Coffee at Midnight

By C.M. Morton

My name is Andrea James.

Bartender and single 20 something in the Big Apple.

A dark night and a wrong turn in New York City very rarely ends well. In my case an attack is narrowly escaped after a rescue from a tall, dark and handsome stranger. He's strong. He's charming. He's gorgeous. The problem? He says he's a vampire.

Is identifying as a vampire a deal breaker? I can't decide but he keeps showing up in my life and I can't seem to get him out of my mind.

To add to my suddenly much more exciting life I seem to have attracted a small stalker.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.M. Morton
• Release date: Aug 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223507956

C.M. Morton

Courtney grew up in central Maine where she currently lives with her Fiancé John and their young son Ivan.  They have three dogs and an off-grid homestead where the hobby farm. Despite having a culinary degree Courtney is a full-time stay at home mom and considers it the best job she’s ever had. She writes sporadically between her little man’s snacks and naps. With a wide range of interests she considers herself a redneck nerd and has several half-finished works waiting for her attention.  Courtney hopes to keep pursuing her writing for many years to come.

Book preview

Coffee at Midnight

Chapter 1

My name is Andrea James . I'm twenty-four years old and work as a bar tender at a club in one of the less seedy parts of the big apple. It's a cool place to work. The outside is simple, unimpressive red brick but it's awesome on the inside; blue neon and black lights make the whole place look insanely cool.

I pulled my bag up higher on my shoulder and looked around. It was dark and well after midnight but that’s something I’m used to. Working as a bartender I’m more or less nocturnal these days.

I was in some back alley of New York City as I make the trek home from another night of gainful employment. I blinked, pausing to really look at my surroundings and realized I have no freaking idea where I am. That’s what I get for playing on my phone.

I really should have gotten a cab home but nooo, I decided to save up to pay my rent instead. Seriously, city living isn’t cheap.

Tips were good tonight, I could have swung for a cab. I had decided to wear my favorite pair of faded hip hugger jean, a fashionably tattered white tank top, and my two inch heeled ankle boots. I’ve always loved the solid thudding sound they make against the damp pavement as I walked.

I really don't think it rains while I work every night; the pavement just always seemed to be wet in the wee hours of the morning when I get off my shift—go figure.

Heading home from work usually isn’t a complicated thing, but as I didn't recognize any of the buildings around me I realized I’ve made a wrong turn somewhere while scrolling social media. 

That's this isn’t good. What the hell Andrea? I've been living in this city for three years and I'm still getting lost on my way home. Ok, so to be fair with myself. I just changed jobs few weeks ago and I get turned around at night. It's a wonder I haven't been robbed or worse by some gangster wannabe. Or like...a legit gang guy...gang member? Gangs are probably equal opportunity now, right?

I was playing with the idea of turning around, you know, to retrace my steps and find out where I'd gone wrong. At the moment I decided to do it, I heard the scuff of feet behind me. It was probably no one to be worried about, but just in case I kept going forward. No sense asking for trouble.

The feet got closer behind me and I quickened my pace. Where was I? How far was I from the safety that was my apartment? Ok stay calm, no need to get panicky, I told myself taking a breath.

I walked past an open doorway. Two guys were leaning against the doorframe. Both looked dirty, and both had multiple piercings. One had a cigarette in his mouth and the other grinned at me when I made the mistake of making eye contact. He stepped forward into my path and my steps faltered, my brain was screaming run but my legs must have gone on break because they weren't moving.

Hey, chicky. You lost? the non-cigarette guy said to me in a wave of possibly the worst breath in the planet.

I really didn't like the leer on his face or the smell coming off him. Damn . . . he really was giving off some serious mugger vibes. It was at that moment to I felt the traitorous buzz in my pocket of my phone turning off. I knew the battery was dead, it was the reason I’d looked up to see how far I was from home.

No, I'm just taking a shortcut home tonight. Not the most impressive lie but give me a break; I'm a little jittery at the moment. I glanced behind me, looking for the source to the feet I’d heard before but there was nobody there. Odd, I could have sworn there had been a guy behind me while I'd been walking. The guy with the cigarette grabbed my bag, literally jerking me back to the more pressing matter at hand.

Hey! I snapped at him, yanking it back.

A third guy came into my line of vision from the other side. Not good; this was an alley! Where the hell did a third guy come from? I really have to start being more aware of my surroundings.

This one looked very T.V Italian with his dark hair slicked back and a silver jacket on that was straight out of the 60s.

Well, well . . . what do we have here? the Italian asked as he touched my cheek. I jerked away from him, putting the brick wall at my back. If a look could kill, they'd all be dead right now . . . along with a lot of other people I'd glared at since I'd move to this city; but looks can't kill so I'm in trouble.

Don't touch me, I snapped at him but my voice was weaker than I would have liked it to be. The silver jacket guy flashed a grin at me that was far from friendly and put his hands on either side of my shoulders, pinning me to the wall. In the back of my mind flashed a mental image of Batman swinging to my rescue. Now's not the time of super hero fantasies, I scold myself, tensing my muscles and hoping to get in a nice solid knee to his groin.

The Italian leaned closer to me and smiled widely. I froze, and then I gasped. The dude had fangs! Like a freaking vampire! Now there are a lot of different kinds of people in the city. Many of them are mostly harmless and in fact some pretty fun individuals. This guy was not fun.

Holy s-shit, I breathed. I was scared, but less than I probably should have been. Maybe it was the shock. The guy laughed softly and leaned closer to whisper into my ear. You're going to taste excellent . . . A shiver ran up my spine as his breath stirred the hair by my ear. If I hadn't been so scared I would have questioned his choice of words; they were rather . . . cliché. Instead, all I could think was, Is this really happening? Is a vampire cosplayer really attacking me?

He grabbed my face and forced it sideways, exposing my neck. I tried to fight him off but he had his body pressed against mine and I couldn't move. I couldn’t even get my leg loose enough to knee the bastard. I felt his breath on my neck and squeezed my eyes shut. I was dead. And what was worse, I was going to die like I was in a bad Hollywood horror flick.

What's going on here? inquired a calm and much more pleasant voice. The breath left my neck and I cracked open one of my eyes in spite of myself. The silver jacket guy was looking at the newcomer.

The new guy was tall, with exotic facial features and a matching accent I couldn’t place in the moment. He was dressed in a skintight black tee tucked into dark blue jeans, and a long black leather jacket. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail and his posture was relaxed. Ok, so he wasn't Bruce Wayne, but he'd do.

We're just having a little fun here Reeve, silver guy told him but sounded nervous? Angry? Both? He suddenly seemed like a teenager getting caught in the act of doing something shitty.

The new guy, Reeve, raised an eyebrow, Really?

His gaze flicked over me and I froze. Not because he was giving me any kind of look but because this guy was completely detached from any kind of emotion while my attacker stood here very clearly intimidated by him.

This Reeve must be one scary guy.

Back off Reeve, she's mine. snapped the silver guy, defensively. Apparently, Silver thought there was more to Reeve's look than I did.

Reeve gave him a dark look. The Italian was in trouble.

No, Reeve said. This one belongs to me.

Then, in a movement too quick for me to follow, Reeve grabbed the silver guy and threw him into the opposite wall. He slumped down onto the pavement and after a second, he groaned. Reeve glared down at him for a moment. The other two had already disappeared.

Remember your place, Reeve growled down at him, then he turned to me and bowed his head gracefully. I had plastered myself to the wall and Reeve's complete change of character threw me for another loop. Reeve offered me his arm like a gentlemen out of an old movie.

Shall we? he asked, and for some unknown reason I took his arm, letting him lead me into the night.

Chapter 2

We turned two corners and the sounds of the city were getting steadily louder. Reeve was still leading me through the maze of streets. Where he was taking me I wasn't sure and I finally worked up the courage to ask.

Where are you taking me? I tried to keep my voice from shaking. I wasn't scared exactly, just on edge.

What were you doing down there? he asked me. Good question. I could tell him I was lost but that might not be the best idea.

I . . . I was taking a short cut home. Listen buddy, I appreciate the help back there but I'm not going to let you take me someplace so you can do whatever. I told