Hunted Holiday: A Vampire Romance (6 page)

She touched his cheek. “I scratched you.”
 

“I bit you,” he countered with a waggle of his brows.

She smiled. “Yes. You did.” Then her smile faded. “You’re rather chipper now, aren’t you? No offense, but normally you’re kind of a fuddy-duddy.”
 

“A what?”

“Stick-in-the-mud.”
 

He shrugged. “Feeling less stickish now that I’ve had you.”

“So I’ve noticed. Can I ask what brought this on?”

“I decided to vampire-up.”

She lifted a brow.

“Dani, just to be clear, since you are not a vampire after all. You know that we’re now mated, correct?”
 

She smiled wider. “No. Missed that part in the handbook.”

He grinned. “You, always with the sarcasm.”

“Hey, you mated me,” she said before kissing him. Reluctantly, he withdrew from her, but only long enough to pull his wife up and kiss her more, before he stood to fully remove his slacks.
 

He stroked his cock, his gaze sliding over the goddess on his bed. She was his. Forever. And now that she was bonded to him, her already longer-than-normal lifespan as a slayer would match his—she was immortal now. They would have eternity to explore one another and share in the joy of being one.

She went to her knees, her breasts bouncing, teasing him. “I should get dressed and go downstairs. I left Mimi there with Finn.”

Cornell smiled. “They are at your home now. They left shortly after we entered the bedroom.”
 

“Oh, I forgot you can hear everything,” she said, and then blew a stray strand of her long blonde hair from her face.

Cornell could resist her no longer. He moved forward quickly and turned her, putting her on her hands and knees before him on the bed. She squealed with laughter and then put a hand back on her bottom.

“What do you have planned?” she asked.
 

He grinned. “I’m going to stuff your stocking.”
 

She laughed harder and he bent, kissing her ass cheek before trailing a line of kisses lower. Cornell parted her cheeks and then bent more, licking a line along her soaked slit. He pushed a finger into her wet, tight pussy and his cock throbbed, wanting more of her. It would never get enough.

Neither would he.

Crawling onto the bed, he grinned, aligning himself with his mate’s body. He positioned his cock and then drove home, holding Dani’s hips as he went deep. Now that they were a bonded couple, he could sense her feelings, her desire, her pleasure, her happiness. He knew she could sense his as well.

Chapter Seven

Hunting for the holidays

Dani rolled onto her stomach and smiled as Cornell’s scent enveloped her. He’d marked her, claimed her as his own, and she couldn’t be happier. When the day had started, she’d assumed her biggest decision would be whether or not to let Mimi keep decorating. Dani had no idea she’d end up with a husband.
 

A mate.

She couldn’t stop smiling. It was to the point her cheeks ached. She sat up slowly, his dress shirt buttoned haphazardly over her breasts. Her attention went to his room, and for the first time she actually looked around it, soaking in the sight of it all. Her husband was a fancy pants.

Husband.

The word made her smile.

He liked fine art, as proven by the amount of it hanging around his room. As Dani’s gaze slid to the floor-to-ceiling windows, she froze. It was nighttime. The curtains were not pulled. The lights in the room were on. That meant they’d put on a show for anyone in the neighborhood who happened to glance in from the street. Dani called upon her slayer speed and went for the light switch, flicking it off, bathing the room in darkness. She eased in the direction of the window and peered out, hoping with the late hour that most neighbors were in their homes. She was already “that” neighbor. She didn’t need to add to it.

Looking out, she spotted the head of the HOA standing across the street, holding a leash with his tiny dog attached. The man gazed up at the window, his mouth agape. The small dog moved up against its owner and then lifted its leg, peeing on its owner’s foot. The man never blinked or acknowledged his dog had just marked him. He was that swept up in the view.

Cringing, Dani thought about what he’d tell everyone in the neighborhood. About how he’d twist the events into something ugly. Hell, he’d probably have the rumor going nonstop that Cornell—the big bad vampire—had attacked the slayer girl and forced himself upon her. And how everyone should now hide their wives, and possibly children, because who knew what the vampire’s next step would be.

He was that kind of a slimeball, and he was filled with that much hate and ignorance. She wouldn’t put it past him.

Dick.
 

Arms eased around Dani’s midriff and she leaned back, happy Cornell had returned. With a mere touch, he made her heart flutter. Too bad the lightened mood and feeling of bliss had to be spoiled by the creeper who was still staring up at them. She pointed in the direction of the HOA president. “I think he got an eyeful.”

Cornell laughed and ground against her, his erection evident through the silk pajama bottoms he wore. “We could give him more of one.”

“He already hates me,” she said, her body responding to her mate’s, but her mind thinking over the show they’d already put on.

“He hates everyone who isn’t just as he is—blond, blue-eyed, and human. I believe there are words for his type,” said Cornell.

“Yeah, douchebags.”
 

“Ah, my wife, the resident poet of Oak Tree Ridge.” Cornell rocked their bodies back and forth gently, kissing her neck in the process. “He attempted to cite me for building a home with grounds that resembled a cemetery.”

“What did you say?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
 

Cornell flashed fangs. “I told him that for each citation I received, I would take a pint of his blood as payment for my time reading his nonsense.”
 

She laughed. “And it worked?”

“He has yet to walk on my property again,” said Cornell, turning her to face him.

“Speaking of your property,” she said with a smile. “I think your gargoyles out front would look kick-ass with wreaths around their necks.”

He laughed. “Well, they are your gargoyles now, so do with them as you wish.”
 

She paused, her mind wrapping around the fact they were now a single unit. “I’m guessing we’re going to live here and not over at my place.”

“I will live wherever you want to live,” he said, his lips on her neck again. “My home is wherever you are, Dani.”

“Can I hang out here and think it over before I decide?” she asked.

He nibbled lightly on her neck. “I vote we make love in each room of both homes to help us better decide.”

She smiled, liking that idea greatly. She glanced up at him. “I love that idea. And I love you.”

He winked. “I love you too.”
 

She hugged him. “Thank you for putting the happy back in my holidays.”

He kissed her cheek. “That reminds me. I will be right back.”
 

She caught his wrist. “Where are you going?”
 

“Hunting for the holidays,” he said, his voice lowering. “I plan to find the few who managed to elude us last night and teach them what happens when one harms my mate.”

Dani grinned. “As much as I love you, I don’t really need any more dead bad guys wrapped in bows. Right now, I just need you.”
 

He lifted her and she knew he was going to take her back to bed. Where she wanted to be. “That can be arranged.”

She smiled.

He tipped his head as if listening to something far off. “It would appear Mimi is making Finn drink hot cocoa. He’s cursing the Fae under his breath. Ah, she’s threatening to beat him over the head with a candy cane.”
 

“Yep. Sounds like our friends.”

THE END

About the Author, Mandy M. Roth

Mandy M. Roth 
is a self-proclaimed Goonie, loves 80s music and movies and wishes leg warmers would come back into fashion. She also thinks the movie
The Breakfast Club
should be mandatory viewing for...okay, everyone. When she's not dancing around her office to the sounds of the 80s, she’s busy writing sexy paranormal operatives.

To learn more about Mandy, please visit
http://www.mandyroth.com
 

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