Gaston arched a brow. “You can ride a horse, can you not?”
“Well, duh. I am a Texas girl. Raised on a ranch before my dad became governor.”
“Blitzen should be no different.” He opened the driver’s side door.
“I’ve got news for you, Louie. Motorcycles and horses are not the same. You may need to find your meals somewhere other than Bourbon Street for a while. I think the alcohol is affecting your brain.”
“Sadly, I’m way too sober at the moment, and I’m surprised you can’t see through the glamour. Try touching it.”
“Touching the motorcycle?”
“Touching Blitzen.”
“Okay.” She reached a hand toward the bike and stroked the handlebar. But it didn’t feel like cool steel. Instead, it was warm and…was that fur?
She blinked, and the magic cloaking Blitzen slipped away, revealing an honest-to-goat-cheese reindeer. Antlers and everything! “Whoa.”
Blitzen blew a puff of breath through his nose and stamped his hoof, looking none too happy that she’d just flattened his owner.
“Hey, boy.” She rubbed his velvety nose. “I’m sorry about hitting Santa. He’s going to be okay, though.” I hope. “You wanna come home with us, and we’ll get you something to eat?”
The reindeer grunted, which Jane took as a yes, so she texted Ethan: Meet us at Gaston’s and bring carrots. Lots of carrots.
He replied with a thumbs-up emoji, and she grinned. Her husband had learned long ago not to question her weirdness, but, boy, did she have some explaining to do. To Ethan, and then to the Magistrate tomorrow night. Wouldn’t that be a hoot and a half? Or possibly a death sentence, but she wouldn’t worry about that right now.
She was about to ride a freaking reindeer!
Chapter Two
“Giddy up!” Jane clicked her heels into Blitzen’s sides, and he took off at a canter through the park. He didn’t have a mane for her to hold on to like a horse would—which made steering a bitch—so she sank her fingers into his thick fur and held on for deer life.
Massive oak trees created a canopy over the narrow road winding through the park, and Jane grinned as she and Blitzen made their way toward Carrollton Avenue to head to Gaston’s Garden District mansion.
Nobody blinked an eye as she rode a reindeer through Mid-City and hung a left on Washington Avenue. Not that there were all that many people out at three in the morning, but the few cars that did pass saw a tall brunette on a Harley, and Jane could live with that. She was already a vampire with a black belt in karate, but there was always room for improvement in the badassery department.
So she looked like a kickass biker chick, while she felt as giddy as a…well, as giddy as a kid on Christmas.
The traffic light turned red, and she was tempted to blow through it. But the low hum of an engine approaching sounded from behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to glimpse a pair of headlights heading her direction.
With the way her luck had been running tonight, it would be a cop, and she wasn’t in the mood to talk herself out of a ticket. “Whoa, boy.” She tightened her grip on Blitzen’s fur, pulling his neck back slightly like she would have done with reins or a horse’s mane since she was riding bareback. The reindeer responded, slowing to a walk and then stopping on the white line before the crosswalk.
A bright blue Mustang pulled up beside them, and the driver lowered his window, letting out a low whistle. “What kind of horsepower does that thing have?”
Blitzen snorted, which must have sounded like she was revving her engine—thanks to the glamour—because Mr. Hotrod grinned and revved his in return.
Oh, he wanted a race, did he?
If Santa’s reindeer could fly him around the entire world in one night, surely Blitzen could outrun a Mustang.
Jane flashed her most innocent smile and batted her lashes before arching a brow. “More than you can handle.”
“Oh, you’re on.” He gripped the steering wheel and narrowed his eyes at the light.
Jane stroked Blitzen’s neck and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “Let’s show him what you’ve got.”
The light turned green, and in a flash of magic, Blitzen took off down the road at warp speed. Seriously, the scenery around her blurred into nothing, and if she hadn’t been holding on, she’d have landed flat on her ass in the middle of the street.
Her eyes watered, and her lips parted, the speed making her mouth fill with air until her cheeks puffed like a blowfish and flapped in the wind. Drool trailed from the corners of her mouth to her earlobes, and just as she gained enough control to sit completely upright again, they arrived in Gaston’s driveway.
His house was a two-story Victorian mansion, painted dark purple with white gingerbread trim. A rounded section in the front extended upward, above the second story, making it look like a castle tower. The perfect home for a vampire.
Jane blinked, wiping the tears and spit from the sides of her face. It took a moment or two for the shock to subside, and then she let out a maniacal giggle. Her jaw finally unlocked, so she closed her gaping mouth and grinned as she patted Blitzen’s side.
“Yee haw!” she shouted. “That was amazing! How did you know where we were headed, boy?”
Gaston leaned against the hood of his car with his arms crossed. “He’s Santa’s reindeer. He always knows where he’s going.”
She slid off Blitzen’s back, clutching his fur until her wobbly legs could hold her steady. Man, what a rush! “I’ve gotta get myself one of these.”
“Put him in the back yard and then help me carry your fledgling inside.”
Jane opened the gate and gave Blitzen a pat on his backside. “Go on, boy. I’ll bring you some carrots as soon as Ethan gets here.”
Blitzen nuzzled her cheek—his nose felt like warm velvet—and did as he was told, trotting into the back yard before Jane closed the gate. He was so much better than a pony.
“Grab his feet.” Gaston pulled Santa out of the car by his shoulders, and Jane caught his boots, being extra careful to steer clear of his midsection this time.
“Is this how you and Ethan got me home after I was turned?” With a boot under each arm, she helped Gaston get the unconscious vampire/ruler of the fae/giver of gifts up the front steps and into the living room.
“You were much easier to carry. Ethan cradled you in his arms and hissed if I got anywhere near you.”
Her heart warmed as an image of Ethan carrying her into his house formed in her mind. Of course, at the time he thought she was his late fiancée reincarnated—which she wasn’t. But that was okay. It all worked out in the end, and that was what mattered.
They laid Santa on the couch, and Gaston strode into the kitchen, taking a bottle of blood from the fridge and popping it in the microwave. “Tequila or rum?” he asked.
“I’ll just take the blood, thanks.”
He arched a brow. “You’re now the sire to the ruler of the entire fae world.”
Hell’s bells. She plopped onto the loveseat and leaned her head back. What had she gotten herself into? “Got any whiskey?”
Gaston opened the cupboard to reveal a smorgasbord of liquor bottles.