A Vampire for Christmas

chapter NINE





THE MORNING CAME WAY TOO EARLY, but somewhere between slumber and awake, it hit Della that she’d left the kitchen a total wreck last night. What had her staff thought about walking into a room splattered with flour and blood? How could she explain it when her hand no longer had even a hint of a scar? She couldn’t very well tell them that her lover had magically healed her wound. Heck, she hadn’t come to terms with Eagan being a vampire herself.



She bolted upright and charged for the bathroom. A quick shower and clean clothes did little to disguise the effects of a night spent…well, spent the way she’d spent hers.



Flexing her wounded hand, she couldn’t detect even the smallest amount of stiffness or pain, all thanks to Eagan and the gift of his trust. She poked and prodded, trying to figure out how she felt about the knowledge that she owed the use of her hand to the ingestion of his blood.



Definitely grateful, even if a bit queasy if she thought about it too much.



She also checked the side of her neck, looking to see if he’d given her a love bite. She had vague memories of a brief pain right before he exploded deep inside her. Nope, no mark, but the memory of how spectacular the sex had been left her smiling. It might have been a long time since she’d last had a man in her bed, but no one else had ever made her feel the way Eagan did.



Which left only one question unanswered: would he disappear from her life as quickly as he’d appeared?



She very much feared the answer was yes. Obviously he’d never meant for her to know the truth about what he was. That she’d want him in her arms and in her bed had clearly come as a shock to the man. She’d been a bit surprised, too, but couldn’t regret her decision.



His reluctance to share the secret of his people’s existence was understandable. After all, he wasn’t just outing himself to her. Who else hid their secret nature right in plain sight? Were there only vampires or did some of the other ancient myths actually walk the streets of Seattle?



Now wasn’t the time. She really needed to get downstairs and do damage control on the mess she’d left behind. Explaining the flour was one thing; the blood would definitely be harder.



Bracing herself for the inquisition, she paused at the bottom of the steps for a calming breath. Turning the corner, she stared in amazement. Everyone was calm—well, as calm as a diner kitchen ever was at the height of the breakfast hour.



Skillets sizzled; pots banged; and dishes rattled. Orders were shouted, and the cook was complaining that his assistant wasn’t keeping up and where the hell was the dishwasher? All normal. All the usual. “Good morning!”



Tennessee glowered at her. “Not now, Della. You know how I hate when you’re bright and chipper in the morning. Either pitch in or get out of the way. Daniel didn’t show up again.”



Okay, that was worrisome, but right now she didn’t have time to hunt the boy down. He was out of school for the next two weeks, which is why he was scheduled on a morning shift. Daniel always wanted more hours when he had a break from school.



“I’ll fill in for him.”



She ignored Tenn’s glare and gave him a quick pat on the cheek as she passed by. He pretended to hate it, but she didn’t miss the way his lips twitched in a brief smile before he could hide it. The man had showed up six months before looking for a job. He had an interesting past; she was sure of it. Maybe even a questionable one, but hiring him had been the smartest thing she’d ever done.



As she tied on an apron, Tenn poured her cup of coffee and plated up a couple of eggs and toast for her. “Eat first. By the way, thanks for cleaning the grill, Della. I meant to do it yesterday, but ran out of time.”



She’d done no such thing, but she could guess who had—Eagan. When he’d found the time, she had no idea, but bless him for doing so.



“It was nothing.”



Literally. She made quick work of her meal. The two of them worked side by side, falling into a familiar rhythm until the backlog of orders was under control.



During a brief lull, she called Daniel’s home number but got no answer. Maybe his mother had taken the kids to her sister’s house. She sometimes did that when school was out. A phone call would’ve been nice, but Daniel was getting more and more unpredictable.



She’d try again later but for now she had paperwork to do. Anything to pass the time to see if Eagan returned at nightfall. The pragmatic part of her was betting not. The man obviously had some serious trust issues. All things considered, perhaps he had good cause.



But this was the season of miracles, so she wouldn’t give up hope. Not yet.



When the last bill was paid, she looked around for something else to keep her mind occupied. Cookies. She’d never gotten back to making those chocolate-dipped ones she’d been working on last night. Tenn wouldn’t begrudge her a small corner of the kitchen, would he?



Yeah, he would. The man was nothing if not territorial. Too bad. She needed some way to pass the time until sunset, which was still too many hours away.



Tenn gave her a puzzled look when she started pulling out the ingredients for the cookies. He said nothing at all when she encroached on his normal area. Maybe he sensed something was bothering her, but it wasn’t like him to poke his nose into her business.



As she rolled out the dough, he cocked a hip against the counter and watched her. “I’m figuring it must be man trouble.”



She kept right on working, trying to decide if she’d heard him right. When she looked around to see where she left the cookie cutters, he calmly pointed six inches to the left of where she’d just set down the rolling pin. “Thanks.”



“So, you want to talk about it?”



“Talk about what?”



“Oh, I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe whatever had you up cleaning the kitchen at all hours or whoever put that smile on your face this morning.”



Okay, now she was blushing. “Tenn, in the six months I’ve known you, you’ve never asked me one personal question. Why start now?”



“Because I’ve never seen you screw up a recipe like you just did that batch of dough you’re working to death. That was cake flour you used, not all-purpose, and you added salt twice.”



Seriously? She tasted the dough. Rats, she had. No wonder it was acting strange.



“You could’ve said something sooner, you big jerk.” She scraped it up and tossed it in the trash.



Tenn laughed. “I figured it was therapeutic. Now, what’s up?”



She’d never expected a guy who looked more like a biker than a fry cook would double as a therapist. It was the real concern in his caramel-brown eyes that got her talking.



“I’m worried about Daniel. Something is up with him, and he won’t let me in.”



Tenn’s expression turned grim. “You can’t save everyone, Della, no matter how hard you try.”



“I know, especially if they don’t want to be saved.” She started measuring out the correct ingredients into the mixer. “And there’s Eagan. You haven’t met him because he only comes in during the evenings.”



Tenn was already nodding. “Must be the one Lupe was complaining about.”



No doubt. She took an immediate dislike to him even though she’s never said more than five words to him.”



Tenn looked away. “She has her reasons, but it’s nothing he’s done.”



It was pretty clear that was all he was going to say on the subject. Did Lupe’s reaction to Eagan have something to do with his vampire nature? If so, how did Lupe recognize what he was? Did she even want to know? Rather than press for answers, Della concentrated on finishing the cookies before the lunchtime rush started.





SLEEP WAS SHORT-LIVED. By midafternoon Eagan was up and pacing the floor of his condo. He swore the clock had quit moving at all. Finally, he couldn’t stand being cooped up any longer. He’d be better off working than beating himself up over the events of the previous night.



He headed to the garage. His car had windows which blocked the sun’s most lethal wavelengths. If he drove straight to the precinct, he’d be all right since the day was gray and overcast.



At least at the office he’d be able to do something useful. Hell, maybe he’d dazzle his boss by getting caught up on his files. Anything at all to keep from thinking about Della. About how right she’d felt in his arms, how perfectly they’d fit together.



Her easy acceptance of his truth had been a real shocker, but then that’s what Della did. She opened her door and her heart to those who didn’t quite fit anywhere else. He had no right to take advantage of her generous nature, not when it meant dragging her into the darkness with him.



But damn, he wanted to do exactly that. The thought of coming home to her every morning had him having to adjust the fit of his jeans. God, he had it bad.



The squad room was empty when he got there and so he tackled a stack of papers. An hour later, he finished the last report and tossed it on the pile. Now what? Might as well spread the joy. He picked up the folders and headed for the boss’s office. The lieutenant looked up at Eagan’s knock on the door and waved him in. His eyes widened at the stack of files in Eagan’s hand. He immediately grabbed a newspaper off the corner of his desk and started flipping through it like a madman.



Okay, what are you looking for?”



Hughes tossed the paper aside. “To see when hell had frozen over. That’s when I figured you’d get around to doing those reports. Good thing I don’t have a bad heart because the shock could’ve killed me.”



Okay, he’d never known the man actually had a sense of humor. Eagan dropped the pile in the lieutenant’s in-basket.



“Is there anything else I can do?”



As soon as he spoke, he wished he could take it all back because his boss went on point. There’d be no escape now.



“Okay, McHale, park it and tell me what’s going on. Is there a problem with the case?”



“No, sir. Once the sun goes down, I’ll be following up on that kid we’ve been watching. I checked in with the day crew earlier, but there’s been no sign of movement today.”



He frowned. “I know school is out for the holidays, but it worries me that no one has seen him all today.”



“He has a job. Maybe he’s at the diner.”



“I’ll have someone check there.” But not him. He couldn’t risk Della catching him spying on her place—or her.



Hughes leaned back in his chair. “Someone? Why not you? I thought you had an in with the owner.”



“Yes, sir, but people were paying a bit too much attention to me.”



“People or a single person, Eagan?”



He wasn’t sure which was more surprising: the sympathy in his boss’s voice or his use of Eagan’s first name.



“The owner. Della.”



“And that’s a problem for you?”



“For her. She’s human, sir.”



He found himself pouring out the whole story, figuring the boss could only kill him once. Instead, Hughes got up to fix them each a cup of coffee laced with the scotch he kept in a locked cabinet. The burn did little to warm the ache in Eagan’s gut, but he appreciated the gesture.



“I’d tell you that was a damn stupid thing to do, Eagan, but you’re a good cop because of your desire to protect people. It would’ve gone against your nature to let that woman suffer when you could fix it, especially when you’ve obviously got a major thing for her.”



Eagan sipped the coffee as an excuse not to say anything. Hughes stared at him for a while. “I’m guessing she showed her gratitude with more than a simple thank you.”



Rather than deny it, Eagan confessed the worst of it, ending with, “I lost control and took her blood a second time.”



Hughes’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Does she understand the significance of that?”



“I didn’t tell her.” But he’d wanted to. Still did, for that matter.



“Why the hell not?”



“She’s human.” Like he hadn’t already pointed that out.



“So? From what you’ve told me, she obviously didn’t hate what you are.”



“No, in fact, I tried to leave right after I healed her hand and told her what I was, but she called me back inside.”



Hughes finally sat back down. “Did she kick your ass out of bed when your eyes flashed black or when she saw your fangs?”



“No, sir, she didn’t.” A fact that still amazed him. “But you know what our lives are like. Always living with secrets. And then there’s my job. Some women aren’t cut out to be a cop’s wife.”



“Sounds like a bunch of bullshit excuses, McHale. You’re doing this woman and yourself a great disservice by not giving her a chance. She won’t appreciate you deciding what she can or can’t handle. I’m also guessing that you’ve never felt like this about a woman, and you’re running scared.”



Was it true? Was he afraid to risk being hurt if she decided she couldn’t accept Eagan’s true nature? He thought back to last night and how perfect it had been to connect with Della on so many levels. She’d felt—



Scared? He sat up straighter. Not him. Her. Right now. Della was frightened, the taste of her fear almost overwhelming. He lurched to his feet.



“Eagan, what’s wrong?”



“It’s Della, sir. She’s terrified, and I don’t know why. I’ve got to go.”



He was already running for the door, but Hughes kept pace with him. “Don’t do anything stupid, McHale. Call for backup if you need it.”



“I will.”



He meant that, but only if there was time. If someone had laid a hand on Della, there would be hell to pay.