Page 21 of Kentucky Nights (Dead Man’s Ranch #1)

“Makes sense given how long you have lived. These carvings are so impressive. You could sell these. You could open up a shop in town or something.”

He slides me a mug steaming with delicious coffee.

On the side it reads, ‘I Love Dead Man’s Ranch.

’ I giggle, wrapping my hands around the cup.

“The big bad vampire has merch?” Sipping my coffee, I moan at how perfect the coffee-to-creamer ratio is.

It is sweet, meaning there is more creamer than coffee. “It’s perfect.”

His eyes are red, and he spins around, hiding himself, hunching over the sink. The muscles in his back become tense, popping the veins in his arms from how hard he must be gripping the edge of the counter.

“You can’t be making noises like that, Darlin’. I’m already on edge. You smell so good, and controlling myself is…difficult.”

I sip my coffee, a twinge of guilt eating away at my empty stomach. Just a twinge because I find I actually like knowing I drive him so crazy. “I’m sorry, Kentucky. I didn’t know.”

“Why would you? It’s one of the things I want to talk about. And don’t ever apologize. I’m not sorry for wanting you.”

I sit there, debating if that’s an invasion of privacy. I’m not able to hide anything from him. He can smell it. No secrets are safe, but the better question is, do I want to keep secrets from him?

He grips the skillet handle, his skin sizzling from the heat, to flip the hashbrowns.

“Kentucky!” I scream, spilling my coffee all over the counter.

He lifts his hand in the air, and the ugly, burnt, bleeding palm begins to heal. I watch in awe, the flesh stitching back together, his blood reversing into his body, and the ruined skin is brand new.

“Oh my god.” I’m dumbfounded. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life. “That’s amazing! That’s…wait…you could probably cure cancer?—”

“—No,” he cuts me off before I can finish my sentence.

“Okay.” The excitement is gone just as quickly as it arrived. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He sighs, turning off the stove, then snagging a towel to clean up my spilled coffee.

“Apologies, Dru. Please, forgive me for snapping like that. I had the same thought once. A very long time ago. I thought I could help the world, cure kids with cancer, anything, everything, I was fine with donating a drop of blood if it meant a child could live.”

Swoon. Don’t fall in love with him. Don’t fall in love with him.

Who am I kidding? I’m halfway there.

“My friend Lorcan, he is a Void?—”

I choke on my coffee. “A what?”

Kentucky plates the food for me, piling it with bacon, hashbrowns, and fluffy pancakes. “Apologies, again, Miss Whitley,” he drawls with another charming crooked grin. “A Void. It’s best to think of him as a grim reaper. He works for Death.”

I bite into a crispy piece of bacon and almost moan out loud again. “Death? Like The Four Horsemen?”

His brows raise as he grins in surprise. “You know your lore.”

“I wouldn’t call it lore since it is real.”

“Good point.” He shakes a piece of bacon at me in place of his finger.

“He reaped my maker, and he was kind enough to return to me, to help me, guide me, and give me the basic information to survive. I asked him not to tell me everything about vampires. I only wanted to live the rest of my life in peace, but then it hit me, my ability to heal. I figured if I’m a vampire, I might as well do some good.

Lorcan was very quick to shut that down, and I can’t say I blame him.

Vampire hunters exist. Humans don’t really accept anything or anyone different than them.

He reminded me that I could end up in a facility to be tested on if I got caught giving my blood to anyone. It’s too dangerous.”

I scoop hashbrowns into my mouth, wanting to moan again, but I can’t help it. I love food. It’s been ages since I’ve had a real breakfast. I usually grab a granola bar on the way to work, filling up on dusty oats and coffee.

Kentucky removes the warmed maple syrup from the microwave when it beeps. “Tell me when,” he warns me, pouring the sweet maple over my pancakes.

He keeps going.

And going.

Until it begins to pool under the stack of pancakes.

“I can’t believe you don’t have any cavities. Look at all that sugar!” He laughs, a sound I’m coming to like very much.

“When!” I finally inform, lathering my bacon in the syrup, drenching the bottom of the plate. “And I take care of my teeth just so I can enjoy life’s simple pleasures. Have you never had bacon and syrup?”

“I haven’t.”

“You have to! How could you have lived all these years and not have something as simple as bacon and syrup? That’s a crime.”

“Well, I can’t go getting thrown in jail for something that’s fixable.” He crosses his arms on the counter, leans forward, and opens his mouth.

My hand trembles with nerves as I dip a piece of bacon into the maple syrup, swirling it around so the crispy piece is drench in the sugary goodness. Placing a hand under so it doesn’t drip, Kentucky and I lock eyes as I feed him.

He chews, his lips shining with bacon grease and syrup. All I want to do is lick the plump clouds clean, wondering if the syrup would taste better coming off his lips.

I ogle his mouth, the familiar fever overtaking my body again with pure want and need.

His nostrils flare again, reminding me that he can smell any differences in my scent. Kentucky leans in again, his eyes tinting with that vampiric hue, and his gaze falls to my lips.

“You have no idea how bad I want to kiss you, Darlin’. You have created havoc in my soul, something I thought was dead for a very long time.”

I gulp, licking my lips to wet them. “You—you want to kiss me?” I stammer, my nerves getting the best of me.

“I do,” he groans. “I really do.” His thumb tugs on my bottom lip, and the taste of his flesh mixed with syrup explodes across my tongue.

“I want to kiss you until you forget how to breathe. I want to kiss you until your lips are swollen from how much I want you. And when I do kiss you, and I mean when, not if , I’m going to steal the breath from your lungs so the only air you need is mine.

We will breathe each other in, get lost in time, memorize each other’s lips, and the way we move.

They will be long, slow, and deep. I’m going to take my time imprinting my lips onto yours.

I know one kiss from you will revive my humanity—something that has been numb for a number of years. ”

Like a magnet, I’m leaning forward to start the long days of kissing him.

His fingers stop me, pressing against my lips. “Not yet. As much as I hate myself for saying that, not yet. There’s still a hint of fear you feel, and there’s so much you need to know before you go offering your kiss to me like that.”

“You don’t want to kiss me now?”

Faster than the speed of light, he is by my side, wrapping a hand around my throat to lift me closer to his mouth. My body responds, and I can’t hide the groan. I can’t hide the want of being handled this way. I know he can smell the lust pouring off me in waves.

“I don’t want to kiss you, Dru. I need to.

” His tongue flicks across his bottom lip, those bright, flaming coals staring at my mouth.

“It’s all I think about since meeting you.

It consumes me—you consume me.” He lets me go, leaving me gasping for air.

“Give me four days, Dru. Before you make any decision about going home, give me four days for you to fall in love with me, and then I’ll tell you everything.

Meaning no calls to your friend or work.

I know that’s bad, but I need the four days. ”

“That’s it? I get no other information?”

He shakes his head. “No, Ma’am. That’s all I can offer at the moment.”

Four days?

That doesn’t seem so bad. I’ve already been gone for a few days. What’s a few more? The thought of leaving fills me with dread. I’m not ready to leave. Some type of force is keeping me here, and I plan on figuring out what it is.

Since I apparently have no survival instincts, I hold out my hand for a vampire to take. “Deal.”

With a gentle caress, he wraps his hand around my fingers and kisses the top of my knuckles again.

Did I just make a deal with the Devil?