Free The Entity Who Came for Christmas: A Holiday Novella (Entity Series) by Cat Devon

CHAPTER ONE
    “Happy Sol--crap!” Pru Daniels said after opening the front door of her friend and fellow witch Zoe Adams’ house. Seeing who was standing on the front porch this Winter Solstice made Pru’s heart and her fists clench.
    Out of all the vampires in the world, he had to walk back into her life. Simon Howell. As a witch, she should have known better than to hook up with a vampire Demon Hunter. She should have known better than to hook up with a vampire, period. Adding Demon Hunter to the mix just made things worse.
    “Happy Sol--crap to you as well,” Simon drawled. “I believe the proper greeting is Happy Solstice. Or Happy Yule. Unless you were going for the more generic Happy Holidays?”
    She recognized that lift of his eyebrow. He did it whenever he was baiting her. Or getting ready to kiss her. He looked as sexy as ever with his light brown hair, blue eyes, and a wickedly endearing smile that hid the fact he was capable of ripping your throat out. He was dressed all in black, from his long leather trench coat to his cashmere sweater and well-fitting jeans.
    Pru had only arrived in Chicago a few hours ago to visit her friend Zoe. The two of them had been members of the same witches’ coven back in Boston. Pru had flown in on American Airlines, not a broomstick.
    “What are you doing here, Simon?” she demanded.
    “Visiting Damon,” Simon replied.
    Damon Thornheart was Zoe’s boyfriend. “No way,” Pru said.
    “What are you doing here?” Simon asked. “Waiting for me, perhaps?”
    “I had no idea you’d be here. If I did, I would never have come to visit Zoe. This is her house, not Damon’s. You can’t cross the threshold unless you’re invited.”
    “Simon!” Damon greeted him as he came to the door. “Great seeing you, man. Come on in.”
    Pru held out her hand in the universal stop-right-there motion. “It’s not his house,” she reminded Simon.
    “What’s going on here?” Zoe said as she came to stand beside Pru.
    “He can’t come in,” Pru said.
    “He’s Simon Howell,” Damon said. “My sire. The vampire who turned me.”
    Pru shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Damon was a vampire. She should have picked up on that when she’d first arrived but had been distracted. Besides, Damon had been gone most of the day.
    Pru pointed to Simon. “He’s a vampire Demon Hunter .”
    “So am I,” Damon retorted. “What’s the problem?”
    “I do believe the problem may be that the lovely Pru and I hooked up last year.” Simon’s voice was smooth.
    “You two know each other?” Zoe looked at Pru with surprise.
    “How long are you going to make me stand out here?” Simon demanded. “It’s starting to snow.”
    “Invite him in,” Damon ordered Zoe.
    “Please don’t,” Pru begged her.
    “Are you afraid of him?” Zoe asked Pru.
    “Tell the truth now,” Simon drawled. He drawled a lot. Not in a southern charmer kind of way but in a British snarky kind of way.
    “I’m not afraid of him,” Pru said. “I just hate him, that’s all.”
    “Why? What’s he done to you?” Zoe demanded.
    “Yes, Pru. Do tell them what I did to you.” His voice was like smooth chocolate with a kick. “Tell them every breathtaking intimate little thing. Don’t leave out any of the sexual details.”
    Zoe put an arm around Pru and glared at Simon. “You may not come in. Damon, I suggest you take your friend to your own place and get him the hell off my front porch!” Zoe shoved Damon outside and shut the door.
    *   *   *
    “Nice move, pissing off two powerful witches,” Damon growled. “Was that really necessary?”
    Simon shrugged. “Perhaps not, but it was fun.”
    “Now what?”
    “I suggest we go to your place.”
    “Follow me.” Damon moved with vamp superspeed the few blocks to his loft apartment. He and Simon arrived together.
    “Nice place,” Simon noted. He liked the open floor plan, which made sneak attacks more difficult. Simon was aware that