The room was decorated with pine boughs and holly, with mistletoe hanging from various points on the ceiling. The tree was decorated with silver, red and green balls, and golden points of light. Gifts wrapped in a multitude of colors and styles were piled around and under it. He sat in an overstuffed chair near the roaring fire, listening to Christmas carols on his MP3 player. He couldn't believe his luck. Shuffle mode had just played his three favorite carols in a row, Sting's version of "Gabriel's Message", Sarah McLachlan and the BareNaked Ladies' "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman" and Sting again with "I saw Three Ships". He was feeling quite content. Then he heard Friday stomping through the halls. And from the sound of it, she was dragging Arty along with her.

"Para, darn it, where are you?" He heard her holler.

"I'm in here, sweet Friday, by the fire. Now, why are you raging?"

She made her way to the fire and stood before him, Arty's arm gripped firmly in her little hand. "Look at him! I bit him several times, and do you think I could drink? I had a heck of a time even breaking the skin! Dang it, what kind of vampire has puny fang like these?" She bared her pearly white teeth to him.

"Um, Friday, first, since he is standing under the mistletoe, I think you need to kiss Arty." She looked up and saw the sprig above Arty's head, then sighed and kissed him lightly on the lips. Arty, who had been looking a bit shell-shocked, smiled with delight at her caress.

"Now, Arty, let me look at you." Arty looked at Friday, then sidled over to where the tax collector sat. Para sat up and switched on one of the table lamps, and looked the other man over. "Umm, that one will bruise, probably that one, too. I'd put some peroxide on that one, the human mouth is a filthy thing." Arty looked at Friday worriedly. "Oh, don't worry about Friday, I'll have a talk with her." Arty nodded and backed away before fleeing to his cellar.

"Now, Friday, why don't you pull up a chair, and we'll talk."

She stood before him, looking down at the person sitting in the chair before her. She saw a man that looked to be in his forties, wearing wire framed, round lensed glasses. He was clean shaven, his hair moderately short, and touched heavily with gray at the temples. She knew he was a man that smiled easily, and was generally relaxed in his demeanor.

He looked back at her with a grin. The dress she wore looked to be a cross between Morticia Addams and Vampirella. The dress was black and very long, not tight around the legs like Morticia's, but loosely flowing. But the front was cut very deep and wide, and he wondered how she kept those fine full breasts covered. The back was also open, letting her wings spread slowly with her breathing.

He let out an oof! of surprise when she hopped onto his lap instead of one of the other chairs. "You lied to me, didn't you. You said I was a vampire, and I'm not."

"Yes, I lied to you. If you thought about it, you'd know a single bite wouldn't turn you. I know you've watched the old "Dracula" movies. The girl never turned into a vampire at the start. And that mind control hooey! It would be rather fun if I could simply catch your eye and make you do things. But that is malarkey that fool Bram Stoker made up. Totally unreal."

He turned his face slightly, so their eyes met. "I mean, can you imagine me suggesting things to you? What would I say? 'Friday, scratch your nose'. " He chuckled at the concept, as the woman on his lap scratched her nose, then looked at him in surprise. "Or maybe I would say, 'Friday, trace the cleavage of your dress?' Fah!"

He watched out of the corner of his eye as she lightly ran her finger from her left shoulder, down along the swell of her breast to just above her navel, then back up the other side. Then he casually turned his head, breaking eye contact.

"Or perhaps I'd say 'Friday, show me what you are using to keep your breasts covered.' "

"I don't think so!" Friday responded.

He chuckled lightly. "You see? Mind control is complete fiction."

Friday remembered the sudden itch she'd felt on the side of her nose, and the unexplained urge to touch her torso. He was trying to tell her the truth without frightening her, she realized.

"So what other stories about vampires are untrue, Para? Are you telling me their seductive powers are just balderdash, too? That if you wanted to, you couldn't seduce me?"

He laughed out loud. "Sweet Friday, if you didn't wish to be seduced, there isn't a thing I could do to change your mind. But, if you were already inclined to favor me, I think I'd have a fair chance of success. But that's more because of your acceptance than anything I might do."

He turned to face her again. "So. Be honest. Do you truly think you want me to seduce you?"

She was going to say no, really she was. But she met his eyes and realized that she couldn't lie. "Honestly, no. I want you to make love to me again. No seduction. No games. Just you and I pleasuring each other with our bodies."

He smiled and drew her down to kiss her between the eyes. "Alright, now shut your eyes, and consider what you just said. Think about it, and when you answer, I want you to look at the fire, not me. I don't want you thinking I'm being the evil vampire controlling your mind," he said with a smile.

She looked at him then shut her eyes and turned to face the fire. She could feel the warmth of the yule log burning, and the crackle and snap as sap within it exploded. Did she truly want to make love to Para? He was a vampire, she was sure of that. She hadn't been imagining it when he'd bitten her, and she distinctly remembered the feel of blood running down her back and his tongue as he lapped it up. And she remembered the mind-blowing orgasm that had run through her when his teeth broke her skin.

"Alright, I've thought about it. I want you to undress me. I want you to tell me how beautiful I am as you kiss me all over. I want you to send me out of my mind with your mouth and tongue. Then I want to undress you, taste the salt of your skin and the feel of your chest hair when I suck on your nipples. Then I want to suck on your cock, and swallow your delicious cum. And then I want you to lie back and let me mount you, and ride you until you cum again. I want to watch when you bite me again."

"I would be delighted to accept such a gift at this Midwinter Festival." He stood easily and she slid off his lap and into his arms with a yelp. He moved to carry her to the door, but she stopped him. "No, I want you to open my gift where all the gifts are opened. Right here, by the Tree."