Blood Candy Read online

  “You don’t get it,” Blake said. “They are faster and stronger. It wouldn’t matter if we turned professionals into vampires, they would still stomp them!”

  Candy couldn’t tell if Medium Dave was upset by what he had done or not. He stood there expressionless like he always did. Anastasia put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I think David here is right when he says the English don’t know anything about basketball,” she said. “It’s a distinct advantage in our favor. It will even the odds.”

  That didn’t stop Blake from staring daggers at Medium Dave. Anastasia turned to face the Misfits.

  “Candy will stay at the mansion until the game,” she said. Before anyone could protest, specifically Jimmy, she continued, “This isn’t up for debate. My family and I have gone to considerable lengths to help her and there’s still the basketball game to deal with. You Misfits have done your part in protecting her, but you’re well in over your heads and way out of your league. I’ll finish what I have set out to do, which is the protection of this girl against the Englishmen.”

  Jimmy looked into Candy’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what to think. She did know she was tired of being on the run and having to hide. She glanced at Melvin who had been silent the whole time. He had been adamant about not separating, about being careful around vampires, but now he waited on Jimmy’s decision. Candy lowered her head and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what to say.

  “You’ll be safe with us until the game,” Anastasia said.

  “What about my friends? Don’t they matter? They matter to me,” Candy said.

  Anastasia didn’t bother to hide her contempt when her cold eyes went to the Misfits. “They are lycans. They can take care of themselves; they’ve made it this long. They may be good at running, but how long can they run with you slowing them down?”

  Anastasia glared at White Paul when he stepped forward. He held the vampire girl’s eyes for perhaps a second before he bowed his head.

  “Let the girl decide,” Anastasia said. “I warn you now that my family will waste no more time trying to save her from Rupert if she’s going to run off and fall prey to him anyway. Candy takes the offer of protection in my house until the game or I call it all off. I’m not going to risk my sons’ well being for nothing.”

  Anastasia was right. Candy couldn’t look at Jimmy when she addressed the Misfits.

  “It will be okay. They want to help.”

  Jimmy lowered his head. After a moment, he looked back up and he seemed calm, though Candy figured he was probably mad as hell.

  “I’ll be thinking about you,” he told Candy. “Misfits forever.”

  Candy gave him a weak smile. “You all make sure to get somewhere safe. I’ll be pissed if I don’t see you at the basketball game, if something happens to you.”

  Jimmy tried to return a smile but it didn’t quite come out right. The rest of the Misfits waited for him at the door. He walked towards them, glancing over his shoulder once, and then with a frown he hurried after the others.

  Nigel strolled up next to Anastasia. “Odd bunch,” he said. “Are you sure you want them at the contest? It could be a distraction.”

  “Not entirely,” she said.

  Candy put her foot down. “They’re going. I’m not going anywhere with you if you don’t let them know where it is. I’ll leave. I’ll do whatever. I’ll go to another vampire family if I have to. Because that’s what you want after all, isn’t it? My blood?”

  Anastasia curled up one brow.

  “I’m not as stupid as you think.”

  “Very well, my dear. The Misfits can go,” Anastasia said.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Candy paused at the front steps of the mansion.

  “You’re nervous,” Blake said.

  Candy kept her eyes on the ground. Of course she was nervous.

  “You can trust us.” Blake didn’t move closer to her. He gave her some distance.

  “It’s funny,” Candy said. “I was told to never trust a vampire, that vampires want people to trust them. This is the second time you told me I can trust you.”

  Blake glanced over his shoulder to the house. They were alone. Darkness stretched out beyond the expansive yard of the estate and the night was warm and still.

  “What do you think?” Blake asked her. “Never mind what other people say, what do you think?”

  Candy shrugged her shoulders. She honestly didn’t know. “I don’t know you. I only know you’re a vampire.”

  “Let’s take a walk. If it makes you more comfortable we can stay out here all night.” He smiled that annoyingly irresistible smile.

  They walked along the edge of the yard where it was well lit. There was a gazebo not far from the mansion. Like everything else around there, it was bigger than it needed to be. Lights on the outside of the gazebo sparked to life as they neared, illuminating the yard for a few hundred feet.

  “I wish you wouldn’t be so nervous.” Blake paused at the entrance of the gazebo. There was an outdoor swing chair inside. “We only want to help you.”

  Candy couldn’t refute his claim that he only wanted to help, but she still didn’t feel right. The more she thought about it, the more she wished she had gone with the Misfits.

  “I doubt you’d think the same way if you were in my shoes,” she said. “Actually, no one with half a brain would be standing here like I am.”

  Blake offered a weak smile. “I can appreciate that. What can I do to prove you have nothing to be afraid of? That you can trust me?”

  “I don’t know.” She wanted to trust him. She wanted the nagging voice in her head to go away.

  “I know you didn’t ask for this. Unfortunately, there are bad vampires just like there are bad people. We aren’t bad vampires.”

  Candy had to force back a laugh and ended up snorting. “Do you realize how absurd that sounds?”

  “It sounds absurd because you’re prejudiced. The stories haven’t given us a kind depiction over the years, and movies only made it worse. Look, I’m not saying you should trust vampires just like I wouldn’t tell you to trust a random guy you met in a bar. All I’m saying is we’ve gone out of our way to help you. And I’ll answer before you ask: I did it because I think you’re beautiful. And kind. And all around a wonderful person.”

  Candy couldn’t keep herself from blushing, or thinking he was saying everything she wanted to hear, everything she needed to hear. They ventured over to the swing and sat down together. She found that she liked being close to him again as he pushed gently with his feet, sending the swing into a relaxing motion.

  “Did you know he would stop being in my dreams?” she asked.

  Blake turned a blank face to her. “You mean Rupert?”

  Candy nodded, watching his him closely, wondering if he’d admit what he knew—that he had supplanted Rupert in her dreams.

  “I suspect my mother knew,” he said. “This is all very new to me.”

  Candy’s mind went into overdrive. He’s new to this? How so? How old is he? Or maybe, because he hadn’t taken as much blood as Rupert, the dreams were different between them. Both he and Anastasia had said the bond wouldn’t be strong.

  “Oh,” she simply said. “Well, I appreciate it regardless.”

  Blake seemed more interested in the topic than her, as if he was just as new to it, as he had suggested. “You dreamed about him, and now you don’t?” he asked.

  Candy nodded, finding it strange that it was him asking the questions now. “It was more than just a dream. It was like he was really in my mind. I hated it, and now. . . .” She cut herself off from saying, and now he’s gone because of you.

  “I’m glad we could help,” he said, reinforcing his assertions that that was the only thing he wanted in the first place. It did make her feel better.

  “Why do you hate my friends so much?” she asked.

  “I don’t hate them. They annoy me is all.”

  “They’re trying to help me. You und
erstand that, right? They’re good people.”

  “They are.”

  Candy suspected he may have only said that to appease her. Since she had him out here answering questions, she figured she may as well ask some more.

  “You don’t have a girlfriend?”

  Blake laughed. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Why not? You’re handsome and have a ton of money. I’m sure you could have any girl you want.”

  “You know the answer.” Blake shifted his eyes to the yard as if he didn’t care for the new topic. “You’re uncomfortable around me because of what you think you know, because of what you think I am. That’s how most people react. It’s not easy to overcome.”

  “Couldn’t you have a vampire girlfriend?”

  Blake laughed again. “I suppose I could. It doesn’t exactly work that way.”

  Candy thought about asking why and then decided against it. She looked out over the darkness in the distance of the lawn. She didn’t know how much she wanted to understand vampires. Then again, she wanted to understand Blake. She thought about the small bite he had given her, but it made her remember Rupert. She shivered.

  “Are you okay?”

  “What’s it like for vampires to bite people? What was it like when you bit me?”

  “It can be a lot of different things. I think it depends on who it is and what they are feeling.”

  Blake paused and stared out over the yard again. During the brief silence, Candy had the feeling he was at a loss for words.

  “When I bit you, it wasn’t much. It was a small bite, but I felt the emotion coursing through your body,” he said. “It hurt me that you were afraid. Some of the unsavory of my kind enjoy that. I don’t want you to be afraid.”

  “I want to trust you. I want you to beat the shit out of Rupert and his stupid family.”

  Blake took her hand. She liked how smooth and cool his fingers felt. She liked that sense of security, knowing he was there and he wouldn’t let anyone harm her. His eyes went over the clothes she was wearing.

  “Why don’t you get dressed into something more comfortable? You can take a shower if you’d like. My mother sent Renaldo out to get some stuff for you.”

  They went into the mansion together. It felt strange being there without the Misfits. It also felt exciting being there alone with Blake. As soon as he shut the door, Candy heard footsteps on the landing at the top of the stairs.

  “Here comes my family. Do you want me to tell them you want to be alone right now?” Blake said. “Oh, it’s my sister. You’ll like her.”

  Candy lifted her head to the stairs and she was instantly hit with a jealousy that burned so deep she almost wanted to yell at the gorgeous woman with glossy black hair. The tall woman had a face and body to die for, with pouty lips and big amber eyes. She was dressed in stonewashed jeans and a plain blue shirt that fit the perfectly slender proportions of her body. Candy immediately noticed how much she resembled Anastasia, except she was six years or so older in appearance and a few inches taller, and their eyes weren’t the same at all.

  “This is my sister, Wendi,” Blake said. “Wendi, this is Candy.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Wendi said as she took a few hip-swinging steps towards them. “You’re as beautiful as my little brother described.”

  Candy had to avert her eyes because she was now having the kinds of thoughts about a woman she had never had before, and had always been told was sinful and unnatural. Regardless, she found herself wondering what Wendi looked like without her clothes on.

  “Nice to meet you,” Candy said awkwardly.

  “They’re so cute when they’re shy,” Wendi said with an amazing smile. “You better get into the viewing room; our brothers are getting carried away with the upcoming contest.”

  “Thanks,” Blake said.

  “Well, I have things to do. I’m sure you boys can take care of all the details for the game. Kisses.” Wendi winked and headed out the front door.

  “She seems nice,” Candy said.

  “She takes after Mother for the most part. Let’s head upstairs. You’ll like the viewing room.”

  Candy followed him up the stairs to the landing above. Two hallways extended out from both sides of the landing with a set of doors in between. Blake pushed the doors open and led his guest into what looked like a miniature movie theatre. Chester was on the stage talking with two other guys. She followed Blake as he hurried over to them.

  “Hey,” Chester said. “I don’t think you’ve met our other brothers.”

  The two new brothers looked to be roughly the same age as Chester and Blake, which was anywhere between eighteen and twenty-something. One of them had dark red hair and super pale skin. He may have been seventeen or even sixteen, he was so skinny; it was hard to tell.

  “This is Chip,” Chester said in regard to the brother with light hair, blue eyes and, like every other vampire Candy had seen thus far, a pale face clean of facial hair. Chip gave her a friendly smile. He had on a button up shirt with a tan sweater tied over his shoulders. The boy with the red hair stepped forward.

  “My name’s Cooper,” he said. “You can call me Coop.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Candy said, thinking that this was the weirdest family she had ever met.

  “So, we were going over some things.” Chester inclined his head to a white-board with red marker scribbled all over it. “We’ve come up with some ideas for the team. I want to clear it with you before I have the servants get to work on the jerseys.”

  “You’re getting jerseys made?” Candy said.

  “Sure,” said Chester. “The Brits will do the same I’m sure. Since it’s a team game with standard rules we should all have jerseys.”

  Blake nodded agreement. “Of course. We have to take this very seriously,” he told Candy. “We need every advantage we can get. So, what kind of names did you come up with?”

  “Coop was pushing for Mullin’s Marauders, but I had to veto that,” Chester said, which made Cooper narrow his eyes and purse his lips. “How about this one for a team name?” He pointed to a scribble Candy couldn’t decipher. “Balls Deep.”

  “That’s perfect. I love it,” Blake said.

  “Uh,” Candy said. “I don’t think you want to name your team that.”

  Chester looked at her as if she was the girl who of course didn’t understand the guy stuff. “What? I think we know more about basketball than you. Blake here could have gone on to play with a good college, you know. After he became one of us, he did some moonlighting for a while; took all of the thugs for their hard earned drug money.”

  Blake gave his brother a harsh stare.

  “That was a long time ago,” Chester continued. “We still toss the ball around out back; friendly games between brothers. One of the specialties we came up with was full court shots—the deep balls. Hence, Balls Deep. You get it?”

  “Sure,” Candy said to shut him up. “Balls Deep is . . . a good name.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Chester said. “Hey Coop, go tell Stephanie to get started on the jerseys. I want them ready by tomorrow night.”

  “Fuck you. Go tell her yourself.” Coop walked off the stage and then disappeared through one of the back doors. The remaining three brothers went on as if that was perfectly normal.

  “We’ll need to get our strategies down,” Chester said. “Five on five isn’t the same as what we play out back. Are we allowed a coach?”

  “Why would we need a coach? You’re looking into this too much,” Blake said. “Mother and that retarded lycan had a point: I don’t think the Brits know the first thing about basketball. They may be faster, but we know the game.”

  “Medium Dave’s not retarded,” Candy said. “At least I don’t think he is.”

  Blake smiled at her and then continued talking to his brother. “We can come up with some plays and call them on our own. I think I still have all of my stuff from high school in the basement somewhere, some
of the old playbooks. I can dig those out a little later.”

  “Just don’t procrastinate too long,” Chester said with a subtle nod towards Candy that no one missed. They also didn’t miss Chip making a circle with his finger and thumb, and then poking another finger in and out of it. “We need to be ready, Blake. I want to stomp these Brits into the ground.”

  Blake slapped his brother on the shoulder and grinned broadly. “Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, there’s no doubt in my mind we’ll beat them. Let me get Candy settled in then we can get started.”

  Blake put his arm around Candy’s shoulder and they went back out to the second floor landing. He started to lead her down one of the hallways.

  “Where are we going?” She couldn’t get the image of Chip’s vulgar finger animations out of her head.

  “Mother had one of the guest rooms made up for you. It has a full bathroom so you can shower if you want. I’ll have Renaldo bring your things up. He should be back soon.” Talking very quickly as if he had more important things to get to, he looked at a grandfather clock as they passed it. “If you’re tired you can go ahead and get some sleep. Just let Renaldo know, he’ll show you around now or when you wake up in the morning.”

  Blake opened a door a little ways down the hall. The room beyond may have had more square footage than Candy’s entire house. There was a huge four poster bed, dressers, and several massive walk in closets. The far side of the room opened up into a spacious bathroom. They heard the front door downstairs open and close.

  “That’s Renaldo. I’ll have him bring your things up,” Blake said.

  “Where are you going?”

  “You heard Chester, we need to practice. I’m looking forward to putting those Brits in their place.”

  Blake stood there for a moment, leaning down close to Candy. She thought he might try to kiss her, but he didn’t. He smiled and then walked back down the hallway. She entered the room, shut the door, and went immediately into the bathroom. The blue tiles sparkled and all of the bronze faucets shimmered in the lighting. The walk-in shower had nozzles on three walls. There was even a digital display for water temperature and pressure. She set it to scalding hot, threw her clothes off and stepped in.