Don't Drink the Holy Water Read Online Free PDF Page A

hurt you. I’m lost too.” He hoped that tactic worked.
    He didn’t receive an answer, and West slowed even more. “I’m West. I got lost out here, separated from the group I was camping with. Maybe we can find our way back to civilization together. Seriously, are you hurt?” He stopped a couple of feet away. This close, and without bat vision, he could see the nice shape of the man. He got his mind back on track. “Can I help you get up?”
    Still no answer.
    West slowly extended one arm. “I’m going to touch you, okay? Just on your shoulder. I won’t hurt you. I need to see if we can get you to your feet.”
    Before he could do so, the stranger rolled again, this time away from West, and he came up onto his knees, a wild look in his eyes.
    It would be West’s luck that he’d be stunningly handsome, and crazy as all get out. Understandable, too, because the human mind—and vamp one, as far as West could tell—could only hold so much shock.
    “Hey,” West said softly. “I know how you feel. I’ve recently had a huge shock myself.” That was probably not what Claude would have wanted him to say. It was too close to admitting that there were zombies hanging around, or could be construed as such. He tried to cover the near-admission. “I almost died, and now here I am, lost.” He felt bad for lying, but he was lost in a way. He didn’t know where he was in the desert. Without Claude’s help, he probably wouldn’t be able to get back to the house.
    The man licked his lips and finally let go of his throat. He darted a glance up at the sky, then over his shoulder before looking at West again. “Zombies,” he rasped, his voice rougher than the sand.
    West opened his mouth to deny their existence, but the lie stuck in his throat.
    “Zombies, bats,” the man said.
    “I’m not either of those things,” West felt compelled to clarify.
    “Monsters.”
    He averted his gaze. How could he deny that one?
    “I saw monsters. Gotta go, but my ankle…”
    West felt like the worst kind of scum of the Earth when he forced his gaze to the man’s. “I’ll help you.” He might be a monster, but he had a conscience. “Let me help you, okay?”
    After a tense couple of moments, he got a nod.
    “What’s your name?” West asked.
    “Ro— Axel.”
    West almost asked which it was. He refrained, not wanting to freak Ro-Axel out. “Well, okay, Axel. I’m going to come over there and put an arm around your waist. We’ll get you up, then you can move.”
    Axel held up a hand at West. It took him two attempts to speak again. “How do I know you aren’t a zombie?”
    West spread his arms out and wiggled his fingers. “I don’t know anything about zombies except for what I’ve seen on TV. I don’t have any rotting parts, and I don’t want to eat brains or any other parts of you. I can…” There went his cheeks, flushing hot again. “If you need me to, I could take off my clothes so you can see that it’s all there.”
    To his surprise, Axel gave him a slow, not impersonal look from head to toe. He seemed to spend an extra second or two eyeing West’s groin area.
    That eager part of him tried really hard to stand up and get noticed. West only had to remember what had happened the last time he’d been horny to put a stop to that reaction.
    Axel looked over his shoulder again before facing West. “Okay. Strip.”
    West felt his mouth drop open for a second time that night. “Seriously? I’m…I’m…” He forced himself to stop acting like a scared virgin and instead reached for the hem of his T-shirt.
    Axel was scared, and rightfully so, since he’d seen zombies. Reassuring him wasn’t a sexual thing. It was a kind thing to do.
    West put his discomfort aside and pulled his shirt off. He felt bony and awkward standing there, and his nipples puckered with his nervousness.
    He didn’t mean to gulp, it just happened. West forced himself to grab the waistband of his pants. He could do this.
    “Stop,”