And Then He Bit Me E-Book

Kate Russell

• Herausgeber: Kate Russell Books
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

After nearly killing her latest date, one-fourth vampire Emma Brandt finds herself back in the Vampire Community, whether she likes it or not. Throw in her nosy family, Vampire Security on her speed dial, and an ex-boyfriend who wants a second chance at forever, and you have chick lit with some bite. And Then He Bit Me is a 40,000 word short novel.
 

Leseprobe

And Then He Bit Me

Tales of a One-Fourth Vampire

Kate Russell

Published by Kate Russell Books, 2013.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

AND THEN HE BIT ME

First edition. November 15, 2013.

Copyright © 2013 Kate Russell.

ISBN: 978-1497742215

Written by Kate Russell.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Also by Kate Russell

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Don't Let Me Go

Wanted: True Love

Essays

Kate Russell and the Coupon of Doom

Manwhores, Baby! Yeah!

Pajama Mom Drives Again

The Great Bookstore Disaster of '08

Sweethearts of Sumner County

Never Let You Go

Is This Seat Taken?

This Heart of Mine

Need You Now

Love, Life, and Chicken Pot Pie

You Again

His Expectant Ex

Penny

Second Chance Boy

Choosing You Again

Sweethearts of Sumner County, Vol. 3

Tales of a One-Fourth Vampire

And Then He Bit Me

Standalone

Claus & Frost: The Nearly Disastrous Day Before Christmas

Sweet Kisses Trio

Because of You

Burning Ambition: It Starts at Home

The Birthday Wish

What's Love Got to Do With It?

Sweethearts of Sumner County, Vol. 1

Sweethearts of Sumner County, Vol. 2

Forever Kisses

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By Kate Russell

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

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Also By Kate Russell

About the Author

 

For Will, who loves a good half-fire demon.

Cover designed by GetCovers.

Vampire romantic comedy/ chick lit:  40,000 words

Chapter One

I was tired of dating guys who were all teeth and tongues, roving hands, and mind controlling.

Those were the humans.

As the product of a one-eighth, skating-on-the-edge to where she was an almost human mother and a one-half Vampire High Council father, I, Emma Lee Brandt, was used to the unusual, bizarre, and sometimes frightening occurrences.

Most of it happening at Sunday dinner.

Eccentric? Okay, I was Southern. That just goes with the territory.

Vampire? That one was a little too much, if you ask me. Three-fourths of me (as well as my older siblings, Robert, Margaret, and Connor) is mostly human. It’s the one-fourth part that causes me problems, namely in conflicts with my parents and the extended vampire community, at least in Nashville and its surrounding areas.

Oh, and my love life. Even worse.

Which leads me to my latest date.

This guy that I’d met at one of Starbucks’s competitors had asked me out for the second straight weekend. Probably the only reason I said “yes” in the first place was because I’d been downsized from my job at the independent bookstore less than a mile away from my home. Bankruptcy wasn’t even going to save the bookstore owners. So Wesley, seeing a wounded creature, moved in for the kill.

I’d already been with Wesley Sommers to dinner and a concert along with his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend. All in all, it was a fun evening, even if Wesley was what I would call a “wet kisser.”

Connor, the older brother by four minutes, was not impressed, even without mentioning the kissing. “I bet you can’t get through a second date. You’ll get bored with him after an hour.”

“You make me seem shallow. I’m hurt.”

“You’re not shallow. You just have high standards for losers.”

“Thanks. I think. Okay, what’re we playing for? How about the loser takes the winner to dinner?”

“You’re on. I expect prime rib.”

“Ha. Ha. You’re buying me dinner.”

Connor grinned, which made me belatedly wish I didn’t have this gambling problem.

“Oh, and Emma, you have to let him pick out the movie.”

I gritted my teeth on that one, because somehow if it’s up to the guy I’m with, it’s never an action movie, which I would totally enjoy, but instead a semi-porn flick or a horror film. Why would a horror film bother a one-fourth vampire? Could it be that I have a squeamish reaction to copious amounts of blood?

Irrational? Doesn’t make it not true.

I wasn’t going to lose this bet, which is how I ended up with Wesley’s split personality, Wesley the Groper. Wesley had been a nice, normal guy last Friday, but the minute we got into his expensive little red sports car, he had his hands on me. I tried to be nice, I really did, because I couldn’t afford prime rib for my brother. I, also, didn’t want to prove once again that my brother was right.

I sighed when we got to the movie theater, and I didn’t mind too much when Wesley selected an alien horror film. Well, I did mind, but I was going to get through this date if I had to close my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears during the whole stupid movie.

It was nearly impossible.

Between hogging the large popcorn and crunching his ice, Wesley seemed upset that I kept pushing him off of me, so, from that point on, I kept my eyes on him, instead of the screen. He pouted for the first half of the film and that made me happy. Then he decided he’d attempt subtle.

After the fourth time that his upper arm brushed against the side of my breast, I’d had enough. This bozo wasn’t taking no for an answer. His hand slipped up my thigh, sliding under the edge of my skirt. He was going to be awfully disappointed with the built-in shorts. I had decided I was going to wear pants whenever I went out with anyone else.

Who was I kidding? This was the last in a long line of bad dates. I would be Spinster Aunt Emma, and have seven cats. At that thought, I elbowed Wesley in the sternum.

“Ugh!” was all I got out of him, and then, “Baby, now what’d you do that for?”

“Why did you all of a sudden become a touchy-feely kind of guy?”

“To turn you on, so you’ll, you know, turn me.”

“So I’ll turn you on?” Never...never...never, I chanted to myself.

He looked frustrated. “No. Turn me into a vampire, like you.”

Oh, no. This date just went from bad to dangerous. Crap. Not again.

“What! Are you nuts? Why do you think I’m a vampire?”

“Because of your teeth. Your fangs came out when we kissed the other night, and they nicked the inside of my lip.”

I suddenly remembered my fangs briefly appearing during that sloppy kiss. It’s bad enough going through hormonal upheaval every month, let alone as a vampire. I was in the middle of my period, and since I’d been losing my own blood, instinct took over, which led to spontaneous canine lengthening. I’d forgotten to drink extra blood to compensate.

Ignoring my now-horrified expression, Wesley continued. “Hey, I think vampires are cool. I could live forever, and think of all the babes I could pick up.”

Okay. I could do this. I was a college graduate. I’d once almost fast-tracked the High Council. I could get out of this. Plus, at this moment, I was embracing my one-fourthness. I was a vampire, darn it, even if I was beyond rusty on mind control.

“Like I said, you’re nuts.” Oh, that was brilliant, Emma.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m not nuts, and I want you to turn me.”

“Even if I were a vampire, there’s no way I’d turn you. I wouldn’t do that to all the babes out there.”

Wesley’s tone grew ugly. “If you don’t turn me, I’ll tell everybody you’re a vampire.”

I attempted a disbelieving laugh. I was a horrible liar. “Nobody will believe you. They’ll either laugh at you or lock you up in an insane asylum.” Did I sound convincing? Despite the cool theater, I was starting to perspire.

Wesley kept talking. “I’ll put it on the internet. I’ll follow you and your family around. I’ll find some vampires.” He leaned closer to me as he made his final threat. “And I’ll expose you all.”

This was bringing back too many memories. I was going to get blamed again. I mentally shrugged. Desperate times and lack of mind control sometimes demanded the hard road pitted with parental and High Council disapproval.

“Unless I give you what you want?” Wesley’s boyish good looks seemed twisted somehow.

“Yes. Turn me.” He kept his hand firmly on my thigh, as it crept higher. Yep, obviously drastic measures were called for.”

It was dark in the movie theater. The horror film that Wesley had insisted on watching was going to come in handy.

I’d never bitten anyone, even a vampire for mating. In theory, I knew that I had to take enough blood to the point of death, and then allow him to bite me. But this twerp wasn’t about to become a vampire if I had anything to say about it. I was going to be in trouble, but I was saving human girls everywhere from being stalked and annoyed by my date.

I stared ahead at the movie. The dumb blonde co-ed in the movie had just separated from the rest of the group.

Perfect.

I turned to Wesley and cooed...yes, I actually cooed, as I ruffled my fingers in his brown hair. Or at least I tried to. My fingers kept getting stuck with all of the product in there. Sex hair indeed.

Anyway, I cooed. “Wesley, I’m sorry about totally lying to you, I just had to be sure. It’s really awesome being a vampire. We can’t just let anyone become one. We have to be picky. But I think you want it badly enough. I think you deserve it.” I almost threw up, but I kept a smile on my face. I didn’t think I’d be channeling Valley Girl again any time soon. It was annoying in old ’80s movies, and it was even more annoying now under the circumstances. Gag me.

Wesley didn’t seem to mind the sudden lowering of my I.Q. “Yeah. Oh, yeah.” He nervously glanced around the theater. “You wanna...here?”

“Oh, yeah. After all, we’re in the back row, and there’s no one around us. It’s perfect.”

There were some teenagers down front, but the movie was nearly at its end run, so for all intents and purposes it was basically empty. Plus, I could hear the smacking noises and smell the endorphins involved. The kids were a little busy.

“Okay, do me.” He closed his eyes in anticipation, his hand still on my leg.

‘Do me?’ Really, he was such a romantic. Steeling my resolve, or at least hopefully my gag reflex, I made myself kiss his mouth, and then quickly moved to his jaw line, and then even quicker, you guessed it, to his throat. I nuzzled his neck, and massaged his chest. He released my thigh, and after grabbing my hand, he tried to put it, you know, down there. But I’m not approximately one-fourth vampire for nothing. I resisted his pull, and his breath quickened. His pulse began to race, as the stupid co-ed in the movie ran down the dark hall. Then, I let my fangs extend. The alien hybrid dispatched the co-ed, as my fangs pierced Wesley’s skin, and I drank. He and the co-ed screamed in unison.

I didn’t kill him; I just made him woozy. Although I tolerated the taste of blood on the best of days, his was enough to make me want to swear off it forever. It had the standard salty/sweet taste, but it just tasted like it had expired somehow. I made myself swallow the stuff, even though I knew it’d probably make me sick later. As disgusted as I was, I attempted to lick his wounds shut, and then wiped his neck with a wet wipe from my purse, and finally stuck a Band-Aid on the puncture holes—they didn’t look like they were disappearing. I needed to remember to thank Grandma for always making sure I had the basics in my bag.

After a second, I took another wet wipe and scrubbed my teeth and tongue until I gagged. A bleary-eyed Wesley said, “Do me again,” just before he passed out.

I was now a little worried. I never drank straight from the source. Never. That’s what the pristine clear pouches from the blood bank were for. Did I drink too much? How could I tell? I grabbed his wrist and felt a slow and sluggish pulse. I contemplated calling for an ambulance, but decided other help was necessary. It was past time for me to get out of there before somebody noticed.

I knew the ushers would kick Wesley out when the movie ended, but if I handled this quickly enough, Vampire Security would take care of him first. Now I just had to explain to the dispatcher why my date might still have puncture wounds that might be mentioned to the police. Or worse, that I had finally killed a date.

Once I made it past the concession stand and out the glass doors, I dug for my cell phone and called Security. After answering some uncomfortable questions, namely, “You again?”, I called Connor. I really, really didn’t want to be here when Security showed up. Trust me; it’s never a pleasant experience under the best circumstances.

“What’s up?” I could hear Connor crunching potato chips.

“I’ve got, uh, a little trouble.”

“Another dud, huh?” More chips. “You can take me to McDonald’s. I don’t care. I know you’re having to watch your money.”

I ground my teeth for a moment, and then bit out, “Can you pick me up?” At his silence, I added, “Please?”

“No problem. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Hey, what’d this one do? Pick out the wrong movie?”

“Well, besides that horrible fault, let’s just say he’s all hands. Oh, and he somehow figured out that I’m a vampire. He, also, threatened to out me and anyone else he could find unless I turned him.”

Connor groaned. “You didn’t tell him you were a vampire, did you, Emma? Please tell me you didn’t feel the need to share your emotions about being a vampire. You did, didn’t you? Great. Just great. Does he need draining tonight?” he asked.

I swallowed. “Too late,” I said in a falsely cheerful voice. “Well, nearly too late. He’s just unconscious. I already called Security. And as for your question, no, I did not tell him I was a vampire. And no, I did not feel the need to ‘share my emotions,’ idiot. Who says that, anyway? You’ve been watching too many talk shows again, haven’t you?”

Connor ignored my question. “Don’t move. We’ll be right there.” I assumed “we” meant he and Melissa, his fiancée, would pick me up.

Connor must have been racing, because he made it in less than half the normal time. The SUV’s windows were darkened, but with my enhanced vision, I saw the front passenger seat was occupied. When I got a second look, I decided I’d take my chances with Security. I stepped back, and that’s when Jack rolled down his window, and barked, “For God’s sake, get in, Emma!”

I straightened my shoulders and got in, all the while thinking I had to have the worst luck tonight. Jackson Carter Duvall, my ex-boyfriend and kind-of best friend, got to see me at another low point.

After I was securely fastened in my seat, Connor hit the accelerator. “I’ve already called Dad. He’s been in touch with the Director to see how bad this really is.”

“Connor, you did not need to bring Dad into this. I handled it. I followed the Desperate Measures Handbook.” I knew the dang thing by heart by now. The new edition would probably have a new chapter titled If You Are Emma Lee Brandt, Do Us All a Favor and Give Up. Please.