Free Chosen by the Vampire (Paranormal,Fantasy,Midnight) Book 1 by Kelly London Page B

hushed whispers that had accompanied him from the moment he’d left his driveway. The townsfolk’s fear and prejudice no longer bothered him, even though he could easily hear every untrue word they said – and it was all thanks to the woman he was on his way to see.
     
    Amy Beckett was a blinding ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloom-infested town, and her arrival in Orchard Cove had taken him completely by surprise.
     
    His lips quirked into an amused smile as he recalled the slack-jawed expression on her face the day they’d met – he still couldn’t believe she hadn’t been the slightest bit freaked out by what she’d seen. Granted, he could have easily ‘persuaded’ her to forget that she’d witnessed him mid-feed, but he’d never found the words to tell her how grateful he’d been at the fact that she hadn’t needed any persuading.
     
    Of all the human women Carter had encountered during his life – and there had been far too many for his liking – Amy was the only one who’d ever made him pause and consider what it might be like to settle down with a woman and lead a relatively normal life together. She didn’t seem all that perturbed by his status as a member of the undead club, and that gave him hope – maybe she wouldn’t be opposed to joining him. He had to admit that it felt strange to be optimistic about something after so many decades of near constant pessimism, but it was a feeling he was willing to get used to.
     
    Sighing, Carter realized that for once in his life, things had fallen perfectly into place – if only Amy wasn’t convinced that he was in love with her best friend.
     
    Inhaling sharply, he sped up when he smelt a rapidly approaching storm in the air, refusing to give up just yet. It was true Amy’s mistaken assumption was an undesirable obstacle, just like it was entirely possible that she would want to live out the rest of her years as a human. But if he abandoned his pursuit of the one woman who didn’t care about the fact that he was a vampire or that he had accumulated a lot of money over the years or that he needed to feed on people to survive, then he’d be the biggest idiot to ever walk the face of the earth.
     
    His spirits lifted the moment Amy’s bakery came into view, and with a broad smile, Carter dashed across the remaining distance and came to an abrupt halt outside the entrance to the store. His brows furrowed when he heard her lock up the cash register, and as he pushed the door open, he hoped he hadn’t arrived too late.
     
    “Hi, Amy,” he greeted, once he’d spotted her bent form behind the counter. He heard her curse under her breath as she dropped something on the floor, and he had to bite back his smile. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
     
    She straightened up, and Carter’s smile broke free when he saw the smidgen of frosting smeared across her cheek. “No, not at all,” she answered, her voice a touch too bright. “I was just packing up some of the leftovers to take upstairs.”
     
    He knew something was wrong, but try as he might, he couldn’t figure out what it was. Stepping further into the store, he decided to tread lightly and inquired, “Slow day?”
     
    Her laugh didn’t sound all that amused. “You could say that.” Huffing out a breath, she gestured towards the half-empty display case and told him, “I had five different groups of people come in here today, and not a single one of them bought anything. They just looked at the cupcakes, smiled and left.”
     
    Her muted scream of frustration was adorable, but somehow, Carter doubted she’d appreciate him telling her that. Reining in his impulse to offer to buy up every last item in the case – he knew how much she hated to be pitied – he said, “On the plus side, at least your apartment’s upstairs and not across town.” At her confused frown, he tapped the side of his nose and smiled. “There’s a big storm coming.”
     
    “Great,” Amy groaned,