ache. “Fuck it.” Stepping around the table, Brad pulled her into his arms. She inhaled sharply. Again, her lips parted. Dark, fiery passion danced in her eyes. Lifting his hand, he brushed the loose hairs off her face, then tucked his knuckles under her chin and lifted her head. “Say no, now.”

Brad’s “say no, now” ringing in her ears, Mandi raised herself up on her toes and pressed her mouth against his. Say no? After the erotic dreams she’d been having? No way. Better to get this sexy sheriff out of her system right now. Then she wouldn’t be second-guessing herself after she returned to Philadelphia. 71

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He slid his hand away from her chin to the back of her head where he pulled her hair free of its ponytail. He slid his other hand down her side and over her hip to stroke her ass and pull her closer. Mandi grabbed hold of his shirt and spread her legs so she could ride his thigh. His hard erection pressed against her stomach. Moaning deep in her throat, she opened her mouth against his and sucked on his tongue. Lacing his fingers in her hair, he tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue sparred with hers. Mandi clenched his shirt more tightly. He slid his hand inside the back of her jeans. Her bare skin seemed to burn under his massaging fingers. Whimpering, Mandi clenched his shirt even more tightly and jerked her hands apart. His shirt buttons popped, and she was able to slide her hands against his cool skin. After a quick caress for each nipple, she swirled her fingers among the silky curls on his chest, then traced the thin line of hair down across his hard abdomen. His belt buckle stopped her from sliding her fingers lower. All the while, their mouths remained locked together. Their teeth clashed, their tongues twisted and stabbed. The scent and taste of peppermint enveloped them. Mandi tugged at his belt. Pulling his mouth from hers, he looked down into her face. “Easy, Mandi, honey. Not so fast. We have all night.” Gasping for air, she looked into his eyes.

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Blue flames danced in their depths, and something darker and more exciting flickered behind his desire. His tense face stimulated her even more. Desire stabbed her, and her cunt muscles clenched and unclenched. Her nipples tightened to aching nubs. Shivers rolled up and down her spine as she jerked at his belt buckle again. “I want you now!” “Fuck.” Pulling his hand from her ass, he clasped her waist and lifted her onto the table. Then he shrugged out of his shirt and began unbuckling his belt. “Get your clothes off, honey, before I rip them off.” “Yes!” While her clogs bounced off the linoleum, Mandi didn’t bother unbuttoning her blouse—she didn’t care that her shirt buttons were popping every which way. She ripped the front open and slipped it off her shoulders. Her bra fastened in the front. One quick snap had it open and off. As the cool air—and Brad’s hot stare—caressed her breasts, she jerked her jeans open and shimmied out of both those and her silk panties. All the while, her gaze never left Brad. He’d toed off his shoes and slid his jeans and boxers down his lean hips. As his erection leaped free, Mandi licked her lips. Hers. That hard, thick cock was all hers. Sliding off the table, she fell to her knees and sucked it into her mouth.

As soon as her hot, wet mouth closed around his cock, Brad’s balls contracted. When she sucked on the head, pleasure-pain simmered within him. Throwing back his head, he buried his fingers in her hair and thrust his hips forward. His cock touched the back of her throat. “Fuck.” He pulled back and thrust forward again. She took all of him. The hot, wet scent of her pussy drifted up to his sensitive nose, and he licked his lips. He would taste her, no matter what.

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Her tongue swirled around his cock. She sucked harder. He fought against coming deep in her throat. Too soon. It was too soon to come. He had to satisfy her first. Even more desperately, he fought against his fangs erupting, sure that he’d terrify her if she saw them. After he was certain his fangs were still embedded in his gums and would stay there, he pulled his cock away from her wet mouth and dancing tongue. “Easy, honey. You’ll have me finished before I start.” She looked up. Her eyes were unfocused and her entire body was flushed. Her breasts were swollen, both nipples tight and pointed. Shifting, she spread her legs. “Fuck me! I need your cock inside me now!” A shudder racked Brad’s body as he again struggled to control his fangs. The urge to bury both cock and fangs in her body was almost overpowering—almost. He would slow down, would calm himself and fuck her until she didn’t know which way was up. Then, when she was sated to the point of exhaustion and totally relaxed, he’d bury his fangs in her. With a little luck, she wouldn’t think it was anything more than a love bite. He lifted her up onto the table again. From the corner of his eye, he saw the bag of rock candy still lying there. Beyond it sat the apple pie and plates. Placing his hand between her breasts, he pushed her down gently, caressing a nipple as he did so. Once she was lying down, he grabbed the pie and plates and tossed them over to the counter. The bag, he tore open. Pieces of candy bounced across the table, onto the floor and onto Mandi’s supine body. “Like I said, I love peppermint candy.” Grabbing a piece, Brad licked it, then dragged it slowly up her quivering abdomen to her breast. After another few licks, he drew circles on first one nipple then the other. Gasping, she arched her back. “It tingles!” His voice became lower, more gravelly. “I need to taste them.” Stepping around to the side of the table, he lowered his head and licked a nipple. 74


When he sucked on it, she arched her back. She squeezed her legs shut, then opened them again. “Oh, God, yes!” After licking the last of the peppermint off the first nipple, Brad sucked the other one into his mouth. He flattened his palm on her stomach to hold her still. The tips of his fingers swirled in her neatly trimmed pubic hair. As he released her second nipple, she lifted her head, stared into his face and growled, “Fuck me, damn it!” Chuckling, Brad slid his fingers through her silky pubic hair to her pussy. She certainly knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. But he wasn’t done playing yet. “Patience, honey, is a virtue.” Grabbing a small piece of candy, he popped it into his mouth and bit down. As he chewed, he slipped a finger into her cunt. She closed her legs around his hand and thrust against it. Under the table, his cock jerked. “Christ, you’re wet. How do you taste?” Before she could answer him, Brad moved to the bottom of the table, lifted her legs over his shoulders and buried his face between them.

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Chapter Twelve As soon as Brad’s tongue touched her clit, a jolt of blazing pleasure rocketed through Mandi’s body. Slamming her fists against the tabletop, she arched her back, wrapped both legs around his neck and pushed her pussy against his mouth. “More! Please, more! Now!” His chuckle sent his warm, peppermint-laden breath rolling over her sensitive clit. She ground herself against his mouth. The peppermint alternately cooled then heated her clit. “Oh God, yes! Oh yes! Oh yes!” Sliding his hands up her sides, he grabbed her waist and pulled her pussy tight against his tongue and lips. Licking, stabbing and sucking, he attacked her with his tongue. Groaning, Mandi ground her hips against his face. His tongue was fantastic! He was fantastic! As much as she tried to hold back her orgasm, she knew she was rapidly losing the battle. Then he stopped and lifted his head. “Enjoying yourself?” “Noooo! Don’t stop now!” Pounding both fists against the table, she lifted her head and glared at him. His grin widened. His teeth gleamed. He lowered his head, lapped her clit once more, sucked on it, then nipped it. As Mandi shattered into a million pieces, she felt sharper nip on the inside of her thigh—one which only intensified her pleasure. She closed then opened her eyes. As flashes of light danced before her face, he lapped first her left thigh, then the right. He dragged his tongue across her still-pulsating clit and she dissolved into further spasms of pleasure. He lapped her clit again, and again, and again.

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While Mandi shuddered uncontrollably, Brad raised his head and sucked in huge gasps of air. His balls felt like they were going to burst. If he didn’t get his cock inside her soon, there’d be cum all over the kitchen floor. Stooping, he grabbed his pants, shoved his hand into the pocket and fished out a condom. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he ripped the pack open and rolled it down over his aching cock. He sure as hell didn’t know if vampires could get a woman pregnant, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Cock sheathed, Brad pulled her hips to the edge of the table and thrust into her. Throwing his head back, he groaned with pleasure as her tight cunt closed around him. Then she wrapped her legs around his hips and her internal muscles sucked his cock deeper. His second groan echoed hers. “Christ, but you’re tight.” Grabbing her hips to keep her from sliding away, he pulled back then thrust himself deeper. Mandi’s moans became sobs. In, out, in, out, his thrusts became stronger, slid in deeper. Grabbing her waist, he lifted her. “Wrap your legs around my waist.” She complied. Cupping her ass, he thrust himself into her and began lifting her up and down on his cock. Then he buried his face against her neck. In this position, he was able to thrust his cock even deeper into her pussy. Throwing back her head, she arched, screwed herself as far down onto his cock as she could get and orgasmed again. “Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God!” Her slender throat was completely exposed. Her cunt muscles were shuddering around his cock. He wanted to—needed to—come. Even more, he needed to sink his

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fangs into her. The gums around them ached worse than any toothache he’d ever experienced. The little bit of blood he’d licked from the inside of her thigh had only whetted his appetite. He hungered for sexual satisfaction. His body demanded it. What’s more, he needed blood, her blood! With his cock buried deep inside her, his balls drawn up tighter than they ever had been, Brad almost released his iron will and gave in to his body’s demands…almost. He hungered for physical release. His soul, though…his soul hungered for acceptance. Burying his fangs in Mandi’s throat might satisfy his craving for her blood, but it would terrify her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Though he’d known her only a few days, she was already far more important to his life than he’d thought possible. But he had to give in to his body’s demands. He had to drink her blood. He was as sure of that as he was of his own name. There had to be a way. While Mandi was still shuddering in his arms, he lifted her off his cock, turned her around, bent her over the table, slipped his hand between her thighs and began to stroke her clit. “More? Oh my God.” Whimpering, she spread her legs farther apart, folded her arms on the table and buried her face in them. A small section of his brain sighed with relief. She wasn’t looking at him. Now, hopefully, she’d be so lost in the sensations rolling through her cunt, his bite wouldn’t hurt too much. Brad no longer struggled to contain his fangs. As they erupted, he thrust his cock into her willing body and screwed it into her, pumping, twisting and grinding all at the same time. The hot muscles of her pussy gripped it and sucked it deeper. As his cum erupted, he pushed his hands underneath her torso, grabbed both her breasts, pinched her nipples hard and slid his fangs in the fleshy muscle on the back of her neck. As he

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sucked her sweet blood into his mouth and swallowed it, his entire body seemed to burst into flames. Simultaneously, she shoved her breasts deeper into his hands and her ass back against his thighs. “Yes! Yes!” She sobbed, shuddered, then relaxed completely. Time stood still. Slowly, he lifted his head and sucked in huge gasps of air. As his canines withdrew back into his gums, Brad’s senses returned. Lifting himself off Mandi’s back, he blinked and focused on the two bloody holes. Leaning down on shaking arms, he kissed and licked each one. Then he rolled her over and gathered her into his arms. “Mandi, honey?” A long sigh escaped her lips. After blinking a few times, she focused blurry eyes on him. A slow smile spread across her face. “Hmmm?” Joy filled his soul. “I think it’s time we went to bed.”

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Chapter Thirteen Mandi opened her eyes. One moment she’d been asleep, dead to the world, and the next she was completely awake. Why? Light from the setting moon shone across the bed from beneath the blinds straight into her face. A cold breeze blew through the slightly open window. Maybe that’s what woke her. Raising her head, she looked around, then grinned ruefully. Maybe she woke up because she was lying sideways across the bed and her cold feet were hanging over the edge on the other side. Damn, but she hated cold feet. Humming a little, she rolled over, grimaced as a crumpled condom cover poked her in the ass, slid under the covers and glanced at the clock. 4:45 a.m. With a grumbling meow, Midnight shifted and settled down on the other side of the double bed. Stretching her arms over her head, she grinned again. Brad had left an hour ago after loving her all night. What a lover! She’d lost count of the number of times she’d come. Even that quirky love bite on the back of her neck when they’d fucked down on the kitchen table had been exciting. Mentally, she also patted herself on the back. Brad had come three times himself. Damn, but she was good. Yawning, she rolled over onto her stomach and wrapped her arms around her pillow. More sleep was definitely on her menu. A bump followed by a loud “Shhhhhhhhhhhh” rolled through her open bedroom door. Freezing, she opened her eyes and stared at the black rectangle. Someone was in the house, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t Brad. He wouldn’t shush himself.

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On the far side of the bed, Midnight bounced up, meowed, then leaped across her. At least she tried to leap across her. Instead, she landed on Mandi’s shoulders. Digging her hind claws into the bare skin, Midnight leaped to the other edge of the bed, jumped to the floor and staggered quickly into the dark hallway. “Ouch, you stupid cat!” Mandi immediately grabbed the nape of her neck where it met her shoulder blades. She felt a puncture wound and a long scratch. A louder thump echoed up the stairs. “Damn it, Rusty. Be quiet. Mandi is asleep,” hissed a feminine voice. “If you hadn’t dropped your suitcase right in front of my feet, I wouldn’t be tripping all over the place,” a male voice loudly whispered. Popping up, Mandi scooted to the edge of the bed, leaped to her feet and started for the doorway. Amber was finally home! As she flipped the light switch, the cool air brought her to an abrupt halt. She was bare-assed naked. Chuckling, she grabbed her robe, wrapped it around herself and slipped on her bedroom slippers. Amber wouldn’t appreciate her running around naked in front of Rusty, and Mandi didn’t want her feet any colder than they already were. Running through the hallway—she flipped the light switch on at the top of the stairway—and down the steps, she threw herself into Amber’s arms when she reached the bottom. “Amber! It’s about time you got home! I’ve been going crazy here by myself. I thought you weren’t getting home until tonight.” “We decided to leave and just drive through the night. Both of us couldn’t wait to get home. New York is a nice place to visit, but it’s great to be home again.” As her mouth dropped open, Mandi pushed herself out of her friend’s arms. Amber, glad to leave New York? Was she kidding? She loved New York City. What had this Rusty guy done to her?

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Then she got a good look at her friend’s haggard face. “Shit, Amber. You look like death warmed over. Are you sick?” Amber’s chuckle and voice were strong. “Nothing a little sleep won’t fix. We’ve been up for over twenty-four hours and are exhausted.” Mandi glanced at the man behind Amber. He was pale too. Maybe they did just need sleep. “Meooooooooooooooooow!” Chuckling, Amber bent, picked up Midnight and cuddled the cat against her chest. “And then there was a nasty accident on Route 81. We sat there four hours until they got the wrecked tractor-trailers cleaned up enough to let traffic through.” “Then you’d better get to bed. A couple hours’ sleep will do you good, and then I’ll make you a fantastic gourmet meal. I brought all kinds of goodies with me.” Amber and Rusty shared a quick glance. “Just hold off on your cooking, okay?” Amber said as she turned her attention back to Mandi. “We really need to catch up on our sleep. You know what I’m like when I’m in New York. Go, go, go. Poor Rusty—oh, I’m sorry. Mandi, this is Rusty. Rusty, my best friend Mandi.” “Pleased to meet you,” Rusty said. “Amber’s told me all about you.” He stared into her face. Something…strange in his eyes made her nervous. Mandi blinked. “Nice to meet you too.” After a quick nod, Rusty grabbed the two suitcases and headed up the stairs. “Anyway, like I was saying,” Amber continued, “Rusty didn’t know which way was up with all the places I dragged him. We just need to chill awhile. Don’t be surprised if we sleep all day.” Nodding, Mandi watched Rusty disappear into the hallway at the top of the stairs. Then she turned back to her friend. “Amber, are you sure you really want to marry this guy? There’s something about him…”

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“Yeah, exhaustion. Just like me.” Shifting the cat to one arm, she hugged Mandi again. “Listen. I really, really need to sleep. We’ll talk when I get up, okay? I want to hear all about Ramon and your love life.” Wrapping her arms around her friend, Mandi squeezed until Midnight hissed. “Okay. I’m sorry. You know I just want you to be happy.” Stepping back out of Mandi’s embrace, Amber nodded. “I know. I’ll see you later.” Turning, her cat snuggled in her arms, she climbed the stairs and disappeared into the darkness. Tightening, the ties of her robe, Mandi headed for the kitchen. There was something about Rusty she didn’t trust, but her first priority was to get the kitchen cleaned before they both got up again. Thank goodness neither one had gone in there. She really didn’t want to explain why her clothing was scattered all over the place. That asshole Ramon had nothing to do with her love life anymore—Brad did. The question was, just how much should she tell Amber? Next thing she knew, Amber would try to marry her off to him. Mandi shuddered. Live in the middle of nowhere? No way. Brad’s smiling face appeared in her mind. Well, maybe a house in the country wouldn’t be all that bad.

Closing the door firmly behind him, Rusty lifted Midnight from Amber’s arms, tossed her onto the bed and hugged Amber. “I don’t think your friend likes me.” Chuckling, Amber rested her head against his shoulder. “She doesn’t know you.” “When are you going to tell her the truth about us?” Sighing, Amber pushed herself out of his arms and started stripping off her clothing. “Tonight. I can’t put it off any longer. I just wish I knew how she’d react.” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Rusty pulled off his boots. “If she’s as good a friend as you say she is, the fact that you’re a vampire now won’t matter to her.”

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Amber pulled an oversized T-shirt over her head. “I hope so, but…” Rising, he pulled her into his arms again. “No buts. Everything will be fine. Now, come to bed before you collapse on the floor. You’re white as a sheet.” After a quick, passionate kiss, she crawled into bed. Flipping the light switch, Rusty plunged the room into total darkness. Not that he needed the light to see. Being a vampire did have its advantages. Without another word, he lay on the bed next to Amber and pulled her into his arms. Soon, their breathing and heart rates slowed until they looked more dead than alive. Purring with contentment, Midnight curled up next to Amber’s leg and went to sleep.

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Chapter Fourteen Rocking on the front porch, Mandi stared at the ever-lengthening shadow before the house, then glanced at her watch—5:30 p.m. Just how long was Amber going to sleep? She’d been in bed twelve hours now. Then Mandi snorted to herself. They might be doing more than sleeping. That thought brought a smile to her face. Last night with Brad, she’d had the greatest sex of her life, though almost all she could remember was coming time and time again. The man sure knew how to satisfy a woman. Smiling, she let her gaze wander across the front yard toward the barn and the apple orchard. A fluffy black tail bobbed and weaved among the high grass. Mandi stopped rocking. Damn it! How did Midnight get out? Pushing herself to her feet, she hurried down the steps after Amber’s cross-eyed cat. Following the dark tail, Mandi trudged through the high grass. “Midnight, get back here!” The tail stopped for a moment, then started bouncing in a zigzag path back to the house. “Stupid cat!” Mandi called as she followed her. “Amber won’t be happy if you’re full of fleas.” The cat burst out of the high grass and sprinted around the side of the house—as much as a cross-eyed cat could sprint. Mandi followed her around to the back of the house where Midnight tripped up the steps and dove for the pet entrance in the back porch door. She missed the first time and banged her head alongside it. On her second try, she slipped inside.

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Grabbing the knob, Mandi yanked the door open and followed the cat. “If Amber doesn’t want Midnight outside, she needs to block that pet door!” she growled to herself as she stepped inside the closed-in back porch. Midnight sat by the door into the kitchen, staring at her. “Meooooow.” Mandi blew wisps of loose hair off her forehead. “Stupid cat. Who let you out on the back porch anyway?” Then Mandi smiled. Amber must finally be up. Opening the kitchen door, she let Midnight scamper in, then followed the cat into the kitchen. Amber was finally awake. So was Rusty, and they were locked in each other’s arms. Rusty had his face buried in Amber’s neck. Laughing, Mandi teased, “Okay, guys, leave some of it for your wedding night.” Dropping his hands from Amber’s sides and jerking his head away from her neck, Rusty stared into Mandi’s face. Blood dripped from long fangs that curved out of his mouth—Amber’s blood. Shock and fear gripped Mandi. Still, her friend needed help and she would help her. Grabbing a cleaver from the knife block, she stepped forward. “Amber, run! Come on! The back door is open!” Staggering a bit, Amber spun around. The cleaver Mandi was holding clattered to the floor. Amber had her own set of fangs—fangs that were coated with more blood. Holding her hand out before her, Mandi stepped back. “Oh my God! What are you? What did he do to you?” Wiping the back of her hand over her mouth, Amber stepped forward. “Mandi, please, listen to me. I can explain.” “No! Stay away!” Spinning, Mandi shoved first the kitchen door then the back porch door open. Leaping down the four back steps, she sprinted around the side of the house.

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Rusty grabbed Amber’s arm as she started to follow her friend. “Don’t chase her. You’ll only scare her more.” Tears welled in Amber’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “But she’s my best friend, and now she’s afraid of me. I’d never hurt her.” Pulling Amber into his arms, Rusty hugged her tightly. “I know. Deep down, so does she, and she’ll remember once she’s had time to think.” He lifted her chin and looked into her face. “She just wasn’t prepared to see that her best friend is a vampire. Not everybody is like you, you know.” Nodding, Amber buried her face in Rusty’s chest. Shit, but she should have told Mandi she was a vampire back when she visited her in Philadelphia.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Mandi ran around the side of the house, the sight of Amber’s blood-covered fangs embedded in her brain. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her hands shook. When she reached the front of the house, she stopped and sucked in huge gasps of air. Her car keys were in the house. No way was she going back in there. At that moment, Brad’s truck appeared. Relief leaped in Mandi’s soul. Never had she been so glad to see a muddy pickup truck, gun rack included! Brad was the sheriff. He would protect her. Leaping forward, she sprinted down the driveway to meet him.

The sight of Mandi running down the driveway and waving her arms in the air immediately caused alarm bells to start ringing in Brad’s head. Something bad must have happened to have her acting like this. He eased his truck to a stop. When Mandi reached it, she jerked the passenger side door open and crawled into the cab right into his arms. “Get out of here, quick, before they see you.”

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Looking up from the hysterical woman in his arms, he saw Rusty and Amber on the front porch. Even from this distance, he could see Amber was crying. Rusty shrugged, and they both started down the steps. Brad sighed. Mandi must have found out about them. He shifted her in his arms and pushed her off his chest. “What’s the matter, honey?” She was almost incoherent. “They…teeth,” hiccup, “blood,” hiccup, “bite…” He pulled her close again. “Shhhh. You’re okay. They won’t hurt you.” “Away! Get,” hiccup, “away.” Looking up and out the windshield, Brad held up his hand to keep Rusty and Amber from getting any closer. “Shhhhh, honey. You’re safe. Move over and I’ll take you to my house.” Now shaking, Mandi slipped out of his arms but stayed as close to his side as she could. “Hurry, please.” Easing the truck back into gear, Brad backed up and turned around. In the rearview mirror, he watched as Rusty waved then gathered an obviously crying Amber into his arms. He looked down at Mandi. Tears rolled down her cheeks. An occasional hiccup escaped her throat. Shivers racked her body. “Shit,” he mumbled. She was in shock. Reaching over the back of his seat, he grabbed the jacket he had shoved there and draped it around Mandi’s shoulders as well as he could with one hand. Once he got her back to his house, he’d explain everything about Rusty and Amber. Hopefully, Mandi would accept his explanation. Yeah, but how’s she gonna react when she finds out the man she fucked ‘til we were both sore is another vampire?

*****

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Strong liquid burning its way down her throat brought Mandi back to her senses. After a fit of coughing and a sharp breath, she gasped, “What is that?” “Whiskey,” Brad answered. “You were just sitting here rocking back and forth, whimpering.” She blinked and fresh tears began to well. She sobbed once. “Hold on there, honey. You start again and I might have to slap you to bring you back. I’ve never hit a woman in my life, and I don’t plan to start now.” Sniffing, she rubbed her eyes, then focused on Brad. “I’m never like this.” He leaned forward. “You just found out your best friend is a vampire. It’s understandable that you’d be a little rattled. I know exactly how you feel. The first time I saw Rusty’s fangs, I about pissed my pants.” A picture of Amber, mouth bloody, fangs extended burst into her mind. Rusty stood with her. “Vampires don’t exist,” she whimpered. Even to herself, Mandi didn’t sound convincing. “That’s what I thought too. I know better now.” “He did it to her—Rusty—didn’t he?” Sighing heavily, Brad nodded. Leaping to her feet, she began to pace around the room. “How could you let him do that to Amber?” He rose and placed his hand on her arm when she passed him. “Mandi…” Mandi shrugged him off. “No! He’s dangerous. You have to do something about him.” “Mandi, I can’t do something about a man who’s like a brother to me. And…he’s not dangerous. If he hadn’t turned Amber, she’d be dead.” Mandi stopped pacing. “What?”

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Hooking his ankle around the chair she’d been sitting on, he pulled it to them. “Sit down and I’ll explain everything.” “You were there?” He nodded again. “Right after another vampire did his best to kill her.” Mandi settled herself on the chair as he pulled another one over for himself. Sitting down, he took both her hands in his. “I’m going to start at the beginning, with Rusty. Okay?” She nodded. “A little more than a year ago, Rusty was attacked by a stranger. Now, nobody around here is going to just let somebody beat up on him, so Rusty fought back. When the stranger bit him, Rusty bit back. Hell, that’s dirty fighting, and we can fight dirty too. Anyway, the next day Rusty woke up feeling pretty bad, with a strong craving for blood. It took him about a month to figure out what happened to him, and then he kind of went into hiding—in Amber’s house. She found him there and realized almost right away what he was.” “You mean she stayed?” “She was writing that book about a vampire and figured him being there was the best thing that could have happened.” Brad squeezed her hands. “I told you Rusty wasn’t dangerous. And he took a shine to her right away because she wasn’t afraid of him. Rusty would no sooner hurt her than he would a member of his own family.” “You mean everybody knows they’re vampires?” Brad shook his head. “No, only a few of us. Rusty’s parents, his grandmother, our cousin Gina and me.” “But…” “Let me finish, honey.” Biting her lip, Mandi nodded.

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“One night, a couple of vampires showed up, including the one who changed Rusty. He told Rusty he had to give Amber to him since he was the master. That sure as hell wasn’t going to happen, and Rusty and him started fighting. The other vampire went after Amber, but she broke a broom and threatened him with the pointy end. He backed off quick enough, and she went to help Rusty. The vampire fighting Rusty faked a move and went after Amber. She stuck him in the chest with the broomstick, but he got a hold of her before he died and ripped out her throat.” Mandi’s hands flew to her own throat. “Oh my God.” “That other vampire told Rusty he could save Amber’s life if he gave her his blood and made sure his saliva got on her wound.” Brad squeezed Mandi’s hands tighter. “Honey, Rusty didn’t have a choice. Amber would have died. And she’s happy now. Talk to her. Let her tell you herself. I promise she won’t hurt you.” Sighing heavily, Mandi said, “Amber would never hurt me, I know. It’s just I wasn’t expecting… Her teeth… That blood…” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “I know.” Grabbing on to Brad’s shirt, Mandi buried her face in his broad chest and shuddered. After a few minutes, she lifted her head and looked into his face. “Thank you.” His smile warmed her heart. You should tell her now, his conscience said. Sighing, she nuzzled his chest, then looked up into his face again. “How did I ever manage to find a nice, normal guy like you in the middle of nowhere?” I don’t think now would be a good time, he told his conscience. She thinks I’m normal. “Just lucky, I guess.” Letting go of her hands, Brad cupped her face and kissed her forehead. After looking deep into her eyes, he tilted his head slightly and pressed his mouth against hers. Gently, he moved his lips against hers, nibbled the corner of her mouth and finally sucked on her bottom lip until he got the response he wanted.

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Sighing into his mouth, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Pulling back a bit, she whispered, “Where would I be without you?” Fiery lust exploded outward from his belly. His cock hardened and his gums ached. But Brad was getting the hang of controlling the vampire part of him. Though he wanted to throw Mandi down on the floor and rip her clothing off, he crushed the urge. He needed to be gentle with her. And, more importantly, he had to hide the truth a little while longer. Right now, Mandi was as fragile as a butterfly. She trusted him, and he wasn’t about to kill that trust. Once Mandi accepted that her best friend Amber would never hurt her, he could tell her the truth about himself. Lifting his head, he reached up and pulled her hands from behind his neck. Then he stepped back and held out his hand. Without a moment’s hesitation, she placed her hand in his. Smiling, he led her to his bed.

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Chapter Fifteen Mandi glanced around as Brad led her from his kitchen, though she didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings. The man in front of her was far more interesting than his house. His hand tightened on hers as she stumbled over a pair of boots. “Sorry, but I’m not much of a housekeeper.” “You could turn on a light.” Again, his teeth gleamed in the dimness. “Then I’d just have to turn it off again.” He pulled her to his side. “Steps here.” As she stepped upward, he put his hand on her hip. Shivers of excitement tripped down her spine. When Mandi reached the top, he guided her forward, flipped the light switch and immediately adjusted the dimmer. “Oh, this is beautiful.” Placing her hands on the oak railing, she leaned forward and looked down from Brad’s loft bedroom into the living room where the pale stones of the fireplace glowed dimly. He stepped to her side, crossed his arms and leaned against the railing. “I like the woods. So I bought twenty acres and had this cabin built in the middle of it. If the curtains were open, you could see the pond. I like to sit down there in front of that big window and watch nature in all her glory.” He glanced over at her. “Not much of a nature girl yourself, are you?” As she stared at the closed drapes, Mandi shrugged. “I really never thought of it. I was born and raised in Philadelphia. Vacations with my parents were at the seashore. Then I went to culinary school, got my degree and got a job.”

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“Good thing your vacation was the same time as Amber’s wedding.” For a moment, the memory of how Amber looked with blood coating her fangs appeared in Mandi’s mind. Shivering, she swallowed and ducked her head. His voice was low as he stroked her arm. “You okay?” Nodding, Mandi sucked in a deep breath. Amber was her best friend, and Mandi trusted her more than she trusted anyone else. If that meant trusting someone with what looked like four-inch fangs, well then, that was what she would do. “They’re only about three quarters of an inch.” She jerked her head up. “What?” He smiled. “You were talking out loud.” “How do you know?” “I heard you.” “No, their teeth. Did you measure them?” Chuckling, he shook his head. “I asked. How much vacation time do you have?” Mandi looked back down into the living room. “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly using vacation time.” Turning, he propped his hip against the railing and looked down at her. Mandi continued to stare down into the living room. “A friend and I opened a restaurant. He put up two thirds of the money and was head chef. I didn’t have a problem with that since my specialty is pastries and I didn’t want to put up with management headaches.” “Boyfriend?” Mandi snorted. “So I thought. Anyway, things were going well and our clientele was growing. Then I went in early one day and found Ramon banging one of the waitresses. I turned around, walked out and didn’t go back.” “Prick.”

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Mandi smiled. “I got even with him. I sold my share of the restaurant to the biggest control freak I could find—an investment banker Amber dated for a while. It wasn’t hard. Business was really good, and owning one-third of a restaurant doing that well is a good investment. So now, Ramon has an anal bean counter breathing down his neck to make sure he doesn’t spend too much money.” Satisfaction rolled through Mandi. She knew she sounded bitchy, but she didn’t care. Ramon deserved everything he got. At her side, Brad chuckled. “Remind me never to get you mad at me.” She glanced up into his face. Fire danced in his eyes. “I planned on going back to Philly and starting a restaurant or pastry shop or something.” He leaned closer. “How good are your pastries?” Her heart fluttered. “You’ve never tasted anything as good.” He bent even closer until his mouth was barely an inch from hers. “You’re wrong. I have tasted something sweeter and richer.” “What?” Her lips brushed his. “You.” Pulling her into his arms, he covered her mouth with his. Burying her fingers in his hair, Mandi tilted her head to the side, opened her mouth and stabbed her tongue between his lips. Groaning, he mated his tongue to hers and lifted her off the floor. Three long steps had him next to his bed. As he laid her down, Mandi pulled him with her, humming with pleasure when his hard body settled on top of hers. Oh, yes! Grabbing the back of his shirt, she jerked it out of his pants, then tried to slide her hands between their bodies.

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He lifted his mouth from hers, smiled into her face, then chuckled. Rolling off the bed, he rose to his feet and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I don’t want you popping the buttons off this one.” In a flash, Mandi was on her knees, sliding her hands over his slightly hairy chest. Leaning forward, she teased one of his nipples with her tongue. “Christ, honey, you make me so hot I can hardly stand it.” Mandi chuckled against his chest. “Good.” Then, while she sucked on the other nipple, she danced her fingers down to his waist and tugged his belt and uniform pants open. Clasping the zipper, she pulled it down slowly. She cupped his ass and squeezed, then hooked her fingers in his pants and boxers and jerked them down. His cock sprang to attention. “Mmmm, yes.” After licking its tip, Mandi sucked it into her mouth.

Burying his fingers in her hair, Brad guided her head as she slid her mouth up, down and all around his cock. Her mouth was wet and hot, her tongue wild. His pants and boxers hobbling his ankles, he spread his legs as wide as he could and ground his hips forward. She opened her mouth wider and took him in. “Fuckin’ Christ.” Grasping his cock, she pulled it out of her mouth and dragged her tongue up one side and down the other. She kissed the drop of clear liquid off the tip of its head and looked up. “You taste good.” “Christ, honey, your mouth feels almost as good as your pussy. You keep this up and I’m gonna come a whole lot sooner than I want to.”

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“Well, we wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?” Crossing her arms, she grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up over her head. A quick squeeze between her breasts and her bra popped open. She tossed it over his shoulder. Brad was quick to cup both breasts, then pinch her nipples. “Nice trick.” “I have more.” She opened her jeans, slid them down her thighs, flopped back on her ass and lifted her feet. “Take off my shoes?” Her smile tempted. “You’re turning into a real tease, you know that?” Capturing both ankles in one hand, he removed her shoes and socks with the other. Releasing her ankles, he yanked her jeans off her. Leaning back on her elbows, she spread her legs slightly to reveal the tiny scrap of white silk between them. “You like?” Brad’s cock jerked as he kicked off his shoes and pushed his pants and socks down over his ankles. Grabbing a condom from the drawer of his bedside table, he ripped open the package and rolled it on. “I’ll like it a lot better when my cock takes the place of those panties.” She grinned. “It’s not panties.” Rolling over, she stuck her ass up in the air. A single piece of silk slid down between her ass cheeks toward her pussy. The ache in Brad’s gums flared into burning fire, but he was able to control his teeth’s lengthening. It was all just mind over matter. He wasn’t letting his fangs out until he wanted them out. “You want to play,” he said as he knelt on the bed behind her. “I’ll play with you.” After one sharp slap on her ass, he pushed the string of her thong out of the way and slid a finger into her cunt. “Nice and wet, just like I thought.” He slid a second finger into her. She jerked her hips upward after the slap but ground them back again when he thrust his fingers into her pussy. “Yes! More!”

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Brad moved closer so that his cock was between her legs. He rubbed it against the inside of her thigh as he steadied her hips with his free hand. The fingers of his other hand remained in her cunt. “More?” “Oh God, yes!” He pressed the thumb of his other hand against her anus. “How much more you want, honey?” He pressed more firmly. She bucked back against him. “Your cock! I need your cock inside of me! Now!” “Never say I didn’t do my best to make a lady happy.” Sliding his fingers from her cunt, Brad steadied her hips, and thrust his cock in. Pulling it back out, he shoved it back in again. She was hot, tight and wet as her internal muscles sucked and grasped his cock. “That’s it, honey. Tighten your pussy around me.” He pushed his cock deeper and twisted his hips.

Panting, Mandi ground her hips back against Brad. His cock was rock-hard and he was thrusting and twisting it as deeply as he could. The soft quilt under her breasts rubbed against her sensitive nipples while the springy hairs on his legs teased her thighs. God, but he excited her. “That’s it, make your pussy tighter.” “Deeper. I want your cock deeper. More!” There was a catch in his voice. “You still want more of me?” She shoved her ass back against his thighs. “God, yes!” Grunting, he slid one leg off the bed, planted his foot on the floor and rammed his cock as deeply as he could. “Yes! Yes, oh yes, oh yes. You’re so hard! You feel so good!” She spread her legs a bit wider and pushed back. Her pussy muscles sucked his cock deeper.

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“Play with your clit, honey. I want you to come harder than you’ve ever come before.” She inhaled. The scent of sex, his and hers, surrounded them, and, to Mandi, it smelled more delicious than the best gourmet meal. Sliding her hand back, she rubbed her clit. The tips of her fingers caressed his cock as he began to pump harder. Mandi gasped. Her clit was very sensitive at this point. How did he manage to get her so hot so fast? “I’m going to come.” She bucked against him. She could hear him gasping behind her. “Let it go, honey. Let it go.” Mandi clenched her teeth. Let it go? No way. Not yet. The longer she could hold back, the better it would feel. Pressure built. Her nipples became pinpoints of delicate pain. A little more, a little more, a little more, just hold on a little longer, she repeated to herself mentally in time with Brad’s thrusts. Just a little longer and she’d fly higher with her orgasm than she ever had before. Brad thrust his cock into her so hard she’d have slid across the bed if he hadn’t been holding on to her hip with one hand. As she tightened her pussy around his cock, he slid the tip of a finger slippery with her own juices into her anus. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Mandi surged forward. He followed her and slid his finger a bit deeper. Flickers of light danced before Mandi’s eyes as her cunt tightened and relaxed, tightened and relaxed. As she fragmented into a million pieces, she buried her face in the quilt.

While his cock was deep inside her wet, shuddering pussy, Brad pushed his finger into her anus up to his knuckle, leaned over her back and reached underneath her to rub her clit with the fingers of his other hand. She screamed and exploded into a fresh orgasm.

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Freeing both hands, Brad reached forward, grabbed her breasts and slid his nowextended fangs into the back of her shoulder as cum exploded from his balls and shot up through his cock. In seconds, he was sucking her sweet blood into his mouth as one of the most powerful orgasms he’d ever experienced enveloped him. Beneath him, she still shuddered with her own release. After what seemed like an eternity, Brad lapped her shoulder, fell down beside her and cuddled her against his chest. Resting her arm over his waist, she groaned. “I think I lost consciousness for a minute.” She snuggled closer. “Damn, but you know how to satisfy a woman. Even those love bites of yours excite me.” Brad trailed a finger over her shoulder. “Those little nips? Honey, I was mostly biting my own lip to hold back for you.” “Hmmm. Holding back for me. I like that.” She trailed her hand down his thigh and cupped his balls. “You have anything left?” Laughing, he gently grabbed her wrist. “As much as spending the rest of the night in bed with you appeals to me, I have to go to work.” She tangled her fingers in his pubic hair. “Too bad.” “Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.” His cock rose hard and aching again. He looked over at the clock next to the bed. “But, fuck. I can’t. I have to go.” Rolling out of bed, he cleaned up and started getting dressed. “Another time, you won’t get off so easy.” Stretching her arms above her head, she smiled. “Promise?” Brad’s gaze flew to her bouncing breasts. “Honey, that’s a guarantee.” He looked up into her face. “You just stay right here in bed and I’ll try to get off early.” Her deep chuckle was all the answer he needed. As Brad left his house, he rolled his mind around how he was going to screw himself unconscious with Mandi without her finding out he was a vampire.

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An owl hooted, and he glanced up into the pine tree. “You’re right. Maybe I should just tell her the truth.”

Sighing contentedly, Mandi sat up and rolled out of bed. She hadn’t eaten for a while. Brad had to have something edible in his kitchen. Pulling her T-shirt over her head, she headed down the stairs. When she reached the first floor, a loud knock on the front door reverberated through the living room. Mandi stepped to the window and pulled the drapes back enough so she could see outside. Standing before the door was Amber—alone. Mandi closed her eyes. Amber was her friend, her best friend. She’d never hurt her. She grasped the doorknob, turned it and opened the door slowly. Tears were rolling down Amber’s cheeks. “Mandi, please. I’m so sorry. I never meant to scare you.” Tears welling in her own eyes, Mandi stepped back. “I’m sorry too. You aren’t going to bite me, are you?” Shaking her head, Amber stepped through the doorway. “I should have told you everything right away.” Striding across the room, she flopped down on the sofa. As Mandi closed the door, Amber started talking. “The first time I saw Rusty, he was sleeping in my bathtub…”

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Chapter Sixteen Mandi leaned against the back of the sofa and stared at her friend. Even though Brad had already told her how her friend had become a vampire, the story was just as amazing the second time. To think, vampires really did exist, and Amber was one of them. Clasping a lumpy pillow against her chest, Mandi asked, “Do you really bite people?” A quick grin appeared on Amber’s face. “Only once. I tried biting some guy and got so horny I would have jumped him if Rusty hadn’t been there.” “You’re kidding!” Amber shook her head. “Nope. All the romance authors are right. Biting somebody really is a sexual thing.” “You just drink each other’s blood? Don’t you run out of it or something?” Laughing, Amber shook her head again. “No. We keep a supply of deer and cow blood handy.” Mandi leaned forward. “You mean all those stories about vampires drinking human blood are false? Except for the sex thing, that is?” Amber shrugged. “I have no idea. All I know about being a vampire I learned from Rusty, and he’s pretty much playing it by ear.” “So you guys could be breaking vampire etiquette and not even know it.” Amber’s laughter joined Mandi’s. “Who knows? Nobody’s complained about it yet though, so I guess we haven’t done anything too bad.” “Geez, Amber. You guys live in the middle of nowhere. Other vampires probably don’t even know you exist.”

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“That Claude vampire, the one who was with the vampire who tried to kill me, does. I’m sure he told somebody.” “Maybe other vampires have been here to check you out. How would you even know?” “We’d know. I always know Rusty is coming before he arrives. It’s some kind of vampire ESP.” “How do you know it’s not because you guys are lovers? Maybe that’s why you’re so sensitive to each other.” “I thought of that too, but we went to a play when we were in New York. At intermission, we both felt another vampire. She was across the room. She nodded once to us, then went on talking to the people around her. So, obviously, we know if other vampires are around.” “Oh.”

Amber stared at her friend. Mandi had run straight to Brad. That meant he hadn’t told her he was also a vamp. Time to find out which way the wind blew. “So, here you are in Brad’s house pretty much naked. You two must be getting along well.” The flush that raced up her friend’s neck to her face was all the answer she needed, even though Amber already knew Mandi was banging Brad. His scent was all over her. “What about Ramon? You said you’d tell me all about it when you got here.” Mandi snorted. “That asshole? Right after you came to visit me, I caught him screwing Marcy—right on top of my pastry table!” “I told you there was something…slimy about him. What did you do?” The satisfied smile that appeared on Mandi’s face brought joy to Amber’s heart. “I sold my share of the restaurant to your old friend, Richard. I signed the papers the day before I left to come here.”

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“Richard! Penny-pinching, I-am-the-best-investment-banker-and-financial-advisorin-the-world Richard? Mini-dick Richard—the guy who was lucky if he had four inches?” Mandi grinned at her. “Yep, that’s the one. The restaurant was doing so well, he figured it would be a great investment. Now he’ll be breathing down Ramon’s neck, wanting to know how much everything costs and why Ramon spent X amount of money on whatever.” Amber shook her head. “Mandi, I’m impressed. What a perfect way to get even.” “Yeah, and I’d have fucked Richard right in the kitchen where Ramon could find us if you hadn’t told me how bad in bed he was. I mean, if I’m going to fuck somebody, it better be worth it.” Amber grinned. “Was Brad worth it?” She nodded to the T-shirt Mandi was wearing. “I’d say you two are getting along pretty well. I thought you might like him.” Mandi flushed again. “Yeah, um, he’s okay, I guess.” Throwing back her head, Amber laughed long and loud. When she finally was able to stop, she said, “One thing about being a vamp—I’m a lot more sensitive to odors than I used to be. You and Brad had hot monkey sex. I can smell it on you. Besides, your bra is hanging from one of the beams supporting the loft.” Hauling herself around, Mandi looked up. Her bra was dangling ten feet over her head. She sighed. Then she chuckled. “He has a great body. And have you gotten a good look at his ass? Besides, there’s something in his eyes.” Mandi hugged the pillow she was still holding. “I couldn’t resist him.” Amber smiled back at her friend. There’s a good reason for that. If I find out Brad compelled you, I’ll rip his balls off myself.

Shaking herself free of the memories of how good Brad’s cock felt, Mandi concentrated on her friend again. “What else can you do?”

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“What do you mean?” “You know. Being a vampire. What can you do besides smell better? Can you turn into a bat and fly?” Laughing, Amber leaned back. “No, I can’t turn into a bat and fly—at least, I don’t think I can. But I am stronger and faster. And I don’t need glasses anymore.” “Really? I thought you were wearing your contacts.” “Nope, my eyes are perfect—better than perfect, as a matter of fact. I can see as well at night as I used to be able to see during the day. I don’t think I can get sick anymore, and any kinds of injuries heal almost instantaneously. I cut myself when I was slicing a steak and it was completely healed by the next day.” “You can eat? You don’t just live on blood?” “No, but I can’t eat everything I used to. Meat, dairy products and some things made out of dough are fine. Fruit and vegetables just don’t agree with me anymore. If I have more than a nibble, I get an upset stomach. Not fun. Interestingly though, I can drink anything, even fruit juice. Don’t ask me why I can have orange juice and not an orange—I haven’t the vaguest idea.” Mandi tilted her head to the side. “So what you’re telling me is that being a vampire is better than being a human.” Amber shrugged. “It’s got its low points too. No more seashore for me.” “Will you disintegrate if you go out into the sun?” Amber’s laughter rolled around the room. “You watch too much TV. No, I won’t disintegrate, but I’ll get one hell of a sunburn that will take weeks to heal. And my eyes are really sensitive to light. I can go out during the day, but I have to wear a really powerful sunscreen on any exposed skin and very good sunglasses. Going outside during the day also zaps my energy. I think my metabolism is faster now. I can eat a ton of food and not gain any weight. But, I have to sleep, usually at least ten to twelve hours depending on how active I’ve been.”

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“So you’re telling me that vampires sleep during the day because of their sensitivity to light, not because they have to.” “Yeah. Rusty figured that one out pretty early on. After a few nasty sunburns, he gave up sleeping at night and switched his schedule around. And it works for me because it doesn’t matter if I write during the day or at night.” Amber grinned at Mandi. “Any more questions?” Before Mandi could answer, the phone rang. After two tones, the answering machine kicked in. “Mandi, honey, it’s Brad. It’s quiet in Juniata County tonight, so I’m coming home early. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” The answering machine clicked off when he ended the call. Amber grinned. “Two’s company, three’s a crowd—well, except in the next book I’m writing.” “Amber!” Rising to her feet, Amber pulled Mandi up into a quick hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow night and we’ll talk some more, okay? And I’ll bring Rusty so you can get to know him.” She stepped back and stared at Mandi. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you or how happy I am that you aren’t afraid of me. I was starting to get lonely. I love Rusty dearly, but female friends are few and far between for me. Thanks so much for understanding.” She hugged Mandi again. “Shit, Amber. What did you expect?” Mandi answered as she embraced her friend. “I’ve known you too long to let a couple of long teeth come between our friendship.” Amber brushed a tear from her cheek. “God, but I love you.” She sniffed, then chuckled. “Now, I’ve been here over an hour already, and I better scoot before Brad gets back. I’ll see you.” Mandi walked Amber to the door. “I think this switch is for a floodlight.” “No need. I can see perfectly, remember? Bye now.” “Bye.”

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As Mandi closed the door behind Amber, a weight lifted off her shoulders. Amber was still Amber. Sure, there were some changes, but she was still the friend Mandi had always known she could count on. Combing her hair back off her forehead, Mandi looked around, then looked down at herself. Brad was on his way back and already her nipples were hard and pushing against the soft cotton of her T-shirt. No man had ever had such an effect on her. Now, where should she wait for him and how much clothing should she be wearing? Better yet, maybe she should let him find her in the shower. Shower sex with Brad. Damn, but that sounded great. She had just started up the stairway when she heard a heavy step on the porch, then a knock on the door. Sighing, she shook her head. Just like a man to leave without his keys. Sauntering over to the door, she put what she hoped was a sultry smile on her lips and pulled it open. Two dark-haired men stood before her, and one of them pointed a gun directly at her.

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Chapter Seventeen A deer bounded across the road as Brad turned onto the lane to his house. He smiled. He had absolutely no urge to leap out of his truck and chased the buck for a drink of warm blood. Nope, why chase after a deer when Mandi was waiting for him? He grimaced in the rearview mirror. The question was, how was she going to react when she found out he was a vampire? As much as he wanted to continue on the way they were, he couldn’t make love with her again without telling her. It just wasn’t right. Mandi deserved to know the truth even if she ran from him the way she’d run from Amber. Brad shifted in his seat. He’d passed Amber on the way to his house earlier when he’d left to go on patrol. Stopping when he got to the end of his lane, he’d waited about ten minutes. When Amber’s car didn’t appear, he figured that Mandi settled down to listen to Amber’s version of how she became a vampire. A good sign for him, he hoped. But, having a vampire for a friend was one thing. Fucking one was another. It had been well over an hour now since he’d been gone. Amber might even still be there, though if he knew her as well as he thought he did, she’d left soon after he called and told Mandi he was on his way home. There was no way Amber couldn’t know about Mandi and him. His whole house smelled like sex. As Brad stopped his truck and got out, a lead weight settled into his stomach. What the hell? Mandi just wouldn’t just leave the front door open like that. Sprinting forward, he leaped up onto his front porch then through the door. Chaotic shambles greeted him. Furniture was overturned, his television was smashed and the odor of gunpowder floated in the air.

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For an instant, he stopped breathing. Mandi! Then he calmed himself. If Mandi were still here, he’d be able to smell her. No one was in the house. Whoever had trashed the place had taken Mandi with them. But who? Realization dawned immediately. That New Jersey driver Earl had given a speeding ticket. It had been the same car from the drug bust. Brad looked around. There were bullet holes in his walls and knife slashes in the curtains. These guys were vicious. It was a wonder they hadn’t killed Earl that night. Christ, Earl was a lucky man. Grabbing some shotgun shells from the high shelf where he kept them, he turned and headed for his truck and CB radio. Earl was home with his very pregnant wife. Good place for him. He was out of his league with men like these and would just end up hurt or dead. He should call the state police, but wrecking his house and kidnapping Mandi made things personal. Nope. He and Gina could take care of these guys. Her Army training and the tricks her ex-Special Forces boyfriend had taught her would come in handy. She could hold her own in a fight with a couple of drug dealers. Rusty would come too, if he needed him. The only one who’d really be in danger was Mandi. Brad’s fangs exploded from his gums as he slid back into his truck. He’d rip the throat out of any cocksucker who hurt her.

“I say we kill her now. He killed our brother. We kill his woman.” Mandi did her best to swallow her fear. “I’m not his woman.” The one with the dead eyes looked at her. “You’re naked in his house. You’re his woman.” “Just because I have sex with someone doesn’t make me his!” Even she could hear the panic rising in her voice. He pointed the gun at her again. “Shut up.” Pushing herself as far back into the corner of the backseat as she could, Mandi complied.

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“Stop the car and let me shoot her.” “No,” the driver answered. “We’ll go back to the shack where Nico and me were supposed to pick up the drugs. He’ll look for us there. Then I will kill his woman in front of his eyes before I kill him.” “What if he brings help?” “They won’t have time to get there. He’ll hurry and follow on his own. As soon as he sees me holding a gun to her head, he’ll do whatever I want him to. As soon as he drops his gun, I shoot her and you shoot him.” Deadeyes grunted his acquiescence. “The only thing we have to watch out for,” the driver continued, “is that guy with the big teeth.” “Stupid ass. You don’t know what you’re talking about. The newspaper said Nico was shot in the throat. There was nobody with big teeth. You were jacked up and were seeing things.” “Fuck you. I know what I saw.” As the two men argued, Mandi’s heart beat faster and faster, and she struggled to control the panic threatening to overwhelm her. They were going to kill her. She was going to die. Her hands began to shake and a whimper escaped from her throat. “What the fuck is that?” “Uh?” Deadeyes leaned forward and stared out the windshield. “It’s a fuckin’ cow.” With the car’s headlights, Mandi had no trouble looking past the driver to the animal standing in the middle of the road. It wasn’t a cow. It was that big black-and-white bull. Shaking its head, it bellowed. “Just blow the horn and drive. It’ll get scared and run away.” The driver leaned on the horn. 110


Its blare made the bull angrier. It shook its head again and pawed the ground. Deadeyes turned to her. “What the fuck is the matter with that cow?” Trembling—he had that gun pointed at her again—Mandi answered, “I don’t know. I’m from Philadelphia. I’m just here for my friend’s wedding.” “You’re lying.” “No, I’m not. Honest.” “There’s a car coming the other way.” “Good. Let them chase the cow.” The other car turned out to be an SUV and kept coming until it bumped the bull from behind. Foam went flying as it snorted, turned and crashed through the brambles on the left side of the road. Deadeyes looked back at Mandi. “Keep quiet or I’ll kill you now.” Still trembling, Mandi pushed herself back against the door. As unobtrusively as possible, she clutched the handle. The door was locked, but she’d flip the switch if she got the chance. They were going to shoot her anyway. She may as well die trying to escape. Besides, that way they wouldn’t be able to use her as bait to murder Brad. “Hey,” growled the driver, “what’s the guy in the SUV doing?” It had backed up and was now speeding forward, straight for them. “What the…” The driver yanked the gearshift into reverse and stomped on the gas. “That’s a fuckin’ cop car!” “How the fuck did he find us so fast?” Before Deadeyes could answer, the back of the car missed a turn, lurched down into a ditch, then slammed into a tree. The gun flew from Deadeyes’ hand as he was thrown backward. Mandi bounced against the backseat, fought off the sudden pain in her arm and launched herself back against the door. Flipping the lock, she jerked the door handle and tumbled out. Her heart leaped. She was getting away! 111

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“Oh, no you don’t, bitch.” The driver rolled out of his door and tackled her. Grabbing her hair, he yanked her to her feet just as Gina yelled, “Drop your weapons and freeze.” Wrapping his arm around Mandi’s waist, he pulled her tightly against him and pushed a gun against her temple. “You drop your gun, cop bitch, or I kill her.” Gina’s voice was low, steady and not the least bit intimidated. “And you’ll die right after she does, asshole.” A low moan rolled out of the car, followed by Deadeyes. Blood dripped from a deep gash in his head. “Get your gun and shoot the bitch cop,” the man holding Mandi said in a low voice. With another groan, he disappeared back into the car. Mandi could hear him searching amongst the empty beer and soda cans. Before he found his gun, a pickup truck roared around the bend and skidded to a halt. Hope leaped in Mandi’s breast when Brad jumped out, a shotgun in his hands. “Let her go now, cocksucker, or I’ll blow you into a million pieces.” A sneering laugh escaped from Mandi’s captor. “Do that and you’ll kill her before you kill me.” “You think so?” Brad’s smile scared Mandi. “You got them covered, Gina?” “I got ‘em Brad. There’s another one in the backseat of the car looking for his gun.” Brad nodded. “Okay, he’s yours.” He shifted his attention to Mandi. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll have you safe and sound in a minute.” The man holding her tightened his arm. “You redneck cops are as stupid as they say you are.” Brad ignored him. “Mandi, in a minute, he’s going to let you go. When he does, I want you to run to Gina as fast as you can. Understand?” “Nothin’ you can do or say will make me let her go, asswipe.” 112


Brad continued to ignore him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth about me before this, Mandi. I promise, I’ll explain everything. Now, get ready to run.” Mandi would have nodded if the gun hadn’t been pressed against her temple. Given the chance, she’d run faster than she’d ever run in her life. The man behind her pulled the gun from her temple and pointed it at Brad. “You should be fucking committed, hick.” In the blink of an eye, Brad had dropped his shotgun and exploded in their direction. Frozen in place, Mandi watched as Brad reached them far more rapidly than was humanly possible. Then when he was only a few feet away, he opened his mouth. When his fangs erupted from his gums, the man holding Mandi screamed, pushed her away and stumbled back. Hand shaking, he fired a wild shot at Brad that missed completely. “Damn it, Mandi, I told you to run.” Brad’s shove spurred her into motion, and she turned and sprinted toward Gina, her mind whirling. Brad was a vampire. She’d been screwing a fucking vampire, and no one had had the decency to tell her, not even her best friend. “Get down!” Gina screamed. Without thinking, Mandi fell to the ground. A shot exploded over her head, and she heard a man scream behind her. In a moment, Gina was by her side. “You okay?” “Are you a vampire too?” Mandi countered, not trying to hide the anger in her voice. Gina grinned and shook her head. When she saw how angry Mandi was, her grin faded. “Listen, Mandi,” she began. “I don’t want to hear it.” 113

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Pushing herself to her feet, she started to stomp away. Since she wasn’t wearing any shoes, the stone she stepped on made an impression. “Shit. Fucking shit.” Hopping on one foot, she tried to rub the other one. What’s more, she was cold. All she was wearing was her T-shirt and thong. “Mandi, honey, let me explain.” Letting go of her foot, Mandi whirled. “Get away from me, you fucking liar.” “Christ, but she’s pissed,” Gina said. “I’d be careful of what I said if I were you, Brad. I’ll check out the kidnappers.” “They’re both dead.” Then Brad turned his attention back to Mandi and stepped closer. “Honey, I never lied to you.” “Don’t call me honey. You didn’t tell me the truth, either. That’s a lie of omission, jerk.” “I was going to tell you tonight.” “Bullshit.” “Fuck, Mandi. What was I supposed to do? Introduce myself as the local vampire sheriff? You’d have gone running back to Philadelphia.” Fisting her hands on her hips, Mandi glared at Brad. “So? You didn’t know me. What would it matter?” “It would have mattered to Amber. She wanted you here for her wedding.” Brad was now less than a foot away. Blood was drying on his chin and shirt. Though the blood registered in Mandi’s mind, she wasn’t appalled. Nor was she appalled by the fact that Brad had obviously ripped a man’s throat out. The man had promised to kill her—he deserved to die. No, it was the fact that Brad had hidden the truth about himself. How was she supposed to trust a man—or vampire—who didn’t tell her the truth? “Listen, moron…” Mandi didn’t get to finish.

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An angry bellow exploded from the bushes on their left as the bull charged. The last thing Mandi remembered was a sharp blow to her back as Brad tried to push her out of the way, flying through the air and landing with a hard thud. Briefly, sparkling stars danced before her eyes. Then everything became dark.

“Mandi!” Brad leaped to her side. The bull followed him. “Brad! Look out!” cried Gina. Brad turned just as the bull reached him. Grabbing the beast by its horns, Brad twisted its neck until there was an audible snap. Letting go, he leaped to Mandi and fell to his knees beside her. “Mandi? Mandi!” Silence answered him.

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Chapter Eighteen The steady beep-beep-beeping pulled Mandi back to consciousness. When she opened her eyes, a sterile white wall greeted her. She tried to move. Her left hand had an IV stuck into it. The right had a clip on her middle finger. What the hell had happened to her? “Good. You’re awake.” Turning her head slightly, she gazed into the face of a cheerful-looking woman changing a bag from the rack next to her bed. Mandi opened her mouth, but no sound came out. “Here,” the nurse said as she held a cup with a bent straw to Mandi’s mouth. Mandi sipped. The water was tepid, but it wet her throat and mouth. “Where—where am I?” “You’re in the hospital, dear. You’re lucky to be alive.” In a flash, everything came back to Mandi—the kidnapping, her rescue, Brad’s revelation that he was a vampire and their argument. Mandi swallowed. The huge blur that had appeared in the corner of her eye. “The bull. The bull charged me.” The nurse nodded. “Like I said, you’re lucky to be alive. One of his horns caught you, and he tossed you quite a distance.” “How long have I been here?” “This is the third day.” “I’ve been unconscious the entire time?” The nurse patted her shoulder. “Sometimes the brain will do that to give the body a chance to heal.” Mandi tried to push herself up. 116


“Here, let me raise the bed for you.” Bending, the nurse pushed a button and the top of Mandi’s bed rose. Another woman, this one in a white coat, stepped through the doorway. “Dr. Shavolsky, she’s awake.” The doctor smiled as she stepped farther into the room. “Good afternoon, Mandi. How are you feeling today?” Mandi looked around at the machines she was attached to. “Okay, I guess. How badly was I hurt and when can I get out of here?” The doctor and nurse exchanged glances. “You’re lucky to be alive,” the doctor said. “That bull could have killed you.” Mandi’s gaze flew from one face to the other. Something was wrong, horribly wrong. Again, she tried to push herself farther up on the bed. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate. As the doctor stepped to the foot of her bed, the nurse patted her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mandi, but your lower back was broken in two places, and you’re paralyzed from the waist down. You’ll have to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.” Mandi shook her head. “No! That’s not possible! I’m a chef! I have to be able to stand up when I work.” “I’m sorry, really I am.” Again she tried to move her legs. Again they remained still. “You can fix it, right? There’s an operation that will fix my back, isn’t there? You doctors work miracles every day.” The doctor shook her head. “Your spinal column was completely severed in two places. There’s no way to fix it.” “No! No, no, no!”

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Darkness claimed Mandi as the nurse injected something into the IV in the back of her hand.

Mandi woke slowly. Shadows filled the room. Blinking, she could make out a human figure over by the window. “Who’s there?” Brad’s voice drifted across the room. “I can’t coach Little League anymore. I can’t go to Fourth of July picnics, and I can’t eat corn on the cob.” Mandi blinked back tears. Was that supposed to make her feel better? Her voice was bitter to her own ears. “Yeah, but you can walk.” Turning away from the window, Brad stepped to the side of her bed and sat down in the chair there. “I know.” Mandi glared at him. “Watch my legs, idiot. Do you see them moving, because I sure as hell am trying to make them move.” He covered her hand with his. She pulled hers away. She didn’t miss the momentary flash of pain on his face. His chin dropped to his chest. “I’ve been blaming myself ever since that bull gored you. You should never have been involved.” “Yeah, and how were you going to prevent that? ‘Oh, wait a minute, bad guys. Don’t kidnap Mandi because she’ll get gored by a bull and be paralyzed from the waist down.’” Rising, he paced back to the window. “Shit, Mandi! You aren’t making this any easier.” “Making what easier? Saying you’re sorry? So am I! Sorrier than you can imagine. I’m paralyzed. I can never be a chef. Do you think any board of health will allow a chef in a wheelchair with a pee bag hanging on its side in a kitchen with lots of sharp knives?”

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“Mandi…” “I’ll probably have to wear a diaper too because I’ll be shitting my pants for the rest of my life and not even know it.” “Mandi, please, listen…” “Oh, yeah, a chef in a shitty diaper. Sounds real appetizing, doesn’t it?” “Christ, Mandi, will you shut up and listen to me?” “Keep yelling like that and the whole hospital will hear you!” she snapped.

The startled expression of the nurse who stuck her head in the open doorway made Brad bite his tongue. Getting Mandi angry wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Not that he could blame her. In her position, he’d be trying to tear the room apart. “Is everything all right in here?” Brad waved the nurse away. “We’re fine, ma’am.” She looked from him to Mandi’s angry face, shook her head sadly and walked away. Brad returned to the chair. Arms crossed over her chest, she glared at him. He sighed. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Look, before I met you, I wasn’t very happy. Sure, I was alive—sort of—but my life had changed so much, I was just going through the motions. I even thought that I’d made a mistake, that I’d be better off dead. Then I met you and I remembered what it felt like to be alive.” Skepticism appeared on her face. “Don’t tell me you’re going to say you’re in love with me.” His heart clenched. She meant more to him than any other woman he’d ever met, but she was in no mood to believe it. He hated what he was about to say, but he said it anyway. “How the hell could I love someone who I’ve only known for a week? But I do like you, a lot. Hell, woman, before you showed up, I couldn’t get a hard-on.” 119

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“So, you see me as some kind of sex therapy?” Brad raked his fingers through his hair. “No, damn it. That didn’t come out the way it was supposed to. No matter what woman I looked at or was around, I felt absolutely no interest in her. You were different. When I saw you with dirt on your face, bouncing around ‘cause you had a thorn in your ass, I felt…happy. Christ, Mandi, for the first time in six weeks, I was happy. That’s what you did to me. You made me happy!” “And why should I believe you?” “Why would I lie to you?” he countered. “Guilt!” she all but shouted. “Tell the crippled girl how she helped you and you soothe your conscience. Then you can go off on your merry way feeling better while I’m stuck a wheelchair for the rest of my life. So, you’ve said you’re sorry, and now you feel better. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.” “God damn it, woman! I want to help you.” She glared at him. “Help me? What in the world can you do for me now?” Brad looked down into her angry face and deep into her eyes. Behind the anger, despair looked back at him. She really thought her life as she knew it was over. Then again, it was. “I can make you walk again.”

The following night, Mandi stared at the blaring television. Damn it, why did this have to happen to her? What had she ever done to deserve it? She wasn’t a bad person. A curse rolled into her throat, but she bit her tongue and remained silent. Outbursts of cursing or crying just brought a nurse, and she didn’t want to listen to them anymore. They kept coming in and talking to her about therapy, about how it would make her feel better. How the hell could they possibly know how she felt? Their legs worked. Hers didn’t.

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No! She didn’t want to talk to any of them. So she kept the TV on and stared at it, and they left her alone. But she didn’t see anything that was happening on the game show. Instead, she brooded on Brad’s offer, over and over. He would make her a vampire. By drinking his blood, her back would heal and she would be able to walk again. At least he thought it would. “Hey.” Mandi looked away from the television as Amber walked into the room. “What if it doesn’t work? What if I’m still paralyzed?” Amber settled into the same chair where Brad had sat and sighed. “We think it will work. Rusty kept both me and Brad from dying by giving us his blood.” Mandi frowned. “Brad?” Amber nodded. “Those drug dealers that kidnapped you? Brad and Gina busted them with Rusty’s help when I was visiting you in Philadelphia. One of them shot Brad in the throat. He would have died if he hadn’t agreed to drink Rusty’s blood.” “He agreed?” “He’d have died otherwise. Anyway, if drinking vampire blood can cure a mortal wound, it should be able to handle something that’s not mortal.” “What if it doesn’t work?” Mandi closed her eyes. “I can just see myself now. The crazy vampire lady rolling after victims in her wheelchair.” Amber jerked her hands to her mouth, but a giggle escaped. Then another and another. Mandi’s lips twitched. She snorted. Finally, she was laughing herself. “I don’t know what you said to make her laugh,” the night nurse said as she came in, “but keep it up. We’ve been trying to convince Mandi her life’s not over, but she doesn’t want to listen to us. Not even that hunky sheriff who was here last night could make her smile.”

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Amber waved her hand. “Well, what do men know about anything anyway?” she asked with a conspiratorial smile. The nurse smiled back. “Exactly. Men are only good for one thing.” She grinned. “Their paychecks.” Both Amber and the nurse laughed. Mandi smiled, but the nurse’s comment had brought another thought to Mandi’s mind. The condition she was in now would mean no more love life—with anybody. Not only would she not be able to feel anything, what if she pissed or shit when a guy was screwing her? Even if she found a man willing to love her the way she was now, could she really let him make love to her? Mandi let Amber chat away and stayed mostly quiet until the nurse left. Then Amber stopped talking until Mandi looked at her. “Brad blames himself and it’s tearing him apart.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Mandi, it wasn’t his fault.” Shaking her head, Mandi sighed. “I know those guys and the bull weren’t his fault. He’s not an idiot or an asshole, at least not most of the time.” She blinked. “No matter what I decide though, the hospital bill is going to wipe out my savings. How will I support myself? Or is there some kind of social security system for vampires?” Amber chuckled. “Your money is safe. That farmer who owned the bull, Calvin Tittle, will be paying for everything.” Mandi blinked. “He agreed?” “He didn’t want to. He even threatened to sue Brad for killing his bull. That’s when Brad said he’d charge him with criminal negligence, willful endangerment and a bunch of other things. Brad has more than a dozen reports filed by him and his deputies about the bull escaping his pasture and being a menace to society. What’s more, he has written complaints from the old man’s neighbors. Brad told him if he didn’t pay for all your hospital bills, you’d probably sue him for every penny he was worth and take his farm.” Amber stared directly into Mandi’s face. “Frankly, that’s exactly what I think you should do. Sue the asshole for everything he has.” 122


Mandi smiled. That was Amber. An eye for an eye, so to speak. “What would I do with a farm and a bunch of cows? Chase them in my wheelchair?” A stern look appeared on Amber’s face. “You are not going to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair—not if I have anything to say about it. We’ll get you out of here tomorrow, take you back to my house and I’ll turn you. No more arguing, understand?” “I’m sorry, miss, but visiting hours are over. You’ll have to leave now,” the nurse said from the doorway. After a smile for Mandi and a wink for Amber, she left. “Are we clear?” Amber stared down into Mandi’s face. Mandi nodded. What would she do without Amber? “I’ll think about it.” Amber rose. “Not much to think about. Life in a wheelchair or life walking around on your own two feet.” “Brad has to do it.” “What?” “I have to…drink,” Mandi could feel herself blanch at the idea, “Brad’s blood. If anything goes wrong, I don’t want you feeling guilty.” Amber grinned. “You’d rather have Brad feel guilty.” Now Mandi felt herself blush. “He offered first.” “Yeah, he’s also, as the nurse put it, a hunky guy. I’ll see you tomorrow.” As Mandi watched Amber leave, she felt more relaxed than she had since she woke up in the hospital. Spending her life in a wheelchair was not an option if there was even a possibility she’d be able to walk again, even if it meant becoming a vampire. Now, all she had to do was figure out how to be a chef too.

*****

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“What do you think you’re doing!” demanded the nurse in an angry voice. “She can’t leave.” Fists planted on her broad hips, the formidable nurse blocked the hallway before them. Mandi tried to hunch down in the wheelchair. Her father’s hero was General George S. Patton. This nurse would have scared him. “You’ve done everything you can for her,” Amber said from Mandi’s side. “She’s signing herself out.” “She is not! She hasn’t had any rehabilitation.” Lifting her fists from her hips, the nurse flexed her fingers and stepped forward. “I knew we’d never get away with this,” Mandi hissed as she buried her chin in her chest. Amber’s voice was firm. “You’ve done all you can for Ms. O’Brien. She’s leaving now.” First a puzzled, then a dazed look appeared on the nurse’s face. She blinked, then blinked again. She shook her head. “Ms. O’Brien will be under the care of her family physician from now on. The paperwork for her transfer to a private care facility is on your desk. You will inform the doctors here.” The nurse blinked again. “Of course, her own physician. Private care facility. We have done everything we can for her. I’ll tell the doctors.” “Go on back to your rounds now,” Amber ordered in the same firm voice. Mandi stared as the nurse disappeared into one of the rooms. “How did you do that?” Amber raked her fingers through her hair. “She had a stronger will than I thought.” Then she smiled down at Mandi. “Use the right tone of voice and we can compel people to do what we want,” Brad answered from behind her as he pushed her forward again.

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“What!” Mandi tried to look at him. Brad could compel people to do things? Was that why she had been so attracted to him? Had he compelled her to have sex? Resting his hand on her shoulder to hold her still, he said, “I never compelled you to do anything you didn’t want to.” “And if he had,” Amber added, “I’d have ripped his balls off.”

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Chapter Nineteen There was a crack in the bedroom ceiling. Brad needed to repaint. Mandi tried to move her legs. Nothing. “Are you ready?” Mandi looked from Amber’s face to Rusty’s face to Brad’s face. Amber and Rusty looked confident. Brad looked worried. Great. The guy who was going to turn her into a vampire wasn’t sure about what he was doing. Everything was just hunky-dory, wasn’t it? “I guess. What do I have to do?” “All you have to do is sip some of Brad’s blood.” Mandi shuddered and wrinkled her nose. “How much?” Amber looked at Rusty. He shrugged but smiled. “Neither Amber nor Brad really ‘drank’ that much, and their wounds were mortal.” “I’d like a more specific definition of ‘much’.” Amber sat down on the bed next to Mandi. “You’re thinking about this too much, Mandi. Brad, cut your wrist and let’s get her better.” Pulling a pocketknife from his pocket, Brad slit his wrist. As blood welled, he held it out to her. Putting her arms around Mandi’s shoulders, Amber lifted her. Grimacing, Mandi stared at the bleeding wound. “Are you sure this is the only way? Can’t he bite me or something?” Amber sighed. “We’re playing this by ear, Mandi. It’s what worked for Brad and me, so it should work for you.” 126


“I should have kept that intravenous needle in the back of my hand,” Mandi mumbled. After two false starts, she pressed her lips against Brad’s wrist. “Open your mouth and suck it in,” Amber commanded. At first, Mandi balked at the coppery taste of Brad’s blood, but then she complied. She wanted to walk again. Brad’s sharp intake of breath when her mouth closed over his wrist startled her, and she would have pulled back, but Amber put her palm on the back of Mandi’s head. Grabbing his forearm with his other hand, Brad pushed his thumb against his skin. Blood flowed freely into Mandi’s mouth. She swallowed before she choked. Thick warmth rolled down her throat and into her stomach. In seconds, hot pain roared through her lower body. Needles of fire stabbed her back and legs. Yanking her mouth away from his wrist, she threw back her head and screamed before blackness exploded before her eyes. The last thing she saw before she fainted was Brad’s agonized face.

“What’s happening?” Brad roared as Mandi’s entire body convulsed away from him. Pulling her from Amber’s grasp and into his arms, he struggled to hold her still. “Did this happen to us?” Amber demanded as she watched her friend’s thrashing body. “No!” Rusty exclaimed from Brad’s side as he leaned closer. “You both just seemed to go to sleep.” “What the fuck is happening?” Brad growled. “Did I do something wrong?” Mandi shuddered in his arms. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open in a silent scream. “Help her, damn it!” Amber grabbed Rusty’s arm. “Think. What didn’t we do?” 127

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Rusty raked his hair back off his forehead with both hands. “I don’t… Wait. Saliva. I licked both your wounds.” A tear rolled down Brad’s cheek. “But she doesn’t have any wounds!” “Then we’ll give her one,” Amber stated firmly as she grabbed Brad’s pocketknife from where he’d laid it on the nightstand. Brad held her twitching arm out. “Cut her arm.” Amber shook her head. “No, put her on the bed and roll her over. It’s her back that’s broken. The cut will work better there—I hope.” Without further comment, Brad laid Mandi on the bed, rolled her over and ripped off the nightgown she wore. Pushing him out of the way, Amber flattened her palm on the small of Mandi’s back to hold her jerking body still and stabbed the knife in. With a flick of her wrist, she sliced a shallow, three-inch gash into her friend’s skin. Pushing Amber out of the way, Brad bent over and fastened his mouth to the cut to suck and lick the wound. After what seemed like an eternity, she relaxed and lay still. Resting his forehead against Mandi’s slender back, Brad closed his eyes and sighed with relief. After a final kiss to the cut, he straightened. The gash was already closing. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he turned to Amber and Rusty. “I never want to go through anything like that again.” Amber collapsed onto a chair. “Neither do I.” Rusty squeezed her shoulder. “Now what?” Brad continued. Rusty looked down at Mandi. “Now we wait.”

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There was a crack in the ceiling. She frowned. Her bedroom had just been painted. There were no cracks anywhere. “Mandi?” She turned her head toward Brad’s voice—and remembered everything. In the blink of an eye, he was at her side. “Can you move your legs?” Mandi lay still. She didn’t know if she could move her legs—and she didn’t care. As Brad leaned over her, the beating of his heart sounded like thunder, the pulsing of his blood through his veins was like a roaring flood. She could smell the sweet, coppery scent of his blood—and she wanted it. Before she could blink, an all-encompassing thirst exploded in her body. Fangs erupted out of her gums. Without thinking, she launched herself at him. Hooking her fingers in the open vee of his shirt, she ripped it open and plunged her fangs into his left pectoral muscle, reveling in the combined taste of the salty skin and rich blood that kindled a bonfire in her groin.

Stumbling back when Mandi hurtled into his arms, Brad found himself lying on the oak floor of his loft with Mandi straddling him, her fangs buried in his chest. The pleasure-pain shot straight to his groin, and his cock felt like it was going to burst through his jeans. His own fangs dropped out of his gums. Tangling his hand in her hair, he pulled her head back, not caring about the pain that burned his chest as her fangs were torn from his body. A rivulet of his blood trickled down her chin as she licked her lips. Desire such as he’d never felt before flooded his body, and he raised his head to fasten his mouth on hers. He ignored the clashing of their canines. He didn’t care that hers cut his tongue. Rather than find the pain a discomfort, Brad found it excited him even more. The thought of not holding back, of fucking Mandi and burying his fangs in her, of drinking her sweet blood while

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she was aware of what he did and of her doing the same to him, raised his desire to a fever pitch. Rolling over, he pinned her naked body beneath his. She slid her hand under the waistband of his jeans and ripped the front apart. His cock sprang free. Moaning, she grasped it, pumped it twice, then lifted her legs and locked them around his waist. Pulling her mouth from his, she commanded, “Fuck me! Fuck me hard.” “All night,” Brad growled. Simultaneously, he rammed his cock into her wet, welcoming cunt and slid his fangs into her shoulder. She screamed, tightened her legs around his waist and ground her hips against his. The slippery, wet muscles of her cunt sucked his cock even deeper. Pumping and grinding, surging forward and withdrawing, Brad pounded his body against hers.

“Harder! Fuck me harder!” Mandi commanded as she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and ground her hips against his with his every thrust. The combination of his thick, hard cock buried deep in her cunt and his sharp, smooth fangs buried in shoulder had her more sexually aroused than she had ever been before, even when she’d made love with Brad only a few days ago. Pinpricks of pleasurable pain pricked her taut nipples—nipples that had never been so hard and tight. Her cunt ached, not from Brad’s pounding cock, but from the need to be rubbed and stretched and filled until all feeling was gone and she was totally numb with satisfaction. She wanted—no, needed—to be fucked long and hard. She wanted—needed—to feel his fangs buried in her body. She didn’t care about how uncomfortable the wooden floor was or that the pieces of blue jeans still covering Brad’s ass and legs were rubbing

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against her calf. No, the only thing that mattered was how Brad’s rock-hard cock felt as he thrust it in and out of her body and the taste of his blood in her mouth. And it felt and tasted better than anything she’d ever experienced in her life. “Fuck, yes! Tighten your pussy more,” he growled in her ear after sliding his fangs out of her shoulder. “Christ, you’re hot and wet! That’s it, suck my cock deeper. Ride it, honey, ride it.” Ride his cock? That sounded like a good idea. With a burst of strength, she pushed him up, rolled him over onto his back, settled a leg on either side of his hips and screwed herself down onto his cock. It slid deeper into her body. Arching her back, she raised her hands above her head. “Oh, God, yes!” Lifting herself up, she dropped back down onto him, swiveling her hips as she did so. Settling his left hand on her hip, he slipped the fingers of his right between her thighs and stroked her swollen clit. Mandi threw back her head and screamed as she rode him. “Come on, honey, come for me. That’s it. Let it go.” “No, not yet. I want to make it last!” Cupping her breasts, Mandi plucked her nipples. “Christ, yes. Squeeze your tits. Make your nipples harder.” She bent forward. “Suck them. Suck on my nipples.” Fastening his mouth on her left breast, he complied. The fangs rubbing on each side stimulated her breast in a new way, one that sent slivers of heat straight to her groin. He released her left nipple and nuzzled the right one. He brushed one of his fangs against it.

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A bolt of fire shot to her groin, causing her to lift herself upright again. Squeezing his hips with her thighs, she ground herself down onto Brad’s cock. Her fangs ached. She looked down into his face. A dark hunger danced with the passion in his eyes, and in the tiny corner of her brain that was still clear, Mandi knew the same hunger swam in hers. The pressure building in her cunt was ready to explode. “Bite me, love,” he demanded. “My balls are on fire and I’m going to explode. Bite me and fuck me until I can’t stand up.” “Yes,” she whispered as she leaned forward again. “Biting, fucking, fucking, biting. And blood. I want your blood.” The hunger in his eyes flamed darker. “Take it. It’s yours, every drop.” He turned his head to the side and presented the strong column of his throat. At the same time, he thrust his hips upward and pinched her clit. Sizzling bolts of heat stabbed upward and outward from her groin. Falling forward, she buried her fangs in the muscular side of his neck. At the same time, she felt the sharp prick of his in her shoulder. More fire exploded deep in her cunt as his cock pulsed inside her and he surrendered to his own orgasm.

Once she stopped shuddering, Mandi lifted her head from Brad’s neck. Her canines had already receded into her gums. With a small hum of pleasure, she swirled her tongue over the holes from her fangs, kissed his neck, slid off Brad’s cock and collapsed onto the floor next to him. He dragged his wet tongue over her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She lifted her leg and slid her thigh over his.

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Except for their heavy breathing, silence enveloped them. “I guess it worked,” Brad finally said as he caressed her thigh. Mandi rubbed her shin against the prickly hairs of his calf. “Looks like it.” Chuckling, Brad rose to his feet, carrying her with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Where are we going?” “Bed.” “I just got out of bed. I’m tired of lying around.” He kissed her neck. “You aren’t going to be lying still very long.” After dropping her on the cool sheets, he grabbed a mug and chugged its contents. “What’s that?” Mandi asked. He grinned at her. “Deer blood. I think I’m going to need all my strength.” Mandi wrinkled her nose. “Do I need to drink any?” Passion leaped in his eyes. “You can get it from me.” As he lowered himself to the bed beside her, Mandi snuggled close to his side and chuckled. Swirling her fingers around his nipple, she said, “Next time I make rock candy, I’m going to use cinnamon flavoring instead of peppermint. Considering how…tantalizing the peppermint candy was on certain parts of the body, the fact that cinnamon is…hotter…should make the candy even more…stimulating.” Rolling on top of her, Brad kissed her long and hard. Finally he lifted his head and looked down into her face. “You’re staying?” She pinched his nipple again. “You’re stuck with me until I can figure out where and how to start a restaurant.” Sliding his hands over her ass, he cupped both cheeks. “You can stay forever, if you want to. And if you need any help with that restaurant, let me know. I’ll be looking for a new job soon.” “I will.” Chuckling, she kissed the bare skin of his chest. Then she extended her fangs and buried them just above his right nipple. 133

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Except for the blood she was sucking from him, every other drop in his body pooled in his groin. His balls burned and his cock swelled all over again. “Fuck, Mandi.” She lifted her head and fangs away from his chest. “Yes, let’s.” Sliding his hands down over her ass to her thighs, he spread her legs and slid his cock into her. “Why don’t we just forget about cooking and baking and restaurants for the next week or so?” “Hmmm. Maybe,” she answered as she wiggled her hips and sucked on his nipple, “but even vampires have to eat, you know.”

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Rock Candy Recipe Ingredients: 1 cup water 3-3/4 cups sugar 1-1/4 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon red liquid food coloring 1 teaspoon peppermint oil 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions: Line a 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pan with foil and butter the foil; set aside. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine water, sugar, corn syrup and food coloring. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve sugar crystals. Uncover; cook on medium-high heat, without stirring, until a thermometer reads 300°F (hard-crack stage), about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in peppermint oil (keep face away from mixture as odor is very strong). Immediately pour onto prepared pan. Cool completely, about 45 minutes. Break into pieces using the edge of a metal mallet. Sprinkle both sides of candy with confectioners’ sugar. Store in airtight containers. This recipe makes 2 lbs.

Other oils such as cinnamon, spearmint, etc. can be substituted for peppermint. Just don’t lean too close to the pot since the oil can be strong. Other food coloring can also be substituted depending on what color you’d prefer.

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About the Author Living in a small town in Central Pennsylvania, Judy Mays spends the time she isn’t teaching English to tenth graders as a wife and mother. Family is very important to Judy, and she spends a lot of time with her husband and children. Judy’s pets are a very important part of her life, and she’s had many over the years. Currently, Zoe the cat and Boomer the Lab mix help keep things hopping around the house. Judy loves reading—especially romance, the spicier the better. After reading for more years than she cares to admit, Judy decided to try her hand at writing romantica— and her wonderful husband of seventeen years provides plenty of motivation and ideas. In the upcoming months, the tales by Judy Mays will contain werewolves, vampires, witches, and aliens from five planets on the other side of the galaxy. All of the heroes or heroines will fall madly in love and demonstrate their love in so very, very many ways. Enjoy Judy’s books, and after you’ve read one, she would love to hear what you think. Either stop by her website at www.judymays.com and sign her guest book or contact her directly at [email protected]. She can’t wait to hear from you.

Judy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Also by Judy Mays A Midsummer Night’s Heat Celestial Passions: Brianna Celestial Passions: Sheala In the Heat of the Night Nibbles ‘n’ Bits anthology Perfumed Heat Solstice Heat

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

www.ellorascave.com

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