Page 23 of My Blind Date is a Vampire

“That’s not what I was doing,” I defended myself. “I just think that you could have made me aware of his condition. Given me a warning instead of letting me be blindsided the way I was,” I insisted.

“It’s not like finding out the love of your life prefers O-negative to drinking normal scotch has changed your feelings. I can see it in your eyes that you still love him. And while I am sorry for what Cosmo put you through, I will not apologize for what was not my secret to tell. You were going to find out soon anyway. That brat just expedited the process in a nasty way. We never meant any harm, Julia. We just needed to know you could be trusted to keep our secret before we could reveal ourselves to you.”

Trepidation pricked at my neck. “We? Does that mean you’re a vampire too?”

Beverly shook her head. Her smile was patient and kind. She held her palm out between us and a flame of fire ignited in the center of her hand. “No, my darling girl. I am a witch—the leader of the Mystic Cove Coven. There are more than just vampires living in this town. Witches, warlocks, shifters, and goddess knows what else. Oh dear, why don’t you have a seat before you faint on me?” she ordered when I swooned.

I waited for her to finish dealing with the last customers before she closed up the store earlier than usual and came to take a seat across from me in the reading nook.

“Witches are real,” I started in a monotone. “They are really real.” All those stories and articles about the witches that I’d read, they were based on true stories. But there were more than witches out there, and all of them were in this tiny seaside town.

“Yes, they are, darling. Mystic Cove is what we call a haven town. There are a few around the world. Towns and villages where folks like us can live freely and somewhat openly without fear of persecution or inciting mass hysteria amongst you mundane folk. We have a council that acts as a pseudo-government. As head of the witch coven, I sit on that council. Your friend Rachel’s father is the alpha of the only wolf pack in this region; he sits on the council. And then there is the town mayor—he represents the humans. And, of course, as the oldest and strongest vampire, your Landon is part of the council as well.”

“Rachel is a werewolf? Is that why she doesn’t like Landon?” I squeaked, trying and failing to not sound so freaked out. Beverly poured some chamomile tea and handed me a cup, but I was incapable of swallowing down anything at the moment.

“Yes, that is the reason. Lycans and vampires cannot stand each other and tend to stay out of each other’s way. Old family feuds. Of course, the council forbids any fights between the two as they can easily get out of control, but not everyone follows the letter of the law, I’m afraid.” Beverly put her teacup down and her expression turned unexpectedly grave.

“Julia, I want to make it explicitly clear that you were never in any danger. Landon would never hurt a human like that, especially his mate. He would rather cut off his own arm than hurt you.”

“Why are you so sure that I’m his mate?” I ask, cradling my teacup in my hands and absorbing the warmth.

“It’s what I do, and I am never wrong,” Beverly answered simply. “I was going to leave it to Landon to tell you all of this, but it seems to me like you need a kick to the keister so that you can finally stop dilly-dallying and go get your man. So, listen and listen to me well. I will tell you some about his past, what he has done for the people of this town, what kind of man he is, and then you can finally make your decision.”

I spent what felt like hours in Beverly’s bookstore, learning more about the man I loved. By the time I left, my head felt once more like it was close to bursting and my heart broke for all the things he had gone through.

* * *

Sleep was elusive that night. I needed someone to talk to, and the only person I could think of was Landon. I didn’t even think about the fact that it was two in the morning when I picked up my phone and called him. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. The shock of finding out that I lived in a town that was a hotbed for real paranormal activity was wearing off. As were the doubts that Landon only wanted me because he fed on human blood. The man was a hundred times stronger than me. He had no need to jump through hoops and court me just so that I could give him a nibble or two. If he wanted to hurt or kill me, he would have done so by now. Right?

“Julia? Is something wrong? Are you all right?”

My toes curled into the mattress at the sound of his gruff, sleepy voice.

“I’m finally ready to listen,” I told him. The phone went deathly quiet, and for a moment, I thought the call had cut off. But then he spoke.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

CHAPTER 27

Headlights illuminated my living room twenty minutes later as Landon pulled up in my driveway. Not long after, Landon gave three soft raps on the door. Hesitating on the other side, I undid the sash on my kimono style robe and re-tied it, undid the messy bun piled at the top of my head and fastened it into a loose ponytail. My abdomen felt hollow and my hands were shaking; not because I was afraid of Landon but because I was ashamed of my own cowardice in avoiding Landon for so long.

“Julia? It’s me, Landon.” He called from the other side of the door. Taking a deep breath, I steeled my nerves, unlocked the door, and turned the knob. Something in my chest tightened as I got my first look at Landon in two, almost three weeks.

Gooseflesh pebbled on my exposed skin, but I was unsure whether it was from the chilly breeze wafting in through the open door behind him or if it was a reaction to Landon himself.

The intensity of his hypnotic gaze, the set of that lush mouth that had driven me to madness with heated kisses. He’d grown out his hair since I last saw him. It barely brushed his shoulders, the silken strands fluttering from the mild wind. He’d grown out his beard too, making him look like a dashing rouge from a historical romance novel.

“Hey.” He rocked back on his feet, his shirt stretching tighter across his broad chest when he placed his hands in the back pocket of his jeans.

Liquid warmth pooled at my core and a familiar heat ignited in my belly; my body still wanted and ached for him with a piercing intensity. I invited him in. “Hey, yourself. Why don’t you come in out of the cold? That is…do vampires feel cold?” I asked, curious about how his body worked since he was undead. Was he a Twilight kind of vampire, or a Vampire Diaries kind of vampire? He could walk in the sunlight, but I’d never seen him sparkle and he had body warmth too, though it ran cooler than mine, and I’d heard his heartbeat on multiple occasions.

Landon chuckled as he stepped in through the door, his arm grazing against mine. My heat leapt through the roof and my knees threatened to buckle over that featherlight touch.

“To a certain extent. This is nothing for me, but once the temperature drops or rises above a certain point then I do feel the effects of the temperature changes,” he explained before we fell quiet and just stared at each other. I flushed when Landon’s gaze traveled down my body, hunger darkening his eyes.

“Would you like anything to drink, or eat?” I asked. Landon declined my offer. “Well, I’m going to make myself a cup of tea. I have a feeling that this conversation is going to take all night.”

* * *

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