A Vampire's Christmas Carol(25)
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— A floorboard creaked behind him. Ben whirled and saw her in the doorway. Flecks of snow were in her hair. And her eyes…they were golden now.
The gold of a vampire.
But when he looked at her, Ben just saw his angel.
“Merry Christmas,” Simone whispered.
Ben could only stare at her.
“Hey!” Cale’s voice cracked with excitement. “It’s my angel!”
Simone shook her head. Sadness flashed in her eyes. “Not anymore…”
Ben ran toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as tightly as he could. She was real against him. Warm. Not a dream. Not a memory.
“Always,” he said as he squeezed her, and he knew the squeeze was probably way too hard. “You’ll always be my angel.” Ben kissed her. Deep and hard, wild and desperate. With passion. With love. With everything that he had.
Because to Ben, Simone was everything. Every hope. Every dream. The reason he had to fight the darkness.
She tasted like heaven. Her arms wrapped around him. She met his kiss with the same wild hunger that consumed Ben.
His hands slid over her back. He caressed her delicate muscles and— Ben lifted his head. “Your wings?”
Her golden gaze held his. “It was a fair trade.”
He wasn’t so sure. “I’m not worth them.”
“To me…” Her fingers slid over his jaw. “You’re worth everything.”
The cold air blew in behind her. The snow was falling again.
“Um, are you two…like a thing?” Cale asked nervously.
Ben dropped to his knees before Simone. This was so long overdue. He pulled the ring box from his pocket. “I kept this…it was all I had of you.” He opened the box. The ring gleamed. A ring he’d had made just for her.
The woman who’d stolen his heart, and held it tightly for ten years.
He lifted the box toward her. “Will you marry me?”
Simone smiled at him. A smile that lit her whole face, and had made Ben’s heart race in his chest. “Yes,” she said, laughing. “Always—yes!” Then she tackled him.
Ben fell back onto the hard floor, and he found himself laughing as she held him. The cold didn’t matter. The darkness he’d known—it was gone. There was only light.
Love.
Hope.
There was only Simone.
He hugged her, keeping Simone close to his heart, and Ben knew that he’d just been given the best gift of all. A second chance, with the one woman who made his vampire life worth living.
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Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL. I appreciate you taking the time to read Ben’s story!