Page 9 of Every Bite You Take (Midnight Siren Supernatural Cruises #1)

CHAPTER 9

KYLIE

A vampire comedian took the stage and welcomed us. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” He paused and added, “Unless you say please.”

I exchanged a glance with Damien at the cheesy joke, but my face still split into a grin. The comedian started off slowly with more goofy observations. As he went on, his jokes improved—or maybe my yummy mudslide made them more tolerable.

The comedian launched into a series of the challenges of dating as a supernatural. “I once tried dating a witch. She had a twin sister. The problem was I couldn’t tell which witch was which!”

That was so awful I tipped my head forward, but Damien belted out a deep laugh beside me. When I turned to glance at him, the genuine joy on his face made me smile.

As the show continued, the bad dad-like jokes with a supernatural slant continued. Damien and the audience roared in appreciation. Perhaps they could relate to the dating woes. Now that was definitely something I’d experienced, although not as a supe. Damien’s laugh was contagious, and I laughed more with him than at the show.

He slid his hand over to my knee, brushing his fingers against mine, and warm tingles danced on my skin. Then he clasped my hand in his. Something about this small gesture seemed to mean more—at least to me. Which was absolutely silly considering I was simply on a short vacation and would be leaving soon. To get caught up in someone would be foolish.

Yet, each time I had that argument with myself, it turned less and less persuasive.

“Ever met a vegan?” the vampire comedian asked. A smattering of yeses rippled through the audience. “You know what’s worse? A vampire vegan.” He shuddered dramatically. “They’ll corner you as you’re about to dig into a delicious volunteer, bragging how they only drink from blood bags. Bags! Like it’s some kind of gourmet delicacy.” He mimed sipping from an imaginary pouch, pinky extended, then gagged. “Tastes like”—he scrunched his face up—“hospital.” Some chuckles followed.

“A friend of mine used to be a badass vampire,” the vampire continued. “Now he has a subscription box for Blood of the Week. Can you imagine? I mean live a little! Oh, wait…” He paused, a mock-serious expression on his face. "We're already dead.” He winked, drawing groans of laughter from the crowd.

“Another vampire I know ordered a coffin with lumbar support. Talk about a mid-immortal life crisis.”

Now I knew he was likely kidding as I’d never met a vampire who slept in an actual coffin.

“And don't get me started on my buddy who tried to sell life insurance—to immortals. Think about the premiums? The paperwork!”

Damien belly laughed, which made me laugh as well. The show wrapped up soon after that. Once we left the club, Damien’s green eyes sparkled bright.

“You seemed to enjoy the show,” I pointed out.

“Oh, yeah, he’s good.”

“You’ve seen him perform before?” I arched my brows. “And you willingly returned?”

Damien looped an arm around me. “The worse his jokes, the funnier they are.”

We walked outside to get some fresh air and strolled beneath the moonlight.

“I did have a great time, though,” I said. “It felt good to laugh.”

He slanted his gaze at me and said, “Sure does. Life’s too short to be serious all the time.”

“Even for the undead?”

He replied with a sage nod. “Especially.” He sighed. “That’s something I wrestle with as a vampire. There’s a reason we get a reputation as being all dark and broody. When you realize you’re going to live forever while everyone around you is going to die one day, you can be a little melodramatic.” He motioned up to the sky. “Not to mention never seeing daylight.”

“Hold up,” I teased. “We better get you back into the comedy show to cheer you up—and I do say ‘comedy’ loosely.”

He chuckled again, his laughter deep and rich.

“I like hearing you laugh,” I admitted.

“Hard not to be in a good mood. I’m in great company with a beautiful woman.” He brushed my arm, stirring warm and tingly feelings inside me.

I turned to smile at him. Bad move. I wasn’t watching where I was going and tripped, letting out a high squeak as I stumbled forward. I flapped my arms like a dragon about to take flight while I struggled to keep my balance. Damien caught me before I hit the deck.

His eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. Then I felt the sting on my leg.

“No!” I gasped as blood trickled down my shin. I shuddered, hunching my shoulders as the heebie-jeebies crawled over my skin.

Damien had quite a different reaction. Fangs emerged from his lips as his eyes gleamed with a reddish hue and narrowed with hunger. A low gasp escaped me.

He slammed his hand over his mouth, and his eyes widened in horror. I sucked in a breath, feeling myself get lightheaded.

“Kylie, are you all right?” By the look of his conflicted expression, he appeared to be struggling for control.

I sat on the deck and clasped my knees. Rocking back and forth, I chanted, “I don’t want to faint. I don’t want to faint.”

“You won’t. I’m right here,” Damien assured me. “What can I do to help?”

“Stop the blood!” I urged. “Get a napkin or something.” I turned my head. “I can’t look at it. I hate the sight of it.”

Damien rushed away with vampire speed and returned with a stack of napkins. “I’m gonna touch you now, okay?” His voice was low and gentle.

I sucked in air through my teeth and nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Just breathe. In and out. Slow breaths.”

“Okay.” I followed his instructions.

When he pressed the cut with the napkins, I winced.

“You’re going to be fine,” he assured me. “The cut isn’t deep.”

As he tended to my wound, I braved a glance at his face. His body language was tense while a primal longing flickered in his eyes. “Damien, are you all right?”

He paused before replying. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s my body’s natural response. But don’t worry—I won’t hurt you, Kylie. I’d never hurt you.”

“I know,” I replied, believing those words. I could see how he’d struggled against his nature out of concern for me.

The humor of the situation hit me, and I started giggling.

“What’s funny?” Damien raised his gaze to meet my eyes, his expression now confused.

“How ridiculous this situation is.” I raised my hand and dropped it to my side. “A woman who gets squeamish about blood hanging and a vampire who needs it to survive. What an odd couple.”

Couple? Maybe I shouldn’t have phrased it that way. It made it sound like we were together, which we were not. We were just…

That was a question I didn’t know how to answer.

The serious, strained expression vanished from Damien’s face as he grinned. “Strange indeed.” Then he nudged his chin up. “Maybe you should take a go at doing stand-up comedy.”

“Yeah. Anything’s better than what we saw tonight.” I snorted. Then I gave him a grateful smile. “I know that couldn’t be easy for you.”

Damien nodded and then swallowed. He glanced down at my leg and lifted the napkins, his nostrils flaring once more. “The bleeding has slowed. Let’s get it cleaned up.” He pulled back. “I’m gonna lift you up.”

He brought me to him and stood, carrying me across the deck while I awkwardly held the napkins to my wound.

When I’d pictured coming on this cruise, I’d thought about exploring Alaska and relaxing on the ship. I found much of that, and had wandered around Juneau during the day, then read a book for an hour or so once I’d returned onboard.

But now I was being carried by a smoldering vampire. How strange. It was almost romantic. That was if I hadn’t been so clumsy and created another bloody incident for the two of us to share.

I gazed up at him, admiring his profile. He appeared determined as he carried me to who knew where.

Instinctively, I bent closer and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me, Damien.”