A Vampire for Christmas - By Michele Hauf Page 0,60
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.