“This is amazing! You do all this just for your guests?” she asked Finn as he guided her to a seat. He held the chair for her and pushed it in as she sat, then took the seat next to her.
“Of course, it’s for our guests. It’s Christmas. It’s a time to celebrate, and it makes us happy to be able to give joy to the humans we care about—or the humans our friends care about.”
“Your friends, are they the vampires, or the humans, or both?”
“Both,” Finn answered. “But by far, more vampire than human. The vampires tend to hang around longer.”
Mila understood he was talking about lifespan, not the time spent at the party. “I guess that must make it difficult to befriend humans.” She wondered if he’d had human girlfriends before. Girlfriends he’d lost to their mortality.
Finn shrugged. “We have our circle, all vampires, and their mates. Over the years, there ends up being some you can’t stand—” he laughed—“But there are others that I rather enjoy seeing year after year.”
“Your sister-in-law, Cicely, she said she’s an immortal but not a vampire.”
“Yes, she married my brother, and they bonded, so she now has immortality.”
“Yet, you have no wife?”
“I never felt so strongly to make a paramour immortal, no.” He took a sip from a black cup. Mila saw dark cups in front of many people, who must have also been vampires, and figured they discreetly served the blood in the opaque cups so the humans wouldn’t be nauseated by the sight. “But you never know who you’ll meet in your life.”
Mila warmed inside, blushing under his smoldering gaze. At that moment, she was certain the crush wasn’t one-sided, and she could understand why he’d never asked her out. How would he have explained that he could only date after the sun set? How would he have gone about letting her know that he could only drink blood? This strange meeting was probably the only way either of them would have been able to figure out how to be together.
A man at the head of the table clinked his glass and stood. Mila grabbed her glass that had been filled with champagne and stood with the others at the table.
As the man started talking, Mila had the strangest feeling that she’d met him before. She squinted and realized the dapper man speaking was the same as who’d let her into the house but cleaned up.
Now, instead of scary, he looked quite adorable. His hair had been tamed, trimmed even, and while it had appeared patchy before, now it looked full, a mix of white and gray that gave him a distinguished look. He wore an expensive-looking suit and a plaid bowtie that gave an extra charm to his ensemble.
“That’s the man who let me in,” Mila whispered to Finn when they sat. “Who is he?”
“That’s my father, Byron Huntsman. He’s been putting on this party every year since the turn of last century.”
“What was he doing in the servant’s kitchen? I mean, he’d told me he was getting a snack.” But she’d already figured out what that snack consisted of.
“He probably was….as well as hiding from the party. He loves to give to others, but he gets a little nervous about the socializing aspect of the party. That back area is where he goes to get away from everyone.”
“Oh,” Mila replied, taking another look at him. He seemed jovial enough, smiling at the people sitting next to him. “Funny how first impressions can be super wrong.”
The food was passed around, and Mila filled her plate. The person next to her was another human, and she was able to discuss with her how delicious everything was while Finn fell into conversation with the vampire on the other side of him. Despite her reservations, no vampires stared at the humans as they were eating. Maybe they find eating backward and repulsive.
She filled her stomach with exquisite food and wine, enjoying herself much more than she’d expected. She was also quite proud of herself for not spilling on the fancy dress she was loaned.
Even though she’d had plenty during dinner, she couldn’t pass up all the tasty desserts. She had a tiny sampling of everything offered, and by the time another bell rang—this one to signal the end of dinner—Mila was more than ready to stroll around the dance floor to burn off some calories and help her stomach feel less bloated.
Chapter 6
Finn had never felt as good as he did walking around the ballroom with Mila on his arm. He noticed that she averted her gaze any time they came across a couple who were feeding, but other than that, she seemed to be having a good time.
“It’s not that I think what you do is foul,” she explained. “It’s just that it seems so intimate, like making out in public.”
“And you wouldn’t make out in public?” he asked, maneuvering her to a specific location. When he stopped, he pointed up to a bundle of mistletoe overhead.
She smiled, blushing a little. “Well, a kiss under the mistletoe is expected. A random make-out session is not the same.”
“May I?” Finn asked.
When she nodded, he bent down, pressing a gentle kiss on her lips. One that wouldn’t embarrass her but was enough of a taste to leave him wanting more. Much more.
“Son! Who is that you’re kissing under that weed up there?” His father came up behind them, shaking them out of their moment.
“Father, this is Mila. I believe you two met earlier.”
“Ah, Mila! Yes, we passed earlier, but we didn’t officially meet. I’m Byron Huntsman, and I do hope you’re enjoying our party.”
Mila accepted his outstretched hand. “Yes, I am. Very much. Thank you for putting on such an event.”
His father leaned in toward Mila and spoke a little softer, but Finn could still make out his words. “Sorry about earlier. I was in a hurry for a snack and was getting an earful about needing to get ready. I promise next time I’ll be a better greeter.”
Mila giggled, a sound that lit up Finn’s heart. “It’s okay. I’m just glad we were able to meet again.”
His father looked from Mila to Finn. “I have a feeling we might have plenty of time to talk in the future, so I’ll let you kids be for now. There are a lot of folks I need to say hello to.”
As his father headed off, music in the room started up. “Would you like to watch the performance?”
Mila tilted her head. “What performance?”
“Ah, you’re in for a treat.” He led her to the perimeter of the dance floor as several professional ballet dancers had taken their place in the center.
As he expected, Mila’s face lit up at the show, and she gasped with delight when, during the next act, the ballerinas pulled audience members onto the dance floor and twirled them around, making them part of the show.
Finn found he was watching Mila more than he was watching the dancers. He’d seen their act many times over the year, and while he’d always enjoyed them, they gave him nothing compared to what Mila gifted him. The kicks and twirls on the dance floor paled in comparison to the way Mila’s eyes sparkled, and her mouth turned up in a wide grin.
When the performers finished a particularly tricky feat, Mila gasped with the crowd, her delicate hands covering her lips while her eyes widened. He couldn’t believe she was really there with him, this woman he’d come to adore over the months. He was enamored with her glee and knew at that moment, he’d give her anything she desired if it made her happy.
When the ballerinas took their final bow, the band started a waltz. “Would you like to dance?” Finn asked, thinking more about how nice it would be to have her in his arms than how little he actually cared about dancing.
“What is this, a waltz? I don’t know how to do that,” she replied.
“It’s easy. Just follow my lead, that is, if you have any basic rhythm.”
“I think I can handle that.” She laughed.
She fell into step with him as he led her in beats of three. The first time he twirled her, he gave her a verbal cue, but after that, he only had to give her a slight nod.
She was a natural, and they worked well together, to Finn’s
delight.
After a few waltzes, the music changed. The band took it to a more sultry vibe, bringing out the saxophone, and Finn took the chance to pull her closer and slow their pace.
As they swayed, his hand on her hip drifted lower. In response, Mila pressed closer to him and ran her hand up his neck to play with his hair. Despite all the people watching, Mila surprised him by leaning up and kissing him, deeper and more passionately than their sweet mistletoe smooch.
Finn felt like the kiss had been waiting a lifetime to manifest. Her lips were the only ones for him. Her entire essence surrounded him in that kiss, and his body was pulled to her as though she were his gravity.
He could have continued the kiss, but they were on the dance floor, and too many moving bodies for them to stay in one place for long.
“I think I need a drink,” Mila breathed when their lips parted.
Finn nodded and led her to the refreshment area. As she drank water, one of Finn's least-favorite vamps approached them.
“Finn, I saw you out there with this lovely lady. May I ask who is your delightful dance partner?”
His request was empty. Ulrich McDevitt ranked higher than Finn, and as such, he didn’t have to ask permission from Finn for anything. Finn steeled himself and answered in the respectful tone that was expected. “Sir Ulrich McDevitt, this is Mila Bernabe, my guest for the evening.”
“She doesn’t smell like you,” Ulrich replied. Finn could see the comment made Mila uncomfortable, which wasn’t surprising. Then Ulrich leaned in closer to her. “She doesn’t smell like anyone.”
“Nevertheless, she’s my guest tonight.” Finn attempted a detached tone, though a raging possessiveness engulfed him. He wanted Mila away from Ulrich, but he couldn’t be rude about it unless he wanted to deal with the consequences. The circle didn’t look well on lower-ranked individuals showing insolence to higher-ranking members.
Ulrich turned to Mila. “Would you gift me with the next dance?”
Finn wanted to object, but he had no ground to stand on. He could go to his father to intervene, but what would be his reasoning? Because Finn didn't like another man looking at his date?
Now, if Mila refused and Ulrich forced her, that would be grounds to alert his father—who was the same rank as Ulrich.
But Mila didn’t refuse him. Though she didn’t seem pleased about it, she answered, “Sure, why not?” and followed Ulrich to the dance floor.
“You smell divine,” Ulrich said, giving Mila another sense of the creeps.
“Uh, thanks,” she replied. Finn had addressed the man with so much regard that she figured he must be someone important. She’d agreed to dance with him so she wouldn’t slight the man or cause any problems.
But now she was desperate for the song to end quickly. Was this going to be one of the short ninety-second songs or a horrible eleven-minute one? She hoped for the former.
“You’re untouched. Virginal.” Ulrich’s words shocked and disgusted her. She nearly shoved him away, but she held her composure.
“That’s a personal thing to comment on,” she replied, trying not to cause offense but trying to set a boundary with him so he wouldn’t continue his lewd comments. “Not that it’s your business, but I’m not a virgin. Haven’t been in a long time.”
He pulled her closer, causing her to gasp, and he sniffed from her collarbone to her chin. “No, I mean, your blood is virginal. No one has drunk from you. Each time a vampire drinks, they add their mark, and no one has left theirs on you.”
To Mila’s horror, Ulrich’s teeth lengthened into fangs. His eyes dilated, becoming fully black. His grip tightened around her.
So much for not causing offense. She was getting the hell out of there.
She wrenched herself free from his grip and pushed past the other dancers, heading to where she’d left Finn, not daring to look back in case Ulrich was chasing her.
While they’d danced, she’d gotten turned around and quickly realized she’d headed in the wrong direction. Her panic rose, and the crowd thickened. More and more bodies twirled in her face, blocking her way. Mila looked frantically for the refreshment station to no avail.
The music picked up the pace, and the people around her spoke and laughed louder in response. The chaos overwhelmed her. She had to get away. Ulrich couldn’t find her again.
She pushed through the crowd, avoiding bumping into the jubilant partygoers—despite her fear of Ulrich. She didn’t want to have any wine stains spilled on her borrowed gown—still refusing to turn around, lest she spot the fanged black-eyed creature following her.
I should have never left Finn’s side. Fuck politeness.
Chapter 7
The moment Finn couldn’t see Mila anymore, he knew there was trouble.
“Excuse me,” he said to the couple that had approached him and tried to strike up a conversation.
He pushed through the crowd to find Ulrich with his face buried in someone’s neck—one of the human donors. Where was Mila?
A slight murmur in the crowd drew his attention—a wave of dancers floated apart, split down the middle like an untempered power demanding its way. He went that direction and found Mila, appearing distressed but yet strong as if she didn’t want her fear to be known while searching for an escape.
He could make it to her and push them both through the crowd to one of the doors, but she was closer to one of the secret corridors.
Quicker than a human eye could process, he swooped her out of the crowd and through the secret door in the wall, shutting it behind them and plunging them into darkness.
She screamed and started throwing punches, landing blows on his shoulders and chest. “It’s me. It’s me,” he told her, realizing that if she were afraid, then what he did would have felt like she was being abducted.
“Finn! I couldn’t find you!” Mila said, her voice having a frantic edge to it. “Ulrich, he, I think he was going to bite me. I know that’s a judgmental thing to say, but he looked like he was out of his mind, and his fangs were out, and—”
“Shhh,” Finn pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you dance with him. In fact, I shouldn’t have let you be here at all.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to go back in there.”
The thunderstorm had turned to sleet, and by now, the roads would be an icy mess, so he wasn’t comfortable letting her drive home. “I can set you up in a room, and I’ll make sure no one bothers you.”
“I don’t think I can be alone right now.”
“If you’d like, we can go to my den and talk for a while, get to know each other until you feel like retiring.”
At that suggestion, she took a deep breath and straightened. “I would like that.”
“All right, hold on to me. The tunnels are dark.”
They followed the secret passageway to his den—the sitting rooms of his apartment area. “Is this your secret lair?” she asked, letting out a small giggle.
“No, not a secret, not a lair. Just what I call my piece of solitude.” He’d spent almost a century in these windowless, cold concrete walls. Now, as he looked around, this space no longer expressed what he had felt before Mila came into his life.
The room had two walls of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and one wall with a television, fireplace, and media shelving full of DVDs and game consoles. The fourth wall had an archway that led to the kitchenette, the bathroom, and his bedroom. The items in his room, from the books to the decorative items he’d collected from all over the world, had once been a familiar comfort, but with Mila there too, suddenly, it all felt complete.
He didn’t even realize how empty his life had been until she stepped into it.
“Are you sure you’re okay here? Ulrich clearly scared you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you. I trust my instincts. I had an off feeling about Ulrich the moment he walked up to us, but you… I’ve always liked you. Plus, it’s Christmas, we’re s
nowed in, and I can’t speak for you, but I really want some time to just enjoy your company.”
Heat filled him. “I would like that too.” Not knowing how to respond, he excused himself and found lounge clothes he could offer her, and started the kettle for tea.
Nothing that happened that night was what he’d intended. He wanted to have a small glimpse, maybe a chat with her, but he’d never imagined she’d end up in his room. Yet, it felt right. In all his centuries, he’d never been so captivated by someone. But why Mila, and why now?
He’d met enough lithe women in his life, but he’d never slowed down enough to observe the sparkle in someone’s eye like he did with Mila. He never paid attention to a human’s smile and never listened long enough for their laughter to tickle his ears….like Mila’s.
“Why doesn’t everyone know about vampires?” Mila asked, seated on his couch, still in her red dress, as he made the tea in his kitchenette area.
Guilt crept up in him. He wouldn’t lie to her. “We stay hidden from people, and if someone finds out, then we have to erase their memories.”
“Are you going to do that to me? Have you done that to me?”
“No!” he exclaimed. “I wouldn’t do that to someone I wanted a relationship with. Only to someone who needed it so they could continue their life. I mean, if you wanted me to, I would, but only if you asked.”
“And if I asked, and you did it, and then we met again, would you tell me we’d met before?”
That one threw him. “I’m not sure. I mean, I guess if you asked me to make you forget me, then I’d be very careful to never encounter you again.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?
She shrugged. “I believe you.”
“Why are you so ready to accept me…who I am?”
“Because I spent my life living with people who were normal on the outside but monsters on the inside. I’d rather take my chances with someone out of a horror story than a human who is intent on destroying others.”
Holidays Bite: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Holiday Vampire Tales Page 44