A Vampire's Christmas [Milson Valley 6] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  Milson Valley 6

  A Vampire’s Christmas

  Tyler Durand is the fun vampire prince. He’s lively, loves to pull pranks, and has become a strong force within the coven. He has also set his sights on a gorgeous, snappish human. Though all his charm and wooing has gotten him nowhere, Tyler is known for his persistence. The human is his, and no one will stand in his way—not a sharpshooter taking shots at Tyler, and certainly not his human, Constantin Hutton, who seems far too immune to Tyler’s temptations for his liking.

  Con doesn’t understand. Why would the absurdly popular, ever-cheerful youngest prince keep pursuing him? Is the vamp playing a prank? Whatever the reason, Con isn’t dropping his barriers—not even for the hottest creature he’s ever seen, one that singed him with a kiss and made him ache for more.

  With Christmas just around the corner, Tyler is going to make this a happy one by snagging his mate.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 45,056 words

  A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS

  Milson Valley 6

  Jo Penn

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  MANLOVE

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

  A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS

  Copyright © 2016 by Jo Penn

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-667-0

  First E-book Publication: December 2016

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of A Vampire’s Christmas by Jo Penn from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Jo Penn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Jo Penn’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

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  DEDICATION

  To my wonderful friend T! Thank you for your kindness, your support, and your reality checks.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Landmarks

  Cover

  A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS

  Milson Valley 6

  JO PENN

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  “I need your help.”

  Tyler Durand flopped into an armchair across from his older brother, Ryson, the third prince of the royal Durand family. Ryson, so stunning he blinded, so particular and difficult to get close to it hurt, simply gazed at Tyler with light green eyes similar to his own.

  Most would see Tyler seeking advice from Ryson as a peculiar choice. The vampire wasn’t exactly known for his warmth. In fact, despite being astoundingly stunning and fun when you were fortunate to get close to him, Ryson was also just a little bit…not quite right. But to Tyler, Ryson was amazing and a hero. No matter what, Ryson was always there for Tyler, despite the numerous times he got in trouble and caused some catastrophe after another. And Ry wasn’t “not quite right,” he was awesome, as all their family and close friends knew.

  As the youngest vampire prince of the illustrious and most powerful vampire coven in the northern states, Tyler was guarded and possibly spoilt. After a few months of living in the Milson City coven with his eldest brother, Crown Prince Misha Durand, he began to take note of everything around him and found a drive, determination, and ambition he previously hadn’t possessed.

  There was a lot Tyler wanted to achieve, and he would. He just may need a little assistance with one particular problem.

  “And what do you need help with, young’un? Getting out of training? Not taking your punishments when told? Being on a restricted budget?” Gargoyle Prince, huge motherfucker, Dimitri Surkov smirked in that insolent way of his. One big hand dropped to the back of Ryson’s neck and massaged gently. “My mate, you will remember your youngest brother’s antics and he is yet to understand the importance of discipline, before hearing him out.”

  “Budget? I’m confused, what’s a restricted budget?” Tyler truly was confused. What was the gargoyle talking about?

  Dimitri shook his head in a way that said he was just so very disappointed. “Of course, Durands are never placed on a budget. My mate—”

  Ryson held up a hand to Dimitri, silencing him. He smiled at Tyler. “I am always at your disposal, Ty.”

  Dimitri sighed. It was more like a blast of dynamite and Tyler was pretty sure Ryson did the exact opposite of whatever Dimitri said just to piss his mate off. They didn’t always see eye to eye, or realistically, Dimitri adored his mate, Ryson wanted to slice Dimitri to pieces, though not physically, simply by walking away from him. Ryson wasn’t all that affectionate, nor did he form attachments to others outside their immediate family. Ryson, unfortunately, lacked deep emotions.

  “Of course you are. Anything to irritate me of late.”

  Ryson turned and looked at Dimitri seriously. “Are you saying you would not assist my family when they
require, Dimitri?”

  Yeah, that was Ry. Dimitri scowled and held his hands up in surrender.

  “I am always there to assist your family when required, Ryson.”

  “I found my mate!” Tyler decided it was best to return their attention to him. After all, he had important matters that needed immediate help. He could be entertained by this pair any old time. “But Misha doesn’t believe me. You know what he’s like, Ryson, he doesn’t believe what he cannot touch and see and well…my mate, I don’t know how to get close to him.”

  Dimitri leaned forward, interested now. “You are below age to recognize your mate, Tyler. How could you?”

  Frustrated, it was the same as what Misha said a few months ago when Tyler first told his eldest brother about discovering his mate, and it hurt. A lot. Everyone just saw him as the prissy youngest Durand royal, the one who cried at sad movies, which he so did, and was sensitive and had no direction. Until now. Apparently finding a mate suddenly gave him lots of direction, who knew!

  “I just did.” He shrugged and went to talk to Ryson, but Dimitri caught his attention.

  “Not good enough, Tyler. Proclaiming you found a mate has to be correct or you could disrupt a lot of lives.”

  “It is simple, little brother. Prove it,” Ryson murmured, glaring at his mate. “This is what most do with humans. A paranormal is taught to claim their mate immediately when finding them. Why did you not, Tyler?”

  “Oh, ah, claim? As in, what, ah, jump on him and bite?”

  Dimitri’s look softened. “Gods, you’re so young still. Yeah, you do that. Think of where you want to bite him—okay, not down there, little brother—somewhere your mark is easily seen. Usually on the neck, as this is a clear sign to others that a creature is taken. Because of your age, your mate may consider you too young and be giving you time. Unless he is human?”

  Tyler fidgeted a bit, shrugging and worrying his bottom lip. Ryson rose from his armchair and poured himself a wine and a soft drink for Tyler. Nothing for Dimitri. Oooh, Dimitri must have really annoyed Ry.

  “Yeah, thanks, Ryson.”

  “You are more than capable of choosing what refreshment you may enjoy. Just as I am more than capable of choosing what project to undertake and who I wish to spend time with.” Ryson extended long, deadly, razor sharp talons. “You are irritating me, Dimitri. I find myself wishing to return home immediately.”

  Dimitri grunted. “We’ll discuss that, but know, I will have a say in who you spend time with. Now,” Dimitri turned his attention to Tyler. “Who is this creature you say is your mate?”

  “You know what! It’s not who I say is my mate, he is my mate! If you don’t believe me then you can just go—ugh—ping off! Ry-sooooon!”

  Ryson hissed at Dimitri, who pulled a put-upon face and threw up his hands. “Go. I will assist my brother. We do not require your interference.”

  “No.”

  Ryson turned his back on the mammoth gargoyle and steered Tyler over to a sofa. “Ignore him. I do. Now, tell me about your mate. Do you like him?”

  Tyler relaxed and smiled, nodding. “Yeah. He’s cool. Help me, Ryson, please?”

  “I will. What did Misha say?”

  “That I was too young and then he got really upset and forbade me to speak about it again.”

  Ryson nodded. “Yes, our brother wishes to keep us all home and no others interfering with family. It upsets his equilibrium. When Xavier mated to Drake, he very nearly had a meltdown. Valiant thought Misha would kidnap Xavier and lock him up, keeping him from leaving us.”

  Tyler frowned. “But we won’t leave Misha…oh, you have, because of him.” Tyler scowled and pointed at Dimitri. “Misha was very upset.”

  Dimitri muttered in a different language before responding. “I do not take Ryson from you, or Misha, the Queen, Xavier, Valiant, and Syndal, I am mated to him. We are all family.”

  “So you say,” Tyler retorted.

  Vampires and gargoyles did not play nice all of the time. Now due to the mating between royals, they attempted to get along, at least for appearance’s sake, but Tyler and Ryson’s older brother, Misha, held a very cool reserve. He did not like giving Ryson up to the gargoyles and kept a tight hold on their brother, which admittedly Tyler did also. Valiant he did too, even if the brother was unable to return the feelings. Val Baby was still the coolest creature around and when he gave that just slightly evil smile, it meant they were in for fun times! Xavier, their cousin who was really another brother to them, spent a lot of time with his mates now and the entire Durand clan were beginning to grow antsy over that. With his sister Syndal, Tyler wasn’t as attached, but he enjoyed her. She was fun at times and a complete bitch more often than not.

  “Who is the creature, brother?” Ryson asked.

  Tyler sighed happily. “Constantin Hutton. Con. He’s awesome.”

  Dimitri choked on the drink he just poured, spewing it out across the room. “Con? That wee little human who crashed his motorbike into my car the other day? The one who then gave me the finger and took off?”

  Tyler hissed and jumped to his feet, face flushing. “Well, you shouldn’t have parked your truck there!”

  “I do not understand, Tyler,” Ryson murmured, completely unaffected by either Dimitri or Tyler. “You mentioned wanting to know how to approach your mate, yet Constantin has been to the coven?”

  “We-ell, I found out Con’s a courier so I thought if I could draw him to the coven then I could talk to him. See, it’s difficult at university as we have different classes and don’t hang with the same crowd.” Tyler sighed. “My mate’s a bit of a loner. Not that he doesn’t have friends…” Tyler winced. “Okay, he seems to have one friend and he’s not exactly friendly.”

  Spending so much time observing his mate the last few months, he attempted approaching a couple times. The first attempt resulted in Tyler being ignored. The second attempt he got a response, just not one he would have liked as Constantin shot him an insolent, dismissive look and walked away. After those failures, Tyler tried to think of a different way to approach his mate. And that hadn’t worked either. The moment Con arrived to deliver the package to Tyler, he’d huffed a sigh, shoved the package into Tyler’s hands and took off without Tyler managing more than calling his mate’s name.

  He didn’t know what was with the guy, and nothing he did worked, so here he was looking for some support and direction. While it may be the paranormal way to grab a mate and claim, Dimitri was right, Tyler was still young, only twenty-five and considered not legally yet an adult.

  Oh, sure, he was an adult in every sense, but each paranormal kind had their rules and they were there for a reason. With wolves, they were monitored, protected, and trained until thirty, or until they had full control of their shift and gifts. Wizards were pretty much the same though their age was usually dependent on the multitude of tests of magic.

  Vampires were similar. Tyler had full control of his gift, as he had come into it fully when he went through puberty. This was the time most creatures’ gifts emerged. Due to the type of gift Tyler possessed, he trained extensively every day and, within a few months, was fully in control of it. Still, until he was forty, he wasn’t quite full strength for a vampire, so would be monitored and have to go through his parents or guardian. While in New York, Tyler was under his mother’s care. In Milson City, Misha was in charge.

  But that didn’t mean he wasn’t an adult. And over the last few months he’d grown focused and ambitious. Still, he liked to play around and cause a bit of harmless fun. Life would be boring without his practical jokes, he was sure.

  “Let me see if I understand this.” Dimitri sat in an armchair across from Tyler, the big gargoyle stretching out his long legs. “You haven’t claimed your mate, nor have you told this Constantin he is your mate.”

  Tyler grunted. “You make it sound so bad.”

  “And how long have you known, young’un?”

  Tyler hissed. “Two months! What’s you
r point?”

  “That you’re young still, but smart enough to seek assistance.” Dimitri smirked. “I would advise simply having the boy collected by Durand security and brought to the coven. Mates are fated and should be together, that is our rule.”

  “Yeah, I get that, Dimitri, but, well, Con’s really reserved and I don’t think grabbing him will help me win him over.”

  “Then perhaps you should let him grow accustomed to you,” Ryson said quietly. “University is the best place for establishing some sort of relationship. You have study in common. Find him where he studies and spend time close to him, even if he dismisses you.”

  “He’s done that a few times but okay, I will try again.” Tyler puffed out a breath, watching the hair hanging over his left eye lift up. “I can be persistent.”

  “Young’un, you’re the most persistent creature I’ve ever known.” Dimitri chuckled. “You persistently disobey orders, persistently get out of physical training and persistently play jokes. I admire this about you.”

  Tyler perked up. “Thanks, Dimitri. I’ve been training lately, Sarina said I have great potential.”

  “You have trained with Chane, also.” Ryson tapped away on his iPad. “Who told me you are skilled at tai chi. I will research Constantin Hutton for you. And speak to Misha.”

  Tyler sighed with relief. “Thanks…just go easy on big brother, please. He’s got so much on and carries the burdens by himself now with Xavier spending most of his time with that big stupid tiger.”

  Dimitri smirked. “It always amuses me how you Durands are with others coming into your family.”