A Vampire for Christmas - By Michele Hauf Page 0,43

thought the vampire would lunge and rip out her carotid, he smirked, cluing her that she’d reacted with the fearful response he’d been hoping for.

Releasing her breath, her heart thundered and her skin grew clammy. Could she really do this? She wouldn’t even look over her shoulder in an attempt to find that approving nod she’d once always required.

This time you’re on your own. Can you make a decision without the approval you’ve grown to expect?

“You want to kiss the vampire?” His tone was teasing. “I knew you were one of those fang junkies.”

“I’m not. I already told you I bruise easily. My wanting a kiss has nothing to do with you being a vampire. In fact, the whole Dracula part does unsettle me. Fangs are not sexy. And sure, werewolves freak the crap out of me, but I didn’t know that’s what they were until after they’d left and you told me.”

“Yeah, don’t call me Dracula. I don’t do capes.”

Now she did dare touch his mouth because she noticed a few freckles on his top lip and couldn’t not touch. “It’s you, Daniel. You’re…hell, you’re sexy and something about you appeals to a part of me that needs danger in her life. What’s wrong with a girl wanting to kiss a handsome man?”

He quirked a brow. That simple motion started a fast burn from her neck down to her breasts, where her nipples perked and her whole body sighed in anticipation. His husky voice melted through her skin and made her want to grab him, touch him, the threat of fangs be damned.

Could the girl, even when clad in the most unsexy outfit ever, do the ravishing? She didn’t see why not.

Olivia stood and pushed the vampire’s shoulder against the couch. “I’m going to kiss you, Daniel, but if I see a flash of fang, then you’re out of here. Deal?”

“You’re pretty bossy, you know that?”

“Does that mean there is no deal?”

He pondered it a moment, his now-we’ve-gone-beyond-friendship stare locked to hers for long seconds. “I’ll behave. For now.”

Disregarding his inability to fully commit to the deal, she straddled his legs and, kneeling on the couch, kissed him. His mouth was warm, firm and tinted with winter’s cool tang. They fit perfectly, and that was saying a lot for a first kiss. Nothing felt awkward about kissing Daniel, and everything felt right. And he wasn’t about to let her control the kiss because his hand went around her thigh, claiming her with a squeeze and pulling her closer.

She danced her tongue across his and surprised herself that she didn’t feel the sharp prick of fang. He tasted wonderful. Not like blood, but rather, coffee and caramel and maybe a dash of cream. The idea of a vampire drinking coffee was silly, yet so mysteriously sexy, she clasped his head with both hands and deepened the fierce kiss. A sense of success giddied through her system. She’d done it; mastered her fear of being unable to take risks.

She’d experienced an excess of lackadaisical lovers of late. Pretty boys who merely wanted to be seen with her, but when it came to pleasing her? They hadn’t studied Woman 101. Daniel the vampire was no slacker. He knew his curriculum, and oh, but he knew how to kiss.

A giddy thrill swirled in her core, a reward for stepping up and taking a chance.

“Hell, you taste incredible,” he murmured, and then pressed kisses along her jaw that alternated between nips with his front teeth and lush, licking strokes that curled her toes.

When he neared her neck, Olivia pulled back and pressed a palm to his iron-hard chest. Thundering heartbeats warned her not to get cocky. She hadn’t mastered this one, after all.

“This could get hot and heavy, Daniel.”

“I thought it already was. You willing to take it to the next level?”

“I never sleep with strangers. That’s not my thing.”

“So why’d you invite me up? You were the one who kissed me. If you’re a tease—”

“Because I was curious, and…I want you,” the danger-seeker inside her confessed. “But in order for me to know if I can trust you—”

“You can’t trust me.” He opened his mouth to reveal a fang.

“Pretty. But still not scared.”

He was right; she was crazy if pin-sharp fangs did not frighten her. But that was what this little embrace was all about: risk and conquering the debilitating need for approval.

“What I mean is, there’s a deeper kind of trust involved when a man wants to get busy with me. And