Braced to Bite by Serena Robar

food.
    “Not at all. You’re just not what I expected,” he surprised me by saying.
    “Who are you guys?” My eyes narrowed behind the dark frames.
    “We represent the Tribunal and are here to evaluate your new status.” Carl spoke up for the first time. He had a slight Spanish accent and I wondered if Carl was short for Carlos. Either way, it was pretty sexy.
    “And what status would that be?” I asked, feigning disinterest. It was the lamest line to check out a local religion I ever heard.
    “Your Undead status, of course,” Thomas said, gently pushing the door aside and brushing past me.
    It took a moment to get my wits together and by then it was too late. Both Carl and Thomas were seated on our uncomfortable green brocade couch, looking at me expectantly.
    I decided to gracefully collapse in the chair opposite them and blurt out, “How did you know that ?”
    Yes, I am so cool under pressure.
    “Miss Blanchard? May I call you Colby? Yes? Colby then, we are here to ascertain the circumstances surrounding your new status and deal with the situation accordingly.” Carl was very smooth but I didn’t like the way he said “deal with it.”
    “What do you want to know?” I asked suspiciously.
    “Everything,” Carl replied.
    “Hmmm, that’s a pretty tall order. I’ll make you a deal: I’ll tell you my story if you answer my questions. Sound fair?”
    “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, Colby. We ask the questions and you answer them.” Carl was perhaps the most arrogant hottie I’d ever met, but he had no idea who he was dealing with.
    I leaned forward, keeping eye contact with Carl. “Carl? May I call you Carl? You are in my house, uninvited I might add, so turn down the testosterone and turn up the charm because getting high-handed is the fastest road to getting nowhere with me there is.”
    I smiled pleasantly, sliding my sunglasses down my nose so he could see my eyes for good measure.
    “Where are your fangs?” Thomas said, surprising all of us.
    “Not showing, Thomas. Now, my turn. What is the Tribunal and are you two vampires?”
    They looked at each other. Then Carl opened his mouth to get all uppity again, but Thomas stopped him.
    “Colby, both Carl and I are vampires. The Tribunal is a clan of vampires who live in this area.”
    Now we were getting somewhere.
    “Great, how do I meet other vampires? What is the deal about sunlight, wooden stakes, holy water—”
    Thomas’s laughter interrupted me. “Colby, it’s my turn to ask you a question, remember?”
    I looked at both Thomas and Carl, who was now stewing in his juices.
    “Of course, Thomas, how rude of me. Please, ask your question.” I stuck my tongue out at Carl for good measure.
    Thomas coughed and I thought for sure he did it to cover more laughter. Carl was pretty sexy but it was Thomas who completely captured my attention.
    “What happened the night you became Undead?” I noticed he never used the word “vampire,” but maybe that was one of those rules I didn’t know about yet. Like being politically correct. No dear, you never call them vampires. They prefer the term “Undead.”
    “I was walking home after a game Friday night and some guy called my name and stopped me. He tried to kiss me but I told him no, then we struggled and he threw me down.” I was getting emotional again and took a steadying breath. “He bit my neck and I fought him, then he threw me in the ravine. I woke up two days later and here I am.”
    “That’s all that happened?” Carl asked.
    As hot as Carl was, he was ticking me off.
    “Not enough detail for you, Carl? Were you hoping for a little more”—I wiggled my eyebrows upward—“action?”
    Carl actually growled at me and rose so I jumped up as well. Thomas put a restraining hand on Carl’s forearm and we both slowly returned to our chairs.
    I had no idea what was getting into me. Carl was huge. I was the top of the cheer pyramid, for crying out loud. Did I really think