A Vampire for Christmas

chapter FOUR





AS IT WAS, Harry insisted on showing Eagan where Della kept the ladder in the basement and carrying the plastic crate of Christmas lights up the stairs himself. The older man was puffing pretty hard by the time they reached the front table. Eagan kept a close eye on him to make sure he wasn’t overdoing it until Harry plunked the crate down and sat on the extra chair.



As soon as Harry was settled, Della was there with two hot chocolates with thick mounds of whipped cream floating on top. Eagan suspected it was an excuse to check on her friend without appearing to hover.



She popped the lid on the crate and peeked inside. “I checked all the bulbs last week, so they should be good to go.”



Della smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, two of Eagan’s favorite scents. The heady combination had him hungering for something far more personal than a cup of hot chocolate as a reward.



It was a fight to keep his fangs from showing. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. If I’ve got any questions, I’ll ask.”



She accepted the dismissal with good grace and walked away. Meanwhile, Eagan waited until Harry had finished his drink before setting the ladder up in the front corner. Somehow Eagan figured he’d acquired a self-appointed assistant for the duration. The old man obviously needed to feel useful. It was that or else he was trying to stay between Eagan and Della, which wouldn’t surprise him. For sure the wolf bitch wasn’t happy to have him hanging around the diner, either.



Too bad, although he sure couldn’t fault her instincts. She clearly didn’t trust his reasons for being there. What were her lupine senses telling her that had her fur all ruffled? As far as he knew, he’d never laid eyes on the woman before last night, so it couldn’t be anything he’d done. Most likely it was just the usual prejudice some shifters had against vampires.



As long as she didn’t try to interfere with him insinuating himself into Della’s diner crowd, Lupe could hate him all she wanted to. But for Della’s sake, he’d do what he could to maintain the peace.



He finished the last of his hot chocolate. “Ready to get started?”



Harry nodded and set his own cup down. “Let’s do it.” With his preternatural strength and speed, Eagan could’ve hung the lights in a fraction of the time, but he needed to pass for human. After dragging the whole ordeal out as long as he could, Eagan finally stepped down off the ladder and waved Della over to join them. Given how small the diner was, she didn’t have far to come.



He held out the plug from the extension cord. “Thought you’d want to do the honors.”



Wait a minute!”



Della rushed to the other side of the diner. “Everybody freeze. I’m going to turn the lights off for a second.”



The few people left in the diner did as she asked. Since most were already seated, it didn’t take long for them all to get settled. She flipped the switch that turned off the overhead lights and then wended her way back through the tables to where Eagan stood waiting for her.



She moved through the darkness with far more assurance than most humans would have. Even he was impressed.



He wasn’t sure how much the others could see, but her smile positively glowed as she coasted to a stop beside him. The warmth of her body seeped across those last few inches, her pulse racing and calling to his vampire hunger. It didn’t help that when she reached for the extension cord, her fingers brushed across his, the brief connection setting off a jolt of white-hot blood hunger.



From the way she jerked her hand back, she’d felt it, too. Good. He didn’t want to be the only one suffering here. But considering their audience, this definitely wasn’t the time or place to explore the possibilities. Especially considering she was both human and innocent. He’d lived too long, had seen too much, to deserve a woman who looked at the world through such gentle eyes and smiled at a soul-weary vampire as if he were still capable of being someone’s hero.



He cupped her hand with his and placed the plug in it. “Here. Let’s see how it looks.”



She curled her fingers around the cord and knelt down to plug in the lights. In an instant, the room went from shadowed to shimmering. Even a hard case like him had to admit the glow of the lights softened all the harsh lines of chrome and plastic, bathing the whole room with an appealing warmth.



Just as its owner did each time she smiled.



Della gave Harry a hug with a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Harry. Dinner is on me tomorrow!”



Her friend beamed at her. “Ordinarily I’d refuse, considering how little I really did, but only a fool would turn down your pot roast.”



What kind of man was jealous of an old man getting a hug and free meal? Evidently Eagan’s kind, because that’s exactly how he was feeling right now.



Della turned her bright eyes in his direction. “Same deal. Pie tonight as promised, but how does dinner tomorrow night sound?”



Damn it, his job demanded he accept the invitation, but his conscience argued he didn’t deserve it. He hated being here under false pretenses and only pretending to be part of the family of friends Della had gathered around her.



“Like the man said, only a fool would pass up anything you offered.”



Okay, that came out wrong.



Della’s eyes widened in surprise as someone in the background sniffed in disapproval. He knew without looking it was the wolf bitch again.



To cover the awkward silence, he blurted, “Is there anything else you need hung up around here while I’ve got the ladder out?”



Della nodded slowly. “Yes, I have a few more decorations I’d like to put up before I do the tree.”



When she didn’t move, he tried to rustle up a reassuring smile. “Want to tell me where they are?”



Della hit her fingertips against her forehead and shook her head. “Well, duh, that would help, wouldn’t it? They’re upstairs in my apartment. Blue crate in the corner of my living room.”



She tossed him a set of keys. “You want the one with the red tag.”



He snagged the key ring out of the air and headed for the staircase at the back of the kitchen before he changed his mind and bolted out the front door. Was she crazy? Letting a man she’d only met twice in her apartment. Hell, she thought he was flat broke. How did she know he wouldn’t steal something while he was up there?



The answer was easy: she didn’t. Either she had nothing worth taking or else she had her picture next to the word naive in the dictionary.



Upstairs he took a deep breath and turned the key. Out of habit rather than necessity he turned on the kitchen light. The bright overhead light allowed him to see everything in exquisite detail.



The apartment looked just like its owner: warm, soft and inviting with the occasional touch of whimsy. A row of gargoyles decorated the top of a cluttered bookshelf. Each one sported a tiny Santa hat in honor of the season. He was surprised they weren’t wearing T-shirts to match the one she had on. It was similar in style to the one she’d worn yesterday, although today’s version had a reindeer with a nose that blinked on and off. Normally he’d find it irritating. On her, it was cute.



Odd that he’d think so. He wasn’t quite sure why he was so drawn to her. Maybe because in her own way she offered a haven to those who needed one, and he liked that about her. It was obvious that many of her customers lingered in the diner far longer than eating a meal required. She looked out for them, and they returned the favor. More than one had given him a considering look, wondering about his interest in their friend. Smart of them.



The crate was right where she’d said it would be. Before carrying it downstairs, though, he wanted to take a quick peek out of her front window to see if anything was happening on the street below.



He pushed the door open, hoping he was heading into a guest room. No such luck. This was definitely Della’s bedroom, her most private space, and here he was clomping through uninvited. He passed by the big brass bed, firmly ignoring the interesting possibilities that sprang to mind. Especially the ones involving those silk scarves hanging on the mirror and the brass railings on her bed.



Looking out the window, he studied the sidewalk below. The streetlights had been on for hours already since the sun set by about four o’clock this time of year. It was late enough that most of the commuters were long gone, leaving only a few people out walking the street. Most looked like shoppers on their way home.



Nothing out of the ordinary. He was about to walk away when a movement at the far end of the block caught his attention. It was those same three kids he’d seen the previous night. He froze, knowing if he was right about the two taller ones being his kind the slightest motion might draw their attention to where he stood.



A few seconds later they passed under the overhang, and he could see the two vampires continue on and heard the bells chiming downstairs. Whoever the kid was, he was now in the diner. Eagan hurried back to the living room to grab the crate. This could be the first break in the case.



Della was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps looking a bit puzzled. “Did you have trouble finding it?”



Damn, he realized he’d been gone too long. “Not at all. I got a phone call I had to take.”



And of course she accepted the excuse without question. As an undercover cop, he was used to lying to everybody. It never bothered him, figuring the end justified the means. So why did he feel like such a creep for lying to this one woman?



He thrust the crate at her. “Show me what you want where.”



Fearing he’d sounded like a jerk, he added, “Please.”



Della headed toward the front of the diner to unload the crate. As she unpacked the crate, she carefully touched each item, treating each one as if it were precious and made of gold instead of plastic and paint. When she was done, she handed them out to her friends, letting them decide where each Santa, reindeer, and snowman would look best.



When they were all busy, she handed Eagan another pair of wreaths made of jingle bells and bows to hang. He took down a pair of pictures and replaced them with the wreaths. When that was done, she asked him to set a dancing Santa on a high shelf out of the reach of small children. He could only be grateful for that much. After setting it off twice, he was ready to heave it against the wall.



When everything had been dispersed, Della walked through the room, touching a decoration here, patting a friend on the shoulder there and straightening one of the wreaths just a hair. Finally, when she’d made the rounds, she turned back to Eagan with a huge grin. “It’s perfect!”



But her smile quickly disappeared. “I take that back. I forgot something. I bought it to hang in the center of the room.”



Eagan dragged the ladder into the middle of the room while she disappeared into the kitchen, where he could hear her muttering under her breath.



Finally, she hooted in triumph. “Found it!”



She came back into the main room holding a ball of what looked like herbs tied together with a bow. She handed it up to him on the ladder. He slipped the loop over the hook and started down the ladder. Before he could collapse it to take it back downstairs, Harry spoke up.



“Wait a minute, young fellow! You and Della are standing under the mistletoe. Don’t tell me you’re foolish enough not to take advantage of that! When I was your age, we relished such moments. ’Tis the season after all.”



Eagan wasn’t sure which he was having a harder time processing: being called young fellow by a man who had to be decades younger than he was or that he was going to have to kiss Della in front of everybody. There was no way to avoid it without hurting her feelings and alienating most of her friends.



As far as the lady herself, she’d backed up half a step. He suspected she was about to chastise Harry for putting both of them in such an awkward position. He could let her go ahead, shifting the attention back to the old man.



But maybe this was the one opportunity he’d ever have to find out if Della tasted every bit as sweet as she looked. Evidently his curiosity was running hotter than his common sense because he held out his hand with a wink and waited for the lady to take the dare.