A Bite of Christmas Cheer

by Thea Dane

  She turned and went to the little closet right beside the door. As she reached for her coat, she felt a light, warm touch along her back. She realized it was Lee’s fingers.

  “I knew you would choose this one.” His touch sent spirals of little electric tingles down her spine. He smelled good standing near, all woodsy notes with a hint of green. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine standing in a winter forest.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “How did you know?” Even with the heels on her feet, she didn’t manage to become taller than him. Something about him standing over her, powerful and domineering, made those tingles shoot straight between her legs. She squeezed her thighs together to relieve some of the sensation. It only heightened her desire.

  “This dress is more you than the other one. It’s alluring in all the right places yet still leaves a mystery.” He ran a finger from her neck down the base of her spine.

  More sensations bloomed at the base and created a pleasing ache between her legs. Violetta bit her lower lip to suppress the moan that wanted to come forth from her mouth. She let him hold the coat while she slipped her arms through. His hands lingered on her shoulders. “I didn’t know you observed me so closely or, the kind of clothes I put on.”

  She heard his soft breathing near her ear. “It’s my habit to observe. It’s how I’ve adapted and thrived over the centuries.” He stepped away and held the door open for her. “After you.”

  He just wanted to see her from behind as she walked away. Violetta felt she could see right through his gentlemanly gesture. She glanced back and saw she was right. Lee raised his intense green eyes to her face and made no move to pretend he wasn’t checking her out previously.

  Why would he have to? He was an alpha vampire and billionaire businessman. She was certain other women threw themselves at him. He probably always got what he wanted.

  She walked to the apartment staircase. It was coated in a thin sheet of ice. She glanced at it and then her heels. This was a prime disaster waiting to happen.

  He took her arm, the one where she got bitten just last night. “Allow me to help.”

  His touch was strong and steady as he walked with her down the treacherous stairs. She thought she mastered the slick obstacle course when suddenly her right foot went out from under her. On reflex, her fingers clawed at Lee’s arm. He managed to catch her as her body propelled forward and hold her in his arms.

  “Wow.” She felt the solid musculature of his arms supporting her underneath. “Thanks or I would’ve been going to the ER with a twisted ankle and bruised pride.”

  He gave her an intense look. “I would never want anything to hurt you.”

  She expected him to put her down so she could continue walking to his Porsche. Instead, he carried her rest of the way and only set her down once she had the safety of the car to lean against. He helped her inside before he got into the vehicle himself.

  The car was warm and toasty inside. He did it for her. She remembered him saying how he didn’t really get cold. She buckled her seat belt and set her clutch bag on her lap. “Well, we know how my trip just went. How was your trip to Ireland?”

  He smirked at her little joke. “Relaxing.” He didn’t elaborate. “But now it’s back to business.”

  Violetta changed the topic. “Hopefully, they salted the sidewalk at the awards dinner.”

  “If they didn’t, I’ll have to carry you inside.”

  She rubbed her neck and cheeks, where the tingly sensation spread. It wasn’t because she picked up on his overwhelming vampire energy. This was something else. Attraction. It manifested in such a physical way that she was unused to. I can’t feel this way. Lee was turning on the charm tonight. Humans merely flirted. Vampires seduced and eventually consumed their prey, or so she read in slayer accounts.

  She stopped her thoughts. Was that what he was doing, getting ready to consume her?

  The drive to the convention center was relatively short. Violetta let Lee open the door for her and support her on his arm as they walked inside. They checked their coats. Although there were stylish young people who looked like they could be in their twenties and thirties, the event hall was mostly filled with older people who looked like they could be on a Sunday morning news show. The middle-aged men wore suits and the women had on conservative dresses that covered up their lady bits. Violetta looked down at the dress she was wearing.

  “You look stunning.” Lee leaned over and whispered in her ear. He caressed her lower back, sending a flurry of heat and desire through her body. She already had trouble walking in those damn heels. She didn’t need to be made weak in the knees, too.

  She glanced at the women her age. They wore cocktail dresses, some sleeveless, but theirs were nowhere near as daring as her own. “I don’t think this is the right dress for the occasion.”

  “Most of these people came here right after work. That’s why they have on the same clothes.”

  She gave him a sly glance. “Why do I think you’re just saying that to put me at ease?”

  His face retained the same serious expression. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

  A waiter came up to them, holding a platter of glasses filled with bubbly liquid. “Champagne for you and the lady, Mr. Desmond?”

  Lee plucked two glasses and handed one to Violetta. “You need to relax. I’m the one who’s giving the speech.”

  She sipped from the glass. The champagne definitely wasn’t the cheap stuff she and her friends busted out five minutes before midnight every year on New Year’s Eve.

  “Good?” Lee watched her mouth as she sipped.

  “Heavenly.”

  “I haven’t heard champagne be described as heavenly.”

  “Oh, it is. Like angels are singing Handel’s Messiah on the tip of my tongue.”

  He watched her over the rim of his glass. Then two men in suits approached.

  “Desmond, if it isn’t the man of the hour.” The one in the navy suit greeted him, holding up a highball glass in salute. Violetta could smell whiskey seeping from his pores.

  “Earl. Henry,” Lee greeted the men in turn. “How are things down at the comptroller’s office?”

  “The usual.” The one named Earl downed the rest of his whiskey and ogled Violetta’s chest. “But who cares about work now? I want to know who this little ornament is you have hanging from your arm.”

  Violetta opened her mouth to put the man in his place, but Lee beat her to it. “This is my assistant, Miss Sharpe. You’ll talk to her with the same respect in which you talk to me. Or else.”

  She noticed how cold his voice turned. She saw the hard look in his eyes as he looked upon Earl as though he were a flea that jumped off a dog’s back. The ice in Earl’s whiskey glass rattled as his hand shook.

  “Yes, Mr. Desmond. I meant no disrespect.”

  Both men quickly excused themselves to go wander off to the bar.

  “Thanks for telling him off,” Violetta said. “But you didn’t have to do it for me.”

  “You’re my date. Why would I leave you to the wolves?” Then his lips broke into a smirk. “Metaphorically speaking. I know for a fact that stammering drunkard is no shifter.”

  There was something alluring about a man who could be fiercely protective one minute and fire off a funny, off-handed remark the next. She thought of the handful of dates she went out on back in undergrad with her silly ex. When he actually wanted to do something other than be cheap and Netflix and chill, that is. He never bothered to stand up for her when other guys tried to get stupid. She admired Lee’s protectiveness.

  She walked with him to the front of the room, where the table of honor was set for him as well as a couple other community notables. During the next hour, they were served salad, the main course of roast duck and a sinfully delicious chocolate peppermint cake for dessert. Violetta was scared she was going to pop out of her dress after the last bite of cake. Then it was time for Lee to accept his reward and give his speech.<
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  The emcee of the night was the mayor. He announced Lee and invited him to come up. Lee approached the podium to applause from the audience. Violetta sipped a second glass of champagne while he graciously accepted the trophy and delivered a speech about corporate responsibility and service to the community. When he was done talking, the people gave him another hearty handclap.

  The event ended shortly before ten. Lee took her hand and helped her from the seat. “Let’s go. I don’t like to make small talk.”

  “But you’re good at it.”

  “Just because I’m good at something doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I’m sure you can understand.”

  She could. Growing up, her aunt and uncle praised her for her accuracy with the knife and the stake when they had her practice on pig carcasses. But she never could get used to the disgusting sensation she felt when her blade sank into pig flesh.

  What the hell? She shook her head of the thought. She didn’t need to think about stakes and knives tonight. Violetta wished her mind hadn’t gone there when Lee talked about doing things without enjoying them. She pondered why that particular thing immediately came to mind.

  She and Lee passed by the decorated Christmas tree in the event hall. The mayor and his wife chatted it up with another couple. The mayor stopped to get Lee’s attention.

  “Leaving already?”

  “Yes. I have work to catch up on at the office.”

  “You gotta stop pulling so many all-nighters. It’s Christmastime, for crying out loud.”

  She noticed the elevated pitch in his voice. He, too, seemed like he had a wee bit much to drink.

  The mayor’s wife sipped eggnog through a straw. She pointed at something above Violetta’s head and giggled. “Oh, you’re standing under the mistletoe. You know what that means.”

  Violetta tilted her head to see a sprig of the celebrated Christmas poison dangling from the ceiling on a string of tacky tinsel. The mayor’s wife couldn’t be serious. “That’s cute. I’m good, though.”

  “Now, now,” the mayor said, waving his finger at her as though she were a naughty child. “You have to follow tradition. We won’t let you leave until you do.”

  She glanced at Lee. He interacted with these people regularly. He could talk them out of their dumb request.

  To her surprise, he lifted her chin with his finger and planted a kiss on her mouth. Violetta experienced a rush to her head and a flutter in her stomach. He moved his lips over hers in a warm slide upward. Then she felt the tip of one of his fangs and drew back.

  The mayor’s wife giggled again. “How precious.”

  Lee took Violetta’s hand while waving to the people near the tree. “Have a good evening.”

  The heels on her feet definitely weren’t made for walking as she hurried to keep in step with him. “What the heck was that back there?”

  “I believe it’s called mistletoe.” He stopped at coat check and handed the attendant their tickets.

  “I know that,” she whispered. “What did you think you were doing to me?”

  “I gave you a kiss. Has the world changed so much that young women don’t even know about mistletoe?” He helped her into her coat. His hand brushed her back again. She hurried to get outside and breathe the cold night air. That would help with the heat he kept creating in her.

  She made herself small after she got in the car. She didn’t want her arm to brush against Lee’s. No contact was good after what she just experienced under that mistletoe.

  “I’ll drive you home so you can change and come into the office.” He started the car and turned up the heat, though she didn’t need it on this trip.

  Violetta sat silent in the car on the way to her apartment, processing her feelings. Lee pulled the Porsche into the lot. “I can walk up by myself.” She rambled fast, her hand flying for the door handle.

  “Nonsense.” He shut off the engine.

  “No, really, I got it.” Before she had the door fully open, he was standing on her side of the car. He unbuckled her seat belt and scooped her into his arms.

  “Why don’t you let me help you?” He walked across the lot and up the stairs with her as though she weighed nothing. Sleet was starting to fall. It hit her face like tiny pieces of glass. She turned her face into Lee’s coat. He smelled like forest woods.

  “It’s not bad to ask for help.”

  She looked up in his face. It was so close. She could kiss those lips again if she wanted to. Violetta didn’t dare. “Says the guy who considers everyone’s weakness.”

  “I don’t think you’re weak for not being able to walk on ice in heels.”

  “I shouldn’t have let you play along with the mayor and his wife. I shouldn’t have let you kiss me.”

  “You consider that weakness, a kiss?” He set her before the apartment door. “I know what I want. You should act more decisively, too.” He touched her face.

  “You think I wanted you to kiss me?”

  He kissed her again at the door of her apartment. Violetta’s heartbeat pounded in her chest. Lee held her tight against him, his arm around her waist. She felt his hard length through his pants. His hand skimmed the top of her behind in a subtle touch of possession while he sucked on her lower lip. Then he gently nibbled on the sensitive skin. She gave in when his tongue pressed against the seam of her lips. She yielded and gave him entry. Their tongues touched and danced. He tasted so good. He slowly pulled away from her face. She saw the look of desire in his eyes as well as satisfaction that marked his lips.

  “See? I know you wanted me to do that.”

  Cheeks burning with embarrassment, she gathered herself. He was right. She kissed him back without thought of the consequences. What would happen if he hadn’t stopped? She got the door unlocked.

  “Violetta, your body can’t lie to me.” He reached out and traced her mouth. “But why so hesitant to speak up?”

  “Aside from the whole fact you’re my boss and I don’t usually go around kissing my employers? You’re just making guesses about me. You can’t know what I don’t tell you.” ”

  He smiled slowly, a hint of a devilish gleam in his eyes. “I wonder. What other secrets are you hiding behind those soft, sweet lips?”

  She fumbled for her key in her purse and jabbed it in the lock. “I’ll see you at work.”

  “Goodbye, Violetta.”

  “Just don’t do that again, okay? Lee?” She looked up and realized he was gone. She heard his car start below and saw him inside it driving off. Damn that alpha could move fast. In more ways than one.

  Chapter Seven

  Two work nights went by after Violetta experienced Lee’s kiss. On the third night, she sat in her office at a quarter to four in the morning. It was almost time to go home for the day. She organized Lee’s schedule for the next week and a half. He was supposed to be in and out of the office for a couple nights. He had to be at work early for a few late afternoon appointments and press interviews around town.

  She booked the reservations for his dinners and screened the questions for his interviews, but he told her in an email that he intended to make his trips solo. She wondered if he was having second thoughts and decided to distance himself from her because of the kiss under the mistletoe.

  More than one kiss. What took place at her apartment after the dinner, his hands on her skin, made her want to feel him inside her body. Violetta exhaled, realizing she held her breath captive in her lungs. Her office desktop modem hummed in the background as she became aware that she stared at the generic field landscape on the screensaver.

  “Ahem.”

  She turned to see the receptionist standing at the door. “Yes?”

  “Hope I’m not disturbing you. You seemed like you were really concentrating.”

  Violetta blinked. The afterimage of the screensaver remained in her eyes. “No, I was doing one of those five minute office meditations you talked about the other day in the break room.”

  The receptionist grinned. “They’
re the best, aren’t they? So calming. Anyway, I stopped by to ask if I could put in a suggestion for the office Christmas party.”

  “There’s an office Christmas party?”

  “Yes. I mean, it’s not officially sanctioned by Mr. Desmond, but Katrin always took it upon herself to put it together for the staff.”

  So now the mantle was being passed onto her. Violetta remembered to maintain a pleasant smile. “Sounds like she started a tradition.”

  “She made it so much fun. Listen, I know you’re new, so the staff and I thought we would help you by coming up with some ideas.” The receptionist quickly raised her hands in defense. “Not like you don’t know how to plan. We can see you’re really busy with the fundraising gala and didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

  “Not at all.” Violetta wished she could recruit the office staff for the fundraiser so she could focus on why she was really at Desmond Industries. She took a pen from the cup at her desk and found a notepad in the drawer. “What are your ideas?”

  She wrote down the suggestions the receptionist listed, ranging from catered crab cakes from the seafood restaurant down the street to a Christmas karaoke. Five minutes later, she put down her pen. “I’ll look into these ideas. Anything else?”

  “Ah.” The receptionist snapped her fingers. “The Christmas tree in the lobby is nice, but we wanted to add mistletoe in for the party.”

  “Mistletoe in an office? This isn’t the sixties. That’s a sexual harassment case waiting to happen.”

  The receptionist gawked at her. “Gee, I guess I didn’t think of it like that.”

  Violetta cringed at how she overreacted to the suggestion. “I mean, it’s best to play it safe. Maybe we could get one of those, um, cardboard Santa cutouts where you can stick your head in. Staff can take photos.”

  What did she just suggest? This was an office holiday party, not a kiddie Christmas set at the mall. What a silly suggestion. The receptionist thought so, too. The half-curled lip and wrinkled nose said it all. But then she wiped the expression away. “I agree. Mistletoe is a little old-fashioned.”