Free Rednecks 'N' Roses by Judy Mays

nice.
    His hair was pulled back into a pony tail. And without his beard, Rusty’s grin was devastating.
    Her gaze left his mouth and roamed down his body. “Where did you get those clothes?” His grin remained. “They’re mine. Keep them stored in the spare bedroom. I don’t wear the same clothes all the time, you know.”
    She blinked. Tight jeans clung to his legs and hips. The pine-colored golf shirt he wore brought out the green of his eyes. It also stretched quite nicely over his shoulders and chest. And he was wearing cowboy boots. Cowboy boots! A vampire who wore cowboy boots?
    Leaning back against the door, he crossed his arms over his chest.
    She swallowed again and cleared her throat. “Ah, may I ask you some questions?” His grin never wavered. “Shoot.”
    She grabbed a tablet and pencil. “How do you go about biting people? Ah, I mean, do you hypnotize them or overpower them or what?”
    When she didn’t get an answer, she looked up.

    Was Rusty blushing? Vampires couldn’t blush, could they? Her gaze slid down his body again. Were those jeans painted on?
    His grin had faded and he was looking down at the floor. “To tell the truth, I haven’t bitten any humans.”
    Amber wrenched her gaze from his crotch to his face. “You’ve never bitten anybody? What kind of vampire are you, anyway?”
    He looked up and chuckled. “Not a very good one, according to you.” Amber bit back the words that were about to erupt from her mouth. Insulting him wouldn’t get her anywhere. She swallowed then, in a softer voice, asked, “How long have you been a vampire?”
    “About a month and a half.”
    “A month and a half? That’s all?”
    He nodded and smiled sheepishly.
    “Didn’t your sire explain anything to you?” Amber failed to keep the surprise from her voice.
    He frowned. “Don’t think my dad really knows anything about being a vampire.” She shook her head. “Not your father, your sire. The vampire who turned you.” Disgust and anger appeared on his face. “That son of a bitch? If I could get my hands on him, I’d rip his guts out.”
    Amber took a step back. All of a sudden, Rusty didn’t look so—tame. Green heat flared in his eyes.
    His voice was low and tight. And he was blocking the only way out of the room.
    She took another step back and her butt bumped the table. “What happened?” Rusty began to pace. “I was out for a late walk—I always liked walking at night—when somebody jumped me. I got in a few good licks but then I felt him bite my neck. Hurt like hell but I figured if he was gonna fight dirty, I would too. So I bit his arm until I drew blood. That’s when everything got fuzzy. I could hear this voice in my head telling me to let go, but I didn’t. As long as he was gonna hold onto my neck, I was gonna keep my teeth buried in his arm.”
    “Did you swallow his blood?”
    He nodded. “Damn stuff gushed into my mouth. It was swallow it or let go. And I sure as hell wasn’t letting go before he did.”
    Blinking, Amber nodded. Poor guy.
    “When he finally let go of my neck, I let go of his arm. I was really feeling woozy by then but managed to plant my fist in his groin. Fucker screamed and doubled over,” Rusty continued in a satisfied voice, “but I was so weak, I passed out. Woke up under a hemlock tree the next night sick as a dog with a craving for blood. Found a rabbit and drained the blood from its body. Felt better after that and went home.”
    “That’s it?”

    He stopped pacing and shrugged. “More or less. Once I discovered going out in the sun was painful and regular food didn’t satisfy me, I knew something was wrong. My grandmother caught me sucking blood out of a cow and pretty much explained things to me.” Amber sank onto her chair. “She did?”
    His grin was amused. “Yeah, well sort of. After I explained what had happened, she told me I had become a child of Satan who would be damned for all eternity. She promised to get a prayer