Page 45 of Yuletide Guard

A new day was coming.

Today was going to be the day.

The snow had rejuvenated him, freshened him and his resolve. He knew that what he had planned next would work, any thoughts that it wouldn’t had been washed away. Of course he would be successful. Why would he not be?

It had been a long couple of days, and he had barely slept. He needed to get some rest, then he would be clear-headed to figure out exactly what he had to do.

Gathering his clothes, he headed back inside, pleased to see that his skin was ruddy and red from the snow. He liked that. Samara needed a little more color on her pale skin. Maybe when he brought her here, the two would play out in the snow until they were both red and invigorated.

Dropping his clothes and shoes by the front door, Dante didn't bother to put them on or to get clean ones from the closet, he had other things on his mind. Mainly sleep and then he’d get on his computer and figure out who he was going to target and how he would do it.

The fire still raged in the fireplace, the flames dancing about much as the snowflakes had outside. It was mesmerizing. He stretched out on the sofa on his side so he could watch as he went to sleep. As he lay there, he thought about Samara. Was she thinking about him? Was she hoping that he would hurry up and get to her? Was she trying to figure out a way to get out of her house and away from those who sought to destroy their love so she could come to him?

“Don’t worry, my sweet Samara,” Dante said aloud. “I’m coming for you. I'mcomingfor you. I’m going to bring you here to the home I chose for us. I'm going to give you the Christmas of your dreams, I'm going to spoil you like the beautiful, special princess that you are. I'm going to love you forever. I'm not ever going to let you go. Not ever. Not for anything. It’s going to be just the two of us for all eternity. We’re going to live together and then we’re going to die together, and nothing and no one is going to come between us. You're mine, sweet Samara, you are mine to love and cherish, and that’s what I'm going to do.”

Fixing his gaze on the flames, Dante let his mind relax, just a couple of hours sleep and then he’d get to work. Today was going to be the first day of the rest of his life.

*****

8:17 A.M.

“I hope you don’t mind us coming over so early,” Hannah Drake said when Samara and Michael opened the front door.

Hannah had her two-year-old daughter’s hand held tightly in her left hand, and almost two-year-old Asher’s hand held tightly in her right. Both toddlers were bouncing up and down with excitement, their cheeks pink from the cold, their eyes sparkling, big smiles on their little faces.

“Aunt Sami,” Asher squealed, wriggling out of Hannah’s gripto wrap himself around her legs. He couldn’t say her name yet, so he always called her Sami, it reminded her of when she was a very small girl and Fin used to call her that.

“Hey, buddy,” Samara said, picking up her nephew and getting a big wet kiss on the cheek. “Come on in,” she said to Hannah, who led Noelle inside.

“We thought we’d come by for a visit since you're stuck in here,” Hannah explained, removing her coat and her daughter’s. “I was going to come later this morning, but when I told these two we were going to visit you, they were so excited they couldn’t wait, so sorry we’re here so early.”

“That’s okay, we were both up,” Michael said.

After their talk last night, she had slept straight through to six o’clock. It had been good sleep too, restful and quiet, not haunted by bad dreams that had her constantly waking and tossing and turning. As though even in sleep his body was attuned to hers, Michael had woken only a minute or so after her and had persuaded her—fairly easily—to take a shower together.

Samara had never had sex in the shower before. What her grandfather had done to her at such a young age had altered how she saw sex. It wasn't something she had looked forward to doing like the other girls at school, and while she had done it a couple of times, it was never something she had enjoyed, just something she had done to prove to herself that she wasn't too scared.

But with Michael it was different.

With Michael, it had been everything she had wished it could be.

“We’re happy to have you guys here,” Samara said, smiling at Hannah and the toddlers.

Asher squirmed in her arms, so she set him down and watched as he and Noelle chased each other about.

She had never really thought about having kids before, notbecause she didn't like them or that she didn't want them, but because she had never foreseen that she would be in a relationship and so in a place to have a baby. But now …

Now she wasn't really sure.

She and Michael hadn't discussed anything yet. Were they officially a couple? Were they dating? Were they going to live together once this was over? Were they going to get married one day? Were they going to have kids? All she knew was that they loved each other and had spent an amazing night together with mind-blowing sex and the best sleep she’d ever had.

But she wanted more than that.

Now that she’d had a taste of what it could be like to be in a relationship with someone she loved and share their lives rather than living a solitary life, she knew she wasn’t willingly going to give it up.

Samara couldn’t stop her gaze from moving to Hannah’s stomach. Her friend was four months pregnant and just beginning to show. She wondered what it felt like to know that a person growing inside you was half you and half the person you loved.

“Okay, munchkins,” Michael rounded up the kids, “who wants cookies and chocolate milk?”

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