Sucker for Love Read Free Page A

shrugged. “All right, so we haven’t actually gotten that far, but we’re on the way.” Sort of.
    I know, I know. Where was the most definitely? The thing was, while I was head over heels for Ty, he’d never come out and actually said the L word.
    He couldn’t.
    Long story short, Ty’s maker—a ruthless born vamp by the name of Logan Drake—was on a personal mission to see that Ty suffered for the rest of his afterlife. Logan wanted Ty miserable, and so he wasn’t too fond of yours truly because, let’s face it, I was the sunshine in Ty’s otherwise doom and gloom existence.
    Ty was hesitant to get close, fearful that Logan might target me. But I’d faced off with Vindictive Vamp once before when he’d kidnapped Ty for alittle reality check in the form of torture and mutilation. I’d also saved the day—i.e., Ty’s ass.
    Logan Drake didn’t scare me.
    Okay, so maybe he scared me a little (torture, mutilation, nuff said). But I was willing to take the risk because I loved Ty. And he loved me.
    Really. I so didn’t need to hear it. His actions spoke volumes.
    He’d helped me prove my innocence when I was wanted for murder. He’d bit me and sucked out a nasty demon when Evie’s exorcism had gone south. He’d given up women and started bottling it when it came to his dinner. He’d left a toothbrush in my bathroom and he’d sent me flowers. He’d bailed on me several days ago and all my calls were now going to his voice mail—
    Wait a second. Wrong exit. I hopped back on the road toward commitment bliss.
    “It’s just a matter of time before we do the happily-ever-after thing,” I added, more to convince myself than Ash.
    “So you already took him home to meet your mother?”
    “We haven’t actually gotten around to that part, but we will.” Just as soon as I worked up my nerve. Ash shook his head and I added, “What? I’m waiting for the right moment.”
    “There is no right moment. Ty is a made vampire, which leaves him out of the running for son-in-law of the year.”
    “And you’re an expert because …?”
    “I’m not. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure things out. You’re a born vampire which means your mother is a born vampire, which means Ty is going to be about as welcome in her house as the local SOB.”
    “For your information, she and my father have a very amicable relationship with Vinnie Balducci.” Aka the local representative for the Snipers of Otherworldly Beings—SOBs for short—an organized group responsible for hunting and annihilating any and all Others. “They give him free toner cartridges.” Because, of course, even dangerous, bloodthirsty snipers had to do paperwork. “And he doesn’t drive a stake through their hearts. It’s a win/win.”
    “I bet your ma doesn’t have him over for dinner.”
    “She might.” If he were the right blood type. “Listen, I know it’s not likely that my mother will fall all over Ty at the first meeting, but she’ll come around.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Stranger things have happened.”
    “Name one.”
    “I’ll name three. The mighty T-Rex has gone the way of crocheted ponchos, the Olsen twins have turned from sitcom sweethearts to drug-addicted divas and my orgy-loving brother, Jack, has given up his womanizing ways to marry a human. All seemed impossible at one time, then bam, it happened. Instant miracle.”
    He gave me a strange look and shook his head.
    “What? Vampires can’t be optimistic?” He opened his mouth to answer a big, fat No and I cut him off, “So what do you think happened to Esther?”
    He shrugged. “There are several possibilities. You say this guy wasn’t a vampire, right?”
    BVs gave off a sweet, succulent unique scent that only other BVs could smell. “The only thing tickling my nose was Giorgio.”
    “A made vamp?”
    “Maybe.” I couldn’t actually smell an MV, which was why Ty and I had hit it off so well. He didn’t reek of crème brûlé or bread pudding or chocolate