Simone inclined her head toward him. “Of course, I do. It was my magic, after all. From the beginning, I knew what could happen to Ben…and to me. Why do you think I fought so hard for him?”
Because she’d either survive with him.
Or fall with her vamp.
***
Jamison watched Simone walk away. When the door closed behind her, he reached for the whiskey bottle. His hands were shaking. “Sonofabitch,” he muttered, stunned. “She knew all along that she’d be losing her head.”
“No.” William’s gaze was on the door. A faint grin tilted his lips. “Simone knew that she
could.
She just loved her vamp so much it didn’t matter.” His fingers drummed on the table. “Fucking insanity.” He grabbed his glass. The demon was drinking spiked eggnog. He tapped the eggnog against Jamison’s whiskey bottle. “You know what they say…angels are the craziest ones in the bunch.”
“Uh…” Jamison hadn’t known that anyone said that.
“They’re also the ones who fall the hardest.” William drained his glass. “That vamp had better be worth her fall, or else he’ll be getting another visit from us next year.”
Jamison nodded. “Damn straight.”
“And this time…” The tattoos darkened around William’s neck. “The ghost from his past will kick his
ass.
”
Jamison chugged his whiskey. William hadn’t seen Ben when the stake entered Simone’s heart, so the demon didn’t know…
The vampire loves her. Without her, Ben was broken.
Jamison had watched Ben shatter.
No, there wouldn’t be any ass kicking necessary. But maybe they’d still pay a visit to the vampire and his ex-angel, just for old time’s sake.
And to make sure Simone’s future never involves her being thrown away like garbage in an unmarked grave.
That image wouldn’t be leaving his mind any time soon.
Jamison motioned to the bartender.
But I’ll do my freaking best to drink that sight away.
“We’re staying here?” Cale asked him, squinting at Ben’s cabin. His face looked less than pleased. “It’s not about to cave in, is it?”
“Kid, you lived in an alley. Don’t knock my home.”
Cale flushed.
Aw, hell. Ben was so not good at the whole talking-to-humans bit. He’d have to work on that.
He’d talked with Cale, used some compulsion, and discovered that the boy was completely alone in the world. Both of Cale’s parents were dead. There were no other family members. The boy didn’t have anyone.
Or at least, he hadn’t.
“Go on inside,” Ben said gruffly. The front door was still open. When he’d raced out earlier, securing the place had been his last thought. “I’ll light a fire and get you warmed up.”
Cale took a step forward, but then stopped. “Promise not to bite me?”
He’d already promised
seven
times. Ben glared at the guy. “Don’t tempt me.”
Cale flashed a weak grin. “Sorry. Still getting used to the whole vampires-are-real thing.”
“Yeah, it takes some time.” Wait until the kid found out about the demons…
Cale slid into the cabin. “I wish the angel would come back,” he threw over his shoulder.
Me, too.
Ben rubbed his chest. His heart just—ached.
“I liked her,” Cale added. “She was—
damn, nice tree!
”
That sad, sagging tree was nice? Ben stomped in behind the kid, then he froze in his tracks. The tree was still sagging, but now it was also covered in dozens of ornaments and sparkling lights, and the thing just glowed.
A warm fire crackled in the nearby fireplace.
“Guess someone has the Christmas spirit, huh, vamp?” Cale was grinning as he stared at the tree, and, on his face, in his wide eyes, Ben saw…hope.
The same hope was rising in his chest. The tree shouldn’t look like that. And the place—it
shouldn’t
smell of vanilla. But it did.
“Be here,” Ben whispered, begged.
Then the little clock on his table clicked. The sound was so soft, but he heard it, and his gaze slid to the clock’s face.
Midnight.
Christmas. This was the day that Simone lost her wings.
He shook his head. He didn’t want that. She had to stay safe. She had to stay—
A floorboard creaked behind him. Ben whirled and saw her in the doorway. Flecks of snow were in her hair. And her eyes…they were golden now.
The gold of a vampire.
But when he looked at her, Ben just saw his angel.
“Merry Christmas,” Simone whispered.
Ben could only stare at her.
“Hey!” Cale’s voice cracked with excitement. “It’s my angel!”
Simone shook her head. Sadness flashed in her eyes. “Not anymore…”
Ben ran toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as tightly as he could. She was real against him. Warm. Not a dream. Not a memory.
“Always,” he said as he squeezed her, and he knew the squeeze was probably way too hard. “You’ll always be my angel.” Ben kissed her. Deep and hard, wild and desperate. With passion. With love. With everything that he had.
Because to Ben, Simone
was
everything. Every hope. Every dream. The reason he had to fight the darkness.
She tasted like heaven. Her arms wrapped around him. She met his kiss with the same wild hunger that consumed Ben.
His hands slid over her back. He caressed her delicate muscles and—
Ben lifted his head. “Your wings?”
Her golden gaze held his. “It was a fair trade.”
He wasn’t so sure. “I’m not worth them.”
“To me…” Her fingers slid over his jaw. “You’re worth everything.”
The cold air blew in behind her. The snow was falling again.
“Um, are you two…like a thing?” Cale asked nervously.
Ben dropped to his knees before Simone. This was so long overdue. He pulled the ring box from his pocket. “I kept this…it was all I had of you.” He opened the box. The ring gleamed. A ring he’d had made just for her.
The woman who’d stolen his heart, and held it tightly for ten years.
He lifted the box toward her. “Will you marry me?”
Simone smiled at him. A smile that lit her whole face, and had made Ben’s heart race in his chest. “Yes,” she said, laughing. “Always—
yes!
” Then she tackled him.
Ben fell back onto the hard floor, and he found himself laughing as she held him. The cold didn’t matter. The darkness he’d known—it was gone. There was only light.
Love.
Hope.
There was only Simone.
He hugged her, keeping Simone close to his heart, and Ben knew that he’d just been given the best gift of all. A second chance, with the one woman who made his vampire life worth living.
###
Thank you so much for reading A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL. I appreciate you taking the time to read Ben’s story!
Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved the Charles Dickens classic tale. And, each time that I read the story, Tiny Tim makes me tear up even as the character reminds me that we can always find wonder in the holiday season.
I certainly hope that your holiday season is filled with wonder.
Best wishes,
Cynthia Eden
In addition to her sexy paranormal romances, Cynthia Eden also writes dark romantic suspense tales.
MINE TO HOLD – Available now
She was one man’s obsession…
Nine years ago, Claire Kramer’s lover brutally killed her family, and he tried to kill her. She escaped, but she’s been haunted ever since that attack. Too afraid to trust another man and too worried that her past will catch up with her, Claire never gets too close to anyone. But then she meets Noah York.
He must have her.
Noah York is a man with secrets. The world sees him as a billionaire hotel tycoon, but Noah has a dark and dangerous side. For years, he worked covert military operations before he built his fortune. When it comes to death, Noah is a master. He knows that he should steer clear of Claire, but the white-hot attraction Noah feels for the delicate beauty is instant—and consuming.
He will never let her go.
Someone else is just as consumed by Claire—someone who will kill to possess her. And if Noah can’t stop the hunter in the darkness, he may just lose the one woman that he can’t live without.
***
MINE TO HOLD Excerpt:
His fingers slipped under her chin. Claire flinched at the contact and tried to back away from him. Her elbow rammed into the wall of the elevator. “I don’t…I don’t like to be touched.” The words were sharp. They were also true.
Normally.
But she hadn’t jerked away from Noah because the press of his fingers brought the usual cold fear.
She’d backed away because his touch had scorched her.
“It’s a pity,” he told her as his hand dropped back to his side. “Because I think that I could enjoy touching you.”
The elevator had stopped. She just realized that. How long had it been still? “Ah, why aren’t the doors opening?”
He glanced at the control panel. “Because I haven’t opened them.”
So he wanted the two of them to be trapped together in that elevator?
“Are you afraid of small spaces?” Noah asked her suddenly.
Claire shook her head.
“Good to know.” He inclined his head. “I’m making a list, you see.”
She was totally lost. “A list?”
He pressed a code into the control panel. The doors opened seconds later. “I’m finding out what scares you. What you like. What you don’t like.”
She hurried from the elevator, but then hesitated on the lush carpet in the hallway. “Why does any of that matter to you?”
He shrugged. “Because it does.”
***
List of Cynthia Eden's romantic suspense titles:
List of Cynthia Eden's paranormal romance titles:
Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is a
New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World,
and
IndieReader
best-seller. Cynthia is also a two-time finalist for the RITA® award (she was a finalist both in the romantic suspense category and in the paranormal romance category). Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over thirty-five novels and novellas.
Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings. More information about Cynthia and her books may be found at:
http://www.cynthiaeden.com
or on her Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/cynthiaedenfanpage
. Cynthia is also on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/cynthiaeden
.