"Trying to save these poor plants you have neglected." She gave a chiding click of her tongue. "Just look how they're drooping. You should be ashamed. If you take a living creature into your home you have an obligation to care for it properly."
There was a long pause, as if he was trying to decide if she was completely bonkers.
Which was really rather ironic under the circumstances.
"You talk to plants?" he at last demanded.
"Of course." Darcy turned, her breath catching at the sight of him. It just didn't seem fair that any man should be so flat-out beautiful. Hastily she returned her attention to the plants. It was that or gawking at the sinful beast as if she didn't have a brain. "They get lonely, just like people. Don't you, Rudolf?"
"Rudolf?"
She gave a lift of her shoulder. "Well, I didn't know the names you gave to them so I had to call them something. This time of year it seemed appropriate to name them after Santa's reindeer. You know, 'Twas the Night before Christmas'?"
Darcy gave a jump of surprise as he was suddenly kneeling next to her. She hadn't heard a whisper. Was he that quiet, or could he just pop from one place to another like magic?
Seemingly unaware of the fact mat he had just scared the bejeezus out of her, the vampire regarded her with a curious expression.
"I'm assuming that it is some human tradition? They seem to have an endless supply of them."
"Vampires don't celebrate Christmas?"
"When one is eternal the urge to mark the path of the year with odd rituals seems rather redundant."
Her unease swiftly faded. Strange that when he was near she couldn't seem to recall that he was a dangerous creature holding her captive.
Maybe it was because she kept being overwhelmed by the urge to rip off that clinging sweater and run her lips over his smooth, bronzed skin.
Yeah, that might be it.
"Christmas isn't about marking the path of the year," she protested, her fingers gently stroking the leaves of Rudolf.
"No?"
"It's about the spirit of the season. Peace on earth and goodwill to men." Her lashes lowered to hide the loneliness she kept hidden inside. She didn't want anyone's pity. "It's about love, and kindness, and … family."
Slender, bronzed fingers reached out to curl around her hand. His skin was cool, but it managed to send a sharp flare of heat racing straight to the pit of her stomach.
"If it is such a special celebration, then why does it make you sad?" Styx murmured softly.
She stiffened at his unwelcome perception. "What makes you think that it makes me sad?"
He leaned closer, his dark eyes strangely hypnotic. "I can feel your sadness. It embraces you like an old friend."
Darcy swallowed heavily. She was losing herself in that magnetic gaze. In the soft stroke of his thumb over her inner wrist.
Oy. It had been so very, very long since anyone had touched her with such intimacy.
"What do you mean you can feel it?" she demanded in a husky tone.
"I'm a master vampire."
"And that makes you what? Some sort of super mind reader?"
"No, but I can sense very deep emotions when I'm touching you."
Darcy shifted uneasily. She didn't like the thought of him reading her moods. Not when a part of that mood included a very tangible desire to snuggle against that hard chest and kiss her way over those perfect male features.
"Oh."
His free hand lifted to cup her chin. "Tell me why you're sad, Darcy."
"I suppose everyone who is alone in the world is a little sad at this time of year," she grudgingly confessed. "As I said, it's a time for families. For sharing your life with another."
There was a small silence, his gaze lowering to where their fingers were entangled. "You are not alone now."
She was caught off guard by his strange words. "Being held captive is hardly the same as being home for the holidays."
"Perhaps not." His gaze abruptly lifted to trap hers. "But we are here together, and I would ease your loneliness if you would allow me."
For some odd reason her mouth went dry and her heart lodged somewhere near her throat.
"What do you mean?"
"I feel your sadness, Darcy, but I also feel your passion."
"I don't think ..."
"It stirs a need in me that I'm not sure I'm strong enough to battle." he overrode her soft protest. "A need I don't want to battle."
With a slow, deliberate motion, he lifted her fingers to his mouth.
Feeling oddly bemused, Darcy watched as he nibbled along the length of her thumb.
She gave a choked sound as her entire body shuddered in reaction. Oh, boy. That felt good. Very good.
"Styx," she breathed.
"Where is the gargoyle?" he demanded, his black eyes shimmering with a dangerous glow.
"He ... he said he was going hunting."
"Good."
Without warning, he gave her arm a jerk. Darcy gasped as she found herself tumbling into his lap with his arms wrapping tightly about her.
"What are you doing?"
He gave a soft chuckle as he bent down to press his lips to the curve of her neck.
"It's been a long time, but I can't imagine that I have forgotten that much," he whispered against her skin.
Her free hand gripped the soft cashmere of his sweater as his tongue traced a wet line to the base of her throat. A heat was beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach. She vaguely recalled the sensation as that of raw, glorious lust.
It had been a long time for her as well.
Still, she didn't know enough about vampire sex, or this vampire in particular, to completely relax.
"Are you going to bite me?" Darcy whispered.
She could feel the shudder that rippled through his body. As if the thought of biting her was a potent one.
"Do you want me to?"
"Does it hurt?"
"Quite the contrary." He teasingly scraped the tips of his fangs over her skin. "A vampire's bite brings nothing but pleasure. We are forced to be very careful to ensure our companion does not become addicted."
Her breath caught in her throat as he nuzzled lower, tugging at the loose T-shirt so he could trace the line of her collarbone with his lips.
"Companion or prey?" she demanded.
Styx shifted her on his lap to allow one long-fingered hand to stroke over the bare skin of her thigh. "Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both."
Darcy had to swallow twice before she could speak. The heat in her stomach was spreading through her body at an alarming rate.