Page 20 of Santa's Wish
"Santa," the barista called.
I glanced at the other vampires, but they didn't look, too engrossed in their own conversations to pay attention to us.
"They all know me," Santa said when he caught me staring. He took a long sip of his drink and his Adam's apple bobbed. I loved watching his throat flex as he swallowed. I wanted to lick him from collar bone to jaw, to taste him before I let him taste me.
Fuck. I wanted him to taste me, to drink my bloodthe way he efficiently guzzled the warm beverage in his hand. That couldn't be right, could it? I felt the heat in my face again, but even more blood rushed to my cock.
Santa finished his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "We should go."
He ushered me out the door the same way he'd guided me through Irena's, one hand at my waist, the other tossing his cup into the compost bin.
"You smelled too tempting," he said after we'd walked a block at a pace so brisk my shins ached.
"How so?"
"The couple in the corner wanted to make you their third for the night."
I almost stopped walking, but then the absurdity of his statement caught up with me and I barked a laugh. "They would have tired of me, same as everyone else."
Santa leaned in and nuzzled my throat with the cold tip of his nose. "I can assure you, your scent is intoxicating."
"It's a wonder I haven't been mauled by vampires before, then," I quipped.
"I'm glad I met you first." He pulled me closer to his side, and I could feel a bit more warmth coming from his body. "I don't want to maul you, but I will show you a good time."
A vampire descended upon us from above in a black cloak that fluttered in the wind, and I let out a squeak. His dark hair was pulled back into a thickbraid that hung over his shoulder and halfway down his chest. His skin was a strange blend of pale and dark, but his accent was all Boston. "Don't you want to share?" he asked.
"We asked so nicely back at the diner."
I assumed the voice coming from behind me belonged to the other vampire who had been seated at the corner table at Blood Drive. He'd sat with his back to me. When I tried to get a glimpse at his face in the window's reflection, I noticed he was staring at me, so I'd looked away.
I wished I hadn't been such a coward. I wanted to identify these two from a police line-up if needed.
When I looked behind me, I saw nothing. One tug on my shoulders, and he'd ripped me from Santa's side. My suit suddenly felt tight beneath my armpits, and my feet lifted from the sidewalk.
Fuck! This vampire could fly!
"Not so fast." Santa grabbed the other vampire with one arm around his chest, his muscles straining his nice suit. In his other hand, he held a silver dagger to the vampire's throat.
"Let him go." The vampire holding me tightened his grip in my armpits.
"You first," Santa said.
My captor laughed and climbed another few feet above the cobblestone street. "With pleasure."
A split second before he let go, I knew what he wasplanning. I pinwheeled my arms, but it was no use. I fell back to the uneven street with a sickening crack.
"Boz!"
I couldn't see through the tears in my eyes. I tried blinking them away, but that only made it worse. Santa was covered in black blood, as was all but the silver guard of the dagger in his hand.
"What did you do?" I asked.
He scooped me into his arms and the world seemed to move around us the way it had when we traversed the rooftops before. I heard the creak of the apartment building's main door, and then the click of an unfamiliar lock.
Bright light made me squint again, and then I was sprawled out on an unfamiliar couch. I heard water running somewhere in the apartment. When Santa returned to my side, he wore a t-shirt and his face was clean once more.
"This is not how I expected tonight to go," he muttered.
