A Vampire's Christmas Carol

He’d be happy, and that happiness was worth every sacrifice she’d made.

“What’s it like?” William wanted to know. His tattoos swirled.

Simone lifted her brows.

“To love someone that much. That you’d give up everything.”

She looked down at the old, scarred table top.

“Will you miss your wings?” Jamison asked when the silence stretched too long.

Simone glanced at him. “Some days, I’m sure I will.” Her gaze slid to William. “And loving Ben has been the best part of my life.” Her after-life as an angel and her human life. “He made me happy. He made me…hope for things that could be.”

William’s eyes hardened. “But you’ve lost everything now. You’ll be a vampire.”

And, once again, Simone could have sworn that Jamison tensed. She frowned at him. “Why are you so nervous?”

His gaze cut to the bar. “You’re not thinking of eating the bartender, are you?”

Simone laughed at that, and the sound surprised her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed. “No, I’m good, but thanks for asking.”

His shoulders sagged. “It’s all changing…”

She stepped back from their table. There were only a few minutes left until midnight. “Ben proved he could be different.” Simone glanced up at the bar’s ceiling, but she saw so far beyond it. “So that means we stick to our deal.”

Because she’d had to fight for this night. This bit of magic.

Her wings…for a chance at Ben’s redemption. If he proved that the man he’d been still lived inside the monster, then she could be with him.

But not as an angel.

Simone hoped that Ben liked her just as much without her wings.

She turned away from William and Jamison.

“What if…” Jamison’s gravel-rough words stopped her.

Simone glanced over her shoulder.

“What if you go dark?”

There was worry in his eyes. The shifter cared. There was so much more to him than just a growling beast. “I won’t.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know what I’ve seen.”

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.

Chapter Ten

“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—