And he knew where to find that.
WITH A YAWN, Olivia opened the door and tugged Daniel across the threshold. It was two in the morning, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. Now that he was here, she could.
“Missed you,” he murmured as she snuggled into his cool embrace. Snowflakes sifted down her back and skimmed the slinky silk nightgown. “Shouldn’t be here, but can’t stay away.”
“Here is the only place you should be,” she said, and led him into the bedroom. “I figured you needed to go out to…”
“Yeah, I had to do that,” he agreed.
Imagining Daniel leaning over a woman to sink his fangs in her neck made her heart ache, so she quickly pushed the image away. “Let’s not talk. Just touch me.”
“Works for me.”
They landed on the bed like lovers who had been together for years, finding each other’s sensitive spots with ease and lingering until the heady climax bonded them in ways neither would ever unravel. And yet they were new lovers, so finding an unexplored sensitive spot behind Daniel’s ear with her tongue gave Olivia a giggle. And he wanted to spend time searching for her G-spot, which she didn’t mind at all, and—mercy, but he found it.
Skin flushed from exhaustion hugged and caressed. Lips tendered kisses to every inch of arm, leg, stomach and breasts. Fingers learned to speak a sign language shared by lovers with taps and tickles and strokes.
Hours later, Olivia rolled into Daniel’s embrace. “Don’t leave me tonight.”
He kissed her forehead. “I won’t. It’s almost morning and the curtains are drawn. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
“Me, too. Daniel, I love you.”
She felt his muscles tense and when he moved away from her, Olivia’s world shattered.
“Sorry, sweetie, you can’t love a monster. I don’t deserve that.” He winced and smoothed a hand over her hair. “My soul doesn’t deserve you.”
“You’ve a beautiful soul, Daniel.” She kissed him in the darkness, two mouths, one making promises the other didn’t want to speak, didn’t know how to accept. “I wish your soul felt worthy of love.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t.” He rolled to his back and allowed her to snuggle against his arm, but she sensed he’d shut down, no longer open to emotion.
“I’m not going to apologize, because I meant it,” she said. “I don’t need you to love me back. I wanted you to know how I feel. This past week has been amazing. You’ve distracted me from my world and—”
“And brought you into my world. That was stupid of me, Olivia. Hell, you said you wanted to go slow.”
She had said that. But apparently her heart hadn’t been listening. She wanted him to want her, to want to share his world with her. But she understood his reluctance.
Didn’t make it any easier on her heart right now.
“I should leave,” he said.
“No. Please. I know you probably don’t need much sleep. Can I fall asleep in your arms? You can slip out when I’m snoring.”
“Olivia.”
“Please.” She kissed his ear, the side of his eye where his lashes flicked faery kisses against her nose. “And I’d like you to bite me. I want to feel that intensity again.”
It was as if their souls had bonded in that moment. And whether or not he could deal with that emotion, she needed it desperately. It was a sacrifice that didn’t feel like a sacrifice. It felt like the next natural step to their relationship.
He nudged his nose against her neck. “You smell like sex and cookies. My favorite smell.”
“Can I be your favorite taste? Can you bite me more often, without causing…you know?”
“I could do it a few times a month without changing you or making you weak. I thought you weren’t interested in the bite?”
“That was before you bit me.”
“The swoon is good to mortals. Makes you sway with me. I like that.”
“It makes me feel so close to you and jealous of all the women you’ve bitten.”
“No need to be jealous of a quick bite. It’s just that. It feeds my need.”
“Is that how it was when you bit me?”
“Never.” He tilted his head and kissed her neck, tonguing it lazily, which brought her back to the delicious bliss she’d felt when they were making love. “Sway me more, lover.”
The vampire’s fangs glided into her vein and Olivia gasped and clutched his bicep. Her soul glittered and reached for the intrusion, pricking itself upon Daniel’s darkness and drowning, sinking, but loving every wicked moment.
HE SLIPPED OUT OF her bedroom as soon as he guessed she was sleeping. Dressing on his way to the door, Daniel shoved his feet in his boots and then quietly left. Outside, he pressed his back to the door and closed his eyes.
He could still taste her on his tongue. The rich, thick treat glided through him, seeking to cling, to master him. To overtake his soul with her brightness.
She thought his soul was deserving of love?
He wanted to be worthy, he really did.
CHAPTER FIVE
OLIVIA ADORATA WAS a sensation. Daniel could feel the love radiate out from the Times Square crowd as her voice carried over their heads and segued into their hearts. Her face filled the Jumbo Tron and snowflakes fluttered about her head. She sang “O Holy Night,” and he found himself staring in awe and mouthing the words he’d learned as a kid along with the audience.
Dressed all in white and sequins, she sparkled onstage, a brilliant star to lead wanderers to a promise of happiness. She wasn’t a monster, not in his mind. But he could understand now how she felt, in her heart, that her stage persona had become monstrous and too huge for her normal self who liked to be tucked away in a tiny apartment and bake cookies.
The vampire he had become was too huge for the investment broker he’d once been. But standing here in Olivia’s aura of sound and emotion, he knew he could stand forever—and he wanted to get a grasp on his monster so it didn’t bring them both down. He’d bitten her again. He wasn’t sure if that was good, bad or just plain evil.
He really liked her. Hell, he might even go so far as to—no, probably better not think it. Wouldn’t get his heart broken that way.
She said she loved you last night. Way to spoil the moment by freezing up on her, dude. You haven’t learned a thing about timing and women.
Yeah? What man did have a handle on the emotional stuff?
Scrubbing a hand over his head, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the words she sang. Fall on your knees… O hear the angel voices… And the soul felt its worth.
Lucky soul, that.
She wielded the voice of an angel who had touched his dark heart. And maybe, just maybe, a small portion of that heart, or even the edges, glowed brightly in the sound of her voice, responding to her touch in ways that brought him to his knees, wanting to worship her, not as a popular music idol, but as a gorgeous woman who needed love and understanding as much as he did.
His soul. Did it feel worthy of Olivia’s love?
They were two struggling through the mire, and had stumbled upon one another. Why couldn’t they make it work?
Hell, he wished it wasn’t Christmas Eve. The moon was high in the sky, though he couldn’t see it standing here in the middle of the city illuminated by unnatural lighting. But he felt the moon’s ominous presence and knew he had better things to do than lament the love he could never deserve.
Just as he forced himself to turn and leave, the crowd burst into applause. The song was over. Daniel cheered along with everyone, shouting out a few whoops—until he saw a new singer walk on stage to renewed cheers, and the man put his arm around Olivia. She introduced him as Parker Troy and he agreed to sing a duet with her, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”
And then he kissed Olivia full on the mouth to uproarious applause.
Daniel slapped a hand over his heart and stumbled backward, his steps stuttering as rapidly as his heartbeat.
Knew it, his conscience whispered. She was never yours. That soul of yours? Dark to the core and as unworthy as they come.
Turning and pushing through the tangle of worshippers, he blindly escaped the roar that threatened to suck him down to the ground and stomp upon his tender heart.
Spying Olivia’s driver as he passed, he avoided eye contact with the man, then kicked it in gear and headed north until he arrived at the same place he’d been every other night for the past ten days. The girls standing before the shoddy wood fence ran toward him. Charity, the quiet one, was eight, and Mary was twelve, the bossy one who looked after her little sister and mother.
“Where have you been?” Mary said, grabbing him by the wrist and tugging him along. “She’s really bad. You said tonight was the night.”
Daniel flinched when Charity tugged his jacket hem. Wide brown eyes sought his. Her hair was tangled, and he bet she hadn’t eaten a wholesome meal in weeks.
“Is my mommy going to be a vampire?” the little girl asked.
“Charity, we said not to use that word,” Mary admonished.
Daniel winced and considered what to say. To lie to them would be cruel, and their mother hadn’t lied since she’d been bitten and had been struggling against the inevitable vampirism that could overtake her soul. Little girls shouldn’t have to know such horrors as homelessness and vampirism. Yet Mary was so straightforward, she was like a forty-year-old in a twelve-year-old’s body.
“Not if I can help it,” he offered. A mournful moan echoed from behind the fence. It was where the mother had been living with her daughters for the past few months. “She had anything to drink?” he asked Mary.
“No money for vodka. But I did get her some Pepsi.”
Since her mother had lost her job, the girl had been forced to grow up too quickly. Daniel could relate in a strange way; he’d been forced to view his life differently since vampirism had lost him his job. The body did what it had to do to survive. It was the minds of these sweet girls he worried about.
“I’m going to check on your mother.”
Mary shoved him toward the makeshift gate, while Charity clung to him. He put a palm to her head. It was so cold. She needed a cap, though the mittens he’d brought them a week ago were on her hands. How could he have forgotten caps?
Kneeling to put himself at eye level with the misfortunate shivering thing, he asked Charity, “You know what tonight is?”
She nodded. “Santa comes and brings toys to the kids who have homes.”
His heart shattered. He felt Mary’s stern admonishment of her sister without having to look at her stoic little face.
“Santa is make-believe,” he said and didn’t regret the truth. These girls deserved his honesty. “Christmas is the celebration of a great man’s birthday. Good things happen on Christmas Eve.” He stopped himself from saying “I promise,” and patted Charity’s head before pushing through the gate.
Laura Jones sought his gaze, her pale eyes—circled not with black makeup but instead darkened from her struggles over the past week—were wide and manic. Her shoulders shook and her hands did, as well, as she rubbed them along her jeans as he approached. He prayed she hadn’t succumbed to the madness.
Daniel had learned, only after he’d been bitten and had answered the insane compulsion to drink blood, that there were a few ways a mortal could avoid transforming into a vampire. They could commit suicide. They could stake the vampire who had bit them—good luck finding the asshole. Or they could attempt to not drink blood before the next full moon, which would then allow the vampire’s taint to pass through their system.
Only problem with that last one was sure madness overtook the mortal who fought the blood hunger. Or so he’d been told. He’d had two weeks to go before the full moon, but had succumbed to the insane craving within five days. If he had known better, he would have tried to wait for the moon. He hadn’t known better.
But Laura would now benefit from his knowledge. With her daughters to occupy her during the day and his nightly visits, she was succeeding in beating the hunger. She had to make it through tonight, or actually past midnight when the moon was highest in the sky.
He kneeled before the woman and clapped his hands together in determination. “Let’s do this.”
“I can’t.” She beat against his chest with ineffectual fists. “I can’t wait. I need it now. You said if the craving got too strong you’d let me drink your blood.” She lunged for his neck but he gripped her wrists and pushed her against the fence.
“I also told you, tasting vampire blood is not going to work. You need mortal blood—hell, Laura, you can do this. It’s just a few more hours. Don’t you want to get through this for your girls?”
“Girls?” Her eyes flickered toward the gate. “Yes, bring one here. A nice warm drink of blood.”
He swallowed and shook his head. He remembered the craving. It was relentless and would not cease. Much like the tug he’d felt on his heart upon seeing that bastard kiss Olivia.
Don’t think about what you’ve lost. You need to be here one hundred percent for this family.
Laura struggled and pleaded that he was hurting her. He wasn’t, but he knew if her daughters heard her cries, they’d rush back here, even though they had respected his ban and stayed outside.
He leaned in and pulled the woman onto his lap, and gently wrapped a palm about her mouth so her scream, which sounded right now, was muffled.
“We’ll get through this together, Laura. I’m going to make sure those beautiful girls out there have a mortal mother to take them into the New Year. Let’s think about anything but blood and vampires right now. Did you notice it’s starting to snow?”
Heavy flakes fluttered from the sky, and the only thing he could think was the girls should be snuggled in warm beds with stuffed animals tucked under their arms. Laura had been laid off in the summer, and as a recent widow without life insurance or close family, she’d ended up on the streets months later. She hadn’t asked for the vampire to attack her.
Only proved everyone was vulnerable. Even white-collar stockbrokers with attitudes a mile wide.
What had Laura Jones done to deserve this crappy deal?
“What about Christmas carols?” he asked, the gorgeous sound of Olivia’s voice returning to him. The world felt right when he heard her voice. Until that bastard had kissed her in front of everyone. Who the hell was he—no. Didn’t matter anymore. It was apparent Olivia had more than a vampire tucked in her Christmas stocking.
“Do you know any Christmas songs?” he asked Laura.
She shook her head negatively and tried to bite his fingers, but he held her firmly. He had the strength of ten men now—and one werewolf—so he had to be careful he didn’t lose control.
“You want to know my favorite? It’s that drummer boy song. I bet you remember that one. Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.”
He sang a few verses, and was transported to the backseat of the cab with Olivia—damn it, he had to get her out of his head!
Laura began to nod and hum. Wild eyes flickered at him, but he sensed it was safe to let go of her mouth.
She sniffed back tears and hummed along with the next verse.
Only a few hours, he told himself. If Christmas truly was a magical time, as he’d told the girls, he wished for a miracle tonight.
OLIVIA’S DRIVER HAD FOLLOWED Daniel, as she’d instructed him to do if he caught a glimpse of the elusive vampire. She hadn’t told anyone she was seeing a vampire, of course. They drove down Broadway while she changed in the backseat. She’d mastered the art of tugging a bulky sweater over her evening gown and slipping up jeans without revealing skin to the driver.
Twenty minutes later, the car pulled over across the street from what looked like an abandoned house, sandwiched next to a vacant lot. A scrappy wood fence connected the plots, and two girls huddled on a broken bench that hadn’t seen a bus stop for years.
“This is the place,” the driver announced. “I don’t thin
k you should go out there, Miss Adorata. This neighborhood is not safe.”
She glanced down the street. A neon café sign advertised beer and Irish rum. A golden glow from the streetlight highlighted the heavy snowflakes. Looked like a scene that belonged inside a cracked snow globe.
“I’ll be fine. Just give me a few minutes.”
She got out and tugged up the parka hood to conceal her appearance because she was still in full makeup. No one was around but she could never let down her guard. None of that mattered because she was concerned the girls were outside alone with no caps.
The taller of the two approached Olivia as she neared and her posture emulated that of a tough prison guard with attitude. “Who are you?”
“I’m looking for a friend,” Olivia said. “His name is Daniel.”
The smaller girl began to say something, but the one Olivia guessed was her older sister pushed her back toward the fence. It was then she heard the soft singing on the other side of the fence. She approached and put her gloved hands to the wood and listened.
“You can’t go back there,” the girl warned. “Fancy lady like you could get in trouble in this neighborhood.”
“Who is he with?” she asked.
“My mommy,” the littler one offered. She dodged her sister’s hand as she tried to grab her and managed to sidle up along Olivia. “He’s saving her. We don’t want her to turn into a vampire.”
“Charity, you don’t tell strangers stuff like that,” the older one hissed.
A vampire? How could Daniel save a person from becoming a vampire? Had he bitten someone and now as a result, she was changing?
She pressed against the fence, but when the older girl insinuated herself before her, Olivia stepped back out of respect.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Olivia offered. “If he’s busy helping your mother I’ll catch him later.”
The younger of the two tugged on Olivia’s sleeve and said, “Your eyelashes are really long.”
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