Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
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About the Author
Just a little Love Bite: A snooty vampire must learn about himself in order to woo his rough and tumble human beloved.
Stanton Thundler has been looking forward to the haunted hay maze ever since his co-worker’s boyfriend promised everyone tickets. When he gets there, the place doesn’t disappoint. He laughs, screams, and hollers with the rest of his buddies... until he lingers over a display too long, takes a wrong turn, and ends up separated from his friends. Stanton doesn’t mean to bump into the slender hottie and knock him into a puddle of mud.
Francois Toulouse is irritated when he’s ordered to go to a coven near Amarillo and inspect their beef. The only thing he knows about cows is how to cook them so they taste amazing. Then he learns a seer has foreseen that he’ll meet his beloved there. The human Fate chooses for him is not what he expects. Stanton is big, brawny, dirty, and a polar opposite to Francois’s fastidious tidiness and sophistication. Still, Stanton is his beloved...
To Stanton’s surprise, Francois asks him out. While he’s flattered, he declines. What would be the point when even Stanton can see they have nothing in common?
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Navigating the Vampire Maze
Copyright © 2019 Charlie Richards
ISBN: 978-1-4874-2740-5
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Navigating the Vampire Maze
A Loving Nip Book Twenty
By
Charlie Richards
Dedication
Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.
~Morihei Ueshiba
Chapter One
Doing his best not to bounce in his seat, Stanton Thundler picked at the fraying knee of his jeans to release the excess energy instead. He stared out the window where he sat in the passenger seat of his best friend’s pick-up truck. Anticipation thrummed through him.
“Excited?”
Stanton turned his attention to Jerome, his brows shooting up. “Yeah, I thought—” Then he spotted the twinkle in his bestest buddy’s dark eyes as well as the huge grin on his face and realized he was teasing him. Scoffing, Stanton rolled his eyes as he reached over and bumped his fist into Jerome’s upper arm. “Dork.”
Still grinning, Jerome winked at him.
Appreciating his friend’s teasing, Stanton finally gave in to his excitement and began bouncing his leg. “I haven’t been to a haunted maze since—” He paused, frowning. His excitement ebbed as he recalled his past.
“That long, huh? Me, too, man.” Jerome reached over and patted his thigh. “Awful nice of Rhyme to give us all tickets, isn’t it?”
Stanton nodded, appreciating the subject change. He hated thinking about his family. Any time thoughts of his father—Nope. Not gonna think about him.
“I looked up how much tickets are to this place,” Jerome continued. “He’s either loaded or is well-connected with the owners.”
Something in Jerome’s tone caught Stanton’s attention. Did his friend look concerned? “What do you mean?”
Stanton half-turned in his bucket seat and scratched his shoulder against the backrest. He didn’t worry about money too much. Since he shared an apartment with Jerome, his buddy helped him with bills. Stanton wasn’t rich by any means, but he met his obligations, and Jerome had even shown him how to budget so he could save money for retirement every month.
“I mean the tickets Max gave everyone at work are all-access. You can ride the hay wagon through the haunted forest, go in the hay maze, and it includes ten game tickets... all without paying.” Jerome’s eyebrows furrowed, and his thick brown lips pinched together in an expression Stanton recognized as worry. “They’re sixty-two bucks each.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of money for an evening of fun.” Stanton cocked his head, mulling over what Jerome had told him for a moment as his buddy continued to drive them to the ranch. He didn’t get it. “Why would they offer something like that? How much is just access to the haunted hay maze?”
Stanton hadn’t been aware that the ranch offered more than that. Of course, after Rhyme had told him he would give all Max’s co-workers tickets—those who wanted them anyway—he hadn’t looked into it further. Max’s boyfriend had assured Stanton that their hay bales were stacked over seven feet high, which meant they would tower over even Stanton’s six-foot-five height.
Or is Rhyme Max’s partner now that they’re living together. Oh, maybe that’s why he’s being so nice.
Before Stanton could voice his thought, Jerome told him, “The tickets for just the haunted hay maze are twelve bucks.”
“Really?”
“Yup. The average time it takes to get through the maze is an hour and twenty minutes. It’s huge.” Jerome glanced his way before telling him, “And the haunted forest ride takes almost an hour, too. This is a huge operation for them and brings in thousands each October.”
“Holy shit,” Stanton mumbled. “Guess I should have checked out their website.”
Jerome chuckled softly. “On top of that, they have game booths where you can play for stuffed animals or goldfish or other toys, although that’s geared mostly for kids.” Reaching over, he punched Stanton’s upper arm playfully. “Think your beta fish would like a playmate?”
Stanton laughed. “Naw. Billy would eat’em.”
As Jerome snorted, Stanton spotted the turn for the ranch. He straightened in his seat and gazed out the window. His concern over Rhyme’s motives slipped from his mind as he grinned with excitement.
“Damn, they’re busy,” he commented as he spotted the dozens upon dozens of vehicles parked in the left field. There were people milling around the edge of the field where a road disappeared between the trees. “Oh, look.” Stanton pointed, grinning. “There’s the tractor Rhyme mentioned.”
Jerome nodded as he turned into the field. Rolling down his window, he waved at Murdoch, who was a friend of Rhyme’s and a fellow wrangler. The man appeared to be directing visitors on where to park.
“Hey, Jerome,” Murdoch greeted, smiling and tipping his hat in a friendly way. He du
cked down a little, allowing the six-foot-one man to see into the cab. “Evening, Stanton.” Then Murdoch straightened and pointed to the right. “Vernon and Lloyde arrived just ahead of you. I put them over there with Lilibeth and George. They’re still milling around their vehicles, so I figure they’re waiting for you.”
“Thanks, man,” Jerome replied, waving again as he started his truck slowly across the field in that direction.
“Oh, hey.” Murdoch jogged the couple of steps to Jerome’s open window as he stopped the truck. Resting his tanned hand on the frame, he glanced between them before asking, “Are Anthony, Benjamin, and Esmerelda still working at your construction company?”
Jerome groaned. “Yeah. Please tell me they aren’t here tonight.”
Murdoch’s lips twisted into a grimace. “Fraid I can’t. They arrived thirty minutes ago. If they received the same passes Rhyme gave you all, they could be anywhere by now.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Jerome stated, shaking his head. “Not sure how they even knew we were coming here tonight.”
Shrugging, Murdoch told them, “Rhyme will handle it if you have any trouble with them.” Then he backed away, turning toward another vehicle coming up behind them. At the same time, he hollered, “Have fun anyway.”
When Jerome began the truck creeping forward again, Stanton admitted, “I told Esmerelda we were coming tonight.”
Sometimes, the muscular blonde flirted with him, and Stanton sort of liked it. Didn’t everyone like to be flirted with? The woman was beautiful, even if she did hang out with Anthony and Benjamin. The three were known as the homophobe squad.
When Esmerelda rubbed her hand over his arm or shoulder, Stanton’s stomach clenched, and his groin warmed. He would fight back a blush as he found an excuse to get away from her. If he didn’t, she would continue touching, and his skin would goose bump, or the hairs on his neck would stand on end.
Stanton rarely had that reaction... to anyone—male or female. Was it attraction? Going to bars with Jerome, he’d had plenty of people blatantly hit on him, but that was a bar. Stanton knew how to respond to those people, and he’d even occasionally accepted their offers for a backdoor hook-up.
Knowing Esmerelda wasn’t a nice person, coupled with the fact that he worked with her, Stanton didn’t really know what to do about it or even what it meant. When she asked questions, he was always polite. He didn’t know what else to do.
Maybe that’s why Esmerelda flirts with me... or maybe she’s not flirting, and she’s just being nice, too.
“Makes sense that she would ask you,” Jerome stated, smirking. “You know if you tap her, she’ll leave you alone.”
“Tap her? Why would I tap her?” Stanton frowned as he focused on Jerome. Sometimes the man used an expression he just didn’t understand. Fortunately, Stanton knew his buddy didn’t mind if he bluntly asked for an explanation. “Wait, that means something other than what I think, doesn’t it?”
As Jerome parked the truck beside Lloyde’s dark-green one, he told Stanton, “If you say you’re gonna tap someone, it means you plan to fuck that person.”
Stanton grimaced even as he felt his cheeks heat. His stomach twisted. While she’d made his groin warm, he had never once considered fucking her.
In fact, just the thought caused his balls to feel as if they were crawling up into his body.
“Hell, no,” Stanton barked, shifting restlessly in his seat. He suddenly needed air. Muttering under his breath, he shoved from the truck. “Never gonna happen.” Stanton slammed the door shut.
“Whoa, hey, Stan,” Jerome called, following him out of the truck. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” He rounded the truck at a jog and stopped beside him, placing his hand on Stanton’s shoulder and squeezing. “It was a joke.”
Stanton clenched his jaw for a second even as he nodded. “Not funny,” he mumbled, although he couldn’t be certain why the idea of screwing Esmerelda bothered him so much. “She’s a bitch.”
That has to be it.
“Hey, guys!” Lilibeth called, drawing their attention and waving in greeting. She grinned broadly as she crossed to them. Grabbing Stanton’s arm and wrapping her hand around it, Lilibeth bounced on the balls of her feet as she beamed up at him. “Are you ready for some fun?”
Even though Stanton guessed it was a rhetorical question—Jerome had needed to explain that a couple of times to him—he still nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.” Lilibeth started moving, so Stanton fell into step next to her, automatically shortening his long strides so he didn’t leave her in the dust. “I just got a text from Max. He and Rhyme saved seats for us on the next tractor ride.” She bumped her shoulder into Stanton’s lower arm—since that was where her short stature placed her—and grinned up at him. “They knew you’d like that.”
Stanton nodded. He would like that. It was nice that his co-worker remembered.
Or is he my friend now?
Stanton knew Jerome was his friend. They’d been friends before they started working together. How could a co-worker turn into a friend?
I’m not sure. Except, Lilibeth is my friend, and I work with her. She invites me places, and we hang out occasionally. Now that Max is doing that, too, that must mean he’s my friend, too.
“You okay, Stanton?” Jerome asked, touching the small of his back, drawing his attention. He did that when he knew Stanton had gotten stuck in his head. “Everything all right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Stanton grinned at his buddy. “I’m good.”
Jerome nodded and smiled, his dark eyes twinkling. “Then let’s go have some fun.”
Stanton nodded, a grin splitting his lips. “Yeah.”
They reached the far end of the pasture turned parking lot, and Stanton spotted Rhyme standing near the foot of the wagon. He smiled widely, his lips pressed together, and waved at them.
As soon as they reached the wagon, Rhyme indicated that they load up, offering Lilibeth a hand like a gentleman. Stanton followed, and after Lilibeth had given a hug to Max, then settled on a hay bale, Stanton did the same. He spotted George, another co-worker and an all right guy—although his thoughtless mouthy comments sometimes landed him in hot water—sitting a little ways away with his girlfriend, Kristine. Stanton waved, and George lifted his chin in acknowledgement while offering him a grin. Then he went back to paying attention to his girlfriend.
George had met the blonde at the ranch the same weekend Max had met Rhyme. Although, Kristine didn’t work at the ranch. In fact, Stanton didn’t know where Kristine worked, but they seemed happy together.
Feeling his hay bale jostle a little, Stanton noted that Jerome had plopped down next to him. A moment later, the tractor’s engine grew louder as whoever was driving started forward. Stanton felt his excitement grow, and he peered around eagerly.
They followed the narrow track that led into the trees, passing people coming and going. For a few seconds, the only light was that of the tractor’s and the flashlights of the walkers... if they had one. Then hanging lanterns appeared in the distance, swinging from the boughs of the trees and lighting the way.
After a five minute ride, more lights appeared ahead. The trees thinned. Then Stanton spotted booths between the trunks, benches, and tables for relaxing and eating, and plenty of people of all ages milling around. Many of the people were dressed in costume, but Stanton could easily tell who the workers were, for they were all dressed as Dracula, in black pants, a white shirt with a maroon vest over it, and a black cloak.
Holy shit! They even have fangs!
Stanton had to grin at that. These guys really went all out.
Finally, the tractor passed the booths and cleared the trees, entering another field. This one, however, was dominated by the promised hay maze. Tall torches bracketed the entrance, which had a plank over the top and more hay bales on it to form an arch.
“Wow,” Jerome mumbled. “That thing has to stand eight feet high.”
“Yeah.” G
rinning widely, Stanton bounced in his seat. “Let’s check it out!”
With Stanton in the lead, the group climbed off the wagon and headed toward the maze. When the female Dracula called, “Tickets, please,” Stanton began digging his out of the pocket of his faded jeans.
Rhyme stepped forward and waved. “They’re all covered, Shelly.”
“Hey, Rhyme.” Shelly winked. “Have fun, ya’ll.”
Stanton nodded as he felt Jerome rest his hand on the small of his back and guide him forward. Five feet into the maze, they reached a T-junction. After a glance at the others, Stanton turned left... and almost immediately barked a cry of surprise and lifted his arms in defense as a fake giant spider came soaring toward his head.
Once the hairy arachnid bounced back up on its pulley, disappearing at the top of the hay wall, everyone began to laugh as they moved on.
Chapter Two
“By zee gods, Fate has got to be kidding me.”
Francois Toulouse stared up at the huge man who’d just barreled around the corner of the haunted hay maze and knocked him down.
The brawny human sported wide shoulders under his navy blue jacket. His faded and slightly raggedy jeans—there was the start of a hole in his right knee—appeared nearly painted on, showcasing massive thighs and thick calves. The man’s huge feet were encased in dirty, dark-brown steel-toed boots.
Being a vampire—stronger and tougher than his whipcord lean six-foot-one frame would make people assume—Francois would normally have blasted the human with a hefty dose of vitriol. Except, when he’d inhaled to do just that, the scent of the man’s blood tantalized his taste buds. His fangs suddenly ached with his desire to sink them into the human’s vein so he could draw what he knew would be the most delicious blood in the world to flow across his tongue.
“Oh, hey, little man.” The big human smiled uncertainly even as he reached out his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mow you down. I thought my friends might be around this corner.”
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