Page 29 of A Bond Beyond Blood

I hurried from my childhood bedroom to follow him to the living room, stunned into stopping abruptly when I turned the corner and was greeted with blinking colorful lights, sparkling silver tinsel, and the unmistakable scent of freshly cut pine.I gasped and brought my hand to my chest as my heart swelled with emotion.

Lights had been strung up across the living room ceiling, from the kitchen to the farthest wall, and a Christmas tree, big and full and decorated to the nines, stood proudly in the space beside the television.The tree was so tall the old foil star on top nearly kissed the ceiling, and he’d decorated the branches with all the ornaments from my childhood.

“Vinny,” I whispered, my throat tight as emotion threatened to overwhelm me.“How did you...?”I looked up at him, blinking through tears.

He ran a hand over the back of his neck in the only sheepish gesture I’d ever seen come from this confident man, then he shrugged.“I don’t really sleep.”

The first tear slipped from my eye and his brow furrowed.

“Are you upset?”

I barked out something between a laugh and a sob.“No.”

Vinny blinded me with a smile.“Merry Christmas, Jacqueline.”

He turned and slipped out the front door, closing it gently behind him, but I hurried after him, overwhelmed with emotion and unwilling to let him go just yet.

For months, I’d had to pretend I didn’t want this beautiful man.Now that I’d finally given up the charade, I hated to see him leave.

I pulled the door open and stepped outside into the sunlight, warm and bright.

The first day without clouds in weeks and the symbolism felt deeply profound, like something had been lifted not just from my shoulders but from the world itself.

Sensing my presence, he stopped beside his SUV and looked up, gifting me with another heart-stopping smile.Then he climbed inside, disappearing behind glass too tinted to see through.

I missed him already.

As I stepped back inside and closed the door, the sigh that slipped past my lips was a sickening display of lovestruck teenager that made me cover my mouth and giggle into the quiet living room.

In my childhood bedroom, surrounded by posters of bands I no longer listened to and nostalgic bits of my past, I’d had sex with a vampire.

And, God help me, I couldn’t wait to do it again.

Chapter Ten

Vinny

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