A Vampire for Christmas - By Michele Hauf Page 0,46
was looking for took off so fast, I had to move quickly.”
“You want me that bad, eh?” he said, a smirk curving his lips so appealingly, Olivia tilted against his body as if she were a magnet snapping to steel, bringing their faces close.
“Anything wrong with that?”
“Not that I can figure out. So you’re someone famous?”
She had needed for it to be out there—her monstrosity. Yet she hoped it would be the least important thing between the two of them. Because right now the only thing important was getting as close to Daniel’s skin as she possibly could. “That I am.”
“I’ve never heard of you.”
“That kills me. Though I will grant that I am a rising star. I’ve been on the scene two years. My last single hit the top ten Billboard chart. You haven’t heard ‘Daydream’ on the radio?”
“Sorry. Don’t do much daydreaming lately, though I do listen to the radio.”
“You’re probably into heavy metal and don’t listen to light pop stuff.”
“Actually, I’m more of an oldies—Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.—fan. Christmas carols, eh?”
“It is the holiday season. I’m officially on a month vacation, but I agreed to a couple quick appearances during the week leading up to and Christmas Eve. I love holiday songs. What about you?”
He shrugged, then offered as if an afterthought. “‘Little Drummer Boy’ used to be my favorite.”
“Oh, I love that one! Ba rum pa pum pum. But why did it used to be your fave? Do you have a different one now?”
“No, I’ve never done all that Christmas stuff. Celebrating Christmas implies you believe in all that religious ballyhoo. And monsters don’t do that belief.”
“I see.” She tapped a finger on his mouth. “Just because you keep saying it, doesn’t make it so. I don’t see a monster sitting next to me.”
With a glance in the rearview mirror to verify the cabbie was humming to the tunes streaming through his ear-buds, Daniel then flashed her some fang.
They were pretty and sharp, but— “It’s going to take more than a little fang to scare me off.”
“Yeah, why is that? What do you see in me that you can’t find in anyone else? So much so that you’re willing to risk the bite? Convince me you’re not a fang junkie.”
Fang junkie? Not her. But what did she see in him beyond his obvious physical appeal? Freckles and a sexy smile did not make for the ultimate boyfriend. Though the fact he’d not ripped into her throat last night, and had coyly played along with her and had come to see her tonight earned him major points in the romance department.
“I’m not interested in you biting me.” But certainly the risk had been what initially attracted her. “I’m interested in the man who had no idea who I was last night, and who wanted to kiss me and make some skin-on-skin contact. Someone who doesn’t care if my next record tops the charts or if I can walk on stage in a sheer dress with strategically placed rhinestones.”
“You have a dress like that?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I might.”
She studied his mouth, which was slightly parted, and she could feel the heat of his breath kiss her cheek. So close, yet she didn’t want to kiss him with the cabbie three feet away. She wasn’t stupid. Even the most unsuspecting carried a camera, waiting for opportunity to make a cool bundle on the pictures they could snap of her.
“What say we monsters discuss it further at my place?”
The cab rolled to a stop and Daniel glanced up and down the street. “This neighborhood doesn’t fit with my idea of where a star would live. It’s old money and old ladies walking old dogs.”
“Exactly. No one ever thinks to look for me here. And New Yorkers are famous for ignoring celebrities, no matter where they see them, which makes for a perfect vacation getaway.” She reached over him and opened the door. “When I take off this gown, I shed Olivia Adorata, the star, and become plain ole me. A girl who wants to help you shed your monster, too. You want to give it a go?”
Having already gotten used to Daniel’s apparent need for long stares, she loved the intensity of the connection. It burned into her and read something in her that even she didn’t know about. Was it a vampire gaze that could seduce her to his will? She didn’t feel as if he were trying to overtake her mind, perhaps only wrestling with