A Vampire for Christmas - By Michele Hauf Page 0,23

rabbit looking into the muzzle of a hungry wolf.

“Get the hell away from her, Leona,” Trace growled, stepping between the two of them.

A sigh of relief escaped Charlotte’s lips. Where had he come from? Unlike when the woman had come up behind her, Charlotte was now facing the main lobby area and hadn’t noticed him approaching. Without looking, he reached back and clasped her hand, warming her icy fingers.

Leona rubbed a fingernail below her lower lip as if to wipe off excess lipstick. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to hurt her. But she does look delicious. We were just talking, weren’t we?”

Hurt? What was she talking about?

“I said go away.” Trace’s tone, though quiet, was sharp enough to cut paper.

“You’re such a goddamn hypocrite,” Leona said. “Sitting on the Governing Council, telling the rest of us to stay away from humans when you’ve got a human girlfriend yourself.”

“That’s enough.”

“Is she petitioning you to become a changeling, too? ‘I’ll do anything,’” Leona said in a fake vibrato. “‘My body…my blood…if you’ll just turn me.’” She smiled again, broader this time, and Charlotte’s blood ran cold.

Two small fangs hung from Leona’s mouth, making indentations on her lower lip. “I want to be a vampire just like you,” she mocked.

“Expect to be summoned,” Trace said curtly. Turning to Charlotte, he added, “Let’s go.”

ONCE OUTSIDE, CHARLOTTE grabbed Trace’s coat sleeve, forcing him to stop. Before he exited the hotel lobby however, he’d sent a quick text to the field office. Guardians would soon be here to take care of Leona, as well as find out just what her human friend knew.

“What the hell was…that?” Charlotte whispered. “I know what I saw, but—vampires?”

“We’ll talk about it in the car.” Maybe he could convince her it was nothing. Was that even possible after what she’d seen and heard? If not, he knew what he had to do.

“No, I want to talk about it now.”

He glanced around. There were too many people to risk it here.

“Come on,” Charlotte said, as if sensing his reluctance. “Let’s take a walk.” Incredibly, she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

“A walk?”

“Yes. I love this part of town. Besides, we’ll both think more clearly if we’re walking, and I have a feeling this is going to take more than a simple explanation.”

He gave a short laugh. “You got that right.” Why did it feel so natural, so comfortable to be with her? he thought bitterly as he automatically matched his stride to hers.

They passed a liquor store, making him wish he had a pint of something right now. Maybe it’d loosen up the knots of apprehension twisting in his gut. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Charlotte again. Hell, he’d barely said hello.

“Listen, Charlotte. You weren’t meant to see what you did back there. That’s why I insisted on going to the party with you in the first place…so something like that wouldn’t happen.”

“So what did happen?” Charlotte asked, her breath fogging in front of her face. “Leona kept referring to humans, not people. The fangs. The Council. Changelings.” She gave a nervous laugh but still hadn’t let go of him. “You can’t possibly be a…a… Can you?”

“First of all, no matter what you saw or what you think I am, I care about you. A lot.”

He cursed himself for thinking he could hide his true nature from her. Especially when he’d let himself get close to her again. Since hiring her, he’d spent time poring through the storage room boxes with her, taken her shopping for holiday décor, sitting down for afternoon tea with her and his grandmother. God, he loved spending time with her. It didn’t matter what they were doing.

What a fool he’d been to think he could keep his distance this time, underestimating how powerful his feelings for her would be. The first instant when he’d laid eyes on her in the parking lot, he’d desperately wanted her back in his life, whether he’d been ready to admit it then or not. And now this? He cursed Leona and he cursed Xtark Software.

“Yes…yes, I know you do. And I…well, maybe it’s crazy, but I feel the same way. About you.”

She cared about him? Even now? Confused, he glanced down. Her chin was lifted, her expression relaxed, and she was leaning slightly against him as they walked. Not exactly normal reactions when a human woman suspects that the guy she’s been with is a vampire. But she’d clearly put two and two together. A spike