All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire (Love at Stake #5)

 

"Oh my gosh," Toni whispered as she peered through the peephole on the front door. It was nine A.M. on Friday morning, the appointed arrival time for the babysitters, but Toni doubted the two girls with pink-striped hair were Shanna Draganesti and Gregori's mother. They banged on the door once again.

 

Toni punched the intercom. "May I help you?"

 

"Where's Ian?" one of the girls demanded. "We tried calling, but all we get is a recording."

 

"Yeah," the second girl agreed. "He says that he's taken, but we don't believe it. We want to see him!"

 

Toni groaned. The message Ian had left on the answering machine wasn't working. Some of his admirers were resorting to a more desperate tactic. "Please come back tonight."

 

"And let the competition get to him first? No way!"

 

Competition? Toni strode into the living room and peered out the window.

 

Good grief! There were a dozen more girls pacing up and down the sidewalk. They waved posters in the air. Pick me, Ian! Ian's so hot! One girl had a sparkly tiara on her head, and her poster read, I'm Ian's shimmering princess!

 

"Oh my gosh." Toni pulled the cell phone from her pocket and called Howard.

 

"Oh shoot," he muttered. "They must have gotten the address before Vanda had it removed. We're almost there. We'll park in the back. See you in a few minutes."

 

"All right." Toni hung up, then gathered her school stuff in the kitchen.

 

Soon she heard voices on the back porch. She peeked out the window and saw Howard fiddling with his key. Behind him was an older woman with graying hair and a younger, blonde woman, both loaded down with tote bags. A little boy stood close by.

 

She turned off the alarm and opened the door. "Hi. Thanks for coming."

 

"No problem." Howard strode into the kitchen and headed straight for the foyer. "I'll see if I can get rid of those girls out front."

 

"Okay." Toni turned to help the elderly woman put her tote bags on the kitchen table. "You must be Radinka."

 

"Thank you, yes." Radinka took her hand and regarded her curiously. "Interesting," she murmured.

 

The pretty blonde deposited her bags on the table. "Hi, I'm Shanna."

 

"Nice to meet you." Toni extended a hand, but Shanna pulled her into a hug.

 

"I heard how you were attacked the other night." Shanna patted her on the back. "I'm so glad you're safe now. Are you all right?"

 

"Yes." Toni was surprised by how sweet and...normal Shanna was. Who would ever believe she was the wife of a powerful Undead coven master? And there was an angelic little boy standing close to her.

 

"This is my son, Constantine." Shanna ruffled his blonde curls.

 

Toni leaned over. "Hi, Constantine."

 

He smiled, then buried his face in his mother's coat.

 

The older woman chuckled. "He won't be so shy once he gets to know you. Gregori told me he met you last night. He was very impressed with your dancing."

 

Toni laughed. "He's a lot of fun."

 

"Yes." Radinka's eyes narrowed. "But I do not believe he is the one destined for you, my dear." Toni blinked. "I--I'm not looking for anyone--"

 

Shanna touched her arm. "Don't worry. Radinka's always trying to match people up."

 

Radinka snorted. "There's no trying to it. I can see when two hearts belong together." She pointed to her temple. "I'm psychic, you know."

 

"Oh. That's nice." Toni didn't know what else to say.

 

"It doesn't take a psychic to know a bored child will be a problem." Radinka moved one of her tote bags to the floor. "So we brought the little one some toys."

 

Constantine rummaged through the bag, removed a big picture book, then wiggled onto a kitchen chair. "I want to learn how to read."

 

"That's wonderful." Toni smiled at him, and he smiled shyly back, his cheeks dimpling.

 

"Uncle Connor said you were nice. He said you know how to kick a--"

 

"Whoa, Uncle Connor talks too much." Shanna removed her coat, then turned to her son. "Let's get you out of that jacket."

 

While Shanna hung up jackets on the hooks by the back door, Radinka unloaded groceries from the remaining bags on the table.

 

"We weren't sure if you had enough food here." Radinka set a carton of milk in the fridge, then grabbed the kettle from the stove. "I'll make everyone a nice cup of tea."

 

Constantine eyed the bags of fruit still on the table. "Can I have a banana?"

 

"Here you go, sweetie." Shanna handed him one, then stashed the bags in the fridge.

 

Toni was about to offer Constantine some help when she realized he didn't need it. He peeled the banana, then bit off a piece while he studied his book.

 

He pointed at a word. "Is this house?"

 

She peered over his shoulder. "Yes, it is." What a bright little boy he was. She wondered if he was Shanna's from a previous relationship. Surely Vamp men weren't able to have children. "Thank you for coming today."

 

"We were happy to." Shanna hooked the empty tote bags on the pegs with their coats. "A delivery man's bringing a tree around noon. We always decorate one for the guards."

 

"Oh, that's nice." With all the turmoil in her life, Toni had forgotten that Christmas was coming soon.

 

Radinka set out three cups and saucers on the counter. "We saw those women out front with their posters. I can't believe they're behaving so silly."

 

"Yeah." Toni sat next to Constantine. "It's crazy."

 

Shanna shook her head. "Poor Ian. I heard he really had to suffer to get his older looks." Radinka made tsking noises as she placed a teabag in each cup. "Gregori told me he's doing a television interview tonight with Corky Courrant."

 

Shanna made a face. "That's a disaster waiting to happen."

 

"Why?" Toni asked.

 

Shanna bit her lip, considering. "I should leave Ian a note, begging him not to do it. Is he in the basement?"

 

"No, he outgrew his coffin. He's on the fifth floor." Toni winced. "In your husband's bedroom." Shanna laughed. "Well, looks like I'll get some exercise. Be right back." She strode from the kitchen.

 

Toni was tempted to go with her. She'd seen Ian only once this morning, right before calling in her eight o'clock report. She'd risen at six-thirty A.M. and was having breakfast in the kitchen when Phineas and Dougal had come in for a bedtime snack before retiring to the basement. She'd hoped to see Ian, but he'd gone straight up to the fifth floor without stopping by to see her. Why had he not wanted to talk to her? She was a bit worried that he'd actually hit it off with one of those fifty Vamps he'd dated last night.

 

The kettle whistled, and Toni jerked back to the present. She had to stop thinking about Ian so much.

 

Howard strode into the kitchen. "Those women are psycho! One of them hit me with a poster when I told her Ian wasn't here."

 

Toni winced. "Sorry. They do seem awfully determined."

 

Radinka handed Howard a cup of tea. "Such nonsense. Are they still there?"

 

"I got them to leave, but I'm afraid they'll come back." Howard drank some tea. "I'd better check on the guys. Is Ian still on the fifth floor?"

 

"Shanna's already on her way up there." Radinka set a cup of tea in front of Toni.

 

"I'll start in the basement then." Howard gulped down the rest of his tea, then left the room grumbling about crazy women.

 

"Is this truck?" Constantine looked up at Toni, then pointed at another word.

 

She glanced at his book. "Yes, it is." He had finished his banana. "Would you like something to drink?"

 

"Can I have some milk?"

 

"Sure." Toni hunted through the cabinets, but couldn't find any plastic cups. She'd have to give him a glass. She set it in front of him, and he drank without hesitation.

 

She sat next to him. "How old are you, about four?"

 

He grinned with a milk mustache. "I'm almost two."

 

Toni gaped, then shut her mouth quickly since she didn't want to embarrass the little boy.

 

"You're...sure?" "He'll be two in March." Radinka added some milk to her tea. "He's very clever, isn't he?"

 

More than clever, Toni thought. He was a wonder child.

 

"Is Toni with us?" Constantine asked.

 

Radinka tilted her head, considering Toni. "She may not know it yet, but I believe she is." What did that mean? Toni sipped her tea with a growing sense of confusion.

 

"Do you want to see what I can do?" Constantine backed away from the table and spun around. "That's great!" Toni smiled appreciatively.

 

He gave her a dubious look. "I haven't done it yet."

 

"Oh, sorry." Toni's mouth dropped open as the young boy slowly rose to the ceiling. "Oh my gosh."

 

Radinka sat at the table with her cup of tea. "He's very special."

 

"I'm back." Shanna strode into the kitchen. She picked up her cup of tea and glanced around the room. "Where's Tino?"

 

A giggle from the ceiling drew her attention, and Shanna snorted. "I should have known." She gave Toni a wry look. "I've been trying to teach him to clean the ceiling fans."

 

"He--he's floating," Toni said lamely.

 

Constantine giggled and performed a front somersault.

 

"Oh, now you're just showing off." Shanna sipped some tea. "You should see him and his daddy play basketball."

 

"I blocked Daddy's goal by sitting in the hoop," Constantine boasted.

 

"He--he's really Roman's son?" Toni asked. "How--?"

 

"Roman's a genius. Don't ask me how, but he inserted his DNA into human sperm." Shanna patted her stomach. "We're expecting another one in May. A little girl."

 

"Oh. Congratulations." Toni watched Constantine float down to the floor. She couldn't believe it. Shanna and Radinka were sipping tea like it was entirely normal to breed half-human/halfvampire children.

 

"Did you ask if it was okay before you levitated?" Shanna asked her son.

 

"Yes, Mommy." He climbed back onto his chair.

 

"That's good." Shanna sat across from him. "We've been teaching him to be careful about levitating. It's not something we want just anyone to see."

 

"Like Grandpa." Constantine drank more milk.

 

"I'm afraid so," Shanna agreed. "My dad is the head of the CIA Stake-Out team. They'd like to eliminate all vampires from the planet."

 

Toni winced. "That's got to be a little awkward for family reunions."

 

"Tell me about it. Fortunately, my dad's crazy about his grandson, so he's ignoring the Vamps and concentrating on the Malcontents. But if he found out that Tino's inherited some unusual genes, it could cause a problem."

 

The little boy slumped over his book. "Would Grandpa not love me anymore?"

 

"Oh, sweetie." Shanna rushed over to hug her son. "He'll always love you. We all love you so much."

 

"We sure do." Radinka's eyes glimmered with emotion as she regarded the little boy. Toni felt a tiny twinge of envy. How lucky this boy was to be so loved. She'd always wanted her mother's love, but it had never happened. Her mom had gone on to marry the man of her dreams and have two more children. Toni had never been welcome there. Her only experience with maternal love had been from her grandmother, and that had ended abruptly when she was thirteen. When she had failed her.

 

When Toni had first entered the Vamp world a few nights ago, she had expected to find a scary place filled with creepy characters. Instead she'd found a group of Vamps and mortals who were caring and compassionate. It was obvious that they looked out for one another. Shanna had run up five flights of stairs just to leave Ian a note.

 

Was she with them? That was the question Constantine had asked. With a small shock, Toni realized she could be an accepted member of this extended family--a family that cared for one another and trusted one another. She could be a part of it all. Never rejected again. Never made to feel like she wasn't good enough.

 

It was so...tempting. But alarming, too, for she already had her life planned out with Sabrina. Sabrina was her family, not these people in the Vamp world. As soon as the mess with Sabrina was resolved, Toni could leave the Vamp world forever. Two days ago she'd been eager to leave. Now she was starting to feel...wanted. And valued. For the first time, she realized she was getting pulled in two different directions.

 

"Are you all right, dear?" Radinka asked.

 

"I--I'd better go." She glanced at the clock over the kitchen sink. "My final starts in an hour."

 

Constantine placed his small hand on her arm. "You'll be okay, Toni."

 

Her arm tingled as a surge of warm energy rushed from the little boy's hand. She stiffened, then immediately relaxed as the energy washed over her with a soothing gentleness. Her tension melted away, leaving a sense of well-being and a feeling that she could accomplish anything.

 

She looked at the little boy, and he smiled back. There was an intelligence in his bright blue eyes that should have been frightening in a child so young, but she felt too relaxed to be concerned. Constantine radiated goodness, so she knew there was no need to be afraid.

 

He withdrew his hand and focused his attention back on his picture book. Toni gathered her things and said her good-byes. As she walked to the subway station, the little boy's question kept repeating in her mind. Is Toni with us? How deep was she getting sucked into this new world? Would it be hard to give it up when she left? Not so hard, if they completely wiped her memory. But how could she give up the memory of Constantine and the others?

 

How could she give up ever seeing Ian again?

 

That evening, Toni was celebrating the end of her college education with a big bowl of triple chocolate ice cream on top of a double chocolate brownie, when Ian walked in.

 

"Good evening."

 

He'd caught her with her mouth full. She gulped. "Hi."

 

He opened his mouth to speak, then apparently changed his mind. He wandered to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of blood. He hesitated, then placed it back in.

 

"Not hungry?" She scooped more ice cream into her mouth.

 

"I already ate." He paced across the room, his kilt swishing about his knees.

 

"Did you see the Christmas tree in the parlor? It's very pretty. Shanna and Constantine decorated it."

 

"Aye, it's nice." He continued to pace.

 

He seemed nervous to her. "Are you doing that interview tonight?"

 

"I think so." He flexed his hands as he paced. "But I have a bad feeling about it."

 

"Shanna thought you should skip it. Did you see the note she left you?"

 

"Aye, but Vanda's worked verra hard to set this up. I doona want to disappoint her." He sighed.

 

"She's lined up some more dates for me, too."

 

Toni stabbed at the brownie. "More Vamp women?"

 

"Aye." He leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms across his chest. And what about the kiss they'd shared in the car? Toni thought about bringing it up, but she'd been the one who'd insisted they never speak of it. She'd called it a mistake. She glanced at Ian. Had he thought it was a mistake?

 

But what about those moments when their eyes met, and the whole world melted away? Toni could have sworn something was happening between them. Something like a huge magnet drawing them together. Or was she fooling herself? She took her bowl to the sink. She'd lost her appetite.

 

"Toni, I doona know how to say this, but..."

 

Would he tell her he was attracted to her? "Yes?"

 

"I canna see myself when I shave. I was wondering if I looked all right. For the interview, ye ken."

 

"Oh. Okay, let me see." She moved close and examined his cheeks, the line of his jaw, his strong neck, and his dimpled chin. She felt her own face growing warm. "You look fine to me."

 

Her eyes met his, and her heart did a little flip. Damn, knowing him, he'd heard that. She stepped back.

 

"I doona have a hairbrush upstairs. I just pulled my hair back."

 

"I've got one." She rummaged through her handbag on the kitchen table and pulled out a brush. She was about to offer it to him when she realized this was a chance to actually touch his hair. With her heart racing, she motioned to a chair at the table. "Take a seat."

 

He did.

 

She stared at the back of his head and his shoulders. Even from the back he was gorgeous. She untied the leather strip around his ponytail and dropped it on the table. She stroked the brush through his thick hair. It shimmered in waves down to his shoulders. His very broad shoulders.

 

"You have wavy hair." She smoothed a hand over the waves. His hair was as soft as she'd thought it would be.

 

"When I wore it short, it was curly," he said. "Thank you for helping me. I--I wanted to look good for the interview, but I dinna want to seem vain."

 

She smiled. "I don't think you're vain." Gorgeous, but not vain. She gathered his hair into a ponytail. She'd never dated a guy with hair this long. It was a lot sexier than she'd realized. She took her time, smoothing the silken strands back from his temples and around his ears.

 

"Ye have a soft touch," he whispered.

 

She leaned over to get the leather strip off the table, and her breasts grazed against his head. He glanced up at her, and her breath caught. "Are you all right? Your eyes look kinda bloodshot."

 

He closed them. "I'm a wee tired."

 

"Oh." She hadn't thought a Vamp could get tired. She tied the strip around his hair at the base of his neck.

 

"I dinna know what to wear--breeches or a kilt."

 

"The kilt is good. It's...you. And you want to be yourself. I mean, if a woman doesn't love you for yourself, then she's not the right one for you."

 

He remained silent.

 

She stepped back. "Have you met someone you liked?"

 

"Aye. I have."

 

Her heart plummeted. "I see. Well, I'm done here."

 

"Thank you." He rose slowly. "When I told Vanda I was looking for my true love, I told her I wanted a lady Vamp who was honest, loyal, intelligent, and pretty."

 

Toni's heart sank lower. She didn't match up very well.

 

"But now I'm starting to realize that there's more to love than meeting a few requirements."

 

"That's true." She dropped her brush into her bag.

 

He strode to the kitchen door, then hesitated. "If ye were no' my guard, I could date you." Her heart swooshed back into place. He wanted to date her?

 

He frowned. "But if ye were no longer my guard, yer memory would be erased. Ye wouldna know me."

 

"I know." Her heart squeezed. "It's kinda...sad."

 

"Aye, it is." He turned and left the room.

 

A little after ten, Carlos called. "I'm on my way home."

 

Toni was already in her pajamas, lounging in bed. "How was your date?"

 

"Good. Maria let me into Dr. Proctor's office, and I found a copy of the will. Sabrina can't inherit the bulk of her trust fund until she obtains a college degree. Meanwhile, her aunt Gwen remains the trustee."

 

"So they're trying to keep her from graduating?" Toni sat up with a gasp. "Carlos! What if they plan to keep her locked up in a mental hospital forever?"

 

"I'm afraid that's exactly what they're up to," Carlos muttered. "But never fear. I discovered where Dr. Proctor works. Shady Oaks Psychiatric Hospital. I called, but they wouldn't confirm if Sabrina is a patient there."

 

"We have to find her."

 

"I know, menina. We will. Meet me tomorrow night after you get off work, and we'll go to Shady Oaks together."

 

"Okay." Toni hung up. She'd find Sabrina. And she'd get her out of that hospital. She wouldn't let her down.