A Vampire for Christmas(25)
So what exactly did I see last year?”
Trace remembered it as clearly as if it were yesterday. The party guests had left, and he’d insisted that Charlotte spend the night rather than drive home. “You were clearing up stray dishes and I was upstairs checking on one of the houseguests. Somehow you ended up downstairs near—”
The storage room?”
How did you—? Yes, the storage room just past the wine cellar.”
I knew it. The other day when you were on the phone, I ran down there to check for a missing box. I got such an uncomfortable feeling that I came back upstairs without going inside. I didn’t know why.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “I don’t remember anything, though. What happened?”
I’m glad you don’t, because—” He silently cursed Sebastian. “You walked in on my cousin and one of his lady friends.”
And he was…drinking her blood?”
Trace nodded.
Then what happened?”
I remember pausing in the upper hallway, an extra pillow in my hands, sensing that something wasn’t quite right. By the time I got downstairs, you were in the foyer with Sebastian.”
Charlotte had looked terrified that night, confused, and yet somehow she held herself together. When she spotted Trace, she’d started to go to him but Sebastian had laughed. “Run away, little human. You’re right to be afraid. But if I were you, I’d think twice about running to Trace. He’s one of us, too.”
The look on her face had nearly killed him. Because he’d brought Charlotte into his world without telling her the truth about what he was, she was suffering. Then he’d remembered his promise to his father and his duty to his family. The Council would never accept him if he was in love with a human. A fling, maybe, because it could easily be ended. But Charlotte had been much more than that. And so, for her sake as well as his own, he’d made the only choice he could.
I took you to your car and—” He’d blocked it out of his mind—the pleading look, the disbelief as he put a hand to her face. “And then I watched you drive away.”
The atmosphere inside the car now was charged as Charlotte took it all in. “You took away my memories. Not just of what I’d seen your cousin do, but of you. Your family. What we had together. And you did that without giving me any input into the matter.”
Yes,” he said flatly.
The slap across his face happened quickly. He welcomed the sting.
Bastard.” Charlotte’s eyes blazed with anger.
Yeah, he sure as hell deserved that, and a lot more.
I don’t care about your rules or your duties or your promises to your father. Were you in love with me?”
He didn’t want to admit it to himself, let alone Charlotte. Regardless of his feelings, she didn’t fit into his carefully crafted world. “I can’t love you.”
I didn’t ask you if you could or couldn’t. I asked if you did.”
Jesus, why did she always have to be so damned precise? He sighed loudly. “Charlotte, I’m poised to take over my family’s seat on the Council. I cannot be with a human no matter what my feelings are. They are…immaterial.”
So you do care about me,” she mumbled under her breath. “Well then, take me back to your place. I’ve got a house to decorate and an event to finish planning. Plus, I’d like to see your grandmother again. Then, when the holiday party is over, you can do whatever it is you feel you need to do.”
With a determined lift to her chin, she crossed her arms over her chest and waited expectantly for him to start up the car again.
Was he understanding her correctly? “You mean you want to stay there until the party is over? You’re okay with what I am? You’re not frightened or repulsed?”
Those are two words I’d never use to describe you, Trace. Angry with you? Yes. But I…I care about you…very much. The truth about who you are doesn’t change that.” She straightened the ends of her coat belt, which lay in her lap. “You know, I had an interesting conversation with one of my girlfriends back there at the party. She had noticed the car we drove up in and remarked that you must be really wealthy. The truth is, Trace, I don’t pay attention to things like that. Just as I don’t care that you’re a…a vampire. As odd as that may sound. Who you are inside, which is all I care about, isn’t synonymous with any of that.”
He scrubbed his face. Would it hurt to extend the time they had together? It wouldn’t change anything in the long run, just make the holidays a little better. The secrets would be gone between them. They both knew they couldn’t be together long-term and that he’d still need to clear her memory, but it’d be postponed for a while. Hell, his grandmother would be ecstatic.