Sex, Blood, Rock 'N' Roll, and Vampyr (The Bloodline Series Book 1)

by K. M. McFarland

  Randi and Quinn folded their arms and frowned. They looked at one another and then at Nadia. Both of them knew Nadia was right.

  RILEY RETURNED TO THE table with her parents and Lacey. “The line was long,” she said with a smile attempting to explain her long absence from the table. She smiled feeling much more relaxed about things after her chat with Quinn, and, thanks to Quinn, she was on her way to finding Tristan.

  The audience cheered as Quinn and Nadia returned to the stage for their second set. They performed more covers along with a mixture of their original songs ending with a duet from their new release. At the end of the show, they thanked everyone reminding them their CD is available for purchase at the bar and exited the stage. Quinn went straight to his office and closed the door.

  Nadia joined Riley with her parents and Lacey. Laurie realized Jeff hadn’t met Nadia and introduced them.

  “Will your brother be coming out soon?” asked Jeff.

  Nadia hated to be the bearer of bad news, but somebody had to do it. “Jeff, I’m sorry. Quinn had some urgent business to take care of at Midnight Oasis, and he had to leave right after the show. He said to tell you and Laurie he’s sorry about tonight, and he’s looking forward to meeting you at the gallery opening party.”

  Jeff nodded. “I understand. Sometimes, things happen.” He smiled at Nadia and said, “At least I had the pleasure of meeting his lovely daughter.”

  “Same here,” said Nadia, smiling.

  They finished their drinks and chatted a little about the art gallery before getting up to leave.

  “Mom, Dad,” said Riley. “I’m going to hang out with Nadia for a while. You know, check out some more New Orleans nightlife. I won’t be late.”

  “We’re going to head back to our hotel,” said Laurie. “It’s been a long day.”

  Riley tugged at her hair making sure it draped over her shoulder before hugging her parents.

  “Be careful,” said Laurie as they strolled in the opposite direction.

  Lacey had parked in a parking lot two blocks away. She ventured off to get her car. It was on the way to their hotel, so Jeff and Laurie walked with her.

  Nadia, still dressed in her show clothes, got a lot of attention walking down Bourbon Street. “Are you sure you’re comfortable with going to Midnight Oasis by yourself, Riley? I would go in with you, but that may not be a good idea since I’m Tristan’s ex-girlfriend.”

  Riley stepped back in shock. “You’re his what?”

  Nadia laughed and said, “You heard right.”

  Riley scoffed and asked, “Are you okay with this? I don’t have to …”

  Nadia raised her palm and said, “Riley, it’s fine. We were together for five years, but things began to change, and we grew apart. I’m married to someone else now, and what Tristan does or who he does it with is not my business. I want him to be happy, so if you turn out to be the person who makes him happy, I’m all for it.”

  Riley was still a little skeptical, but Nadia didn’t seem like someone who would say something if she didn’t mean it. She looked at her and said, “If you’re sure about that, okay.”

  “I’m sure. Thank you for considering my feelings.” She pointed to Midnight Oasis. “Here we are. You go in and find Tristan, and I’m going to go into the alley and have a little snack on one of those scrumptious looking mortals. I know going into that bar is a little scary for a beautiful human girl such as yourself, but here’s a little advice from a vampire. Look confident, be confident, act as if you belong there, and you’ll be fine.”

  Still jittery, Riley said, “Thank you, Nadia. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Even though her stomach was in knots, she threw her shoulders back and held her head up as she placed her hand on the metal handle opening the heavy, dark, wooden door leading into Midnight Oasis. She walked through a long, narrow, dark, dingy, brick corridor to the second wooden door. She pushed it open and peeked inside. The atmosphere didn’t appear much different from Vampyr, but the clientele certainly had a different vibe. They varied from Quinn, Randi, Nadia kind of vampire normal to downright creepy. Even the mortals were on the freaky side.

  She entered and walked toward the bar. She noticed a creepy vampire with dark eyes and dark, straight, stringy hair sitting alone in a corner dressed in a black suit that looked like it dated back to the late eighteen hundreds ogling her. She felt a slight chill as his eyes studied her. Hasn’t anyone ever told him it isn’t polite to stare? Confidence, she told herself. Ignore him and keep going.

  Several vamps that were huddled together conversing noticed her and quickly moved toward her at once. She quickly brushed her flaming hair to the side revealing the fang marks, and the vampires immediately backed away. Surprised and amazed at her accomplishment, she thought, Quinn was right. This is working better than I expected.

  Feeling self-assured, she assertively approached the bar. A scruffy looking male vampire with spiked hair, tattoos, and multiple ear and facial piercings stood at the cash register.

  “Philip,” she said commanding his attention.

  Surprised she knew his name; he turned to face her. He noticed the fang marks and gave her a condescending sneer. “If it ain’t a mortal bitch with bite marks.” He stepped closer to her and said, “Who your vampire?”

  She smiled looking him in the eye. “Quinn,” she confidently stated.

  He laughed and said, “You fucking with me bitch? If you know Quinn, you know he married to another vampire.”

  She smiled sticking out her chin. “I’m his mistress.”

  It seemed a little peculiar to Philip that Quinn’s mortal lover would be in Midnight Oasis alone in the middle of the night. “Mm, hmm. Quinn know you up in here?”

  “Yes, he sent me here to see Tristan. If you don’t believe me, call him.”

  He nodded and said, “Well ain’t that just too bad ‘cause Tristan ain’t here right now.”

  So he wants to be difficult. She thought maybe she should speak to him with a little more authority. “Look Philip. Quinn owns this bar, and he told me you could find Tristan no matter where he is.”

  “Not if I don’t know how to get in touch with him, I can’t.”

  She leaned forward with her hands on the bar looking him in the eye. “Oh, but according to Quinn, you do.” She pulled out her phone and waved it in front of him. “I would hate to have to call Quinn and tell him how uncooperative you are.”

  He grimaced and said, “Fine.” He picked up a cell phone behind the bar and made the call. She could hear him talking. “Okay man. I’ll tell her.” He disconnected the phone and set it down looking at her. “He on the way. Can I get you something?” he reluctantly asked.

  “Yes, a glass of Merlot, please.” She smiled pleased with herself that she was able to convince a vampire to do her bidding against his will. Philip brought her wine. He looked toward the door and pointed. “Here your man.”

  Her eyes studied Tristan from head to toe. The dark button down shirt and snug jeans reminded her of Quinn’s style in clothes. She bit her lower lip thinking; he’s even hotter than I remember.

  Tristan approached the bar. Philip pointed to Riley, and Tristan stepped close to her. He didn’t recognize her and wondered what she wanted with him and her connection to Quinn. He smiled and said, “Hi.”

  She looked up at him and said, “Hi. You don’t remember me, do you?”

  He shrugged and asked, “Should I?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  He pulled out the stool next to her and sat immediately noticing the fang marks. “I see you have bite marks. Do you want to tell me who your vampire is?”

  “The marks are from Quinn.”

  Tristan laughed and said, “Quinn is happily married. I know that for a fact.”

  She leaned in close and whispered, “I know, but they have a secret. They like to swing.”

  Tristan frowned and said, “I know he used to, but I didn’t know he was into it with his wife.”


  “They have their rules for one another.” She traced the stem of her wine glass looking down at it. “I don’t actually belong to Quinn. It was only once, and his wife was there.”

  “Okay. So why do you have fang marks?”

  “Well, this is where you come into the picture. I told Quinn I wanted to find you, and he felt it was necessary to protect me from the vampires in here.”

  Tristan couldn’t imagine why this girl was looking for him, but he surely wanted to find out. He also wondered why Quinn was helping her. “I see. Quinn put fang marks on you so you could come here and find me, but I’m curious. Do you want to tell me why you wanted to find me?”

  She looked at him and smiled. “Because I want to thank you for saving my life a few years ago in the alley next to Vampyr the night I was robbed and stabbed and left to die.”

  He thought for a second and pointed to her with widened eyes. “That was you.”

  She smiled and said, “Your blood made me all better. Not even a scar, but you took off like a bat out of hell. I didn’t have a chance to thank you.”

  “Yes, I remember you now. I’m sorry for fleeing so fast before making sure you were all right. But, as I recall, it was almost daylight when you came to, and I had to get inside before the sun came up. It’s a vampire thing.”

  She smacked her hand against her forehead and said, “You’re right, it was just before sunup. I should have known. How silly of me.”

  Tristan smiled looking her over. He looked into her eyes and said, “Well, I’m glad to see you’re all right. I didn’t realize how beautiful you are.”

  “Thank you,” she said melting.

  Unable to take his eyes off of her, he asked, “Would you like another wine?”

  Pleased that his eyes were traversing all over her body, she said, “Yes, thanks.”

  Tristan motioned to Philip to bring her another drink. Philip placed it in front of her. Tristan smiled and said, “So you know I’m Tristan, but I don’t think I got your name.”

  “I’m Riley … Riley West.”

  He nodded and said, “I like Riley. A beautiful name for a beautiful lady. It’s a pleasure to meet you Riley West. You mentioned you hadn’t been back to New Orleans in several years. Where are you from?”

  “The west coast. Los Angeles.”

  “Nice. What brings you back to our magical city?”

  She sipped her wine and set the glass on the bar. “I’m in town on business. I’m an artist, and I’m here for the unveiling of my latest masterpiece at the grand opening party at Devereaux’s Fine Art.”

  He smiled looking into her eyes and said, “Really. What a coincidence. I’ll be there too. I’m looking forward to seeing your work. You know, if you’re going to be there, and I’m going to be there, we should just make it a date. Will you do me the honor of being my date?”

  She gave him a big smile and said, “It will be my pleasure to be your date.” She checked her phone for the time. “I probably should be getting back to my hotel.”

  He leaned in close and said, “It’s late for a beautiful woman such as yourself to be walking the French Quarter streets alone. We know what happened the last time you did that.”

  Pleased with the progress she was making, she asked, “So what are we going to do about it?”

  “It will be my pleasure to walk you back.” He got up from the stool and extended his arm.

  Beaming from ear to ear, she took his arm. “Thank you, Tristan, I’d like that.”

  NADIA OPENED THE DOOR to Quinn’s home office to find him at his desk online ordering alcohol for the bar.

  “Daddy. I thought you should know I walked Riley to Midnight Oasis. She’s probably talking to Tristan now.”

  He looked up from his screen and said, “I hope it goes well. By the way, you and Riley seem to be getting chummy.”

  She frowned and said, “Why shouldn’t we? Riley is vampire friendly and cool. I like her. Why? Is there a problem?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I would be more comfortable if you would pick your friends from people I haven’t slept with.”

  Nadia laughed and said, “If I did that, I wouldn’t have any friends. It’s not Riley’s fault you and your wife used bad judgment.”

  He held up his hands and said, “No argument. You’re right about that, my dark little princess.”

  “Well, you should let it be a lesson to you. Always know who you’re with. Get the full name, a little info about who they are and what they do. You should have learned that years ago.”

  “Thank you, Mommy. I know. I can’t argue with that. You’re absolutely right.”

  She laughed and said, “I know I’m right. Oh! Riley and her parents invited me to go on a vampire tour with them tomorrow night. I think I’m going to go just for the fun of it.”

  He looked at her and laughed. “A vampire on a vampire tour. I’d love to be a fly on the wall.”

  7

  MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND

  REAL VAMPIRES

  Nadia made her way to the Vieux Carre via air and touched ground on the sidewalk in front of Devereaux’s Fine Art on Royal Street too fast for the human eye to grasp. Nobody on the street even noticed she appeared out of nowhere.

  She opened the door and saw Chad and her mother behind the counter. She waved and said, “Hey, Honey. Hey, Mom.”

  Chad met her with a big smile and greeted her with a hug and a kiss. “Hello, sleepyhead. I didn’t want to wake you when I left.”

  Nadia laughed and said, “I married a smart man. Never wake a sleeping vampire.”

  “I was afraid I might have worn you out last night,” he said, pulling her closer.

  “Ah, baby, you could never wear me out.”

  “Ahem,” said Lacey with her hand over her mouth.

  They looked at her and smiled. “Sorry, Mom,” said Nadia.

  “Maybe I’ll just go take care of a couple of things in the back and let you two lovebirds be alone,” said Lacey walking away.

  They looked back at each other. “What’s on your agenda for tonight my hot little vampire?” asked Chad.

  She gave him a cat that swallowed the canary grin and said, “You’ll never guess.”

  He shook his head. “There’s no telling. Nothing would surprise me.”

  “This might. I’m going on a vampire tour with Riley and her parents. Wanna go?”

  He looked at her speechless and laughed. “No thanks. Tempting as it may sound, I think I’ll pass. Lacey opened this morning, so I’m going to stick around here until closing and let her go home. Besides, I get all the education I need on vampires at home.”

  “Yes, you do, and it’s accurate too. I can’t wait to see what kind of garbage these vampire tours are spewing.”

  “You’ll have to fill me in later. You and Riley are getting to be good friends.”

  “Yeah, she’s cool. I like her. She reminds me a lot of me before I joined the vampire club.”

  “Uh, Oh, there’s two of you. We’re in trouble.”

  She laughed and said, “Shut up, Chad,” playfully slapping his butt. “You love it, and you know it.”

  “I do, especially when you slap my butt. Have fun tonight.” He winked and said, “Just save some energy for me later.”

  “Um, I’ll have all the energy you need. I’ll be home around midnight.” Their lips met in a sweet kiss. She turned and left with a smile.

  It was such a beautiful night; she decided to travel the mortal way and walk. She strolled past the art galleries and quaint shops on Royal Street.

  A street musician entertained the passersby on the corner of Royal and St. Louis with his guitar and vocals. What’s not to love about New Orleans, she thought. Even our street musicians sound fabulous. She pulled a five dollar bill from her purse and stuffed it in his tip jar. He smiled and nodded a thank you. She nodded with a smile and turned the corner.

  Mortals shuffled about on the sidewalk on their way out for dinner or cocktails at the numerous restaurants
and bars. She found it amusing the way human males gawked at her as she strutted past them. She made her way down the block to Bourbon and turned.

  Her first stop would be Vampyr for a quick drink. She passed the nightclubs and dive bars taking in the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street. Exotic dancers stood in the doorways of the strip clubs attempting to lure the gentlemen. The sounds of different genres of music from jazz to blues, to rock, to Cajun zydeco, filled the air. Tourists scrambled in the various souvenir and Voodoo shops carrying their plastic cups filled with alcoholic beverages. A cast of characters walked the pedestrian walkway that made vampires look normal. She passed Chewbacca the Wookie, a mime vampire, break dancers performing in the middle of the street for tips, and a scantily clad bridal party.

  She reached her destination and entered through the courtyard entrance. She noticed Randi behind the bar filling in for the bartender. Nadia got her attention and smiled. “Blood time. I’m famished.”

  Randi brought her a glass of freshly delivered top shelf blood. Not her favorite, but it would do in a rush. She drank it while it was still warm. She felt a finger poking her and turned around.

  “Good evening,” said Quinn. “I’m surprised to see you drinking from the bar. Was there nobody in the alley to prey on?”

  She brushed through her hair and pulled it over her shoulders. “I didn’t look. I’m kind of in a hurry. Remember, I’m going on that vampire tour with Riley and her parents.”

  “That’s right. That should be interesting. You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait to get the mortal perspective of vampires. Well, I should be on my way. I don’t want to keep my friends waiting. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  Nadia made her way down Bourbon Street and spotted her new friends. Jeff, Laurie, and Riley were waiting for her among a group of mortals in front of Jean Lafitte’s Absinthe Bar looking like tourists in shorts and sandals; appropriate attire for the New Orleans August heat and humidity. Nadia blended in with her short shorts and tank top. The only thing that stood out was the four-inch platform wedgies on her feet.