Page 13 of Rescued By the Vexed Vampire

Bethany

I wanted to be furious with him. Every rational part of me screamed that I should be storming out of Sugar Rush, slamming the door behind me, and swearing to never speak to Drake again. After all, the man had turned me into a vampire—he’d taken my shot at a second life and turned it into something I could never have imagined. I’d died once, been sent back to Earth to give life another go, and now here I was, neither alive nor dead, courtesy of one very tempting vampire.

But there was the problem…He was tempting. No matter how hard I tried to muster up the anger, every time I looked at Drake, it melted into something else. Something far more dangerous. Something I wasn’t sure I could afford to indulge in right now, but it was there all the same.

I sighed, pushing the thought away for the hundredth time that day as I stood in the middle of the shop. Everyone was bustling around, getting things ready for Halloween and the blood drive. The place looked nothing like the rundown candy shop I had first walked into. It was alive with energy and excitement. Even the air smelled better, filled with the sugary sweetness of freshly made treats and a hint of something spicy, like cinnamon.

The tagline for the event,Give blood, get a treat and tour the new shop!, was catching on quickly. Alice had outdone herself with the flyers, which she was currently distributing around town with a couple of her kids. The whole community was buzzing about it, and I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride as I looked around at what we had accomplished.

And then, there was Drake, right in the middle of it all.

For a man who had probably spent the last century sitting in a sleek office in New York, sipping expensive blood (or whatever vampires of his status drank), seeing him roll up his designer, custom-tailored sleeves and help us paint walls and assemble candy displays was...unexpected, to say the least. I had half-expected him to stand around barking orders, but no, he was right there with the rest of us, doing whatever needed to be done. It was hard to reconcile the sharp-dressed, brooding vampire with the guy who was currently covered in paint and hauling boxes of supplies like he belonged in a hardware store ad.

The thing was…I found it impressive. Drake wasn’t just the kind of person to sit back and watch things fall apart—he was the kind of person who got his hands dirty to make sure things worked. And the more I watched him work, the more I realized that maybe—just maybe—there was more to him than the arrogant, sarcastic vampire I’d spent the past few days bickeringwith. He had layers. As well as muscles and a way too-sexy smile. All of which intrigued me.

But then again, I reminded myself, this was the guy who had turned me into a vampire. I couldn’t forget that. No matter how attractive he was, no matter how much I appreciated his work ethic, he had still crossed a line.

“Hey, Bethany, can you pass me those window decals?” Alice’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I turned to see her standing by the front display, holding up a tangle of fake cobwebs.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, grabbing the box of Halloween-themed window clings and handing them over.

As Alice started adhering the spooky decals on the glass, I glanced around at the rest of the crew. Noah was practically buzzing with excitement as he meticulously arranged the candy displays, his hands moving with an artist’s precision as he placed each piece just so. He was in his element, and it was impossible not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. His partner, Gary, stood nearby, hanging strings of tiny orange lights along the shelves, his bald head gleaming beneath the fluorescent lights.

“Bethany, come check this out!” Noah called, waving me over. “I’ve got a new display for the candy corn popcorn balls, and it’s going to blow your mind.”

I made my way over to the candy counter, where Noah had set up an elaborate pyramid of the scrumptious treats, each one wrapped in cellophane and tied with curling ribbon. They looked almost too perfect to eat.

“Noah, these look amazing,” I said, admiring his handiwork.

“I know, right?” Noah beamed. “But I could honestly do so much more. I’m dying to let loose, and I was wondering if...”He glanced nervously toward Drake, who was busy adjusting a display of pumpkins near the door. “Do you think he’ll let me experiment a little?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You mean you want to go rogue with the candy?”

Noah nodded, his eyes wide with excitement. “I’ve got some killer ideas. You’ve seen my Insta page. But, you know, corporate is all about sticking to the script. I need Drake to sign off on anything new.”

I glanced over at our boss, who was currently inspecting a bag of plastic bats with far more seriousness than the task warranted. “Why don’t you ask him?” I suggested, nudging Noah toward Drake.

Noah hesitated for a moment, then squared his shoulders and marched over to where Drake was standing. I followed at a distance, curious to see how this would play out.

“Hey, boss,” Noah said, clearing his throat.

Drake looked up from the bats, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“So, I was thinking...we’ve got this big blood drive coming up, and it’s a perfect opportunity to show off some new candy designs. I’ve been working on a few things, and I was hoping you’d let me, you know, unleash my creative genius. Wait until you taste my monster bark and candied orange peel! I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Drake’s expression was unreadable as he listened to Noah’s pitch. For a moment, I thought he might shoot it down, but then he surprised me by nodding slowly.

“All right, you convinced me. Go wild,” Drake said, his tone even. “If your recipes are a success, I’ll talk to corporate about adding them to the official lineup.”

Noah’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “You mean it?”

Drake nodded. “You’ve got talent, Noah. I’d be an idiot not to let you show it off.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Noah practically danced back to his workstation, his excitement palpable.

Gary, who had been watching the exchange from the sidelines, gave Drake an approving nod. “You won’t regret it, sir. Noah’s desserts are not only delicious, but he is truly a genius when it comes to sugar work. He has a find hand, just wait until you see what he can do.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Noah wipe a happy tear from the corner of his eye. It was nice to see everyone so excited, and I had to admit, I was impressed that Drake had relented. Maybe he wasn’t as rigid and by-the-book as I’d thought.

---