Midnight before Christmas

by Renee George

  Max was staring at Rachel now. “Yes, it is.”

  She turned to him, her skin reddening in a blush. “You came for me.”

  “I did.”

  “You rescued me. Again.” Her fingers stroked his neck, her thumbs grazing his earlobes.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Your eyes,” she said. “They’re silver like mirrors. What are you?”

  The clearing up ahead exposed the cabin he’d rented. He landed with three easy steps toward the door. Was Rachel ready to hear what he was? Would the knowledge frighten her?

  Without any more debate, he set her down and said in a formal tone, “I am Maxtan Alexander Gray. I am draganos. Son of Lodai Lorna Gray. Son of Grayman, brother to Destan and Eustan Gray, and I am a shadow warrior, a protector of the realm.”

  He pulled the keys to the cabin from his pocket as his wings shrunk and retracted back into his human form. He ignored her awe-struck expression as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside. He shook his head, and if he could have, he would have shaken his entire being. What the hell was wrong with him? The only time he’d ever introduced himself in that way had been when his mother had presented him and his brothers before the draganos court.

  It had been their name day ceremony, a ritual their mother had insisted upon so that they might someday claim their rightful place among her kind. For a woman who showed very little emotion, Max remembered the pride in her stance as she watched her sons, only twelve at the time, proclaim their lineage. But instead of shadow warriors, they’d used the lodon at the end—the male word for noble in their mother’s native language. He hadn’t felt like a noble then, and certainly not now. Shadow warrior felt right.

  “What’s a shadow warrior?”

  “We are all that stands between the Triune and their enemies.”

  “Triune?”

  “The queen and her two husbands. They are the power in Caledon. The rulers of our people.”

  “Our?” Rachel asked. “There are more of you?”

  Max smiled, but he didn’t feel happy. He’d blown his cover twice. Rachel’s family was in extreme danger. And he’d broken the one code you never break: he told a woman with no knowledge of their world all about their world. He strongly suspected she was at least half-OW, even if she didn’t know it, but it was obvious she’d been raised as a human.

  “There are many of us.” He remembered the way Ian had explained it. “When man crawled up from the mud and began his evolution, there were a few species of humans to develop as a result, and contrary to popular beliefs, scientific or otherwise, they did not all die off, and leave only modern man in their stead. They changed, they adapted, and they evolved to become the legends of mythology. We often refer to ourselves as other worlders, even though we are of this world, and we’ve learned to hide, our abilities, our wars, and our politics from humans. Unfortunately, there is a new resistance among our kind that is making our hiding more and more difficult. I think Thomas Ritter may be involved.”

  “What is he? Tommy, I mean? I’ve never seen anything so awful. His eyes turned the color of dirty blood and his teeth looked like a Great White’s.”

  “He sounds like an amphyr. They are a savage lot. They live on blood and raw flesh, but they can survive years without feeding.” At least according to Destan’s studies. His oldest brother was the expert on the species in their realm. There had been an incident involving amphyr and Marcus Tsavaras, the door master, in Columbia, Missouri. They were usually solitary creatures, finding low-risk areas to hunt. Had they organized enough to form this Children of Caledon? A group that spanned all of the United States?

  “That’s terrible,” Rachel said. “What kind of sick and twisted turn of evolution created that monster?”

  He shook his head. “Do you remember anything else? Did they say anything about what they wanted?”

  “No.” She rubbed her face. “I’m sorry. I was just so… And my mom, she became this… this… Oh God, what if Tommy has killed them. What if he punishes them because I was such an idiot last night?”

  “It’s okay,” Max said, impulsively gathering her into his arms. When she didn’t resist, when she allowed herself to melt against him, Max felt his whole body respond to her.

  “What are we going to do, Max? How are we going to save Callie and my parents? Do we call the cops?”

  He stroked her hair, caressing the soft silk of her locks with his fingertips. “In this particular case, I am the cops.”

  She leaned back, her neck craned so she could look him in the eye. He glimpsed hope in the way her brow was set and in the soft pout of her lower lip—a lower lip he wanted to nibble and kiss.

  God, she was beautiful. Not in a commercial way—her nose was a little crooked with the tip shifting just slightly to the right, her left eyebrow was a little thicker, and her upper lip was larger and wider than her bottom. It caused a downward turn at the corners of her mouth that created a natural frown when she wasn’t smiling. But wow, all the little imperfections were perfect to Max. From her large blue eyes to her small breasts and her wide hips, Max wanted to explore every inch of Rachel Campbell.

  She caught him staring. “Do I have a booger frozen in my nose?” She brushed at the cute little tip. “It was a pretty brisk ride over.”

  “You don’t censor much, do you?” Max laughed. “No. No booger.”

  “Good.” Her forehead wrinkled. “And no. I’ve never been very good at hiding what’s on my mind. My mouth has gotten me into trouble more than once or twice.” A wistful smile played on her lips then disappeared into a deep frown. “Like with Tommy at the bar. Max, how are we going to get my family back? And why did Tommy take them in the first place? Why is he after me? Surely it’s not just because I rejected him. It seems pretty extreme, even for an asshole like him.”

  “Aside from the fact that you publicly dissed him, I’m not sure.” He stopped stroking her hair long enough to rummage in his pocket for his cell phone. He hit the redial feature, and when Destan answered, he said, “I need your help. And bring Eust.”

  Chapter 5

  “Okay,” Max said after he ended the call to his brother. “They were already on their way.” He looked chagrinned. “They’re coming up from Arkansas, so they’ll drive until nightfall then fly the rest of the way here.”

  Rachel watched him pucker his full lips in a gesture of concentration. When he caught her watching, he raised a questioning brow. Rachel’s stomach fluttered. “You said they were going to fly. Last night’s blizzard will make landing impossible—”

  Max held out his arms and made a quick flapping motion.

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “Oh. Yeah, okay.” Panic clawed at her throat. “My parents and Callie. Can they wait that long?”

  “Honestly. I don’t know. I haven’t been here long enough to understand Ritter’s end game. I suspect him and his friends are acting as a terror cell against Caledon, but his kidnapping of your family, his going after you, it seems random. Without any real purpose other than to satisfy some petty agenda.”

  “Damn it,” Rachel said. Hot tears brimmed her eyes. “We have to go, Max. We have to find them and get them back.”

  She’d been so angry with her parents for most of her life. Hell, she’d spent the last two years trying to avoid them all together. This would have been their first holiday together since she’d told them her plans to quit competing, and she’d avoided them since her arrival in town.

  “We have to find out what he wants. Tommy’s uncle is the chief of police,” Rachel said. “I think we should leave a message for him with a number to call.”

  If they couldn’t contact Tommy, at the very least, they could arrange for him to contact them. She squeaked with surprise when Max picked her up from the floor and kissed her hard on the mouth.

  When he released her, he said, “You are freaking brilliant, Rachel.”

  “I have my moments. It can work, though. Right?”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “It can
work.” He pulled out his phone, searched for the sheriff’s department phone number, and called.

  * * * *

  Instead of a phone call, Max received a text from Ritter. It simply said, “The pond. Midnight. Rachel comes alone or they die.” An attached video showed her parents and Callie gagged and tied to metal chairs on an ice skating rink, and Tommy’s boys circled them on hockey blades.

  Max held the phone out for Rachel.

  “Oh God.” She covered her mouth for a moment, her hands shaking until she could get her anxiety under control. “I know where this is. He’s always been a freaking rink rat, so it makes sense.”

  The clock on the wall ticked loudly, making seconds feel like an eternity. Max rubbed Rachel’s shoulders when she turned away. She played the video again and again. When he saw a tear slide down her cheek, Max couldn’t take it anymore. He gently took the phone from Rachel and placed it on the end table. Then he caressed her hands and brought them to his lips. He kissed the tips as he gazed down at her blue, blue eyes. Her tears made them even more vibrant. He wanted more than anything in the world to take her pain, her sorrow.

  “Rachel,” he said.

  She shook her head. “Don’t.” She tried to smile through her despair. “This isn’t your fault or your problem. Tommy wants me to come alone. It’s the only way my family will be safe. I have to exchange myself for them.”

  “I can’t let you do that.”

  “You don’t have a choice. He’s making the rules, and if we don’t follow them, people I love are going to die.”

  Max nodded once. She was determined to put herself in harm’s way. He knew if he tried to tell her she couldn’t go after Tommy alone, she’d only try to find a way before he had a chance to stop her. Better to play along with her plan, keep her close, and then adjust his position closer to the time Ritter had set. “Where is this rink at?”

  “Across the lake on the north side. We flew over it on the way here. It looks like a large metal barn in the middle of a large field with a big gravel parking lot. It’s where I first learned to skate, and it’s where his hockey team plays every Friday night.”

  “I’ll text Destan.”

  “No,” Rachel said, her face suddenly pale.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll tell him to glide over on his way. Just to look for any surprises waiting outside the building. Covertly,” he added. “Ritter will never know they were there.” He brushed a long brown lock from her cheek. “Trust me.”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  He had to stop himself from asking her to marry him again. She made him want to lay down everything to be with her. “It’s three in the afternoon now. My brothers won’t be here until close to eight. Until then, I think you should get some rest. Between the drugging last night and all that’s happened today, a few hours of sleep will help.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “Will you try?” She looked tired and pale. Max worried she was going into shock. “For me?”

  Rachel smiled wanly and nodded. “Will you lie down with me? Just for a little while.”

  He hesitated, but only because he thought it was irresponsible not to stay vigilant. No one knew they were at the cabin, except his brothers. “Of course,” Max said.

  “Good. I don’t want to be alone.”

  “You’re not alone, Rachel.” He wanted to tell her that she’d never be alone again, but just because he was feeling the urge to make her his mate didn’t mean she felt the same.

  When they got to the bedroom, Rachel began to take off her shoes. Next, her pants. She stood in front of Max wearing nothing but his blue T-shirt. She unknotted the bottom. The hem hanging mid-thigh tantalized Max as he watched it rise and fall as she climbed onto the bed. Her panties were black and boy cut, which meant they accentuated the voluptuous curves of her firmly rounded ass.

  “Wow,” Max whispered. He swallowed to keep from drooling.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yes.” God help him.

  She smiled shyly. “Thanks for the shirt.” She reached inside the arm, did some magic with her fingers, pulled a strap out the hole, over her hand, back in, and then repeated the process on the other side. By the end, her white bra was off, and Max had an erection. Her nipples poked at the soft fabric of the shirt.

  Max stifled a groan and the strong urge to rip off her shirt and tease each firm nub between his lips. Her expression and actions were so mundane, he really believed she had no idea what the hell she did to him. When she caught him staring, she blinked with surprise.

  “I can’t sleep in a bra,” she explained.

  “Uh huh,” Max responded. Heat flooded his body as he raked his gaze over her bare legs, her taut nipples, and finally landed on her pouty lips. God, she did him in! “You’re so beautiful, Rachel.”

  He pulled his shirt off over his head and watched with satisfaction as her skin flushed. She flexed her toes, and he knew she was trying to exert control over her body’s response to him. Next he unbuttoned his jeans. He slid them down his thighs, enjoying the way Rachel bit her lower lip.

  “I’m a troll compared to you, Max.”

  “No,” he told her, as he crawled into bed, his face inches from hers. “You’re a goddess, and I would worship you if you let me.”

  “Jesus.” She shivered, tilting her head back when he pressed his lips to her neck.

  He traced her skin with his tongue, a sharp spike of possession piercing him as she moaned with pleasure. His hard cock stretched against his boxers, and he ached to take Rachel. His normal self-control seemed lacking. “It’s been a long time for me,” he told her.

  “Me too,” she said.

  “Ten years.”

  “Twenty-six.”

  “What?”

  “Virgin.”

  Max pulled back to look at her face.

  “As in never ever,” she confirmed.

  Rachel reached up and fisted his hair. She pulled him down, her legs wrapped his waist as he lay on top of her. The way her body felt against his, it was as if she’d been tailor-made for him.

  “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  Rachel smirked. “You don’t get out much, do you?”

  Shaking his head, Max dipped his head and tugged her lower lip between his teeth. “You really don’t know how special you are, do you?”

  “I’ve been special all my life,” she said unhappily. She closed her eyes for a second then opened them, her face raw with emotion. “Shut up and kiss me, Max.”

  * * * *

  Rachel inhaled the scent of Max’s neck, her fingers dancing along the cut grooves in his flesh created by lots of muscles and very low body fat. He was the kind of guy women spent their entire lives dreaming about—gorgeous, great personality, sense of humor, and attentive. She was a star on the ice, a minor celebrity, maybe that’s why he wanted to be with her. She certainly wasn’t the prettiest woman or the nicest. Her reputation wasn’t all media hype. Right now, none of it mattered.

  All she wanted was to be with the man in her bed. The hard planes of his chest grazed her breasts making her nipples rigid through the T-shirt. He smelled of cinnamon and something even more exotic Rachel couldn’t identify. He kissed her neck, tugging at the collar of the shirt to kiss her shoulder.

  “Yes,” Rachel said, raising her groin to rub her wet sex against his hard abs. “God yes.”

  With Max, she wanted everything. Lust, love, marriage, and children. She stared into his silvery-gray eyes, deep-set, slightly almond shaped and framed by dark, thick lashes. God, he would give her the most gorgeous babies.

  His nibbling of her collarbone stopped. “Do you want me to slow down?”

  “Don’t be silly,” she said. “We don’t have time for that.”

  “We have the rest of our lives.”

  However long that would be, she thought ruefully. Rachel believed she probably wouldn’t survive the night.

  Meeting Tommy alone was risky, and wo
uld likely end with her dying, but if it meant Callie and her parents survived, it would be worth it. She kissed Max again, savoring the sweet taste of him, relishing the soft push of his firm lips, and the supple caress of his tongue as she opened her mouth for him. He groaned when she sucked his tongue. It made her stomach flutter.

  She pulled back to kiss the corner of his mouth

  “Damn,” he said. “That was incredible.”

  “It was?” She blinked rapidly. “I haven’t had much practice.”

  “Until a year ago, I didn’t have a tongue.”

  “Are you messing with me?”

  “Nope. When I was a teenager, I was captured by some of Garrick’s men. A girl I was seeing betrayed me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rachel said. She stroked the side of his face. “Her betrayal must have hurt.”

  Max smiled. “Not as much as losing my tongue.” He nipped at her fingers. “My father and brother’s rescued me, and when my cousin Benie became queen, her genius husband figured out a way to use stem cells from her to regrow a new tongue for me.”

  “Am I the first person you’ve kissed since the new, you know?”

  Max smiled. “Yes.”

  “Awesome.” Even with all the bad stuff happening, she couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of pure joy. “Then we’re firsts for each other.”

  “I like that,” he said. “I like it a lot.”

  “I like you, Maxtan Alexander Gray.” She reached down, emboldened by their exchange and grasped his thick, heavy shaft. “Now, let’s put that new tongue of yours to good use.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He slid her T-shirt up and over her head. The heat of his mouth set her skin ablaze as he kissed down her collar, his large hands cupping her breasts. He took one nipple between his teeth, gently tugging as he used his tongue to flick the tip.

  Her clit ached and throbbed with each teasing lick and suck of her breast. Rachel arched her back and squeezed her thighs around him in response. She tilted her head forward and watched as he moved to her other breast, his full sensual mouth locking around the rigid nub. Her body felt like it was filling from the inside with too much energy, too much need and heady desire.