Love's Distance

by Flynn Eire

  His eyes lit up. “But you’re thinking there might be a way to skirt around that now that you know Ash Tree Pharmaceuticals is owned by the Ashtons or me.”

  “Look, I know I’m just a warrior medic but—” I started to say.

  Theo flinched as if I smacked him and then narrowed his eyes. “I’m not some elitist, Sam. You’re good at what you do. You saved my life, for fuck’s sake.”

  I held up my hands in surrender. “That wasn’t what I was saying. I know you’re not and that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I was going to say that’s not my only schooling. I am a full human medical doctor too. I received special permission for my cover so I have the necessary paperwork to buy supplies for multiple camps and whatnot. Plus, I just wanted to. I’ve studied genetics as well on the side and I think there might be something here. I don’t want to out us, but maybe we can help some people who don’t have to die?”

  “Like kids with cancer,” he muttered, watching me closely as I nodded. “Sam, I’ve gotta ask why you’re bringing this to me or you were looking into it at all. Most vampires aren’t too concerned with humans, and as a warrior, you’ve got a lot on your plate already, protecting vampires. Why are you taking on human problems as well?”

  I scratched my arm, not having an itch at all. “Promise to keep this between us?”

  “Of course.”

  “My mother was human,” I admitted. Theo’s eyes slowly went wide. “Yeah, it’s really, really rare. My parents weren’t mates, and for a human to actually conceive when being intimate with a vampire is a one-in-a-hundred chance, but to carry full term is practically a miracle.”

  “Did she survive your birth?” he asked gently. Giving birth to a warrior was tough on a vampire female since we were born earlier than a normal gestation and pretty damn big babies.

  “Yeah, she did,” I chuckled, my heart warming as I thought of my mother. “But it took a toll on her, weakened her heart. This was a long time ago, mind you. Modern medicine wasn’t around. She didn’t live past forty. It was hard knowing I was the reason, but she said I was worth it and never made me feel as if I wasn’t anything but a blessing. My father felt horrible to have shortened her time on this earth and gave her a wonderful life. He waited until she passed to find a mate.”

  “That was very decent of him,” Theo approved. “Most vampires wouldn’t have been so generous or humble to a human.”

  “My dad’s a good man. He was young and met a gorgeous woman, wasn’t thinking about how he had to be careful with a human and made a mistake. He owned it when that mistake resulted in me.” I shrugged. I’d heard of humans not being that good about their own offspring at times. “Anyways, I grew up around humans until I was sent to a warrior camp. For me, I knew way more about humans than vampires. I never had this their world versus our world mindset.”

  “But you’re a full vampire?” he asked, staring at me as if I was a rock star. I kind of understood it. I’d never met anyone with a human parent besides myself either.

  “Yeah,” I chuckled. “Vampire DNA is too strong not to take over. I have her eyes but all his chromosomes. There’s no halfway with that.” He nodded that he understood and I was sure he did to a point, but until someone really sat down and saw the charts and cellular structure, it was only a concept. “But I have human relatives—a whole side of the family. What you were saying about kids with cancer hit home. My half several times great niece died of cancer last year.”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks, but I didn’t even know her. It’s not like I’m in their lives. My mother knew what I was, of course. That generation of the family did. After that they didn’t all get in on the secret. I check on them now and again from a distance, through newspaper announcements, local articles, and all that. Sometimes I wish I could know them but it would be too hard. They die and I don’t. I’m just some crazy distant relation at this point and they are the ancestors of my half-brother and sister.”

  “But still, that’s your family.”

  “Yeah, they are.” I took a deep breath and wiped my clammy hands over my pants. “So that’s why I got interested in how things are for humans and maybe our saliva can help some. When you were talking about Ash Tree and how you guys had found things to stick in pills and then you wanting to help kids with cancer—I don’t know, it just seemed like you were the missing link for me. What if we could figure out what it is exactly that heals, synthesize it, and instead of chemo make it a pill they could swallow?”

  “Do you think you could do that?” he whispered, his tone almost reverent.

  “I don’t know. I want to try and I have an idea where to start but I don’t have the resources.”

  Theo’s face fell. “You mean money. It always comes back to money.”

  Now it was my turn to frown. “Um, I guess I might need some equipment I don’t have, yeah, but no, that’s not the resources I need.”

  “What do you mean then?” he hedged, raising an eyebrow.

  “Theo, where am I going to get access to sick human blood?” I chuckled, scratching my arm again. “I’d need to test our salvia and whatnot on it and that means having the blood and access to sick humans. I don’t have that at our camp. I mean, yeah, I’d need a centrifuge for sure, probably some better fridges, an incubator for the petri dishes, and a better microscope, but I have some money saved, I could get that I’m sure. I just can’t start a study from where I am. I’d need materials shipped to me.”

  “That’s all you’d want from me? Not a budget and a fancy new lab with a bunch of toys and an expense account?”

  I blinked at him, completely taken aback. “No! God, Theo, why would you think that? I’d never try and use sick kids to gouge you for money or some cushy office. I was already doing some of this on my own but I thought maybe we could do it for real like on the next level, because I knew, if we found something, you wouldn’t be in it for the money for Ash Tree and give it away to kids who needed it if we could.”

  “Yeah, yeah I would,” he whispered. “Sam, you’re like the first to come to me or Ash Tree and not try to get a fat salary out of even something so noble as helping kids. They’re called grants, and yeah, they’re for research but doctors pad them with labs, salaries, expense accounts, assistants—you name it.”

  I blinked at him a moment. “Is there anything left for the research?”

  “I’m not sure but maybe that’s why more diseases haven’t been cured,” he chuckled darkly. Then he held out his hand. “Ash Tree’s in, Sam. I’ll get you supplies and whatever equipment you need, plus an addition onto the infirmary at the camp just for this so it doesn’t interfere with your normal duties.”

  “Theo, I wasn’t asking for that.”

  “I know you weren’t. That’s why I’m offering it. You’re serious about helping and I want to give you everything possible to make this happen.”

  I thought about it for a whole second before shaking his hand. “Thanks, Theo.”

  “You did save my life. There’s no one I’d rather put my faith in.” He dropped my hand and then gave me a funny look. “Can I admit to overhearing something now?”

  “Sure.” I felt the hair on the back of my neck raise at the hesitant look he was giving me.

  “I heard Bowie talking with Wally. They didn’t know I was outside the garage speaking with the wine delivery guy but I overheard him filling his friend in. Did you know he’s dreamed about the day you met almost every night since you met?”

  “No, no I didn’t know that,” I murmured, not getting the point besides Bowie was really in this which warmed my heart. I had a feeling there was something else Theo was getting at… Especially from how uncomfortable he looked. “What are you trying to say?”

  “You guys didn’t finish something from what I gathered,” he hinted, looking out the window. “Bowie reacted differently from the other exams you performed because he didn’t feel as if it was just a normal physical.”

  “I don’t�
�” I trailed off, trying to fill in the pieces still. “Are you saying he thought I was checking him out for me and not the camp?”

  Theo shrugged. “He didn’t say it, but it kind of sounded like he wished you had been, as if that was his fantasy.”

  “Wow,” I breathed, my dick swelling at the idea. Then I cleared my throat and nodded. “Okay, so what are you saying I should do?”

  “It’s his first time, Sam,” he chuckled. “Give him the fantasy. Finish what you started all those years ago. He’s been dreaming about what happened over and over again in his mind. You don’t think he’s been doing that because he didn’t like it or didn’t want more of it?”

  “That’s a lot of pressure, Theo,” I hedged, my stomach knotting. “How often does reality live up to the fantasy?”

  “When it’s with the right person? I find it can.” He shot me an evil grin. “Hell, with Evan it’s better. You can do it. Besides, doesn’t Bowie deserve it?”

  “Yeah, yeah he does,” I agreed as I felt myself start to sweat. Jesus, that was a lot of pressure.

  And a lot of preparing to do since we were supposed to be together that night.

  * * * *

  I told Bowie to come to our guest room at exactly nine and not a minute before. Theo had helped me find every candle in the house and get it set up while Mark and Zibon kept Bowie distracted. When there was a knock on the door, I quickly put down the lighter and opened the door.

  “Come in and stand in the middle of the room,” I instructed.

  “What?” Bowie whispered with wide eyes. I stepped aside so he could see all the candles. “What did you do?”

  “Come in and stand in the middle of the room,” I repeated, waving him in. “I need to inspect you.”

  He tripped mid step over the threshold and his gaze swung to me, but he was far enough in and I closed the door behind him without acknowledging it and sat on the bed. I crossed my legs and gestured to where I wanted him. Bowie moved there, glancing around the room.

  “Very nice,” I praised. “Very nice indeed. Now, slowly take off your clothes. Let me see you.”

  “What?” I thought he might pass out his eyes were so wide as his cheek flushed.

  “Do you not want me to examine you?” I challenged. And then I saw it… The understanding fill his eyes as he practically vibrated with excitement.

  “How did you know?” he muttered, looking down at his shoes as he fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. He couldn’t seem to get his fingers to work so I didn’t play like I didn’t know what he meant.

  “Theo overheard part of your conversation with Wally and gave me some friendly advice.” I winced as he went pale and clenched his hands. “Hon, what’s wrong? Do you not want this your first time?” He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his jeans, standing there shaking like he might run.

  That was the last thing I wanted.

  I jumped to my feet and cupped his cheek, trying to get him to look at me, but he wouldn’t. “Bowie, what did I do wrong? I thought this was what you wanted if you’d been dreaming about how we’d met the past few years.”

  “I didn’t realize I did, but you and Theo are right, I do—I want to finish the fantasy,” he rasped. “That’s why I got so turned on for a fucking physical because it was like you were examining me for you, not just the camp.”

  “So why are you so upset? I want to give you your fantasy, hon.” I could hear the desperation in my voice but I didn’t care. This was going horribly wrong and I wanted to make him happy, not destroy him which it seemed I was doing somehow.

  “How fucked am I in the head that this is what I fantasize about?” Bowie stumbled away from me, my heart stuttering in my chest as I saw his eyes wide, wild. “You planned a romantic night around my twisted fantasy of you checking me out like a prized bull or whore to—”

  “Hey, stop,” I demanded as I grabbed his belt and yanked him back to me. Then I wrapped one arm around him and did the only thing I could think of the make him relax… I grabbed a handful of hair with the other hand and pulled a bit. It worked, he melted against me and I kissed him. Bowie responded beautifully, moaning and throwing his arms around me. When I could tell he was calmed down and happy again, I slowly drew back and waited until he opened his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with your fantasy.”

  He searched my eyes carefully. “There’s not?”

  “No, Bowie,” I chuckled, brushing my lips over his. “I’m here jumping at the chance to do it with you, aren’t I?”

  “You want to do it too? I thought you were just doing it for me,” he hedged, relaxing even more.

  I smiled widely, seductively. “Yeah, I want to do it. It’s hawt.” He still seemed hesitant so I moved his hand to my groin to show him I was hard. Bowie’s eyes filled with heat. “Hon, you’ve got some submissive in you, that’s all. You like some hair pulling and to be dominated. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m over the moon someone as new as you to sex, a virgin even, is so into role-playing right out of the gate. It’s amazing how adventurous you are. You’re not fucked up.

  “You met someone you had a crush on, and you made the circumstances into your own fantasy. Granted, I wouldn’t be so thrilled if it had been with anyone else but me, but it was, so yeah, it’s hot.” He nodded but I saw a shadow in his eyes I guessed the reason for. “And before you say it’s not a normal first time, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It simply means we’re not being orthodox. There’s nothing wrong with that either. It’s between us.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he muttered, still not all that excited sounding. “I ruined it though, didn’t I?”

  “I still want you, hon,” I swore as I kissed under his chin. “It’s your first time though, Bowie. What do you want? Tell me and I’ll give it to you.” He didn’t say anything, only shivering against me. I had a feeling I knew what that meant but I didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings. “You have to tell me.”

  “I want the fantasy,” Bowie rasped, ducking his head and burying it against my neck. “I’ve wanted it from the moment you first touched me, Lasam. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more than to be everything you wanted, perfect for you.”

  My heart raced at his words. Never had someone said something so intense or open to me. I couldn’t believe he’d admitted it and been so vulnerable to me. “Then let me see you. All of you. Slowly take off your clothes.”

  “Okay.” He nodded, and I let him go, stepping back and taking my seat on the bed again. Bowie took in a shaky breath and then unbuttoned his shirt. I watched, completely enthralled with the way the candlelight flickered over his perfectly toned abs, each line of muscle standing out as if egging me on to touch him.

  “Gorgeous,” I breathed as he opened the last button and pulled the shirt by the wrists. It slid off his wide shoulders, the muscles flexing, showing all the power he had built up from hours of training. When it fell to the floor, I cleared my throat and lifted my hand to gesture for him to turn around. He did, showing me how perfectly ripped his back was as well. “Jesus, did you fill in nicely, Bowie. I can’t believe how much since your transition.”

  “I haven’t done much besides study and train,” he admitted, giving a one-shoulder shrug as he faced me again. “There wasn’t any distraction that interested me.”

  “Oh, we’re gonna change that, hon,” I chuckled as I nodded to his pants. “Lose them. Slowly.”

  He kicked off his sneakers first and then yanked off his socks before loosening his belt. I watched his long, thick fingers work the button open and then pull down the zipper, his eyes staring at it as if too nervous to look at my reaction.

  He wouldn’t have been disappointed. I was so fucking turned on I was sitting there like the dirty, dirty older man I was, licking my lips at the young hot thing in front of me getting naked at my command. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever been so wound up in my long life. After he pulled the sides of his jeans open, I knew what came next and didn’t wan
t it like that.

  “Wait, turn around. Bend over as you push them down,” I growled. “Let me see that ass.” I watched Bowie’s chest rise and fall as his eyes met mine. He nodded and did as I wanted, bending over deliciously slowly as he pushed down his jeans and boxer briefs. I moaned loudly. His ass was perfect. Firm, round… Just perfect.

  I stood soundlessly and moved to him when he was about to stand back up. I put my hand on his back and kept him bent over as my fingers traced along his crack. Bowie moaned loudly.

  “I’ve never had someone respond to me the way you do, Bowie. It’s addictive. You’re so amazing. That’s why I lost it when you came in that day. I’d never touched a pre-trans like that before, haven’t since. Not in all my years have I been swept away like that. It was you and how you responded to my touch. I couldn’t get over it. This little hottie moaning and about to jack off right there in front of me. I totally lost my shit, and now this gorgeous god of a warrior is shaking because I’m running my fingers over his hole.”

  He whimpered as I pushed the tip of one in and teased him, proving my point even more. There was one more thing I wanted to see. I pulled back my hand and let it fly, shivering at the sound of my hand smacking his firm globe hard and then again when Bowie gasped.

  “Oh, you liked that, didn’t you?” I asked, already knowing the answer from the way his hole twitched around my finger.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re going to play more with that later.” Were we ever, but that wasn’t something I wanted for his first time. I guided him to stand back up and turned him around. “Undress me. Tease me, Bowie.”

  He nodded, swallowing loudly. He rushed it a bit but I enjoyed every second of it, his hands and lips finding skin to touch as he removed my clothes. When I was naked, he kept going, so I had to stop him before I threw him on the bed and fucked him, skipping everything else I had planned.