All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire Read Free Page A

burst in Ian’s heart. Maybe the right woman could fall for him. “Ye—ye’re no’ just being kind?”
    “Have you ever known me to be particularly kind?”
    “Ye have been to me.”
    “Well.” She adjusted the whip around her waist with an annoyed look. “You remind me of my youngest brother. But I guess I can’t treat you like a child anymore.”
    “Sorry to spoil yer fun,” he growled.
    She grinned. “I’m really happy for you, Ian. You must be thrilled to be all grown up.”
    “Aye.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair.
    Her smile faded. “You don’t look very thrilled. What’s the matter?”
    “Now that I look older…I’m looking for…”
    “Yes?”
    “A woman.”
    Her mouth twitched. “Well, that’s a start.” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh my God, you really are a virgin?”
    “Nay! I’m almost five hundred years old. What the hell would I be waiting for?”
    “Lady Pamela thinks you are. You didn’t deny it.”
    “It’s no’ something a man should discuss in public. It’s verra private.”
    Vanda chuckled. “You’re so old-fashioned. Sex isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
    “I’m no’—” He couldn’t deny it. By all the saints, he was ashamed. “It’s no’ the sex, ye ken. It’s the way I had to go about it. It—it never felt right.”
    Vanda’s face grew serious. “We’ve all done things we regret in order to survive.”
    “This was more than regrettable. I dinna behave with honor.” He’d never confessed this to anyone before.
    “What did you do?”
    He gathered his shoulder-length hair in the back and tied the leather thong around it. “After Angus changed me, he told me how to go about feeding. In exchange for blood, I was to give the ladies pleasure and make sure they were satisfied.”
    Vanda sucked in a deep breath. “Sounds good to me.”
    Ian looked away, embarrassed. “I dinna know now. I was only fifteen, ye ken, so I frequented some brothels at first so I could learn. I—I was a quick learner.”
    “That’s not so awful.”
    “It was awful once I stopped going to brothels. I had trouble seducing the ladies when they thought I was a child. I was getting verra hungry, so I resorted to using mind control to make them see me as older. I left them happy, but…”
    “You felt guilty?”
    Ian clasped his hands together. “Aye. I deceived them. Every relationship I have ever had was based on trickery and deception. I canna stomach doing that again.”
    “I see.”
    He sat up. “Now, for the first time in my life, I can be honest. I can finally find the right woman for me.”
    Vanda smiled. “Then you’ve come to the right place. With your handsome face, you’ll have no problem getting lucky tonight.”
    “I’m no’ looking for one night. I’ve had centuries of one-nighters. I want to find my true love. I want the same kind of happiness that Roman, Angus, and Jean-Luc have.”
    Vanda’s smile turned into a grimace. “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. The ladies who come here aren’t usually interested in commitment.”
    Ian slouched against the back of his chair. “Then how can I find her?”
    “Maybe I can help.” Vanda eased off the desk. “I was thinking about finding a nice guy for myself, so I joined a site online.” She sat behind her desk, grabbed the mouse, and clicked. “This is the hottest new place for singles.”
    Ian leaned over the desk so he could see the computer screen. He scanned the site called Single in the City. It boasted more than half a million clients, all in the vicinity of New York. “That willna work for me. I canna date a mortal.”
    “Why not?”
    “I told you. I refuse to deceive the woman I’m courting. I would have to lie to a mortal until I knew she could be trusted. And then, when I confessed my true nature, it would destroy her trust in me. It wouldna work.”
    “I disagree. It worked for Roman and Shanna.”
    “He was no’ courting her from the start. He just wanted