Demons of Christmas Past: A Hidden Novella

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  Nain was rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. “There’s nothing dumb about that,” he finally said. “Thanks for telling me.”

  I nodded. I felt stupidly embarrassed, and kept looking at the tree.

  “They seemed nice. I’m glad you had them,” he said.

  “They were good people. I was in three foster homes after theirs, before I ended up at my last one, then I took off after that and I was on my own.”

  Nain stood and pulled me up. He rested my hand in the crook of his elbow and put his hand over mine. We walked down Woodward in our 1920s clothes, looking like every other couple we passed. Being in this time had brought out a more proper, valiant side of him. I was used to him being coarse, almost rude. Not to me, not since the beginning, anyway. But this side of him was nice, too, and I was enjoying peeling back the layers of the demon I’d married.

  We stopped at a few stores to pick up lights and ornaments, and then we took a taxi back to his apartment in Poletown. On the corner of his street, there was a small lot where an older man was selling Christmas trees. Nain bought one, and a stand for it, and he carried it down to the boarding house while I carried the bags of decorations. Up the three flights of stairs, his neighbors peeking out their doors at us as we passed.

  We let ourselves into his room and he pulled off his coat and got to work setting the tree up. We decorated the tree mostly in silence, adding white lights, glass ornaments, and, in true period style, plenty of tinsel. When we were finished, he turned the rest of the lights in his room off and pulled me down onto the couch with him. I snuggled into his arms and looked at the tree, feeling warm, safe, loved. I kissed my way up his neck, to his jawline, finally pressing my lips to his. Before long, it was him and me, a tangle of naked limbs and undulating flesh, moans, cries, our sweating bodies glowing in the lights of the Christmas tree. His eyes stayed glued to mine the entire time, and I couldn’t look away. This was different. I felt naked, exposed. We’d never been together like this. Part of me wanted to hide from the way he seemed to be able to look deep inside me, and part of me wanted, more than anything, for him to know every single part of my body and soul. To trust him.

  To finally forgive him.

  I kept my eyes open, locked with his the entire time, and when he took me over the edge, I cried his name and he repeated mine, over and over again. It was amazing and terrifying and I’d never felt so exposed to anyone in my life.

  I knew, when he lifted me and carried me over to his bed, that things between us were changing again, and it scared me as much as it thrilled me.

  Chapter Nine

  I woke up the next morning, alone in Nain’s bed. I sat up and looked around his apartment. He was nowhere to be seen. The tree was still lit up, and I lay back down, admiring our work. Nain had done the lights, because he’s more patient and meticulous about things like that. When I do them, the lights end up all uneven, with one part of the tree lit way more than the rest. I smiled to myself. We still had to put our tree up at home. I had been waiting for my mother to bring the kids back from their trip to Paris so we could all do it together.

  I missed my loud, frustrating, endlessly-challenging babies. Nain and I needed this, and I was loving every moment of it, but I would be happy to go back home, too.

  Soon, I could sense Nain’s power signature nearby. He was back. A moment later, the door opened and Nain walked through, a white bakery box in his hand, a sweet, mouthwatering smell wafting in the door with him.

  He smiled at me. “I was hoping you’d still be there like that,” he said, letting his eyes trail down my naked body, barely disguised by the thin white sheet. I shook my head. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed with me, bringing the bakery box with him. I leaned back against the headboard and watched as he got settled. Once he was beside me, he leaned over and kissed me, not-very-subtly pulling the sheet down, baring my breasts to the chilly air in his apartment. When he finally pulled away, it was to open the box.

  “Croissants. Good ones, like old bakeries used to make,” he said, and I shook my head. I’d often teased him about being a little bit of a snob about how much better food had been back in “the old days.” “Here. Tell me this isn’t better than most of the shit we eat in our time.” He held a golden croissant up to my lips and I took a bite. Crumbs sprinkled down onto my chest and, as I chewed, Nain lowered his mouth to one of my breasts, licking and sucking the crumbs off of my flesh.

  “Mmm. So much better,” he murmured. I was about to respond when his mouth closed over my nipple and whatever I’d been about to say devolved into a needy, helpless moan. A few moments later, I was already panting and needy, and he lifted his head and raised the croissant to my lips again. I licked my lips and took another bite.

  He set the croissant aside and sucked and licked his way down my chest and stomach.

  “I think some might have fallen down under the sheet. Do you think I should check to make sure?” he asked, that glint in his eyes that never fails to make me ready to jump him.

  “Better safe than sorry, I guess,” I said, and he grinned.

  “I’ll be very thorough,” he said. He traced his tongue down my stomach, swirling around my navel, and I clutched the sheets on each side of me. The first touch of his tongue between my legs sent shockwaves through me, and afterward, the focus of my entire existence was Nain’s mouth and the things he did with it as he worshipped every inch of my body with his lips and tongue, leaving me breathless, helpless to do anything other than moan his name. I lost track of how many times he took me over the edge, and finally he let up on the relentless way he was pleasuring me, raising his head and looking up at me.

  “I think I got all the crumbs,” he said, and I lay back on the pillow, exhausted. I started laughing, and he did, too, kissing his way back up my body. “I’m willing to check more if you want me to,” he said before he claimed my lips. “Fuck, I love the taste of you,” he groaned against my mouth. “I could do that all day if you’d let me.”

  I moaned. “I’m pretty sure it would kill me eventually. I swear, I saw stars more than a few times,” I told him, and he laughed again. I leaned forward and kissed him. “I’m happy to repay the favor,” I whispered to him, reaching for his waistband.

  He took my hands in his. “Baby, as much as I’d love that, this was about you. I love making you lose your mind like that.” I was about to protest when he halted my argument with another kiss. When he finally pulled away, he didn’t hide the way his gaze dropped to my breasts. “You should finish eating,” he said, clearing his throat.

  “Why? Do we have plans?” I asked. I grabbed another croissant out of the box and took a bite.

  Holy shit. Buttery, flaky perfection.

  “You might have had a point about the food,” I muttered as I took another bite. He smirked and shook his head.

  “Back to your question,” he said. “You wanted to fuck with the Purples before we had to go back to our own time, right?”

  I stopped with the croissant halfway to my mouth and grinned. “Yes! Are we doing that today?”

  He laughed. “I was checking around while I was out picking those up,” he said, nodding toward the bakery box. “From what I could pick up, they have another shipment coming in tonight. Belle Isle,” he added. “They really get pissed when their rum shipments get fucked with. They make a lot of money off that shit. And this is one the shipments they’re accepting to turn over to Capone, so it’s even bigger than usual.”

  He watched me, and he seemed nervous.

  “What’s wrong?”

  You know that I started my first team around now, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you know who was on it?”

  “Brennan’s father,” I said, my pulse picking up a little.

  “I wasn’t sure if you knew that,” he said.

  “Bren told me. He showed me some of those old photo albums after…” I trailed off. “I thought one of the men looked like him and he told me.
”

  Nain nodded. “I talked to him this morning,” he said quietly. “He goes to the same bakery. I’d forgotten that. I thought it was Brennan for a second,” he said with a small shake of his head.

  I could sense the sadness in him. This had been one of Nain’s best friends, a man he’d seen die, a man whose death still weighed on Nain. Nain had raised his son, had become a father figure and best friend to that son. I’d loved both men at one time or another. Our fates all seemed to be tied up, tangled, and I shook my head. The Fates, those crazy old bitches, must have had a field day when they’d crafted our destinies.

  “He usually goes on these runs with me. He wants in on this…”

  “And you want the chance to fight by his side one more time,” I said, stupidly needing to blink back tears. I nodded. “It’s fine.”

  He looked at me, gently raised his hand and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “We’ve lost a lot, baby.”

  I nodded.

  “Are you going to be okay with this? I can tell him to stay home.”

  I shook my head. “I want to meet him. I want to see you two together. One of us should have a chance to see someone we miss one last time. I want this for you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed me gently. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured, looking into my eyes.

  “I love you. How are we going to explain me?” I asked, wiping my eyes again.

  “We’ll say you’re my girlfriend. A demon. I wasn’t saying anything about you because I know that even though he trusts me, most demons are trouble. And we’ll tell him you like fighting. That I’m considering bringing you onto the team,” he said with a shrug.

  I nodded. “This is going to be good,” I told him, and he nodded and brought my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “And then afterward, maybe it’s time to go home,” I added.

  “I was thinking that. I miss the little terrors, too,” he said, and I laughed. “We can get a tree.”

  I took a breath. “And decorate the loft,” I said. He looked at me in surprise.

  “You’re sure? The loft?”

  I nodded. “I want to go back. I’m tired of this stupid self-exile thing I’ve led us to. I want to be among everyone again: gods, demons, shifters vampires, humans. I miss Detroit. I miss who we are when we’re here.”

  He was happy. I could feel that, and it made me smile. He talked about me being homesick, but he was just as attached to the city as I was.

  “We have work to do,” I went on. “I need to find some kind of balance. I need to get back to the things that make me feel like all of the shit that comes with these powers are worthwhile. I wasn’t made for sitting on a throne handing down judgments. I’ll do it, but I’m not letting that be all I am anymore.”

  He nodded. “Anything you need me to do to help that happen, you know I’ll do it.”

  “I know.”

  He reached down and cupped my breast, swept his thumb over my nipple. I gasped and felt a shiver of pleasure go through my body.

  “You should go get dressed before I lose my goddamn mind,” he said.

  “I like it when you lose your mind,” I said.

  Nain gave my breast a final, gentle squeeze and stood up. “I know you do. But there are still a few things I know you want to see from this time before we have to go intercept that shipment. This is our last day here and if you keep lying there like that, we’re gonna spend it in bed. Not that that would be a bad thing, but you’ll be pissed if you miss seeing some of this stuff before we have to go.”

  I pulled myself up out of bed, grinning at the way his eyes followed me. “You’re right. You’re so considerate,” I said, rubbing up against him as I walked past. I heard a low growl when I walked past. I turned and looked at him. “I’ll be sure to repay that consideration as soon as we get a chance.”

  “And I look forward to collecting. Over and over and over again,” he said, and the hungry look on his face had me ready to drop to my knees and show him just how much I appreciated him. “Go,” he growled, nodding toward the small bathroom.

  My poor, horny demon. I bent and picked up my suitcase, taking my time straightening again. Yes, I was teasing him. I knew damn well I’d be rewarded for it next time we were together. I heard him mutter something under his breath as I closed the bathroom door behind me, and I laughed a little. I’d forgotten how fun it was to play with him like this, this back and forth, teasing, tantalizing game. I promised myself I’d never give either of us a chance to forget it again.

  Chapter Ten

  An hour later, we were getting out of a cab in an area of the city that was mostly nothing but woods and fields. Nain told the cabbie to stay and he took my hand and led me toward one of the fields.

  I glanced around. “Okay, you got me. What the hell is this?”

  He smiled. “This is eventually going to be the Seven Mile and Hayes area. Right over there is where your house is gonna be someday.” He pointed to the east, and I looked in that direction. Already, trees were being cleared. Someday, this area would be known as the Burbank neighborhood. My house had been built in 1936. “Houses will start going up in the next year or two. Shopping, too. This area’s going to be full of immigrants, too. Italian, Polish, German, mostly. By the time you bought your house, it was already pretty much a wasteland. Lots of empty lots. But this is what it looked like before it was anything.”

  I looked at the scene in front of me, trying to envision the neighborhood I knew.

  “And they’re rebuilding parts of it in our own time. I bought up the lots around your house,” he said. He’d had my place rebuilt after it had been destroyed. He never said it, but I knew it was at least partially so I had somewhere to go if I ever got fed up with him. Even if it meant making it easy to leave, he wanted me to have a place to go, a place that I loved. He’d had my house rebuilt almost exactly as it had been, and it was one of the things that made me realize, after everything, after all of the shit, how much he loved me. How there was nothing he wouldn’t do for me, even if it cost him everything.

  “Thank you,” I said. I grabbed a handful of his jacket and pulled him down to me. A brief, chaste kiss, both of us aware that the cabbie was already watching us, wondering why the hell we were standing here looking at nothing.

  “I figured you’d like seeing where it all started,” he said. “And I wanted to remind you that we can move into your house if you’d rather do that than the loft. Home for me is wherever you are, so I don’t care.”

  I shook my head. “I love my house, but I want to move back to the loft. I’m going to offer my place to Heph and Meaghan. They need more space.”

  “They always have someone staying with them,” Nain said in agreement.

  I grinned. I’d caught more of a reason from Meaghan when I’d been at their house. “And they’re expecting again,” I said. Nain shook his head. “I don’t think they’re telling anyone yet. I caught it from Meaghan when I was there looking for Aion the other day.”

  “They’re not wasting much time, are they?” he finally asked. He pulled me toward the taxi, and I took a last look back at where my house would be.

  “Meaghan wants a big family,” I said as I ducked into the car. Nain gave the cabbie another address and we pulled away from the curb. Nain rested his hand on my thigh and I glanced over at him.

  Damn. That demon in a suit was distracting as hell.

  He smirked at me and subtly inched his hand under the edge of my skirt, his warm palm on the bare skin of my thigh. I shot a look at the cabbie, who seemed focused on the road. Nain’s fingers inched up further, tickling the inside of my thigh, and I bit my lip to keep from gasping. He wasn’t really going to—

  Oh, shit. Yes, he was. His thumb grazed my panties and I clenched my thighs together.

  Stop, I thought at him. Telepathy can be damn useful sometimes.

  Why? It’s fun seeing you all nervous and hot and bothered.

  Nain.

  Molly. His thumb grazed me agai
n, a little more firmly, and I bit my lip harder and closed my eyes. I wonder if I can make you come before we get there.

  You’re evil.

  You already knew that, and you love it. His finger hooked beneath the thin fabric of my panties, and the rest of the ride was a battle between losing control and trying to act like there was nothing going on. Part of it was pride, too. Nain was so sure he could get me to respond to him, like I had no control when it came to him. I wanted to prove him wrong. As he touched, rubbed, stroked the most sensitive part of my body, I tried to think unsexy thoughts. I tried making shopping lists. I tried thinking of things that piss me off.

  So stubborn, Molls, he said in my mind. Don’t you know that’s just gonna make me try harder?

  And he did. I almost cried in relief when the cabbie pulled up to the curb. Nain quickly pulled his hand from beneath my skirt and paid the man while I fixed my skirt and tried to pull myself back together. He climbed out and chivalrously held his hand out to help me out of the car. He closed the door and the cab pulled away.

  “You are an asshole,” I told him, giving him a little shove before walking away. I heard him laugh behind me.

  “I was so close. I could feel it. You were about to let go, and it was gonna be fucking beautiful,” he said. He was following me and this, too, was something we’d done before: me, walking away, him following me, talking, talking, talking, ensnaring me with his words. “Of course, now my cock is so hard I can barely move.”

  “And whose fault is that?” I muttered as I kept walking. I knew we were going to lunch next and the restaurant was about a half a block away.

  “Pretty sure it’s yours,” he said from behind me. “You make me nuts.”