Holiday with a Vampire: Christmas Cravings. Caridad Pineiro

hand tightened on her shoulder and he steeled himself against the hunger that clamored to be eased. It had been a long time since he’d fed from a living human being. But damned if she wasn’t a tempting morsel.

      “Just a little farther,” she said.

      The sun was coming.

      He stumbled and her arm around his waist constricted as she took more of his leaden weight. “Keep going,” she said, her voice a whisper now, strained with effort. “Almost there.”

      Why did she care? What made her go out of her way for a strange man? Shouldn’t she have been more concerned for her own safety rather than his? If she’d been smart, she would have called the police when she first spotted him. Although, if she had, he would have been no more than a pile of smoking ash by the time they arrived.

      One more step. And another. He forced his legs to move. Forced himself to survive. Again. Why? Instinct, he guessed. Had to be. Even his kind fought for another day at life—such as it was.

      He felt the skin on the back of his right hand sizzle. He glanced down and saw the slight twist of smoke lifting from his flesh as the first, barest hint of sunlight touched him. Grayson clenched his teeth against the searing pain and told himself it was no more than he deserved.

      “Something’s burning,” she said, never slowing, never stopping. “Close by.”

      Yes. Closer than she thought.

      He slumped against her as the sizzle and heat began on his cheek now. Exposed flesh, too long denied the sun, went up as kindling and Grayson knew he was only moments from being engulfed. And if the flames took him while she was wrapped around him, this Good Samaritan would die along with him.

      He couldn’t have that.

      He’d done damage enough in his too long life already.

      Pushing free of her, he staggered forward.

      “What’re you doing?” She tried to grab him again, but he lurched ahead, aimed at the open barn door.

      “Stay back.” Two words, delivered as an order not to be ignored. Then he lunged for the cool shadows within the barn and toppled into them once past the threshold.

      Instantly, relief poured over him like the cool kiss of ice. The darkness swallowed him, and Grayson felt his body begin to heal, begin to awaken now that the morning light had been beaten back. He stirred, scraping his right hand on the rough wooden planks beneath him, and hissed in a breath as the rawness of his flesh erupted with pain. He cradled that hand in his other one and half turned to look at the woman standing in a slice of growing daylight. He squinted at her, made sure he was completely in the shadows, then said, “Thank you.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      She didn’t come any closer and Grayson wondered if she were already regretting her good deed for the day.

      Bracing her feet, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, tipped her head to one side and said softly, “Now, why don’t you tell me who you are and why you’re here.”

      “I’d like to know the same thing,” he said, rather than answering her question. “I thought no one lived here.”

      “No one did until a few months ago,” she said. “Now I do, and I still want to know why you’re here.”

      Wincing a bit, he sat up and moved to one side, where he could brace his back against one of the stalls lining the old barn. In a split second, he took in the whole structure, noting that the barn was empty but for a minivan, a riding lawnmower—and, wouldn’t you know it, there were a few slivers of growing daylight slanting through the gaps in the roof shingles. He nearly hissed at the sight, but managed to contain himself. When he looked back at her, he could see more than concern on her features. Her deep blue eyes were worried. Almost haunted.

      He knew what that felt like and in spite of the situation, he almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

      “I used to live here,” he said.

      “Really?” She didn’t sound convinced. “Because when I bought the place several months ago, it was in good shape, but still looked as though no one had lived here in forever.”

      True enough. But he’d come here every year at Christmas. To be alone. Clearly, his business manager had decided to sell the old place and hadn’t even thought to tell Grayson about it. The man deserved to be staked for this.

      “It was a long time ago.”

      “Uh-huh.” Still not convinced. “So why’re you here now?”

      He fingered the back of his head, pleased to see that the bleeding had stopped, though there was a knot there to remind him of how he’d come to be lying in the open. And now that the sun was no longer a threat, his memories of the night before got clearer.

      “I got here last night. Saw the lights and was going to leave.” He’d been pretty pissed off about it, too. He’d decided to spend the night in a nearby cave, but before he could leave, he’d sensed something in the woods. Not a vampire. But someone, watching the house.

      When whoever it was had left, Grayson let them go. Vampires weren’t big on playing the hero, after all. But then…“Someone hit me over the head. Next thing I knew, you were standing over me.”

      Her eyes went wide and frightened. “Did you see who it was?”

      “No.” Irritating as hell to admit that. His extraordinary senses should have warned him that he wasn’t alone. But he’d been so damned surprised to find his home occupied that he hadn’t paid close enough attention to the rest of his surroundings.

      Tessa Franklin shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Frightening enough to find a nearly unconscious man in her front yard at the crack of dawn. But knowing that someone else had been sneaking around her house in the middle of the night was downright terrifying. What if he’d found her? What if he was watching her right now?

      She hunched her shoulders against unseen eyes and fought for the calm she’d worked so hard to find. Pushing her fears back, she raked her gaze over her unexpected guest. A tall man, he was thin, but she’d felt the strength in him as he’d leaned on her moments ago. He wore black jeans, worn boots, a gray sweater and a short, black leather coat. His features were sharp, as if carved from stone with an ax. His eyes were dark, like his hair, his nose was long and narrow and his mouth was thinned into a grim slash.

      Even injured, he carried an air of power that was nearly intoxicating—even to a woman who knew better than to trust a handsome man.

      Still, if she were to guide her life by past mistakes, then she would have nothing. She had to move forward. Had to trust herself, or she would never be free.

      Tessa looked into his deep brown eyes and said, “Look, you’re hurt. So you can stay here for a while, if you want.”

      One dark eyebrow lifted. “You make a habit of inviting strangers into your home, do you?”

      “Actually, yes,” she said, forcing a brave smile she didn’t quite feel. “I do. I run a B and B here. I’ve got one guest now and another arriving tomorrow, but I do have one more empty bedroom, if you need it.”

      He scowled at her. “I’m fine here.”

      “In the barn.”

      “Yes.”

      Odd. But then what about this morning hadn’t been odd? “But you’re injured.”

      “I’ll heal.”

      She didn’t know whether to be pleased or not with the fact that he clearly didn’t want to come into her house. There was something about him that felt…dangerous. And Lord knew, she’d had more than her share of danger already in her life.

      But she also saw something else in his eyes. An old pain that she responded to. How could she not recognize suffering in someone else? How