Vampire for Christmas by Felicity Heaton Read Free Book Online Page B

monster.”
    “ Isn’t that why you’re with the agency? Because you’re a
monster?”
    His heart
sunk into his feet.
    “ True. Perhaps I was a monster once, but not anymore. I am
older now, and wiser. I no longer feed like that. I have the
strength to only take what I need and they give it
willingly.”
    “ And then you steal their memories.”
    He
conceded that point. It was something all vampires did if they were
going to leave their victim alive. It stopped them from realising
that creatures like him existed and protected his
species.
    “ Like the vampire did to you?” he said.
    She
turned sharply. Her pulse spiked. “How did you know that? Did the
agency tell you? You spoke to them, didn’t you? You know all about
what happened to me and now you’re here trying to make everything
better, defending your kind.”
    “ Never.” His restraint snapped and he growled the word. She
backed away from the door again and her shape appeared on the dark
blur he knew was the stairs. She looked so small, and felt so
fragile. His arms ached to be around her, to hold her close and
protect her. He needed to comfort her, to give all his love to her
and receive something other than hatred in return. “I would never
defend the bastard that did that to you... and I did not speak with
the agency.”
    She
raised her head. “You didn’t?”
    “ No, Shannon. I did not. I came here tonight to speak to you
about it. I want to know what happened to you, but I don’t want to
hear it from them. I asked them once, when we first started working
together, but they would not tell me… and things are different
now.” He traced the grain of wood on the door and stared at his
fingers. “Tell me what happened.”
    “ I don’t want to talk about it.”
    The hard
edge to her voice warned him not to push her on the subject. Rafe
relented and held her clothes up instead, so she could see the
colour and shape of them through the glass.
    “ Do you want these back?”
    “ Leave them on the porch.” Not quite the response he had
anticipated.
    “ There is still a mission to finish, Shannon.” It was cruel to
play on her loyalty to her duty when she clearly wasn’t feeling up
to hunting with him, but he needed to get her out of the house, or
at least he needed to get into the house. He would settle for just
having the door open so he could see her and could read in her eyes
that she was alright, and that she didn’t believe that he was a
monster capable of hurting her as the other vampire had. “We need
to kill this demon.”
    “ Do it yourself.”
    Rafe
smiled grimly. He had been expecting that one.
    His dark
gaze dropped to the brass door handle. He was tempted to use his
power to open it but she would only fear him more if he did that.
He placed her clothes down on the doormat.
    “ Have it your way.” Rafe stepped away from the door. “Just tell
me one thing.”
    “ What?”
    He
frowned at the door, his heart aching over the thought that she
didn’t trust him and that he would never see her again. If he
finished this mission, their time together was over. Maybe it was
better that way. Maybe it would hurt like Hell and he would spend
eternity with a hole in his chest where his heart used to
be.
    “ Did they get the bastard that did that to you?” The venom in
his tone surprised him. He had tried to keep his fury out of his
voice, his lust for vengeance and desire to track down the vampire
to tear him to pieces, but the force of the emotion was too strong
to contain.
    Silence.
    “ Yes.”
    Rafe
smiled a thin-lipped smirk of satisfaction. He only hoped they had
butchered the vampire for it.
    The smile
fell from his face.
    What
right did he have to hope such a thing?
    Shannon
was right. He was a monster. He was no better than the vampire who
had hurt her. He had attacked people and fed off their struggle and
fear. He had killed them without a moment’s regret. He had no right
to wish vengeance on another vampire who had done