Ranch Men Book 1.
M/M, vampire, cowboys.
Aaron Whitman’s basic ranching life changed two hundred years ago when his father made him and his brothers vampires, and his mother cursed them all for his father's sin. They cannot leave the family ranch and they must drink from the longhorns that are their livelihood.
But a lot has changed since his mother’s original spell was cast. The blood of their cattle is barely sustaining them and the mining companies are closing in on their ranch.
Joshua Miers is a lawyer, hired by Ash Mining to acquire the Whitman’s farm. He soon realizes something is very strange about Aaron and becomes wrapped up in a world of paranormal survival and the love of a man who defies all common sense.
Will Josh help to save the Whitman brothers when a fire threatens all of their lives? Or will he choose the life he has always known and the job he has worked his whole life for?
“It’s full moon. I’ve put the cattle in the house yard for you, Aaron.”
Bill tapped his hat and headed out the front door once again, the man a true blessing on every front.
Full moon. Oh this could be interesting.
“The cattle?”
Aaron ran his hand through his hair and turned back towards the man he wanted to be his lover. He was now standing and shifting from foot to foot.
“Yes. I hadn’t told you much about the way we have to live yet. You know that our mother cursed us to only drink the blood of our bulls?”
Josh rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, you said something like that, although I still have a lot of questions about that.”
Aaron grinned at his lawyer. He’d be disappointed if Josh didn’t.
“Well, when we were first made, our thirst was intense and our control was very low. We killed the original bull that first night and some of the other cattle. After a few more nights of feeding we realized that we were about to lose our life source and quickly turned things around. We weaned ourselves to almost starvation and began a breeding program from the blood lines of the bull.”
Josh put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot against the hard wood floor.
“You say you can only drink cattle blood, but you keep biting me. What’s with that?”
Aaron waved his hand to dismiss the question. He had more important things to deal with, and that particular answer involved admitting something pretty colossal to his mate. “We can talk about that later. That’s something new. But I certainly don’t feed on you, do I?”
Josh shook his head. “No, it’s barely a drop … yeah, ok, I think I’m getting it. So now, two hundred years later, allegedly, you’re all still here. So what’s with the cattle?”
Aaron took a deep breath, he body singing with happiness since ingesting another taste of Josh’s blood. He needed to explain what was about to happen, yet he knew his human wasn’t going to like this. Josh’s distrust ate at him like a cancer, yet he pushed forward.
“Once a month we all take an older cow that is past its prime and drain it.”
Josh’s mouth formed an O, and he gasped.
“Why?”
Aaron growled at Josh, hating the accusation in his eyes. “You don’t know what it’s like, Josh, so don’t look at me with those eyes, please. You asked why, and I’ll give you the answer. Because living off reheated rations is hell. It’s bad enough that we have to live off animals, but not ever being able to feed properly is like being a human being fed through a food peg in the gut.”
Josh began to pace. Up and down, up and down. His hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.
David stepped into the room. “Brother, we’re all going out the back. You joining us?”
Aaron didn’t want to tell them that he’d just tasted Josh so he didn’t need to. He didn’t want to be separated from them yet, or make them feel like he’d abandoned them, so he just nodded at his brother. “Yes, I’ll be there in a moment.”
Josh looked between them and clenched his jaw so hard a muscle popped in his cheek. “I wanna watch.”
Oh, hell no. He may not want to abandon his brothers, but alienating his blood mate was the last thing he wanted to do. “No you fucking don’t! You’ll be sick.”
Josh shook his head, his belligerent look one as old as time. His jaw was set and thrust forward, his eyes cold and stubborn. “No, I won’t. You say you’re a vampire, and I don’t really believe you despite those weird teeth of yours.”
Aaron’s heart sped up and thumped against his chest. It was a very foreign feeling. He hadn’t been scared in centuries. “No, I don’t want you disgusted by us. You know you’re important to me.”
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