Admittedly, I hadn’t had much of a life before becoming a vampire. I had been casually seeing a couple of guys, didn’t have any kids, and was an only child. My parents lived in Lakewood and I visited them occasionally (at night, of course). I knew I was going to have to move out of Colorado in a few years, though. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
“Welcome to the stage, Innubis!”
I looked up to see a grungy-looking guy breaking me out of my musings by announcing Judson’s band.
With a bloody mary in front of me, I rested my hand on it as I sat alone at the table. I was dressed a little less slutty tonight, in just a pair of fitted jeans, a sleeveless black crop top, and flats so I wouldn’t stand out too much. I did have every intention of “meeting” Judson tonight, though.
I sat through a few sets, bored out of my mind, but watching his behavior. He made eye contact with me a few times, and I threw him a sexy smirk. I wanted him to think I was every bit the groupie as most of the girls in here hanging on every lyric and guitar riff they were putting out.
After an hour of that, I got up as they were finishing up their last song. I made my way to the bar and perched myself on a stool closest to the stage. I ordered another bloody mary and sipped on it slowly. I didn’t eat food. Alcohol did nothing for me and I could only take liquids other than blood and water very slowly and carefully or I’d violently vomit. No need to rehash the story of the time I learned that lesson the hard way.
Not sure why I just now noticed that the bar was decorated for Halloween. I guessed I’d been too distracted earlier watching Judson’s every move, and the groupies screaming for the band’s attention. There was a large stuffed spider in a cotton web in the corner of the bar. There was a fat witch on a broom above the bar. The cotton spider webs were strewn everywhere.
My favorite was the life-sized Count Dracula standing in the corner, one eyebrow cocked and his arms folded over his chest. He had blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, and fangs poking out. I wondered if it was a wax figure or something. It looked pretty real, but I was close enough to know it wasn’t a person.
Scoffing at the cheese of it all, I turned and looked at the rest of the tacky Halloween décor.
“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”
I whirled around on my stool and was met with a pair of amused green eyes.
Judson.
Lifting a shoulder and letting it fall, I said, “Yeah, but it’s Halloween, what do you expect?”
With him standing way too much in my space, I was going to slide off the stool and back up but decided against it.
Judson used his beer bottle to point at the Count. “That one’s my favorite.”
I glanced over my shoulder to look at it, then back to him. “Why’s that?”
Still, with a flirty look in his eyes, he gestured around the bar but kept his gaze on mine. “Witches, ghosts, killer spiders… none are real.”
I put my hand on my hip and said, “And vampires are?”
He nodded and put the bottle to his lips, simply saying, “Yep,” before taking a swig.
“And how do you know?” I asked, trying to gauge if he’d made me as one, or if he was just trying to pick me up, thinking I was human. He had, after all, tried to lure some out of bars in the past, according to his file.
A group of women began to pile up behind us. Some were touching him and others were calling his name. A few were bold enough to interrupt our conversation and take quick selfies with him. I acted like it didn’t bother me, but I was more annoyed by the intrusion than the general ridiculousness of the groupies.
“You wanna get outta here?” he asked, ignoring my question.
Well, guessed I had my answer.
Or… did I? Wouldn’t he keep his knowledge of vampires a secret if he was trying to trap or lure me?
Quite a mystery, this Judson Creed. Smith. Whatever his name was.
I set my drink down and flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Go where?”
“Anywhere from here. I’d like to talk to you some more but it’s too damn loud in here.”
Chuckling, I quipped, “Says the rock star. If it’s too loud, you’re too old, right?”
He laughed, too. “What’s your name?”
“Dani. You?”
“Judson Creed, nice to meet you.” He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.
I mock-rolled my eyes. “Okay, Romeo, let’s get out of here.”
3
His apartment was predictably mundane. A bachelor pad to a T. Why I had followed him here instead of just stabbing him in the brain was beyond me. That being said, he was sort of calling to me… the attraction to him giving me pause and making me question everything I’d been trained on in the past six months.
Once we were in his apartment, everything changed. While trying to maintain his cool demeanor, he still seemed nervous. He offered me refreshments, to which I declined. After plopping my thick ass onto his sofa, I waited for him to come over and join me,
