Vampire Up: A Cowboy Rides (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 3

  He tried again. “What the hell?”

  “Go inside,” she warned with more of a man’s voice than the one he originally thought sounded like a sweet melody to his ears.

  “Like hell I will. Woman, get your ass inside, and I don’t mean maybe later.” He glared at her. “I mean it. Don’t you cross me. I ain’t in no mood.”

  She wasn’t either if her expression meant anything and her present demeanor might present a problem.

  Slowly, she turned around and that’s when he caught a truer glimpse of her in a spectacular transformed state. He already suspected it. Her odd behavior, the way she used the rabbit to keep from eating a real meal, and her skin tone gave her away. She most likely wanted to see the surprise on his face but he wasn’t in shock. He only had one initial thought—she was all the prettier—minus the pointed teeth dropping below her lower lip.

  There were plenty of superstitions about their clans and according to many, several vampires lived around Tombstone too. She didn’t scare him like she probably hoped because as he tried to get a few hours of shut-eye, he pondered a few notions. Some of them included her.

  Most of the women from the clans lived alone. Since they tried to track and trap mortal men, they often lured them in by whatever means possible. Sometimes, they toyed with their men, staged certain settings with inescapable outcomes.

  Ryan reminded himself again, she didn’t find him. He found her. Man, what luck.

  Earlier as he tossed and turned, he’d watched the full moon rise and then dart behind the biggest cloud an open sky provided. He squinted through the darkness and noticed his surroundings. He scanned the small room and tried his best to remain calm and quiet. The sky beyond the small window commanded his attention. The peculiar colors and the way the night opened up as if danger loomed and waited for its next victim, intrigued him.

  Something just wasn’t right. The lack of furnishings, the way she gave up her bed to a stranger, that was something to pay attention to but not necessarily anything to worry a traveler. But again and again, he turned back time and recalled the way she avoided the simple chore of eating a meal.

  Beth didn’t take a bite of rabbit stew—and so what if he included her ugly rabbit in the recipe. She also didn’t try the cornbread but she looked like she was starvin’ to death.

  “Oh, burning hell.”

  “Ryan, listen cowboy, you should consider all options. You need to run. Ride out now.” her warning continued in a deep, monotone voice and it sounded more like a dare than a note of caution.

  He pursed his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “Yes, you are.” The tone she used to confirm what he already realized should’ve sent him into the woods sprinting, but Ryan always was a bit of a smart-ass. “Oh, so you got something against eating bunnies for supper, but human flesh ain’t no problem for somebody like you, right?”

  Her face shifted upward and with a devious smile, she repeated his phrase. “It ain’t no problem.” The mockery sounded all the more twisted since she picked up on his southern lingo.

  “Well, you see, actually it is. Since we’re talkin’ about my hide instead of Jackson’s, I tend to think I have a say-so in the matter.”

  He knew he was in trouble but he also realized this woman—uh, vampire—had the ability to turn away blood. Most of them did if stories held true. He hoped, in this case, rumors had substance.

  How and why some of the vampires chose to feed while others didn’t, was anyone’s guess. He knew it could be done because he’d been told about their kind before. He only needed to convince her that his blood was tainted or something.

  “This ain’t no time to start thinkin’ about an eye for an eye, by the way. Your Jackson…let’s hope he’s in a much better place.” He always brought up the wrong damn thing at the wrong damn time. Now, he might have to pay for such a mistake.

  Her head rolled over to the left and then to the right. He thought she might have a crick in her neck. That couldn’t be a good thing, because if she was thinking about her neck, she might soon start thinkin’ about his.

  Her eyes closed, and she dropped her arms. She walked inside and closed the door. Yes, in his face. Maybe she forgot she had company for the night.

  He sort of doubted it.

  The vampire women, he once heard, played all sorts of games and most of them loved to keep things entertaining. Now, he never thought to ask about the way they had their fun but he had a feeling he wouldn’t wonder for long.

  A wall separating them right at the moment wasn’t all that inconvenient, except for the fact he didn’t have his shirt or coat. He didn’t have shoes on his feet either. He never heard the wood lever drop to secure the cabin so as soon as he thought it was safe, he pushed open the door and slid inside. Ryan caught her backside, pretty as it was, disappearing into the loft again.

  A deep sigh of relief escaped him, and he all but rushed back to bed so he could cuddle up under the blankets. He didn’t remember having more than a thin coverlet before. He tugged two or three more around him now, and the shiver he would’ve had disappeared with the warm thoughts she brought for some reason. She left him the extra blankets. Maybe it was a sign she planned to leave him alive.

  Oh yeah, he was already caught under a vampire’s fangs. He knew all about her type, he reminded himself once more, even though he didn’t know squat first-hand.

  The first time he heard about these women, he bent his ear to a cowboy riding west from Dodge City. He was told to keep his eyes open and watch for a clan of pale-white individuals. They traveled on foot and all were noted as having cold stares, empty eyes, and dark hair. The women were often described as perfect, and their bodies made a man look twice.

  Even the toughest of cowboys feared meeting them on the open range. Vampires, specifically the women, made traveling west treacherous. When a wayward soul wandered across the prairies in search of new territories, they often discovered Indians were the least of the worries. Vampires were in those hills, and they were often deadly.

  The females of the clans didn’t typically take children from the wagon trains, but because they were unable to carry a child to term, they often studied the smaller passengers—scaring most of them to death before capturing one of the adults. Women were terrified of the females because if a female vampire spotted a mortal they wanted, they took him. Most mortal men went willingly.

  After seeing Beth, Ryan understood why. He’d never set eyes on a prettier woman. He might even buy into a love at first bite—no, sight not bite, damn it—scenario. A mortal often fell in love instantly, and the female blood-suckers used their own slender bodies as bait. Many good men left their homes and their families with the promise of sexual fulfillment found with these unusual women. They sold their souls to them and often when they did, they left behind a trail of sorrow.

  He stared at the wood logs over him, noticing the natural knots in the texture as well as the occasional crevice. There were a few, actually, which might account for the soft breeze rippling across the bed. Something he wouldn’t think about now.

  The chill gave him too many things to consider like freezing to death and then staying forever cold once she turned him. The living dead never held a lot of appeal for him. They didn’t eat food and they walked around in a hallow shell. He wondered then if they had feelings or if they just pretended to exist, sucking on humans now and then for entertainment, or maybe for sport.

  He released a sigh he didn’t recognize as his own and that’s when he realized he wasn’t alone.

  Chapter Five

  “I wanted to apologize.”

  “You ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for, as far as I’m concerned.” Ryan continued to study the logs above him like they were the most interesting wood pieces in the world. He wondered then if she could swing from them. He snickered and dared to shoot a look her way.

  Their eyes locked.

  “You cold?” Wishful thinkin’ never hurt.

  Teeth chat
tering wildly never gave it away either. “Very.”

  Ryan fanned the blanket over to the side. “Bet I’ve got all your covers down here, huh?”

  Her head moved up and down.

  “Well, I ain’t opposed to sharing with a good lookin’ woman.” He was, in fact, all for it, but he happened to wonder if she was offended when he called her out as a woman. Should he have said vampire?

  She tip-toed over to the bed and sat down. He tossed the blankets back over her like she’d never moved in beside of him in the first place.

  Scooting on her bottom, she positioned her shoulders against the wall. There wasn’t a headboard to speak of, and he propped up right next to her. Her hands were folded neatly across her lap, and he struck a pose, one a cowboy would use, he decided. His palm rested against the back of his skull while he bent his arm casually around his neck.

  Not quite sure of how to handle her earlier demonstration of something definitely out of the ordinary, he made common talk. “So, how long have you been a vampire?”

  “How long you been a cowboy?”

  “About as long as I’ve been breathing.”

  “Me too.”

  “So you’re a cowboy?”

  “No, but I am a vampire.”

  “You don’t say?”

  “You should’ve been afraid of me.”

  “I ain’t afraid of no woman.”

  “I could kill you.” It seemed so natural for her to say it. Her expression didn’t change with the deadly statement.

  “Maybe so, but for one odd reason or another, I think you’d miss me breathing. I’d like to know a little more about that too.”

  She audibly swallowed three or four times. It sounded like she had scattered pebbles in her throat.

  “Would ya miss me breathing?” He glared straight ahead and waited for her reply.

  Answering him wasn’t necessary. He saw what he needed to see when he finally turned to look at her.

  “You said you’ve spotted me around town. I tried to remember if I ever set eyes on you and I haven’t. I’m sure of it, but I’m also certain of something else.” He stopped his mouth from forming his suspicious thoughts into words better left unsaid.

  Just as suddenly as he reached the decision to shut-up, he changed his mind. “I remember a few times when I felt like somebody was watchin’ me. You know, felt a piercing stare but couldn’t find the eyes behind it. I’ve known how it feels to have the wind at my back. It felt like a ghost running by me every now and again. Sometimes I even thought I might be losin’ what’s left of my mind. All this time, and remember I’ve thought plenty about this, I think it’s been you. You’ve been with me and ain’t no use in denying it. I know enough about the way things work in these parts—legends and all.”

  She blushed away the possibility of a reply, and her hands trembled. Her thumbs locked as if to steady further motion. She focused on them then because well, if he had to guess, she didn’t want to meet his gaze.

  . “See, when I was in Dodge City, I had a buddy,” he continued, as he draped his arm over her shoulders like he wanted to prepare her for a long story. But the truth was, he wanted to hold her closer, “He was a cowpoke nobody liked because he took up with a vampire. A most beautiful woman, she had a body like—well, to tell ya the truth, it was like yours, from what I’ve seen of it. Just like you, she had a mesmerizing beauty about her.” He touched her cheek then and heaven help him, or hell, if that’s where she was from, he wanted to kiss her. But he didn’t.

  An unusual expression washed across her face. She remained silent and looked most content to hear him ramble on about his friend from Dodge City.

  “Anyhow, I had a few sips of whiskey with him now and again, and he told me of their chance meeting. She arranged it, come to find out, and he didn’t object, once he realized he belonged with her. Thing was, he said he couldn’t fight it once he mated with her, those were his words, not mine. She would’ve killed him if he tried. She set her sights on him and wasn’t going to hear of nuthin’ else.” He took her hand and not because he wanted to touch her, although he did, but because her rotation of thumbs really bugged his nerves.

  He dared ask the damn near forbidden question. “You got your sights on me now, don’t ya?”

  The corners of her mouth tilted in a wicked smile. She leaned in before lightly pecking him on the lips. The way she slanted her lips over his made him a little uncomfortable. It was like she had a tough time deciding which way was the best way to kiss him. Once she decided, she only brushed her mouth against his.

  “That’s it?” Disappointment stirred around them.

  She left him alone on the bed. “I’ve had my sights on you long enough to know I’m not interested in killing you. But if you’re still here in the morning, you’re mine for eternity. If you want to go, you must go now and you’ll never feel me at your back again.”

  “I’d like to feel you up against my back, if you’d like to know the cotton pickin’ truth.” His body responded to an unwarranted confession.

  Her pretty little ass moving away from him tugged honesty right out into the open. Trouble stared him square in the face, and a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure his current dilemma.

  Ryan felt a void in his chest more than in the bed she vacated. He knew trouble when he saw it and he saw it in Beth. Damn good thing she wasn’t an Earp. A brother of hers would’ve disapproved of a man like him tying her up and makin’ her feel all special inside. And that’s what he liked to do to women he took to bed. As for Beth, he wanted to hold her down, smack her bottom a time or two, and then rub the soreness in all the right places.

  She must’ve read his mind because she stopped short of leaving him altogether. “If we take things that far, you’ll never have the opportunity to run. You have it now. It’s my gift to you. I don’t want you to have regrets, so I want to allow time for choices.

  “If you stay here with me, you’ll alienate yourself from others. Your ‘cowpoke’ friend in Dodge City probably spoke of a lonely life. It’s something a mortal man must face by himself, once he’s turned. Maybe you should remember those discussions you’ve had over your whiskey sips and make your decision based on what you know.” She took two steps forward and stopped again. “If I don’t see you in the morning, take care of yourself.”

  Within another second, she was back up in the loft. It only took him a minute to ponder things again, like her parting words. Take care of himself?

  He’d been taking care of himself since he arrived in Tombstone. He’d been called out into the dirty streets of the cow town more than once. Each time he’d drawn a gun, even against the best, he’d been the last man standing. He earned quite a reputation for being a gunslinger with a rapid trigger finger.

  Before he came to Tombstone, he’d never drawn a gun. Hell, back in Virginia, he never carried one. Now, everyone respected him. Some feared him. He wore his holster with pride because he acknowledged the fact, he was a legend in his mind. None of it ever made a lot of sense, until now.

  In all of his lifetime, he’d only known a few gunfighters as quick on the draw. The Earps were lightening fast, and Doc Holiday was just a delusional lunatic, if not an idiot. He’d shoot someone just to see if he liked the way their blood spilled. Well, maybe not, but he made killin’ look easy. Then, there was his buddy back in Dodge City. He’d hate to draw against him. The man had eyes in the back of his head—and come to think of it, a lot of people always thought he did too. Now he knew why, he had an extra set, and they were the most beautiful deep chocolate eyes he’d ever had the pleasure of gazing into on a cold winter’s night.

  Hell yeah, he was staying put. Let her bring on the teeth or fangs for all he cared. He believed in fate and thanks to drinking one too many drinks with a vampire’s lover, he had reason to believe destiny, and maybe even doom, would remain ever so kind.

  Chapter Six

  Ryan didn’t go up to the loft to peek in on her but he left the cabin feeling like h
e should have said goodbye. Something told him he needed to get out of there and clear his head. The night before, his dancing dick kept him thinking about all sorts of twisted possibilities. It pranced all night too. A twitching cock isn’t something a man can typically follow when he needs to find a trail to good decisions.

  Not wanting to wake her, he tip-toed across the dirt floor and pushed the wooden beam up before he cracked the door and slipped out into the arctic morning. Trying to slide across the porch so she wouldn’t hear his boots crunching with the ice, he made it to the west side of the cabin and stepped deep into a drift of snow. It only took him a minute to realize his quiet efforts were in vain. He entered the barn and found her with Blue.

  “Mornin’.” He tipped his hat to her.

  Bent down next to Old Blue, she used a massaging motion on the horse’s injury and it damn near made him jealous. She worked her slender fingers across the horse’s flank before moving down his quarter toward the hoof.

  “What you’re doing there to Old Blue ain’t gonna work. He needs to stay off of it and here you have him tied up like you’re trying to make him a better stud or something.”

  “He’s not a stud and in case you haven’t noticed, cowboy, he has as much mule in him as horse. I’d call him a donkey if he didn’t look more like a plug.”

  “Calling my horse out as an ass doesn’t exactly charm me into sweetness first thing in the mornin’.”

  She challenged him with a fiery stare as she rubbed her hands firmly across Blue’s cannon. “Since you’re here this morning, I don’t think I have to worry about enticing you, now do I?”

  When Ryan didn’t answer her, she quickly added, “Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my lifetime, it’s that most asses seldom realize they are one because they generally keep the same company.”

  “Here now! I don’t go around insulting you or trying to stir trouble and the least you can do is return the favor.”

  “I could easily return the favor.” Her eyes darted to the gun propped against an old saddle. “What’s it gonna be, you or Blue?”