Christmas With a Vampire

by Merline Lovelace

  Her voice trailed off. “But how could they track me so fast, especially since you killed all the ones last night?”

  Adrian studied her with a calm look. Suddenly she knew.

  “You let a couple escape to bring the others straight to me. Adrian, how could you?”

  “I did what I must. The safe guards around the property will protect you.”

  “And I warned you they can find a way past your damn safe guards. Killing them is everything, isn’t it? And here I thought I mattered.” She clenched her fists. “You’ll do anything to get your justice, and you don’t care who stands between you and them. Even me.”

  “Not true, Sarah.” He folded his arms across his chest. “But why have you spent the past ten years running away instead of confronting them? You’re a fighter.”

  “I’m not running now. I’m going out there to face them, even if they kill me.”

  “Dammit, why won’t you tell me what’s really going on?” He pushed forward, crowding her until she was pressed against the glass doors. “Don’t you trust in my ability to defeat them? I told you I’d never let them hurt you.”

  “It’s not that. I have to do this alone.”

  His gaze sharpened. “Why, when before, we faced them together?”

  “Because there’s one Morph I must find the courage to face by myself.” She slipped beneath his grasp.

  “Where are you going?” he demanded.

  “Upstairs to change. Then outside, to do what I couldn’t do ten years ago.”

  WHEN WOULD SARAH trust him? Adrian wondered.

  He sped outside into the cold, bitter air. Adrian loosened his tie, dragged in a lungful of air, smelled nothing. Even his adroit senses could not pick them out.

  But Sarah could. She had spent years learning about them, fleeing from them. It was quite possible they could break past his defenses.

  He couldn’t let her rush headlong into danger. Even though you placed her in it, his con science nagged.

  Minutes later, dressed in old jeans, a faded Steelers T-shirt and her sheep skin jacket, she burst out onto the deck. Adrian snagged her about the waist.

  “I have to show I’m not afraid,” she shouted, struggling to release herself. “Let me go.”

  “Why now, Sarah?” His arms anchored her to him. She possessed the strength of her kind, but he was far stronger.

  “Because I can’t run anymore, I have to make a stand.”

  “Just like you did on the beach? When you trusted me to stand with you?”

  Her struggles ceased. Dark eyes wide in her face, Sarah stared at him with a woebe gone expression. Adrian’s heart lurched. “Sarah, together we can defeat them. You can’t fight them alone.”

  “I have no choice,” she whispered brokenly. “This is my problem. My war.”

  “No, you made it my problem and my war the day you asked for my help.”

  Her gaze grew flat. She inhaled deeply. “The scent’s gone. They’re gone.”

  They went back inside. Adrian crossed the living room to stand near the Christmas tree and touched a seashell ornament. A hollow feeling settled in his chest as he stroked his fingers over it. Sarah had made the ornament for him as a gift.

  A sickeningly sweet odor filled his nostrils. He studied Sarah shrugging out of her coat. “Are you wearing perfume?”

  “I only wear it to cloak my scent and haven’t since I’ve been here.”

  “Odd,” he mused. “I smell citrus. But I never eat fruit and the gremlins detest anything healthy.”

  Sarah went preternaturally still. “Oh, crap, why didn’t I see it before? Those defenses you set, the safe guards, they were against anything coming onto your property unless it was invited in, right?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  She lifted a trembling hand to the tree. “Because you invited them in, Adrian. They’ve been hiding in the Christmas tree the gremlins brought into the house. That’s how they got inside past your safeguards.”

  He swore softly, and went to her when a swarm of insects flew out of the pine branches, flooding the room in a dark cloud. Adrian’s protective instincts flared. He threw Sarah to the ground, covering her as the mosquitoes flew at them.

  They were trapped.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE WHINE OF thou sands of mosquitoes rang in Sarah’s ears. She lay still beneath Adrian’s sheltering weight.

  “Adrian, don’t let them suck your blood or they’ll absorb your DNA and can clone them selves into you,” she told him.

  As he pulled her upright, a wave of enormous power filled the air. The black cloud of mosquitoes buzzed and then hit the protective magick shield he’d erected around each of their bodies.

  The cloud divided into two. Half shifted into a pack of snarling wolves. They bale fully eyed Adrian, growling as they tested the shield again. The other half remained mosquitoes and flew out the opened window.

  Adrian’s power filled the room with crack ling heat. “Stay here, don’t move from this spot or you’ll break the shield’s protective boundaries. I’ll kill the ones that escaped.”

  He sped outside. Yellowed fangs dripped saliva as the wolves growled. Sarah caught a familiar scent from the lead wolf. Her heart shattered as the tingling down her spine felt like an electrical shock.

  She was here. The Morph that had pursued her for ten long years. Sarah fumbled with the silver bracelet on her wrist. Reddened eyes crazed with blood lust stared her down. She willed herself to see the Morph as it really was. Evil, twisted, greedy for power. Not the Draicon who had loved her.

  From the opened doors, she caught the scent of scorched earth, heard bellows of outrage followed by loud cheers. The Morph clones, shifted into a dozen fire-breathing dragons, were being hit with a spray of water from a garden hose by the gleeful gremlins. As the water extinguished their fire, Adrian destroyed each dragon. Breath caught in her throat as one dragon’s jaws clamped around his arm before he could kill it. As the dragon died, she felt a faint connection die, as well. Sarah bit her lip. One of the Morphs that escaped ten years ago was now dead. Only one original remained: the deadliest Morph.

  She had to help Adrian. Years ago she’d failed to eliminate her enemy and had abandoned Adrian on the beach. It was time to stand with him and finally do what she couldn’t face all these years.

  Sarah viciously tugged at the bracelet, wincing at the pain as it scraped her skin, leaving her hand bloodied. The bracelet slid off. Magick flowed into her, closing the flesh gouges in her hand. She stepped outside Adrian’s protective shield.

  She waved her hands, dispensing of her clothing, and trans formed into wolf. Bones lengthened, her face became elongated, fur erupted on her body. Sarah snarled at the enemy, baring strong, white teeth.

  The lead Morph raised its head. The wolf’s howl sang out in her blood and bones.

  Memories surfaced of home and a love she thought would never die. Sarah, Sarah, remember me?

  She could not move, think or even speak, only stand there in mute remembrance. The Morph’s form shimmered as if it shifted again.

  Sarah raised her head and returned the wolf song in a long, mournful howl of her own.

  Teeth bared, the wolves sprang forward. Once again she’d been a fool. Sarah cursed inwardly and mentally guarded her thoughts as she summoned the courage to defend herself.

  Suddenly a micro burst of air ruffled the fur on her back. Adrian.

  He became a stunning blur of speed, attacking and ripping out Morph hearts. Sarah stared with dulled shame at the dead Morphs as their bodies dissolved into ash on the finely polished grained wood floor.

  He’d destroyed them all, and she’d done nothing.

  Holes made from the Morph’s acid blood dotted Adrian’s fine dinner suit. Adrian waved his hands, replacing the ruined suit with jeans and a black T-shirt. A single droplet of sweat trickled down his temple. He whipped around. “I see you removed the bracelet. If you were so damn intent on taking them on yourself, why didn’t you
attack?”

  Adrian dropped to his knees, ran his hands over her luxurious gray fur. He buried his head against her neck. “Dammit, Sarah, they could have killed you.”

  She shifted back, then waved her hands to clothe herself. Energy drained from her, leaving her cold and shivering. Adrian helped her to her feet.

  She stared at the piles of ash. “I couldn’t.”

  “Why? You’re not a coward. What is it about these Morphs?”

  Her throat closed up. Maybe it was finally time to confide in someone. Finally trust. How could Adrian hurt her any more than she already hurt?

  Sarah fled into the kitchen, away from her dead enemies. She was finally safe.

  And yet she felt only fresh grief, as if someone had sliced open a wound and let it bleed anew.

  ADRIAN’S PULSE RACED as he followed her. Sarah seemed as frail as fine-spun glass.

  A merry tune filled the air as a whistling, soot-covered Snark strolled into the kitchen. “What next, Adrian?”

  “There are piles of ash in the living room. Put all of it into containers, Snark,” Adrian ordered.

  Sarah watched the gremlin leave. “Of course. Morph remains are your trophy, to prove you defeated the enemy. Your ticket back to your clan.”

  Her breath hitched as if she struggled to contain her emotions. Adrian’s heart shattered. He waited for her to let it out.

  Sarah stared out the window as she braced her hands on the sink. “You lost your clan for a while, but you can return. Not like us. You don’t know what it’s like to run and keep running, and survive and just pray you can hang on long enough to bear the cold digging into your bones, the hunger digging into your empty stomach, afraid to shift, afraid of your own damn magick leading a trail for your enemy to track and finally kill you. Never fitting in, never be longing. Living as humans, never able to be one of them. Always outsiders.”

  She whirled, facing him. Moisture sprang to her beautiful brown eyes, shimmering like diamonds beneath the overhead halogen lights. Her body went rigid as marble. He knew her, her strength and pride, and refusal to succumb to weeping.

  “I didn’t want you to be hurt, Adrian. I never would have abandoned you if not for…”

  Guided by the despair on her face, Adrian went to her. Gently, he cupped her cheeks as he tenderly regarded her.

  “What, sweet? Why did you leave? Tell me.”

  Trust me, his expression urged. With all his heart, he hoped she would open up to him.

  Her trembling hands clutched his wrists as if hanging on to a life pre server. “I had to save my mother.”

  “Why didn’t the other males in your pack defend her?”

  A sob caught in her throat. “Oh, Adrian,” she half laughed, half cried. “Don’t you get it? The Morphs we fought that day on the beach were my pack. I was too ashamed to tell you exactly who you fought. You had a family loyal to you. They loved you. And mine was filled with hate and greed.”

  Shocked, he could only stare. “How did this happen?”

  Sarah released his wrists. “My parents had discovered that my mother was carrying a boy. Because my father hadn’t any children other than my sister and me, he’d appointed my eldest cousin to rule the pack after him. When he found out my mother would give him a son, my father renounced Dave as his heir.”

  A sinking feeling settled in his chest.

  “Dave was furious. After all those years, promised to be pack leader and then denied. My sister, Sandra, was angry, too. She was his oldest child, but wouldn’t inherit because she was female. Dave needed more power to take over the pack. The only way for a Draicon to obtain more power is to embrace evil and turn Morph.”

  Adrian stared in growing horror.

  “Dave killed his own father, and it set off a chain reaction in the pack, some killing to turn Morph, others dying trying to defend them selves. My parents, my sister and I went into hiding. I made sure they were safe, and begged for your help to stand down my cousin and the other Morphs who were roaming the beach, looking for us.

  “That night we faced them, I knew I’d made a big mistake. I could sense it, feel it because she was family and we were closely connected. I knew what she was thinking and planning. I hadn’t hidden my parents to keep them safe. I had placed them with an enemy I didn’t want to see, an enemy working with Dave to take over,” she whispered.

  “Your sister.” He rested his hands on her shaking shoulders, gently rubbing them.

  “When I left you on the beach, it was because I knew something terrible had happened. Sandra killed my mother, blinded my father and was about to kill him when I arrived… My father screamed at me to kill her. I couldn’t. She was my only sister, and I loved her! She attacked me and then ran off. My father and I blended in the human world to hide because Sandra wanted us both dead. My only sister, my flesh and blood, who once loved me.”

  Her voice died on a shudder. Adrian went still, his heart stuttering in absolute fury and grief for her.

  Sarah’s mouth wobbled tremulously. She un fastened the metal button of her jeans, then jerked the zipper down, the rasp thundering in the kitchen.

  “And this is the price I paid that night, when I couldn’t fight her, couldn’t see her for what she’d turned into. This is what she did to me.”

  Adrian didn’t dare breathe. He struggled to contain his own emotions, knowing this was a moment he must not interrupt.

  Color suffused her entire body now as she shoved the pants down to her ankles and stepped out of them. Sarah wrapped her arms about herself.

  “Father and I gave our portion of rationed beef to my mom to keep her and the baby strong. My father and I lacked enough energy to heal properly. So now he’s blind and I’m a cripple. No Draicon male wants me. Who would want a lame wolf as a mate?”

  Her voice was like the hushed breeze pressing against the kitchen window. Adrian’s gaze dropped to her left leg, the leg she instinctively tried to cover with her hand.

  Deep, jagged scars zigged and zagged down from the top of her pretty lace panties, past her knee, down to her slender, muscled calf. Her flesh looked as if it had been shredded, the bones shattered and never fully repaired.

  Silence draped the air between them. He studied her leg, then looked her in the face. Pride stiffened her stance as she yanked up her pants.

  “Even when I shift, I can’t run properly. I’m not an asset to a mate, but a liability.”

  Adrian cupped her chin in one strong hand, forcing her to turn his way. “You are strong, sweet. You are strength, and survival and light in darkness. Any male worth his mettle should be proud to call you a mate.”

  Her mouth moved with un certainty as she glanced at him. Lurking in her wide eyes were traces of suspicion and doubt, but a new emotion flickered there, as well.

  Hope.

  He dared to ignite the flame, make it burn brighter. Heaven knew what a cynical bastard he’d been, only green gremlins for company, but he could at least do this. For her.

  Suddenly she meant more than anything else. Sarah in that moment became a beacon, focusing all his concentration. He must make her believe in her own worth, and see what he so plainly saw. Her courage, strength, and tremendous endurance, and the life that pulsed so fiercely within her. Like the brightest star in the heavens, guiding him home.

  “I under stand now, Sarah. If I had known what was happening to you, trust me, sweet, I would have fought my way through a thousand burning suns, a legion of Morphs, hell, a pit of lava, to reach you and keep you from harm. How I wish I could have spared you…”

  His voice trailed off.

  “I’ve been so lonely,” she said in a small voice. “But no man will ever look at me the same, no man will want me…”

  Adrian pulled her roughly into his arms. “This one does,” he said thickly.

  He kissed her, pouring all he had into the kiss, fusing their lips together in des per ate urgency, as if his mouth could soothe away all past hurts. Heal all she’d hidden inside for so
long.

  After a long moment, he pulled away. Adrian traced the outline of her kiss-swollen lips. No longer could he hold inside what he’d felt.

  “Do you know what it was like to be near you, and yet so far away?” he murmured. “Never to touch you, knowing I can never have you, each agonizing moment thinking you had a mate some where who would have everything I wanted so badly, to wake up beside you, spend the years with you…”

  “I only wanted you. But it wasn’t possible,” she whispered.

  He ran a thumb along her jaw, marveling at the delicate bones and frail ness, knowing the steely strength inside the woman. Sarah’s eyes closed as she leaned into his touch.

  “I don’t have a mate, and every male I’ve sought as one rejected me. I never really wanted them because I could never forget you, Adrian. I’d gladly damn any opportunity to be with another male, if you wanted me, too, even if it were only for tonight.”

  Adrian brought her face closer to his.

  “I’d rather risk a lifetime of loneliness than never touch you at all. One night would never be enough—hell, an eternity of nights with you would never be enough to satisfy what I feel for you, but I would take it and cherish each second. If I had you just for one night, I could walk into the sun and not regret my life leaving me, because I’d be carrying the memory of your smile in my heart.”

  She tenderly caressed his cheek. “Then let’s have tonight.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THEY WERE NAKED together, just like in her dreams. Except this dream was real, and she was standing be fore the full-length mirror in his bedroom. Sarah stared at Adrian’s reflection, his muscles rippling with strength.

  Behind her, Adrian gently wrapped her in his arms, as if he could shelter her from all past pain. He brushed aside her hair, blew a breath on her neck. He kissed her there, sending a quiver racing down her spine as he ran his tongue down her throat.