Club Dead, English edition

From Club Dead

By Charlaine Harris

Club Dead copyright 2003 by Charlaine Harris



Bill was hunched over the computer when I let myself in his house. This was an all-too-familiar scenario in the past month or two. He d torn himself away from his work when I came home, until the past couple of weeks. Now it was the keyboard that attracted him.

Hello, sweetheart, he said absently, his gaze riveted to the screen. An empty bottle of type O TrueBlood was on the desk beside the keyboard. At least he d remembered to eat.

Bill, not a jeans-and-tee kind of guy, was wearing khakis and a plaid shirt in muted blue and green. His skin was glowing, and his thick dark hair smelled like Herbal Essence. He was enough to give any woman a hormonal surge. I kissed his neck, and he didn t react. I licked his ear. Nothing.

I d been on my feet for six hours straight at Merlotte s Bar, and every time some customer had under-tipped, or some fool had patted my fanny, I d reminded myself that in a short while I d be with my boyfriend, having incredible sex and basking in his attention.

That didn t appear to be happening.

I inhaled slowly and steadily and glared at Bill s back. It was a wonderful back, with broad shoulders, and I had planned on seeing it bare with my nails dug into it. I had counted on that very strongly. I exhaled, slowly and steadily.

Be with you in a minute, Bill said. On the screen, there was a snapshot of a distinguished man with silver hair and a dark tan. He looked sort of Anthony Quinn—type sexy, and he looked powerful. Under the picture was a name, and under that was some text. Born 1756 in Sicily, it began. Just as I opened my mouth to comment that vampires did appear in photographs despite the legend, Bill twisted around and realized I was reading.

He hit a button and the screen went blank.

I stared at him, not quite believing what had just happened.

Sookie, he said, attempting a smile. His fangs were retracted,

Charlaine Harris is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight, Texas, fantasy/mystery series and the Aurora Teagarden, Harper Connelly, and Lily Bard mystery series. Her books have inspired HBO s True Blood, NBC s Midnight, Texas, and the Aurora Teagarden movies for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. She has lived in the South her entire life.

Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris s Sookie Stackhouse novels

It s the kind of book you look forward to reading before you go to bed, thinking you re only going to read one chapter, and then you end up reading seven. Alan Ball, executive producer of True Blood

Vivid, subtle, and funny in her portrayal of southern life. Entertainment Weekly

Charlaine Harris has vividly imagined telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse and her small-town Louisiana milieu, where humans, vampires, shapeshifters, and other sentient critters live...Her mash-up of genres is delightful, taking elements from mysteries, horror stories, and romances. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The series continues to be inventive and funny with an engaging, smart, and sexy heroine. The Denver Post

Blending action, romance, and comedy, Harris has created a fully functioning world so very close to our own, except, of course, for the vamps and other supernatural creatures. The Toronto Star