He grasped her upper arms. Concern clouded his blue eyes. Her gaze dropped to his mouth. The sharp points of the fangs left small indentations in his lower lip.
She should be afraid. At the very least overwhelmed. Or stunned as she stared at the proof that mythological creatures were real. Because she faced the most dangerous of them all. A creature whose only predatory instinct was to drink from her to sustain its own life.
But she wasn’t any of those things. Instead, a sensual thrill shot through her. She tilted her head to expose her neck in anticipation of the pleasurable sting. Her eyes drifted shut. “Go ahead.”
“Kelsey?” Worry laced his voice. His fingers tightened on her arms.
She blinked. “Aren’t you going to…”
“You’re scaring me. Are you going to pass out?” The S’s lisped slightly.
“N-no. I’m ready.”
His dark brows drew together. “For what?”
“Y-your fangs are out.”
“I know. I was just trying them on for later.”
Later? Why did he want to wait?
Wait. “Trying them on?”
“I thought they’d make a nice addition to my Dracula costume. I figured the kids would get a kick out of them.”
She shook her head, trying to come back to herself. “You mean you’re not…”
“I’m not what?”
Oh hell. Common sense and reality shattered the fantasy like expensive crystal. Damn Tracy to Hades. This was all her fault. To put a stop to the nonsense, Kelsey was going to have to hide all of the other woman’s paranormal books and put a block on her library card to prevent her from checking out anything else in the genre.
She drew in a ragged breath as shame and mortification burned through her. Rafe must think she was a raving lunatic. She couldn’t blame him. She focused on the map behind him, unable to meet his gaze. “Uh. You’re not…um…dressing up as something else?”
“No. I already have a great costume. And remember, I’m giving the welcome for the Lugosi film? It wouldn’t make sense to be anything else.” He reached up and popped the dental prosthetic out of his mouth. “Pretty realistic, huh?”
“Yes.” Devastatingly so.
“So…” His voice lowered an octave. “Are you wearing the same costume from the fundraiser?”
Like a flash of lightning, embarrassment morphed into an aching awareness. The heat suffusing her face spread to encompass her entire body, turning her blood molten. As if drawn by a will of its own, her gaze locked with his.
A storm of desire was visible in his eyes. The air crackled between them.
“Uh, no…I figured that wasn’t very appropriate since I’ll be spending most of my time at the children’s party.”
“That’s too bad. But it doesn’t matter.” He stepped closer. So close that if she took a deep breath, her breasts would brush his chest. “Because no matter what you wear, I’ll be picturing you in that blue gown.” His head lowered. Just before his lips touched hers, she closed her eyes, the better to lose herself in the erotic finesse of his kiss.
****
Rafe popped into the room and bared his fangs. “I vant to suck your blood.”
Childish giggles and a few screams erupted in the small area. And even though Kelsey knew the sharp, pointed teeth weren’t real, a sensual tingle whisked along her nerves. He could suck anything of hers he wanted. It didn’t have to be her blood.
His gaze met hers. Fire blazed in his eyes. Had he read her mind?
“It’s a vampire.” One of the kids pointed.
“It’s Dracula,” Kelsey said, forcing her attention to the little boy. “The most famous vampire of all.”
“Oooooh.” A chorus of voices made an appreciative murmur. A few brave souls ventured closer.
“Are you a real vampire?” A tiny girl with blonde curly hair wanted to know.
Rafe winked at Kelsey, then hunkered down to the girl’s level. “What do you think?”
The girl shrugged. “I don’t know.” Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. “Can I touch your fangs?”
Rafe grinned, drawing even more attention to the prominent teeth. “Go ahead.”
Slowly, checking his expression as she did, she reached out and touched the tip of her finger to one of the pointed teeth. “They’re sharp.”
Rafe nodded.
Would they still be able to cut flesh? Kelsey’s body tingled. She was more than willing to act the part of the victim. Then she chastised herself for the inappropriate thought in a room full of children.
A boy sidled closer. “Can I see your necklace?”
Rafe held it out. “It’s a medallion.”
The boy’s forehead wrinkled. “What’s that?”
Rafe laughed. “A fancy necklace.”
Soon a crowd of small bodies was gathered around him. He let them explore his costume, allowing them to feel the silk of his cape or examine the bowtie at this throat. He patiently answered all their questions.
A little hitch in her heart spread warmth through Kelsey’s chest. More tender and gentle than the usual raging rush of need. Did Rafe want children of his own?
One little girl stood apart from most of the group. Her eyes were wide. Kelsey went to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Madelyn.”
Rafe looked over. “Are you scared, sweetie?”
She nodded. A quick, jerky motion of her head.
Rafe disentangled himself from the rest of the children and slowly approached the little girl. He knelt in front of her, but kept a cautious distance. “Don’t be scared, pumpkin. I’m just wearing a costume for Halloween. I’m not a real vampire.”
Hearing the words out loud caused a curious sense of disappointment to flood Kelsey. Like the year she’d found all of her and her brother’s Christmas presents in the closet weeks before Christmas and realized there really wasn’t a Santa Claus.
“You look real.” Madelyn squeezed Kelsey’s hand tightly.
“It’s all for pretend.” Rafe snapped the fake fangs from his real teeth. The girl’s eyes popped wider. “See? It’s a costume, just like yours.”
“I’m a princess,” she said shyly.
“A very pretty one.”
“Miss Kelsey is a princess, too.”
Rafe’s gaze met hers. “Miss Kelsey looks beautiful, too.” His eyes darkened as they swept over the demure neckline and full skirt of her Cinderella costume. “I have to say, I am partial to the color blue on her.”
A few of the other children had gathered around. “What’s par chal?” asked a boy.
Rafe ruffled his hair. “It means I like it a lot.”
“Why, thank you.” Kelsey curtsied on wobbly knees. Sweet Montezuma. The man knew how to turn on the charm.
“Can we have our snack now?”
Kelsey smiled down at another boy. “Yes, Nick. We’ll have our snack while we listen to a story, then we’re all going to get tucked into our sleeping bags.”
“Are you going to stay for the story?” Madelyn asked Rafe.
“You bet.”
“Can I sit on your lap?”
“Absolutely, pumpkin.” He sat on the floor, crossed his legs, and pulled the little girl to him. She snuggled against his chest. The rest of the children gathered around him, too, vying for proximity.
Kelsey’s heart melted into a big puddle of goo.
****
After snack and story, Rafe left and Kelsey and Sherry got the children settled for bed. Not an easy task, but eventually, everyone was tucked into his or her sleeping bag. Leaving the kids in Sherry’s capable hands, Kelsey made the rounds of the rest of the library to check on how everything else was going.
Tracy’s teens were engrossed with sparkling vampires. A half a dozen kids and adults were creating scary faces on jack-o-lanterns. She refilled the apple cider in the reading area, but avoided the room where the horror movie marathon played; she’d just assume all was okay unless the staff person assigned to
the grisly activity came to tell her otherwise.
Satisfied all was as it should be, she grabbed a file from her desk and then returned to the sleepover room, and shooed Sherry off to get some rest on the couch in Arthur’s office.
Kelsey sat on a bench along one wall. She clicked on the small light she’d brought in for just this purpose, and opened the file. Just before midnight, she checked on the Dracula showing, then returned to her post.
Near dawn, Rafe came in and sat down beside her. His fingers brushed down her arm. Goosebumps erupted. “You look tired.”
She smiled. “I haven’t pulled an all-nighter since college. But this was fun.” She resisted the urge to lay her head on his shoulder. Barely.
“Everything was wonderful.” He kissed her temple.
“Thank you. I think everything went well.”
“More than well. It was the perfect way to kick off our all-night hours. I heard a lot of great compliments.”
“Thanks again for giving the Dracula opening. And thanks for coming in to visit the kids earlier.”
“No problem. I hope I didn’t scare—what was her name, Madelyn?—too much.”
A squishy kind of pleasure filled Kelsey. He’d remembered the little girl’s name. “She was fine. The kids all got a kick out of your costume.”
“I aim to please.”
She’d give her eye teeth to find out just how he could please her. Heat flashed through her, but it was tempered with something gentler.
“Do you ever want to have kids someday?” The question slipped out.
“I’d love a whole house full of them.” He sounded almost wistful. “How about you?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “A house full would be nice.”
He was silent for a while. His chest rose and fell with his even breaths. Finally he said, “Everything looks like it’s under control here. Can I steal you away for a little while? It’s almost sunrise.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t a vampire. Sunrise didn’t matter. Not in that way.
She looked around. The kids were all snuggled in their sleeping bags and blankets. A few soft snores broke the stillness. “Okay.”
He took her hand to pull her to her feet.
In the hall, she motioned to Sherry, who didn’t bat an eye at the sight of Rafe’s arm around her shoulders. “Would you mind watching the kids for a little while? I won’t be gone long.”
Sherry’s gaze swung from Kelsey to Rafe. A smile curved her lips. “Take your time.”
Rafe led her to the stairwell.
“Where we going?”
“Up on the roof.”
Her steps faltered. “The roof?”
He chuckled and tightened his arm around her. “Best place in the whole building to watch the sunrise.”
At the top of the stairs, he propped the metal door open with a nearby pipe.
“You’ve been up here before.”
He grinned. “It’s a great place to think.” He tugged her back against his chest, then wrapped his arms and his cape around them both.
Warmth and a sense of rightness, belonging, curled through her. “Look. Over there.”
The sky in the east was tinged a pinkish orange. The black silhouettes of trees and the tall clock tower stood in stark relief against the soft light.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“Will you have dinner with me Saturday?”
“Yes.”
“Just like that? No more worrying about me being your boss?”
She smiled. If she’d been willing to date him when she thought he was a vampire, not dating him because he was her boss seemed ludicrous. “Nope.”
“You really don’t care what I am?”
She twisted out of his arms so she could see his face. He wasn’t a creature of the night. The soft orange glow of the sun shining on his skin and not turning him to cinder and ash reconfirmed that. So what was he talking about? “What do you mean?”
He sighed and looked away. “I’m a librarian.”
She frowned. “So am I.”
“But you’re a woman.”
“So?”
“Some might say it’s not a very…manly job.”
“Like whom?”
“Well, sometimes when people…find out, they decide they’d rather not be with me. I’ve even had people question my…sexual orientation.” He still wouldn’t meet her gaze.”
His sexual orientation? The broad shoulders beneath the flowing black cape and the way he filled out those dress slacks in all the right places not only proved he was all man, but also verified her libido was in working order. The way he kissed left absolutely no doubt. How could—? Suddenly it hit her. “Wait. Are you saying that women have actually broken up with you because of your career?” Were they blind? Who cared if the man was a sewer worker?
“On more than one occasion.”
“That’s…that’s…” There were no words. He was sexy, mysterious, and oh-so desirable. Not to mention sweet and kind and tender. She framed his face with her hands. The abrasion of his stubble tickled her palms. “Look at me.”
His blue eyes finally turned toward her. Uncertainty filled them.
Her heart ached. “I don’t care what you are.” Vampire. Librarian. It hardly mattered. She spread her fingers over his heart. Its steady beat thumped, then quickened beneath her touch as their gazes held. “I want you,” she whispered.
He sucked in a breath. Then he smiled, slow, sexy, and wicked, and her own heart raced. “Good.” He gathered her close and buried his face in the crook of her shoulder. He inhaled, then let his lips trail from her collar bone, up her throat, to her jaw. He nibbled along the edge before fusing their mouths in a pulse-pounding, knee-weakening, toe-curling kiss. He ravished her mouth until her head spun, and she clung to his broad shoulders. When she wrenched away to draw breath into her starving lungs, his lips found the pulse point in her neck and sucked gently.
Her head tilted, allowing greater access. Shivers danced down her spine and spread along her nerves. Sweet Beelzebub. He always hit just the right spot.
“So, after dinner on Saturday, will you come over to my place?” The words vibrated against her skin.
She moaned softly. Saturday seemed like an eternity away. But she nodded.
“Will you wear that other blue dress for me?”
Her heart stopped altogether. She pulled away to look at him. “On one condition.”
“Anything. Ask and it’s yours.”
She traced the pad of her finger over his full lower lip. “Will you wear your fangs?”
He threw back his head and laughed, but when his gaze met hers again, passion and desire burned in the smoky depths. “Ah, so you want to play the vixen and the vampire, do you?”
She pursed her lips. “I most certainly do,” she purred. “With you. Forever.”
A word about the author...
Debra St. John has been reading and writing romance since high school, where she dreamed about publishing a romance novel some day. Her dream came true when she started writing sultry contemporary romance with sexy heroes and spunky heroines for The Wild Rose Press, Inc. The Vampire and the Vixen is her sixth release.
She blogs at:
Authors by Moonlight
(www.authorsbymoonlight.com).
Heroines with Hearts
(http://heroineswithhearts.blogspot.com),
and Acme Authors Link
(http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com).
Readers are invited to visit her at her web site:
www.debrastjohnromance.com.
Although she's a country girl at heart, she lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband, who is her real-life hero.
Other Books You Might Like
An Unexpected Blessing by Debra St. John
http://amzn.com/B00A53KMSC
The Chauffeur Wore an Evening Gown by Roni Adams
http://amzn.com/B00563RUMC
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Praise for Debra St. John
Dedication
Holiday Romance from Debra St. John
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Other Books You Might Like
Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
The Vampire and the Vixen Page 4