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“I’ll never leave you. Ever. You’re stuck with me.” Aimee kissed her again.

Cassandra couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful.

Cian tangled his hands in Amaliya’s hair as he came hard inside her. Gasping, she bit his bottom lip and rolled them over so she was on top. Her wild black hair in her face, she was gorgeous. Every time he thought he couldn’t love her any more than he already did, he discovered he was wrong.

“What time is it?” she gasped.

Keeping himself firmly inside her, he shifted his legs, edging toward the end of the bed where the bed stand sat. He’d had the king size bed and bedroom furniture delivered weeks before. The attic was now much more comfortable, a welcome departure from the one day he had spent alone in it. Grabbing his cellphone, he checked the time.

“We have thirty minutes before the dinner,” Cian answered, then read the message from Bianca. “Bianca will be back by then with Alexia.”

“Then we have time for one more roll in the fuckin’ hay.” Amaliya rotated her hips over his, a seductive grin on her face.

Already aroused, Cian grunted, cupped her full breasts, and rubbed her pierced nipples with his thumbs. “We have to shower and dress still.”

Sliding up and down his cock, Amaliya smirked. “We’ll just attend naked.”

Flipping her over, Cian answered, “I’m fine with that.”

“Fuck me,” she ordered.

He did.

Dinner was far removed from Samantha’s usual Christmas Eve celebrations with her family. She sat next to Jeff at the end of the table sneaking bites of turkey to Beatrice while the conversation around the table was increasingly loud and bawdy.

The three vampires sat at the opposite end of the long table with glasses of wine in front of them. Amaliya wore her usual black tank top and jeans, while Cian looked handsome in a dark red shirt. Bianca’s slim form was tucked into combat boots, rolled up jeans, and a plaid shirt over a tank top. She looked young and cute. The twin buns on either side of her head had delighted Benchley. He had called her a “blonde Prin

cess Leia.” Samantha sensed there was a bit of flirting going on between Benchley and Bianca, but she wasn’t quite sure how that was going to fare considering that the three vampires slept together.

Samantha strongly suspected that they were not just sleeping together, and watched their interactions like a hawk. Amaliya teased Samantha if she even dared broach the subject. Samantha knew she’d never get a clear answer, so it drove her a bit nuts. She’s come a long way from being her old judgmental self, and it wasn’t her sex life, but she couldn’t imagine sharing her bed with anyone else but Jeff. Jeff was her everything.

Amaliya caught her eye and winked.

Samantha stuck out her tongue.

Bianca laughed and chatted with Baptiste about Louisiana, the state they were both born in. Baptiste, still angry with Rachon for her betrayal, had surprised everyone by staying in Austin. It was uncertain if he would return to his home. Samantha hoped he stuck around. He was a part of them now and it was hard to imagine him not being with them.

Benchley and Alexia yanked the wishbone apart. Benchley ended up with the bigger piece which resulted in a tug of war. Aimee intervened, granting them both a wish, or so she claimed.

At Cassandra’s side, Galina just smiled and looked confused most of the time. Cian appeared uncomfortable whenever Galina looked at him, but Samantha supposed it was Cian’s fault in the end. She loved the bastard, but he had messed up more than one woman during his long life. It was obvious from how he interacted with Amaliya that he had learned his lesson and found his happiness, but he was going to have to deal with the fallout of his past.

Meanwhile, Samantha had a wedding to plan in the spring and a life to look forward to. Stealing a look at Jeff as he chatted with Cassandra, she felt utterly content. She finally had her happy ending.

Roberto appeared in the doorway carrying the Christmas cake Samantha had toiled over for hours. With his head held high, he strolled to the table and dropped the cake with a thunderous clap onto the surface. Frosting and bits of cake splattered everyone.

“Cake is served,” he intoned.

“Food fight!” Benchley hollered.

The following madness was nothing like the dignified gatherings of her family.

Samantha loved it.

“Oh, my gawd! You went the wrong way again!” Bianca exclaimed, waving her hands at Benchley.

“I know! I know! I got confused!” Benchley mashed the buttons on the controller and Bianca laughed with delight.

Curled up on the sofa next to Cian, Amaliya watched Benchley playing a video game while Bianca sat on the arm of his chair trying to give him directions. Amaliya was glad not to have to watch television. The cabal had been obsessed with watching all the news footage on the devastation in San Antonio. The media theories as to what had actually had happened were surprisingly tame considering that a Mayan temple had been discovered at the base of the massive sink hole that had destroyed the area. Amaliya suspected the authorities were trying to keep everyone calm. Rebuilding was going to be hell and the traffic in San Antonio was going to be heinous for years to come. The destruction of the major thoroughfare was going to affect the city for some time to come.