It’s a little bit hit and miss but every lunch I walk down the road to the expensive coffee shop and order a cappuccino just to see if Mary is serving. Her schedule isn’t regular, I never know if she’ll be there or not but my day is infinitely brighter when she is and she serves me. She has the sweetest smile and the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. She always has this red flush to her cheeks and one or more of her tight, red curls tumble down over her face with the rest held back in a ponytail. Not that I spend all my time looking at her or anything. Ahem. She always smiles at me.

“The usual, Tom?” She asks and I nod and smile and if the queue isn’t too long we chat about the weather, work or the football results. She’s a red like me, God, she’s perfect. I like it when her fingers graze mine when she passes me my cup or when she’s on cleaning duty and she Tomds down to clean one of the low-level tables. She has the most delicious curves. I just want to bury myself in them. I’m completely smitten but I’m far too afraid of being knocked back to ask her out. So every day I go and order a coffee. Then I pretend to drink it.

Yeah, I hate coffee and tea and all hot drinks really. So I just raise the cup to my lips a few times and then throw away my full cup of coffee. I waste a fortune just to get a glimpse of the woman I fantasise about.

When I walked in that day I thought I’d hit the jackpot. The place was empty and Mary was stood by the door. “Hi Tom, “ he chirped as I came in, “I’m afraid we can’t serve you your usual as the water is off. In fact, we’re not allowed to serve at all because of it.”

“Oh, that’s why it’s so quiet, Mary,” I nod, “I wondered why.”

“Yeah, everyone else has gone home. They’ve hit a pipe doing road works and it’s going to take hours to fix apparently. It only just happened a half hour ago. I’m writing a notice to put in the window then I’m closing up.” “Well, I can keep you company for a bit if you like. I’m on my lunch break after all.” I can’t believe I was so forward. But it was Mary, on her own. I like to think I was being chivalrous. I wanted to keep her safe.

“Sure, that’d be nice. Let me just finish this notice for the window.”

I went and stood at the counter beside her. She smelt of peaches and ripe fruit. I coughed to cover up the moan that slipped through my lips. I hoped she wouldn’t look down. My erection strained against the grey material of my work trousers.

“Good day at work?” she asked and carefully scrawled letters onto the closed sign. I honestly couldn’t tell you what it said. I was too busy contemplating the little wisp of hair sitting on her neck.

“Well, you know, I’ve been kept busy so it’s not been too bad. You?”

“Bloody manic,” she giggled and walked over to the door. She stuck the sign up and then turned the lock on the door. “Just so people don’t walk in. Want to sit and chat for a bit? I’ve got ages to wait before I can get a bus home.”

“Sure,” I don’t know how I managed to keep my tone so level.

She walked up to the back of the shop, around the corner behind the counter. No one would be able to see us there. “We’ll sit up here,” she said as I followed her, “then no one will be able to see us. I don’t want any more hassle over this closure.”

“Sure,” I nodded. I sounded like a broken record. My brain was mid meltdown though. I was locked in alone with the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen in my life and the possibilities were endless.

“So,” she sat down on one of the leather sofas and patted the seat beside her, “why do you come here every day, Tom?” “Closest place to get my fix,” I smiled as I sat down, “my caffeine fix I mean, of course.” I giggled nervously. Yes, I giggled, not very manly and I wanted to kick myself for it.

“That’s kinda weird,” she continued, “as last week you left your cup on your table. I was cleaning up and I could have sworn it was still full.”

“Oh, erm, I think I got the wrong order or something but it was busy so I didn’t want to kick up a fuss.” I was quite impressed with my improvising.

“Well, sure. I could have believed that if I didn’t serve you three completely different coffees since then. You never mentioned it once.”

“Erm,” words escaped me.

“So why do you come here every lunchtime?” She put her hand on my knee and I nearly came in my pants. Here was my opportunity. I took a deep breath, flicked the brown hair from my face and looked up into her gem-like eyes.

“To watch you.”

Her face dropped into a frown and my heart sunk before she laughed wickedly and winked. I was confused and then I was completely baffled because her lips hit mine in the hottest, hardest kiss I’d ever experienced. She actually kissed me.

“I’ve been watching you too,” she confessed, “but I was too shy to ask you out.”

“Me too,” I gasped. My heart danced an Irish jig, “but I wanted too.”

“Why don’t we just stay here and not drink coffee? No one will disturb us.”

“Sounds good to me,” I replied. And that was the best lunch at a coffee shop I’d ever had.

Kyle may be undead, but he still lives at home with his Gran and works in a supermarket stacking shelves with his mates. His life hasn’t changed much, apart from being dead and having to suck blood from live humans to survive.

Luckily he knows The Point, a vampire bar where the humans are hot, tasty and eager to please. Well, most of them are. Janine is the exception. She is cold and distant, but from the first time he meets her, Kyle is smitten.

But he has a problem. A hot but crazy female vamp has got him in her sights and she’ll stop at nothing to get him all to herself.

Kyle has a decision to make and it will change his afterlife forever. Who will he chose?

Reader Advisory: This book contains Blood Sucking, Neck biting and other violence.