Chapter Four
Five days to Christmas
Ryan came awake with the suddenness he’d become used to in the last year, as though awakening from the dead. Which he supposed was as good a description as any.
He didn’t move. Something was different. He wasn’t alone, when he should have been. He’d definitely been alone when he locked the door to his underground apartment last night.
Now his nostrils filled with the warm, sweet scent of fresh blood. So close. He could feel the pulse thrumming in his head. His gums ached, and his fangs lengthened, and every muscle in his body clenched tight.
Get a grip.
Up to now, he’d managed to refrain from drinking from anyone or anything with a pulse. That was the least he could do if he was going to go out there and try to convince people he wasn’t a monster. And it wasn’t as though there was a problem getting a hold of blood. The Order had contacts at the local blood bank who kept him stocked with O negative—his favorite.
He blinked open his eyes. The room was bathed in a rosy glow from the lamp beside the bed. He was staring up at the ceiling, everything quiet. Yet that sweet scent surrounded him. Slowly, he pushed himself up and went still.
A young woman sat perched on the end of the bed. Tiny, but hard to miss, she was dressed in a miniscule black leather skirt, fishnet tights, knee-high boots, and a black T-shirt that fell off one shoulder and was clearly—from the amount of skin on display—all she wore on top. She had pale skin and short black hair with streaks of crimson framing a small, pointed face. And huge silver eyes. She smiled at him, obviously not put off by the fact that his fangs were fully extended now, and he was sniffing at her as though she was the most delicious thing he had ever—
She held a glass out to him. “I took the liberty of getting this for you. It’s from your fridge. In case you were hungry.”
For a moment, her words didn’t make sense, then he realized the glass was full of blood. Clearly, she was aware of what he was. And equally clearly, she wasn’t concerned by the idea of being in a room with a hungry vampire, which made her either very stupid or…actually, he had no idea.
He moved slowly, keeping a tight rein on his control, because he wanted so badly to knock the glass away, leap on her, sink his fangs into the soft skin of her throat, drink—
“Hey, hold it together, big guy.”
He realized he’d been almost swaying toward her, probably drooling. Classy. He closed his eyes for a second, counted to ten, opened them, took the glass from her outstretched hand, and swallowed the contents in one go. Immediately, his hunger receded, and he could think again.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” he asked. She didn’t look like a threat.
She smiled. “I’m Winter. And I picked the lock.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to introduce myself, and I knew you wouldn’t be awake yet.” She shrugged. “Maybe I was a little impatient.”
He shook his head and made to push the sheet away so he could get up, then realized he was naked and stayed where he was. He rubbed his hand across his chin. “But who are you?”
“I’m your new baby—oops, bodyguard.”
Piers had to be kidding. She was tiny. How the hell was she supposed to protect him? And what if he did lose it and go crazy—which obviously everyone was expecting, sooner or later? How the hell was she supposed to stop him?
“This is some sort of joke, isn’t it?”
For a second, hurt flashed in those big eyes and he felt like a complete bastard.
She sniffed. “I’m stronger than I look.”
The thing was, he had learned not to take people at face value. In his new world, what you saw wasn’t necessarily what you got. The fae had all sorts of glamors to hide what they were. Glamors that could be purchased for a price.
“Are you in disguise?” he asked. Did he sound hopeful? “Are you usually…bigger?”
She sighed. “No. This is it.”
“What are you?” He’d become sensitive to scent since the change, and he breathed in deeply but couldn’t identify what she was. Sweet. Sweeter than a human. Maybe a little fae in there.
She shrugged. “I’m a sort of mongrel. Not very interesting.”
He didn’t push; some of the mixed races were sensitive. “How old are you?” Now that he looked closer, she appeared older than first impressions, maybe mid-twenties—though age was something else that could be deceptive in this new world. He could see a pair of definite womanly breasts outlined beneath the thin material of her T-shirt, full and round and… He forced himself to look up and into her face.
She scowled then. “Old enough.”
For what?
As if to answer his unspoken question, she stared at him, her gaze lowering to his bare chest, then she licked her lips with a small, pink tongue. And just like that, heat shot through him, sinking down to his groin. He blinked in shock and had to fight the urge to peer under the sheet to check if he’d just gotten a boner. He hadn’t even had a twinge since he’d been changed, though Piers had said that wouldn’t last.
Why her?
She wasn’t his usual type, which, if he could remember that far back, ran to tall, leggy blondes with big breasts and commitment issues.
She hitched up her T-shirt, which had fallen off one shoulder again, drawing his attention back to her breasts. Her nipples were hard little points, clearly visible, and his dick twitched, filling him with a mix of euphoria—he had been a little worried about its lack of interest recently—and guilt. After all, they had only just met.
Maybe she was one of those sex demons. The ones who could seduce a man with a look and then drain him dry and leave him for dead.
What a way to go.
With that crazy thought, he decided that maybe it was time to get up and get dressed, find Piers, and ask him what the hell he thought he was up to. “Could you…uh…leave for a minute while I get dressed?”
She smiled, then shrugged. “Sorry. Piers said I’m supposed to watch you.”
“I somehow doubt Piers meant for you to watch me in bed.” Maybe it was a setup, and she was some sort of early Christmas present. His dick liked that idea, as well. He was in big trouble.
At that moment, there was a commotion at the door and Piers strolled in, followed closely by his wife, Roz, a pretty brunette with short, spiky hair, a sweet dimpled smile, and a scary badass attitude.
Piers stopped just inside the door and sniffed the air, then frowned and cast Ryan a suspicious look. He had the sudden urge to defend himself, to say he hadn’t touched her. It wasn’t his fault… Instead, he kept his mouth shut.
Piers turned his attention to his visitor. “What the hell are you doing in here, Winter?”
“I wanted to start work.”
Piers shook his head. “Go talk to Roz for a minute,” he said to her. “I need to speak to Ryan alone.”
She pursed her lips, then jumped off the bed. “Of course.” She was tiny, even with the four-inch heels. He watched as she sashayed across the room—she had a cute ass—and disappeared out of the bedroom with Roz. He turned back to Piers, who was still watching him.
“So, you’ve met Winter. I’d planned to introduce you this evening.”
Ryan didn’t know how to ask this, but he had to. It was best to know what he was dealing with. “She’s not an…incubus, is she?” When Piers looked blank, he continued. “You know…one of those sex demons?”
Piers glared. “For a start, an incubus is male. You mean a succubus. And no, of course she isn’t.” Then he frowned. “What did she do?” He sounded resigned.
Ryan shrugged. “Nothing.”
His eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
Got a boner for the first time in forever. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Then I’ll forget you asked that question. Winter is your bodyguard until after the holidays. Then we’ll talk again.”
“What the hell is she supposed to do if I decide to lose it and go on the rampage? She’s a goddamned midget.”
“Don’t, for the love of God, call her that anywhere she can hear you.” Piers shuddered. “She’s sensitive on the subject. And she’s just going to stick close to you. If anything happens, she’ll call for backup.” He glanced at the door where the two women had disappeared, then moved closer to the bed and spoke quietly. “Between you and me, this is as much for her sake as yours. Keep her out of trouble. Her dad’s a good friend of mine, and he’s worried about her. She’s had a…sheltered upbringing.”
“Is she fae?”
“No.”
“And…?”
“I’ll let her explain. If she wants to. She’s a little…shy.”
“Yeah, I got the shy bit,” he said sarcastically. “Right about the time she broke into my bedroom.”
“Shy and impetuous.”
“How did she do that, anyway? The door was locked.”
“Shy, impetuous, and resourceful.” Piers studied Ryan for a moment. “I wouldn’t have said this if you hadn’t made the sex demon comment, but…”
“Yeah?”
“Keep your hands to yourself, okay? Not that you wouldn’t, because hell…I’m betting you’ve forgotten what to do with your dick.”
Ryan thought about being offended, but Piers was probably right. Or he had been, up until about ten minutes ago. Before that, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been interested in sex…probably before he had come to work for the Order. Jeez, it was a wonder his dick hadn’t shriveled up and dropped off. “Why?”
“I told you, she’s the daughter of an old friend. A powerful old friend. And he’s very protective of her.”
“Is there anything you’re not telling me?” He had an unpleasant thought. “Her father’s not a demon, is he?”
“No, he’s not a demon. But Winter does tend to…attract trouble.”
“Really? Sounds like the perfect bodyguard.” Not.
Piers shrugged again. “It’s just youthful high spirits. So as I said, you’ll be looking after each other. Doing me a favor.”
Great. But really, it wasn’t as though he had anything else to do. Christmas had never been much of a big deal for him. As a kid, he’d never seen the inside of a church, so the whole religious aspect went right over his head. And there hadn’t been any money for fancy food or presents. His dad was usually not around, doing a stint in prison as often as not. His sister had done her best, but she hadn’t been much more than a kid herself. No big deal.
When he’d joined the force, he’d always volunteered for shifts over the holiday period. Let the guys with families have the holiday off. He didn’t give a shit.
And last year… Well, best not to think too much about last Christmas, except to say it had passed in a haze of pain and hunger. That was partly why everyone was taking this Christmas off, because they’d all stuck around last year to help him through—or possibly to attend his funeral if he hadn’t made it.
Apparently, it had been touch and go.
The Order had been trying to bring the werewolves on board, persuade them that revealing the truth about their existence to humans was the only way forward. A few were in favor, but most of them were stuck in their ways and didn’t want to change. Ryan had been seen as an easy target and they’d lured him to a meeting, planning to kill him as a way of stalling the negotiations. And while they hadn’t succeeded in doing him in, the negotiations had come to a standstill. Ryan had been packing silver bullets that night and had managed to fatally shoot the alpha, leaving the pack leaderless and in chaos…though he’d heard that Marissa, the old alpha’s mate, was trying to take control. That would be bad news for the Order, and even worse news for Ryan. It was one of the reasons he was keeping clear of his nephew. No way was he dragging Liam into his fucked-up mess of a life.
Roz peered around the door. “Are you done with the pep talk?” she asked. “Can we come back in yet?”
“Yeah, join the party,” Ryan muttered.
She grinned and crossed the room, leaned down, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for doing this. I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland for Christmas. And Piers wouldn’t leave you alone.”
No, because he was so much safer with little Miss Midget to protect him. But he kept the words to himself. He loved seeing Roz happy. He wouldn’t do anything to spoil that.
“I’m just going to take Winter upstairs,” Piers said. “Introduce her to the guys and get her security clearance sorted out. You”—he pointed at Ryan—“put some clothes on.”
They all trooped out, Winter at the rear. She hesitated at the door, cast a look over her shoulder, and blew him a kiss.
His dick twitched.
Yup, he was definitely in trouble.