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“Vinny,” I whispered.
Lights had been strung up across the living room ceiling, from the kitchen to the farthest wall, and a Christmas tree, big and full and decorated to the nines, stood proudly in the space beside the television. The tree was so tall the old foil star on top nearly kissed the ceiling, and he’d decorated the branches with all the ornaments from my childhood.
“Vinny,” I whispered again, my voice cracking as emotion threatened to overwhelm me. “How did you…?” I looked up at him, blinking through tears.
He ran a hand over the back of his neck in the only sheepish gesture I’d ever seen come from this confident man, then he shrugged. “I don’t really sleep.”
The first tear slipped from my eye and his brow furrowed.
“Are you upset?”
I barked out something between a laugh and a sob. “No.”
Vinny blinded me with a smile. “Merry Christmas, Jacqueline.”
He turned his back on me and opened the door. Sun shone through the space, the first day without clouds in weeks, and the symbolism felt deeply profound, like something had been lifted not just from my shoulders but from the world itself.
Sunshine. Warm and bright…
Oh my god. Vinny! I rushed to the door and looked out as he stepped down the stairs. We’d always met after hours, and I’d assumed it was because vampires couldn’t go out during the day. “Doesn’t the sun hurt you?”
Vinny’s laugh echoed off the surrounding buildings. “Maybe if you hurled it at me.” He looked up at me as he climbed into his sleek black SUV, then disappeared behind glass too tinted to see through.
As I stepped back inside and closed the door, the sigh that slipped past my lips was a sickening display of girliness that made me cover my mouth and giggle into the quiet living room.
In my childhood bedroom, surrounded by posters of bands I no longer listened to and nostalgic bits of my past, I’d had sex with a vampire.
And, God help me, I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Chapter Nine
Vinny
When I was sure Jacqueline was back inside the apartment above the shop, I turned the SUV around and drove back, parking down the street and out of her line of sight. The parking lot reeked of vampire—and none that I knew. So, though it didn’t smell like Carmine’s goons, I couldn’t be too careful, not where she was concerned. I’d just check the perimeter and the shop itself, make sure she was safe, then be on my way.
If Carmine had gotten a whiff of Jacqueline, and that slight hint of vampire that ran through her veins even though she was wholly and inarguably human…
Well, I didn’t know what that meant but I knew Carmine would be intrigued.
And nothing good would come of a man like Carmine becoming intrigued with Jacqueline.
Again, I cursed myself for not being completely honest with her about her ability to fight. She was strong, sure, trained well enough, thanks to me, and could easily take down a human man with what I’d taught her. But a vampire was another thing entirely and I needed to tell her the truth.
I’d been selfish with that information because of fear. If she learned that my training couldn’t save her against one of my kind—inevitably rendering her useless against the one she wanted to hunt—she’d likely stop coming to our sessions.
It made me a selfish bastard, I knew, but I couldn’t let her go.
I crept silently along the edge of the building until I stood just beneath her balcony. Looking up, I smiled as I listened to her humming something as she moved about the apartment.
For now, she was safe. As far as I knew, she’d only invited one vampire inside her home and I’d die before I hurt her. So with one final glance above, I moved to the back door of the butcher shop and slipped the key into the lock. I’d swiped her keyring while she wasn’t paying attention, too caught up in the Christmas display I’d created for her while she slept. I would return her keys once I’d searched the store and the perimeter to ensure her safety.
Now that she’d invited me in upstairs, I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased.
The butcher shop opened at nine, which meant I had a good thirty minutes before she would need to come down here and get the store ready for the rush of ham and turkey pickup orders that likely accompanied Christmas Eve.
As soon as I stepped inside, the door swung shut behind me.
“Who the fuck are you?”
