Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

NICHOLAS

I groaned as Holly shifted again on the bed. It was a king-sized bed—plenty of space between us—but somehow, her every movement felt like a ripple on the damn ocean. She flopped over to the other side with a dramatic exhale, and just as I started to drift off, she flipped back again.

“Jesus, Holly. Pick a spot and stay there. I’m getting seasick over here.”

She froze, the thick duvet clutched in her hands, and peeked over it at me. “How are you even awake? Don’t you, like, die during the day?”

I pressed a hand over my eyes. “Where do you get this information about vampires? Television? I’m just as alive as you are—just… different. And I’m serious, your tossing and turning is nauseating.”

With a dramatic sigh, she sat up and leaned against the headboard. “I can’t sleep.”

“Then read a fucking book.”

Her eyes scanned the room pointedly. “Oh, sure, because there’s a library hidden somewhere in here. I didn’t exactly have time to pack a novel, what with, you know, running for my life. And how do you sleep during the day, anyway? Doesn’t the light bother you?”

I sighed again, giving up on sleep entirely. “It’s natural for me. And the blinds are blackout curtains, so no sun gets in. Think of it like someone working the night shift who sleeps during the day.”

She tilted her head, considering that, then nodded. “I guess that makes sense. I’m an early bird myself. I used to get up at three in the morning to start baking, so I’m more of a morning person.”

I smirked. “I figured you were. A morning bird, chirping incessantly all day.”

Her lips quirked up in a grin. “I don’t chirp. Much.” She laughed, light and melodic. “Okay, fine. I talk a lot.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re not sleeping,” I muttered, unable to stop myself from smirking again.

She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow to peer down at me. “Tell me more about your family.”

I closed my eyes. “No.”

“I’ll keep talking until you do,” she threatened in a sing-song voice.

I cracked one eye open. “I already told you about them. It’s your turn. Tell me about your family.”

Her expression shifted, the playfulness fading as she flopped onto her back, folding her hands behind her head. “There’s nothing to share. Everyone’s gone. I’m alone.”

Her voice was flat, stripped of the lively energy she usually carried. Against my better judgment, I turned my head to study her. “You mentioned being raised by your grandparents. What was that like?”

A wistful smile touched her lips. “It was wonderful. They lived in this tiny town in western Pennsylvania. My grandma owned a bakery and taught me everything I know about baking. My granddad was a carpenter and had a small farm. It was magical.”

Her voice carried a soft, wistful tone, tinged with sadness. I didn’t want to ask, but the words slipped out, anyway. “What happened to your parents?”

Her smile faltered. “My dad was a soldier. He died in Afghanistan when I was five. My mom died a few years later. A car accident.”

Her voice trembled, sadness threading through the words, and it cut through me in a way I hadn’t expected. Even after decades among humans, I’d never grown used to their fragility. Watching them age, break, and die while I stayed the same had worn me down. I’d lost friends, acquaintances—people I let myself care for—until I stopped letting anyone in. I was tired of it. Tired of losing people. Tired of being alone. And somehow, I knew Holly understood that loneliness better than most.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

She gave a low laugh, a little watery, betraying the ache she was trying to hide. “Thanks. Do vampires die?”

She wasn’t just asking about me. I could hear the weight behind her question. “We’re harder to kill than humans, but yes. Accidents, injuries, sunlight—all of those can kill us. We just don’t die from natural causes the way you do.”

I didn’t add the other part, the one vampires don’t talk about. Some choose death—stepping into the sunlight when the weight of eternity becomes unbearable. I understood their reasons now, more than I ever thought I would.

She was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, “Why did you leave your family?”

I stared up at the spackled ceiling, memories just as real and painful as when I left. “I didn’t leave. I was exiled from my clan.”

She rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes wide with shock. “Exiled? Your family kicked you out? What did you do? Drain a human? Break a fang? Scare kids for Halloween?”

I smiled despite her ridiculous comments. “Not exactly. Where do you get these ideas? I disagreed with my father and my cousin, the head of our clan, on vampire and human relations. I wanted us to be more integrated with them, while he wanted us to remain separate.”

“But you need humans to survive, right?”

“We have blood servants who serve us during the day and provide nourishment. They tend to pass the role on to their offspring, though some vampires take on humans in the role. Some vampires use other humans too, wiping their minds after they feed.”

I waited to see if she would exhibit any fear, but she only looked thoughtful. “Is that how you survived? Wiping human’s minds over the years? Or did you bring one of those servants with you?”

I thought about our family’s servants. We had a long history with the Fletcher family, with multiple generations linked to our family. “Oliver came with me. He insisted on it. He swore that I would need someone to help me, in case I couldn’t find a blood source. At the time, vampires weren’t out yet, so my nature had to stay hidden.”

“At least you weren’t alone.” Then she frowned. “What happened to him?”

Guilt still rode me hard about his fate. “Blood servants have a healthier and longer life because of their time with us, but they’re not immortal. Another vampire got angry with something I did and targeted him while I slept. They killed him many years ago.”

She gasped. “That’s terrible. How could that vampire do that?”

I shrugged, even as remembered pain threatened to swamp me. “It’s the old way. Blood servants were fair game in wars between vampires.” I glanced at her, hoping I wouldn’t scare her away. “Don’t worry. I got my vengeance.”

She narrowed her eyes at my fierce tone. “Good. He deserved it.”

“She,” I corrected. “Females can be just as vicious as males in our world. Never forget that, Holly. Vampires are predators. I will keep you safe as best I can. Stay close to me and do exactly as I say until I can get you to safety.”

She didn’t look at all worried. Instead, she settled into the soft bed, pulling the cotton duvet around her face and snuggling into the pillow. “I trust you, Nicholas. I know you’ll keep me safe.”

I hoped I could. I was bringing her to my family, to a clan who had little more regard for humans who were not blood servants. They were isolationists, and humans weren’t exactly welcome unless they served a purpose. I had to find a way to protect her or send her on her way before we got there.

“Do they know you’re coming home?” she asked after a pause.

I sighed. “No.”

“Why not? You weren’t sure you were actually going to go, were you?”

I grimaced. “Something like that.”

A brilliant smile crossed her face. “So you really don’t mind all the side trips. It only delays your visit home.”

Dammit. She was too perceptive. “I don’t like the holidays. I think we could find another way to delay my return.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to go home. I mean, I understand the whole being exiled thing. That would put a damper on family reunions. But if I had a family, nothing would keep me from them.”

I snorted. “You would think that, but it sucks to be an outsider, to be the one always looked at as the one who doesn’t belong. I have never fit in with them, always questioning and arguing with my father. It got to be uncomfortable, not just for us, but for my mother and sister. It was easier to leave.”

“But you didn’t leave. You were exiled. That had to hurt.” Her soft voice dripped with sympathy, sending me back to the days when I first left.

“I had my pride. I was determined to show them that I was right.”

“Pride is a cold bedfellow, or so the saying goes,” she said quietly.

“Yeah,” I replied. The spackling on the ceiling was really poorly done, unevenly spaced, with the paint worn in spots. But it served its purpose. To distract me from the conversation and the feelings Holly was inspiring in me.

Unfortunately, Holly was not to be deterred. “But if they invited you home, then they must miss you. Do you miss them?”

I thought about my mother and her tears when I left. She had not argued with my father, however, nor had anyone else in the clan. I had been alone. Did I miss them? It had been so long since I had talked with them or allowed myself to get close to anyone. Not since Oliver had died.

She ignored my silence, as Holly often did. I wasn’t sure if she hated silence or if this was her way of helping me. “I miss my family, and if I could ever see them again, I would. No matter what. Life is too short for arguments, Nick.”

“Nicholas. And you forget, I’m a vampire. I’ll live a lot longer than you will.” And for some reason, that made me sad. Knowing her light would be extinguished while I would go on. The world would be dimmer without Holly Winters in it.

She stifled a jaw cracking yawn, her eyelids drooping. “On that cheery note, I think I’ll try to sleep now.”

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for the conversation. That helped. Good night. Or is it good day? What do you vampires say to each other when you go to sleep?”

I smothered a smile. “Good night, Holly.”

She gave me another bright smile. “Good night, Nick.”

And I didn’t have the heart to correct her use of my name. It sounded perfect on her lips.

Holly

I woke up wrapped around a warm, firm pillow like a boa constrictor. I was pretty sure I didn’t go to sleep with one of those body pillows, and this one was way harder than what I thought those might be. I opened my eyes to a black cotton t-shirt. I slowly lifted my head to see Nick’s face smoothed out in sleep. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed, without any of the frequent expressions I was more accustomed to seeing on his face—disgruntled, annoyed, exasperated. All the emotions I was used to seeing from so many people. My grandparents loved me, but I knew that I often tested them. I talked too much. I was too cheerful. I was too eager to please.

Since their death, I’d read any number of self-help books to help me understand my own issues. How could a young girl who lost her parents be so happy all the time? Apparently, I was afraid that I would be a burden, and someone would leave me behind. If I wasn’t a problem, maybe they would keep me. Yet somehow, it happened anyway. Sure, they couldn’t stop the aging process, so that wasn’t their fault. But plenty of other people left on their own. My boyfriend, my bosses, friends. I was always too much. Too needy, too cheery, too everything.

And here I was repeating the same pattern. Forcing my holiday cheer on a vampire who had zero interest in the holidays or me. In fact, I was the complete opposite of everything he would ever want. He had already made it very clear that whatever this was would be a short-term alliance until I got him where he was going. He’d get me to safety, if there was such a thing, and go on his not-so-merry way.

We had an end date that was fast approaching, yet somehow he fascinated me. I could almost feel his pain, his loneliness, and something inside of me desperately wanted to help him, even though I knew it was the worst idea ever. He didn’t need or want my help. He only needed me to drive him to his family. I was the one who needed his protection. I needed to stop equating his protection with something more. I think they called it Stockholm Syndrome. I know he didn’t kidnap me, but I didn’t exactly have a choice about going with him. So it was almost the same thing, right?

As I lay there in the bed, something occurred to me. I never expected a vampire to be warm, almost hot. Weren’t they supposed to be cold, like a corpse? Nick would scoff at my idea, especially if I asked him about it. I already knew that he thought I had absurd ideas about vampires, but how would I know any other way? I had never met one, not that I knew of, so I had to ask him. Grandpa always encouraged me to ask questions, even as I was sure he regretted it some days.

The room was pitch dark, so I had no idea what time it was. I felt refreshed, so I suspected it was toward the end of the day. Nick’s chest rose and fell in a deep sleep, answering the question of if he died during the day (he did not). But since he was still asleep, I suspected the sun was still up. Or he was more tired than I was.

A heavy weight had settled around my shoulders and down my back, and his hand cupped my butt. I realized not only had I snuggled into Nick, but he had wrapped an arm around me, holding me close. The smaller, cynical part of me wanted to believe that he was just tethering me to him, making sure I didn’t go anywhere. The larger, romantic part of me wanted to believe he wanted me, especially the way he gripped my ass. But that way was a path to madness, and I need to suppress those feelings before I got all turned around and started thinking dirty thoughts about my boss.

Of course, I had a leg wrapped around my boss’s thigh, his firm muscles pressing against the place that hadn’t seen any action beyond the vibrator I had to leave behind when I went on the run. Damn, I had finally found a vibrator that I loved, too. I had named him Chris, for Pine, Evans, and Hemsworth. That wasn’t exactly helping me think pure thoughts. I rocked my hips gently, experimentally brushing up against him, and stifled a moan as his thigh hit my hot spot just right. Yeah, somehow, humping my boss probably would not endear me to him at all.

A groan rumbled through his chest like he was in pain, and I froze. “Holly, for the love of all of that’s holy, please stop wiggling.”

I glanced up to see his eyes staring down at me, a hint of red shining in them. His jaw was clenched, and there were lines furrowed across his brow. His arm had tightened against my ass, holding me in place. Not that I was going anywhere. I slowly began to draw my leg from around his, and he hissed. I stopped all movement and held my breath.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to molest you in your sleep.” Okay, so maybe I did a little bit. It had been a while.

He laughed, a raw, hoarse sound, his fingers still gripping my ass. “I think it was mutual.”

I knew I should move away, but I didn’t want to. Nick was warm, safe, and so freaking sexy. His arm was still around me, the heavy weight a comforting presence. How long had it been since I had slept with a man? Too long, judging by how excited my hormones were just lying next to Nick. Imagine if anything else happened.

“Your eyes are red. Do you need blood?” I asked, almost fearing the answer.

He froze under my touch, then cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”

“Then maybe we should get up now,” I said reluctantly. I really wanted to linger in bed. I hadn’t done that in years. I was always scrambling to get to the bakery in the morning, so if I had anyone in bed with me, I was always the one sneaking out to get to the bakery for the morning shift. More often, it was a cold bed I left behind. But now, with a warm, incredibly sexy body in bed and no bakery to rush off to, well, I wanted to savor the moment, like a delicious cinnamon roll. Only this indulgence wouldn’t go straight to my hips.

This one might go for my carotid instead. Though, the thought of him having me as a meal wasn’t as big a turnoff as it once was. Maybe once he used me as a juice box, hopefully leaving some of my blood for later, I could persuade him to use that sexy mouth to make a meal of me in a completely different way.

Damn it. When had I ever had such sexy thoughts?

“Do you brainwash humans?”

He glanced at me, startled by my random thought. Or maybe not. He had to be used to my weird ideas by now. “Brainwash? What bizarre new accusation do you have for me now?”

My face burned, and he chuckled. “No, Holly. I don’t put those kinds of thoughts in your head. Though I can compel some humans, especially when I need to feed to ensure they don’t feel any pain during the process or remember me feeding.”

My hand went to my throat and the smooth skin there. He frowned. “I haven’t done it to you. I made you a promise.”

I dropped my hand. “I didn’t think you did.”

He arched an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me but said nothing. He lifted his arm and rolled away from me to a sitting position, his back to me. I stared at him, wondering if he was offended or just getting up for the day, or evening, or whatever this was. But his shoulders were slumped like he was tired, and guilt pricked me.

I struggled up to lean on an elbow, and I rested a hand on his back, feeling his muscles bunch under my hand. “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t do that.”

He gave a hoarse, raw laugh. “Never trust a vampire, Holly.”

I froze, not knowing how to take his words. I let my hand drop and swung around onto the edge of my side of the bed. “There’s an adorable Christmas Marketplace in town where we can do some shopping before we go on our way. You can get some presents for your family if you’d like.”

He stood and studied me with a quiet intensity. “What makes you think I need to buy presents? They have everything they need.”

I gestured to the beat-up black duffel bag tossed in the corner of the room. “Maybe because that bag couldn’t possibly carry presents along with your clothes. And gifts aren’t about things people need. It’s about giving them something they want that they would not buy for themselves.”

He arched that damned eyebrow again, and I swore I would shave it off if he kept doing it. “Maybe I’m giving them gift certificates.”

“For tanning salons?” I retorted.

A ghost of a smile curved his lips. “No, they would be more interested in a Blood-Type Sampler Box, but they were out of stock at the warehouse.”

I stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. After a moment, Nick joined me, his laugh sounding a bit rusty but warming to a rich, deep sound. “I’m not sure Little Bethlehem has a blood bank with open shopping hours. I didn’t see that on their Chamber of Commerce website.”

He made a tsking sound. “And we stopped anyway? I’m disappointed in you.”

“I was more interested in the handcrafted ornaments and ice-skating rink. I’ll look for vampire-friendly things next time. Can you give me a list?”

He flashed some fang. “I’ll get back to you on that.”