Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

She shook her head. “What if every time you ate that mac and cheese, you lost nutrients and it began to taste like cardboard?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure box mac and cheese has too many nutrients to start with.”

Laughing, Faline added, “Touché, but that’s what it’s like for me if I feed from one male exclusively.”

“So even if you loved the guy and didn’t want to go anywhere else…?”

“I would have to. Or I would die.”

“Shit.”

She fiddled with the radio, finding a station that was playing soft rock. “But if Sawyer and I were to screw, it would end with a pregnancy.”

“He’s got strong swimmers, huh? Wait, how do you know that?”

She gave me a strange look. “You do know he’s an incubus, right?”

I literally felt the blood drain from my face.

“Shit, you didn’t,” she muttered. “I think he wanted to tell you himself. I just thought he had already.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like we’re getting married or serving a life sentence together.”

“No, you just have to work with him and trust him at your back, and, Cat, you can totally trust him at your back. He’s a good guy.”

“An incubus? Really?” Play it cool, McKenzie. “So why is he a no-bang zone for you? He’ll knock you up just like that?” I snapped my fingers.

“Whenever there’s a coupling between and incubus and succubus, there’s a child produced.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s why condoms were invented.”

She shook her head. “The only reason a succubus and incubus would bang would be to reproduce.”

“Well, if that wasn’t an ad for abstinence, I don’t know what is.” I laughed, or at least tried to, but betrayal was a dirty, rusty knife being twisted into my gut.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I knew I was working with supes. I thought I could handle that. I’m okay with you being a succubus. Why shouldn’t I be okay with Sawyer being an incubus?” I laughed again, the sound edged with mania. “It wasn’t as if I thought he was human.”

I glanced out the windshield and was relieved to see we’d arrived at the station.

“Because he’s your partner and you have to trust him.”

“I do trust him,” I replied automatically, frowning when I thought about the words. I did trust him. He came running into Wonderland for me. He saved me from the baby vamp. He pulled me out of a goddamn car wreck that should’ve left me a traffic collision statistic. I flushed when I thought about what happened when he took me home, took care of me.

“You’re thinking about having sex with Sawyer right now,” Faline said, gently, guiding her car into a free spot.

“Am not.” I totally was. “How sensitive is your sex-o-meter?”

That comment got me a small, fang-filled smile. “Pretty fucking accurate.”

“You can tell I’m attracted to him.”

She touched me on the shoulder. “FYI, he already knows. Plus, he’s attracted to you too.”

I shrugged that last comment away. “But how much of that is instinct to feed?” I replied. “I don’t want to be an instinctual impulse.” She opened her mouth to reply, but I waved her away. “What does it matter anyway? He’s my partner. Partners don’t fuck each other’s brains out.” Even though the thought of Sawyer leaving me sated and boneless was an instant shot of lust to my groin. Unclipping my seat belt, I got out of the car.

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.”

Upset me? Popped my biggest illusion bubble? “It’s not your fault. What he is shouldn’t matter.” I looked up at the building. “We should probably get in there though. We’re already late.”

Twelve

I walked into the office behind Faline, listening to the sound of office chatter taper off suddenly.

“There she is, our own miracle child.” This came from a guy called Braxton, who was sitting behind his desk with a grin on his face. He was a shifter of some kind, but I wasn’t sure what yet.

“Miracle child?”

He nodded. “Congrats on being inducted into PIG.”

I rocked back on my heels. “How do you figure?”

Holding out his hand, he checked off his fingers as he said, “Attacked by a Renfield, fought Baba Yaga, got bitten by a vampire, survived a run in with a semi, Reaver likes you…”

“Okay, okay,” I told him. “I get it. I’m a bad-luck magnet.”

He still had that stupid grin on his face. “Oh no, sweetheart. You aren’t just a magnet. You’re the epicenter, and you’re just the kind of human we want on the team. You didn’t balk when you had to kill that kid or freak out when you stumbled into Wonderland. No, you stayed strong. You’re one of us now, Cat McKenzie.”

Although I was shaking my head, I was also secretly pleased that I was being accepted like this. All my life, I felt like I hadn’t been, except by Mrs. Brown.

“Alright, that’s enough, Brax,” Sawyer growled as he came into the room behind me. I turned around to face him. He studied me with cool disinterest, no doubt seeing the bruising on my neck, the cuts on my face and neck, and the dark crescents under my eyes.

I tried to piece together the image of the man who had taken care of me last night and the truth about what he was. I hadn’t been lying when I’d said I didn’t care what flavor of supe he was. I didn’t. What I couldn’t connect the dots on was the two sides of Sawyer.

Breaking into my thoughts, he said, “Let’s go. There was a report of a vampire attack at a convenience store overnight.”

I bobbed my head and followed him, hesitating a step when we got outside. My truck was gone, nothing but a crumpled ball of steel, which left us only one way to get around.

“You’re insane if you think I’m getting on there.” I pointed at his motorcycle.

He threw a spare helmet at me. “There’s no other way to get there.”

I cursed the department’s lack of vehicles for PIG. “I’ll take the bus.”

He blew