Sex Shifters and a Vampire: An Unlikely Christmas Match

ADDISON
AVERY

Copyright © 2010

Chapter One

The phone rang out with an annoying cymbal-like clang. “Somebody answer the blasted phone!” Conrad grumbled, rolling over to snatch the receiver when he realized he was the only
someone
available.

“Hello!” he sang, coming out of a deep sleep and irritated by the fact.

“Conrad?”

“Yes, yes. This is Conrad. Who’s this?”

“This is Kim Bellows. Your neighbor, Dave Pierson, told me to give you a call.”

Conrad glared at the bedside clock. He wondered if Dave told Miss Bellows to phone him at four in the morning. Contrary to popular belief, all vampires weren’t night owls.

“What can I do for you, Miss Bellows?”

“Call me Kim, please,” the husky voice rasped, leaving cause for Conrad to wonder if he was talking to a he or a she. Perhaps he only imagined the sultry tone of a woman because he’d been dreaming of one and he’d been without a lady for quite a while, too. Maybe he looked for delicious illusions wherever he could find them.

“Dave tells me you have a horse for sale.”

“I have several,” Conrad corrected. “They’re all for sale.” And he should’ve told Kim then and there that he seldom traded much of anything—outside of blood—after ten in the evening.

“I need one.”

“Now?” Conrad asked, half-sitting.

“Yes, the sooner the better.”

If someone had such an urgent need for a horse in the middle of the night, Conrad wondered what else they might have in mind.

His gums swelled, and his incisors dropped. Easy, he thought, harnessing his natural vampire instincts. What was the point in jumping to conclusions? Several months had passed since an enchanting, passionate female with an insatiable appetite had thrown herself at him. He expected to wait another few more before he indulged in such a pleasure again.

His mouth watered, and he savored a fading memory. The last mortal woman he took to his bed was as hungry for a vampire’s bite as he was to feed. With any luck, maybe Kim was anxious, too.

“Are you there?” Kim asked, jerking him from his fantasies.

To hell with manners. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, Conrad, I do. But I assumed…well, I thought you kept late hours.”

Miss Bellows and half the town had that in common. Undoubtedly, Kim was mortal.

“You assumed incorrectly,” he spat, suddenly apprehensive about inviting a stranger to his home in the early morning hours.

Rumors had been circulating faster than ever before. Someone he’d first met when he moved to the area some fifty years ago finally noticed he failed to age. Conrad had been trying to accept the unavoidable facts.
Gray
,
Tennessee
, would soon become a distant memory.

Conrad needed to move on before warranted suspicions became impossible to explain. He planned on staying in Gray until after the holidays, hoping to enjoy one more Christmas in the mountains, but the handwriting was on the wall. Soon he would look for another place to call home.

Conrad wasn’t ready to leave. He loved the
East Tennessee
town, and he really enjoyed his private ranch, a haven tucked behind a large forest complete with plenty of timber, a fresh stream, and two large ponds.

“What kind of horse do you want, Miss Bellows?” Conrad asked after a long silence.

“I need your best stud,” she replied, sounding more masculine than feminine for a second time. “I want a stallion with stamina, one that can provide its rider with a challenge. I’d like to find one that doesn’t get overly worked up in the middle of a buck or two and hope to find a stud that’s well-hung, for breeding purposes, of course.”

Did she want to ride the blasted thing or fuck it?

Situating things in his snug pajama pants, Conrad cursed his cock for paying too much attention to a private conversation that didn’t concern his penis whatsoever. He needed to search out a woman so he wouldn’t be raring to go before the rooster crowed.

“So what do you say? Do you have something to suit my needs?”

Conrad eyed his erection. Sure, he had something in mind for Miss Bellows. “You’ll be just in time for breakfast.”

“Wonderful,” Kim purred. “I love a hospitable Southern vampire.”

Conrad let the vampire comment slide. He’d been getting those more and more, and he never knew how to respond. “Might as well come on over. I’m up now,” he grumbled, looking at his tented pants again. “In more ways than one.”

“What’s that?” she asked, giggling.

“I have more than one animal to show you. Come on over. I’ll let ya see what I’ve got.”

“Fabulous! I’m looking forward to meeting you. I’ll see you in a few.”

Before Conrad gave her directions, she hung up the phone. When he replaced the receiver, he rolled to his side, all the more aware of his morning male problem. At least he always figured out a way to solve his own dilemmas.

Conrad reached between his legs and wrapped his hand around his throbbing penis. Three tugs into a hand-job, he exploded. Man, he typically wasn’t that good at arousing himself.

He closed his eyes and imagined a lovely woman behind the mysterious, honey-coated, raspy voice. He pictured her body more than her face—full breasts, curves fit for a man to explore, and an ass virgin-tight and ready to fuck.

“Ah, yes,” he groaned, yanking his wide cock until he came again. When his release spilled over his knobby knuckles and long fingers, he sighed. If Kim Bellows wanted a stallion, he’d gladly stand at stud, but first, he might indulge in a taste of her iron-enriched blood.

* * * *

Less than thirty minutes later, Conrad swung the door open. There on his front porch was quite possibly the most confident looking cowboy he’d ever seen. He was dressed in a bright red, short sleeve button-down—odd given the winter season—dark denim jeans, and shiny olive-tone snakeskin boots. He wore a dark cowboy hat pulled low over his forehead and casually tilted the wide brim in a polite gesture when he said, “I believe you’re expecting me.”

The cowboy lifted his hat and his gaze simultaneously. Conrad was taken aback by dazzling sapphire eyes, mesmerized by the deep color of blue and stunned to find a man so appealing. “Tell me you aren’t Kim Bellows.”

“Is there a problem?” he asked, extending his hand.

“No, I was just…” Wondering why he’d taken his own palm to his cock while imagining Kim Bellows as a sexy young woman capable of pleasuring a man for hours and hours. “Never mind,” he mumbled, shaking his hand. “I’m Conrad Cleveland. You’re in the horse trading business?”

“Not really,” Kim replied. “But like I explained on the phone, I need a capable stallion. I’m in the market.”

Grabbing his winter coat from a nearby ladder-back chair, Conrad walked outside and pointed toward a dimly lit cobblestone path. Before they started down the narrow tree-lined trail, Conrad said, “Stud horse won’t do you much good without a worthy mare.”

Kim smiled, flashing big dimples and a cleft chin more noticeable with the spreading grin. “You might say that’s already been taken care of.”

Conrad strolled down the walkway. “Sounds fine, but just wanted you to know everything I have is up for sale. If you’re looking to throw some color, I’ve got a beautiful paint horse. He’s one of a kind.”

“Is he
stout
?”

Conrad stopped in his tracks, thinking to himself he’d never met a horse trader so unusually interested in breeding abilities. “I beg your pardon?”

“I’m looking for an aggressive stud, if you understand what I’m saying,” Kim explained. “In my experience, the more physically developed a horse is, the more enthusiastic they are when the adrenaline kicks in. They’re more excited about breeding.”

Conrad couldn’t say he’d ever heard of such a theory. Maybe he should go with his earlier assumption.

This guy planned on screwing the damn thing.

“I explained what I need on the phone.”

Yeah, Conrad remembered. He recalled how out of sorts he’d gotten, too, anticipating the arrival of one red-hot seductress.

The cowboy’s eyes sparkled like a new quarter, turning more platinum than blue, and Conrad focused on the shaded change of color. “Now that’s odd,” he muttered, unable to turn away.

The stranger’s gaze started at Conrad’s dusty boots and worked him over like a rancher waiting to brand a worthy bull. Kim studied Conrad like he might consider the vampire intimidating or dangerous, but that didn’t stop the peculiar cowboy from giving him another once-over all the same.

“Have we met before?” Conrad asked, thinking there was something slightly familiar about Mr. Bellows.
 

“No,” Kim replied, moistening his lips. “And that’s been my loss.”

Conrad’s fangs threatened to break free. One of his teeth formed the elongated point, the incisor slicing through his lip when he bit back a snarl. Conrad didn’t feel the alarming need for self-preservation, so there was only one explanation. His fangs dropped for another reason altogether. He was excited by this stranger—a man he’d just met and a man at that!

“I’m surprised our paths have never crossed, this being a small town and all,” Conrad remarked, agitated by how he responded to Kim. He continued toward the stable, convinced he was in the presence of a supernatural creature much like himself.

Conrad entered the large barn and headed down the center aisle, kicking at the sawdust as he walked. He found the breaker box quickly and used his balled fist to hit the brass lever and throw the main switch. The recognizable ear-piercing whistling sound of a generator hummed through the barn as the lights flashed overhead burning bright enough to light up the place for miles around.

“Let me show you that paint horse,” Conrad suggested, grabbing a halter and leather lead from a large metal hook.

“Sounds good,” Kim said, following him.

A few seconds later, Conrad had the feeling he was walking alone. When he didn’t hear footsteps behind him, he whipped around. Standing in front of the first stall, a beautiful woman struck a pose with her hip cocked and her hand placed in the curve of her small waist. By her profile, the woman could’ve easily passed as the cowboy’s sister, only she stood about five foot four or so, much shorter than Conrad’s original guest.

She reached between the metal bars encasing the first horse stall and stroked the head of a chestnut mare. “Easy, girl,” she purred.

“What the hell?”

The stranger giggled, stopped focusing on the horse, and pursued him instead.

Her eyes were as brilliant as the blue-fire glow found in expensive chandeliers. Extending her hand, she introduced herself, “I’m
Kimberly
Bellows.”

Conrad glanced over the woman’s shoulder. Had he been dreaming earlier? Did he imagine a man when he first met his guest at the door, and if so, why? He rubbed his chin and eyed the sensational creature in front of him.

He really should’ve taken time out for a cup of coffee. Vampires his age needed their rest, and when they didn’t get a little shut-eye, they typically relied on caffeine just like the humans.

“Are you okay?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Her voice sounded familiar. Perhaps she was the female caller who’d awakened him earlier. “Kimberly Bellows, is it?”

“That’s right,” she replied, leaving her hand out until he took her palm in his and drew her fingers to his lips. That was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Immediately, a searing bolt of electricity zipped up his arm like he’d been struck by a bolt of unforgiving lightning. Conrad gasped. “Oh, fuck me into a cowboy’s hell.”

Kimberly touched his cheek. “Now, Conrad, don’t act surprised. You knew I’d eventually come for you.”

Conrad backed away from her outstretched arm, barely able to escape after he tripped over a few bales of hay. He paced the length of the barn, running his hand through his thick hair. “I’ve lived a simple man’s life, doing good deeds for my neighbors. I stayed away from our kind and hoped by doing that, I’d be overlooked when the time came for matches and mates.”

“Now, now, Conrad. Don’t be a spoilsport. You can’t live multiple lifetimes without a mate. You know that.”

He studied her, resisting the instinctual urge to flat out run the other way. Maybe the good-looking gal had a point, but who cared? “What I like about my life is that it’s safe, not to mention predictable.” Besides, he’d heard horrifying tales. Vampires were often left forever changed after their affiliation with sex shifters.

“Conrad?” she began, moistening her lips. “Aren’t you going to kiss me hello?”

No way in hell. He planned on defying this matchup. She just needed to sit tight and give him a few minutes so he could figure out how.

Before Conrad gained the opportunity to fully process what was happening, Kimberly Bellows, the lovely, buxom blonde with dainty features became all man again, shifting right in front of Conrad’s very eyes. The cowboy with chiseled cheeks, a bow-shaped mouth, and narrow nose developed from a short, petite little thing into a hard-core man.