Page 52 of Santa's Wish
As I walked past Colette's office on the way out to Santa's car, I wondered, "Will I be able to fly?"
Colette laughed. "Highly unlikely. The vampires who can are from another line."
I would still be vulnerable to the vampire who had attacked me, then, even as a vampire. Still, I would survive the fall and heal with super speed.
Maybe being a vampire wasn't such a bad thing, after all.
"You smell terrible,"Santa said when I slid into his passenger seat. "Did you take a bath in bourbon?"
"It's only for a couple days!" I hoped. "The witch said she connected to your wards, that you wouldn't?—"
"I'm kidding!" He gave me an awkward hug, almost pulling me out of the bucket seat. "You smell like alcohol, but I can also feel the magic binding you to my wards and lifting the side effects for me." He grinned. "Though I wonder how you'll taste."
Santa didn't have to say much to get my libido pumping. The short drive always took too long, especially when he had to work.
It was Thursday night. After relieving some of the pressure with a quickie in the shower, Santa left for Fanglory. He closed on Thursdays, leaving me at home watching bad reality television until I fell asleep waiting for him.
I had two more nights as a human, and thenColette would turn me into a vampire. To prepare, I tried watching one of the vampire reality shows. It was like the old standard,Survivor, but instead of winning a million dollars, the one who outlasted the others was turned by the vampire host during the final episode. Tonight was the two-hour season finale.
One thing was certain: I wouldn't have passed all the ridiculous tests to become a vampire. I still didn't understand why Empress Marcella had chosen me, of all people. I'd only met with her once over a video conference call to share the findings of my report. That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, and yet, I didn't remember most of it.
"She wipes your mind," Santa confirmed when I blabbed my fears of my new boss, along with the plot of the reality show and my certainty I would have failed miserably. "She can access your memories, sometimes without you knowing." He shuddered as he lay down beside me. "She's seen me in your memories, then. She hasn't told Colette to kill me yet, so that's good."
"Why would she want to kill you?"
"Killing another vampire is forbidden without her permission, and I killed my sire. I thought it was the only way to break the sire bond."
"It's not?"
He shrugged. "Key and Greed met with an old-world shaman who freed them from it."
"Shamans?"
"Vampires who know magic. Most of their magic is herbal, but the powerful warding spells around the empress's palace in Rome differ from witch magic. I don't know how they came to be, but they are both vampires and witches. Either they were witches before they were turned, or they learned magic afterward."
"Did you ever try to learn magic?" I asked.
"Magic? Sweetness, I am magical enough. I drew you to me."
"You pushed me away at first," I reminded him.
"I'm glad I did." He pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss. He tasted of mint, but I hadn't registered the seconds it took him to brush his teeth before coming to bed. "If I'd let you pay me, we wouldn't be here now."
"Yeah?"
"You're the first person I've ever brought home from the club. I found the rest of my strays at VAMP or the homeless shelters and halfway houses around the city."
"Ever? In two hundred years?"
He kissed me again. "Is it that hard to believe?"
"No. You're very particular about separating your work and home life." I liked that about him. He never talked about work. I knew he enjoyed it, but he didn't rub it in my face. When he returned home, he still made me feel like I was the most important person in his life, no matter how much sex he'd had at the club.
Sex was sex. Cuddles were priceless, especially with a vampire who'd told me he didn't kiss on the lips.
A new fear dawned as I remembered the sign hanging outside the VIP lounge at Fanglory."Humans only. No Vampires Allowed."
"Will you still want me when I'm a vampire?"
