Stake Me Out to the Ball Game Read online

  For just a moment, my body crossed its signals. My lips ached to kiss him at the same time my fangs tried to express themselves. My damaged tooth howled in protest.

  I’d been a vampire for over thirty years. I’d pretty much mastered every one of my body’s needs. I could go without feeding for weeks if that’s what the circumstances required. I could fight my daily compulsion to sleep if I was sheltered from the sun’s burning rays. I could eat human food and drink human beverages if consumption preserved my secret existence.

  But this was the first time in decades that I’d felt the frisson of lust.

  Not just lust, though. Long ago, I’d locked away that untidy physical response—as easily as I’d managed everything else about this imperial body.

  I was attracted to more than Dennis’s human body, his male body. I was attracted to the person he was—smart, articulate, brave, funny. We’d only known each other for a couple of hours, but I liked everything about him. There was a sparkling attraction there. Something honest. Something true.

  But it could never last.

  Not if he’d already named me a vampire. I had to take steps to protect myself, to preserve the entire Eastern Empire against detection by mundanes.

  But first…

  I turned my head enough to brush my lips across the heat of Dennis’s palm. I touched the tip of my tongue to his lifeline.

  He tasted so alive, so real, so perfect that I had to have more. “Dennis,” I whispered.

  “Just tell me the truth,” he said.

  I slipped my hand around the back of his neck. “I will,” I said.

  But first, I wanted one kiss. I needed one kiss. I needed to remember how it felt to be a woman attracted to a man, to embrace my true heart’s desire.

  I should have known Dennis would kiss like a dream.

  I could tell you all the details—his lips, his tongue, the sweet taste of his breath. But none of that would make you understand the song that rose within me, the hope for a future, the longing, the dream. For one perfect moment, I stood outside time, outside my body, outside all the truths I knew and understood and lived.

  “Ava,” he whispered, when he finally pulled away. That was when I knew he’d felt it too, the potential, the possibility for us to share so much more. “Just tell me…”

  I sat back in my stadium seat. Washington needed a nine-run rally in the bottom of the ninth. The park was nearly empty.

  “I will,” I said to Dennis, touching my finger to his lips. “But I need a drink before I can do that.”

  His expression was woven out of equal parts of fear and anticipation and excitement. Because he’d clearly been as blown away by that kiss as I’d been. He’d felt the same things I had, the potential for more—so…much…more.

  I reached inside my bag, shoving aside my abandoned scorebook. My fingers closed around the familiar flask at the bottom.

  Lethe.

  My fingers shook as I twisted the cap off the chased metal flask. I glanced around, but no one was paying attention to the two crazy Oakland fans still watching the tail end of Washington’s first home loss of the season.

  “To the truth,” I said, raising the flask to my own lips.

  I didn’t drink. I didn’t need to. The cinnamon-scented liquid inside would have no effect on my metabolism. But it would comfort Dennis if he saw me drink before I offered the Lethe to him. I faked a deep gulp.

  I passed him the container. He gave me a quizzical smile, but he was a brave man. I already knew that.

  “To the truth,” he said, and then he took a healthy swig.

  Before he could swallow, I touched the center of his forehead. “Be mine,” I whispered.

  And he was.

  It only took a moment to shift his memories. To make him forget our entire conversation.

  I let him remember the encounter with Josh and Bri. He had to have some reason to have set aside scoring the game.

  But I sent him on his way before he could question the serendipity of a Reggie Jackson fan seated next to him, before he could launch a new conversation, a clean start. I watched him slip onto the concourse, heading home, drifting back to his normal, human life.

  I was devastated.

  Washington made its final out. The announcer delivered the wrap-up statistics about the game. Elated Philadelphia fans jeered their rivals.

  I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Until that night, I’d never fully realized what I’d lost by becoming a vampire. I’d never realized how much I missed real companionship, camaraderie. Physical touch. Not just any touch, though. Dennis’s touch. The man was special.

  Park staff converged on the seats, giant push brooms in hand, already preparing the stadium for the next night’s game

  The man was gone. I’d sent him away, because that was what I had to do. I was a vampire. I’d had no choice.

  I trudged down the stairs, making my way home to my lonely apartment.

  Dennis’s kiss had driven away the ache in my fang. With every step of my trip home, though, the pain swooped back, a white-hot blade sawing down my spine.

  Once I was home, I locked my door, wishing I’d never ventured out for the night.

  The next night, I arrived at my dentist appointment fifteen minutes early. The bored receptionist took my insurance card and gave me a stack of papers to complete. Empire Dental was emblazoned across the top of every page. The dentist’s office was part of the specialized medical system created to treat all of us imperials. We were safe here. No Lethe was necessary.

  A lump of self-hatred still burned inside my belly, its heat rising and falling, like a seismograph showing the aftershocks of an earthquake. Even though I knew I’d had no choice, I hated what I’d done to Dennis. What I’d done to myself.

  “Ms. Buchanan?” A door opened beside the receptionist’s desk, and a perky young ifrit invited me into an examining room. Once there, she tilted me back to an uncomfortably vulnerable position and clipped a blue bib around my neck. I tried not to jump when she tore open a packet of sterilized instruments and let them clatter onto a steel tray. “Just sit back and try to relax,” she said. “The dentist will be with you in a moment.”

  I rested my head against the padded chair and closed my eyes. Between the pain in my tooth and my regret about Dennis, I hadn’t slept well the day before.

  “Ms. Buchanan, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” The voice was too familiar—strong and even, warm as fresh blood, without a hint of accent. “I’m Dr. Maugham, and I’ll be taking care of you today. You’ve got a fang that’s acting up?”

  “Dennis!” I sat upright, swinging my legs over the side of the elevated chair.

  “That’s right,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. He looked confused. “Dennis Maugham. Have we met before? I’m usually good with faces.”

  “Y— You’re human.”

  He recovered easily when I didn’t shake his hand, turning instead to the manila folder that held my patient file. “That’s right,” he said, his voice still cast in a soothing register. “I understand that can be a challenge for some imperials to accept. But I assure you, I’m Empire-approved.”

  “But you’re human,” I repeated, like that was the only phrase I’d ever learned in English.

  “I graduated first in my class at Michigan. Uncle Sam paid my way so I could help soldiers in the army.”

  He smiled easily, the same killer smile that had reeled me in the night before. He continued to talk, that soothing patter that I suspected was designed to put an anxious patient at ease. He’d done an internship, a residency, programs that would be closed to imperials but were open to the most qualified of humans. The Empire had tracked him down after his honorable discharge from the army. He was sworn to secrecy. Magically bound not to reveal the existence of supernatural creatures in the heart of Washington DC.

  Dennis Maugham knew about us. Knew about vampires. That’s how he’d connected the dots, why he hadn’t been afraid of me, even when we’d kissed.

  I didn’t need to dose him with Lethe. I didn’t need to erase our perfect night.

  “Ms. Buchanan?” Dennis asked. “Do you have any questions before we begin?”

  I did. I wanted to know if he’d rather climb a Mayan pyramid or visit the Louvre. If he’d rather build his own house or build his own car. If he’d rather spent a month without his phone or live for a month without taking a shower.

  I settled into my chair, though, forcing my fingers not to clutch the leather armrests. “Not right now, Dr. Maugham.”

  But I was already figuring out how to ask the most important question of all: Would Dennis Maugham like to go to a baseball game with a patient?

  Make that “ex-patient.”

  Because as soon as my fang was restored to normal, I was leaving Dr. Maugham’s practice. A good dentist might be worth his weight in gold.

  But finding my heart’s desire?

  Priceless.

  Thank You

  I can’t thank you enough for choosing “Stake Me Out to the Ball Game” from among all the cozy paranormal stories out there! Without readers like you, I would never have my writing career.

  I’d love to keep in touch with you. Please sign up for my newsletter, Virtual Cocktails. It features five “ingredients” in every issue—everything from book giveaways to deleted scenes to announcements of new books. And I always include at least one thing that made me laugh out loud in the previous month! Of course, I promise to never, ever, ever sell your email address to anyone else.

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  www.mindyklasky.com

  [email protected]

  More Magical Washington

  Ava and Dennis have discovered their hearts’ desires. But plenty of other folks in the Eastern Empire—in Magical Washington DC—have stories left to tell!

  Fright Court

  Sarah Anderson found her dream job: Clerk of Court for the District of Columbia Night Court. But after she’s attacked by a supernatural defendant, she’s forced to take self-defense lessons from her boss, the enigmatic vampire James Morton. When a deceptively easy-going reporter starts to ask questions, Sarah wonders just what answers she’s supposed to give. Will Sarah be able to create order in the court?

  Buy Fright Court today!

  Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft

  Jane Madison has a problem. Or two. Or three. She’s working as a librarian, trapped in a job that can’t pay what she’s worth. She has a desperate crush on her Imaginary Boyfriend. Her grandmother wants to reunite her with her long-absent mother. And then, she finds out she’s a witch! Will magic solve Jane’s problems? Or only bring her more disasters?

  Buy Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft today!

  Also by Mindy Klasky

  You can always find an up-to-date list of Mindy’s books on her website.

  A Mindy Klasky Sampler (a free sampler containing the first chapters of 24 books)

  The Harmony Springs Series

  Harmony Christmas

  Harmony Hearts

  Harmony Hero

  Three Part Harmony (a boxed set containing Harmony Christmas, Harmony Hearts, and Harmony Hero)

  The Diamond Brides Series

  Perfect Pitch

  Catching Hell

  Reaching First

  Triple Play I (a boxed set containing Perfect Pitch, Catching Hell, and Reaching First)

  Second Thoughts

  Third Degree

  Stopping Short

  Triple Play II (a boxed set containing Second Thoughts, Third Degree, and Stopping Short)

  From Left Field

  Center Stage

  Always Right

  Triple Play III (a boxed set containing From Left Field, Center Stage, Always Right)

  Grand Slam (a boxed set containing the complete Diamond Brides Series)

  Harlequin Special Editions

  The Daddy Dance

  The Mogul’s Maybe Marriage

  The Washington Witches Series (Magical Washington)

  Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft

  Sorcery and the Single Girl

  Magic and the Modern Girl

  The Washington Witches Series, Volumes 1-3 (a boxed set containing Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft, Sorcery and the Single Girl, and Magic and the Modern Girl)

  Capitol Magic (a cross-over with the Washington Vampires Series)

  Single Witch’s Survival Guide

  Joy of Witchcraft

  “Dreaming of a Witch Christmas” (a Yule short story)

  Nice Witches Don’t Swear (a crossover with the Magic and Mayhem Kindle World, available only on Amazon in the US)

  The Washington Vampires Series (Magical Washington)

  Fright Court

  Law and Murder

  Capitol Magic (a cross-over with the Washington Witches Series)

  “Stake Me Out to the Ball Game” (a short story published as part of the Uncollected Anthology)

  Magic Times Two (Fright Court released in a two-for-one book duo with a novel by Deborah Blake)

  The Washington Warders Series (Magical Washington)

  The Library, the Witch, and the Warder

  The As You Wish Series

  “Wishful Thinking”

  Act One, Wish One

  Wishing in the Wings

  Wish Upon a Star

  The As You Wish Series (a boxed set containing Act One, Wish One, Wishing in the Wings, and Wish Upon a Star)

  The Glasswrights Series

  The Glasswrights’ Apprentice

  The Glasswrights’ Progress

  The Glasswrights’ Journeyman

  The Glasswrights’ Test

  The Glasswrights’ Master

  The Glasswrights Series (a boxed set containing The Glasswrights’ Apprentice, The Glasswrights’ Progress, The Glasswrights’ Journeyman, The Glasswrights’ Test, and The Glasswrights’ Master)

  The Darkbeast Chronicles

  Rebel Flight

  Rebel Lost

  Stand-Alone Book

  Season of Sacrifice

  Non-Fiction

  The Rational Writer: Nuts and Bolts

  The Rational Writer: A to Z

  Edited by Mindy Klasky

  Nevertheless, She Persisted

  About the Author

  Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice.

  Mindy’s travels took her through multiple careers—from litigator to librarian to full-time writer. Mindy’s travels have also taken her through various literary genres, including cozy paranormal, hot contemporary romance, and traditional fantasy. She is a USA Today bestselling author, and she has received the Career Achievement Award from the Washington Romance Writers.

  In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her endless to-be-read shelf. Her husband and cats do their best to fill the left-over minutes.

  Tap or click the image above to Join Mindy’s Virtual Cocktail Party, and you’ll be the first to know the next time she has cool stuff to give away and hot news to share. (Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time!)

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  Tap or click the image above to visit Fun Magic Books, where you can find your next magical read—more than 500 books to choose from! You can browse by genre (witches, vampires, shifters, and more!), by author, and by series.

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  Copyright © 2018 by Mindy Klasky

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Discover other titles by Mindy Klasky at www.mindyklasky.com

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  Mindy Klasky, Stake Me Out to the Ball Game

 

 

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