by Megan Derr
Jayden derailed his line of thought, shoving him back to the bed, and Lee's thoughts scattered completely as Jayden kissed him.
Definitely a good start, Lee decided, kissing back with enthusiasm.
*~*~*
The sound of his phone ringing jarred Lee awake. It was the ridiculously loud, obnoxious ring tone he'd assigned to the relatives he didn't particularly care for, which meant it was probably Astor since none of the rest of them usually bothered calling. They called his mother, who called him, and his mother had her own unique ringtone.
Groaning, Lee debated not answering. He squinted at the clock on the table next to the bed—yes, definitely not answering. It was nine in the morning, and he was on vacation. If Astor thought he was answering the phone before noon, he was highly mistaken. The phone blessedly fell silent, and Lee relaxed, shutting his eyes with the full intention of falling back asleep.
Then the bed shifted, and Lee remembered he hadn't sent last night's fling packing. He'd decided instead to see what fun he and Jayden could get up to this morning, Jayden willing. Which, given all they'd done last night, was quite a bit.
The phone blared to life again, and Lee groaned, stumbling out of bed. His phone was on the dresser across the room, and he stumbled over, picking up the damn thing. He fumbled it, accidentally accepting the call instead of sending it directly to voice mail as he'd intended. Stifling a groan, Lee put the phone to his ear.
"You said nothing about early morning wake up calls as part of this deal," Lee said, not even bothering with a hello.
"Nine isn't early," Astor said, and Lee could just picture the scowl Astor was wearing. "You should be out of bed anyway—"
"I was enjoying bed," Lee grumbled, turning back towards it. They'd left the patio doors open last night, filling the room with warm air and bright sunlight this morning. Jayden sprawled across the bed, looking lazy and contented under a twist of sheet and nothing else.
"Stop whining," Astor said. "I didn't pay for that hotel room so you could laze about—"
"I haven't even been here twenty-four hours," Lee said, cutting him off again. That was pretty much the only way to deal with Astor. "I was planning to go today, but if you're going to insist, I'll put it off until Tuesday when I leave. Get an hour's worth of pictures—that should do it, right?"
"At which point I will inform your mother exactly where you were and what—or should I say who—you were doing instead of attending grandmother's birthday party last year," Astor said scathingly.
"Uncalled for," Lee said mildly, amused as always at how easy it was to rile Astor up.
"I want pictures today." Astor didn't wait for an answer, just hung up on him. Lee rolled his eyes, thumbing the phone to silent and dropping it back on the dresser.
Jayden shifted, yawning widely before propping himself up on his elbows. The sheet fell into his lap, and Lee was pretty sure visiting Astor's possibly haunted lighthouse could wait until after he and Jayden got to know each other a little better.
"So, sugar daddy?" Jayden asked, quirking a grin at him and showing off those adorable dimples again.
Lee snorted. "No, I'd take that commitment seriously. Just my cousin."
"So you're saying you're in the market for a sugar daddy," Jayden said, nodding solemnly. "There are some older men who stay here pretty regularly who could probably afford you, if you're interested. They're always giving me their room numbers—"
"Pass," Lee said, sauntering across the room back towards the bed. Jayden's eyes dropped to Lee's groin, a smirk curving his lips. "I don't think any of them could keep up with me."
"Get more than one?" Jayden suggested, tilting his head back to better look at Lee when he reached the edge of the bed. "Time share or something."
"I'd rather take advantage of you, honestly," Lee said, climbing up on the bed and on top of Jayden. Jayden was more than interested in that arrangement, judging by the feel of his cock through the sheets. Lee palmed the bulge, grinning when Jayden groaned, his head falling back and exposing the long line of his neck.
With everything they'd gotten up to last night, Lee hadn't found time to drink. He was hungry, and Jayden was giving him the perfect opportunity. Pulling up a bit of power—just enough to convince Jayden that Lee had given him a love bite instead of a vampire bite—Lee ran his fangs along Jayden's neck, below the hemp necklace he still wore.
"Hey, whoa, no," Jayden said suddenly, shoving Lee back. Lee immediately made his fangs withdraw, staring, baffled, at Jayden, who showed absolutely no signs of being enthralled. "I don't know you well enough to have you actually snacking on me, vamp."
"What?" Lee said, intelligently.
"None of that kind of biting," Jayden said, and that still didn't make sense. How did Jayden know? And why didn't Lee's enchantment work on him when it had last night?
"What are you?" Lee asked, well aware of the rudeness of the question and the fact that it was now incredibly awkward to be sitting on top of Jayden. Shifting gracelessly, Lee settled into the free half of the bed.
"Hedge witch," Jayden said, resignation in his voice as he sat up. He touched the necklace around his neck briefly. Likely that was where his protections were, if it was protections keeping him from being affected by Lee's enchantments and not a natural immunity.
"Oh." Lee frowned, trying to remember what his mother had said about witches other than stay far away. That and they smelled like they'd been smoking too much of their "herbal remedies," Lee remembered, but not much else.
"Yeah, I'll just go," Jayden said, standing much more gracefully than Lee had managed. Lee stared at him, wondering if he should say anything … but he didn't know what he was dealing with, and it was probably easier—and less awkward—if Jayden did just leave.
Jayden dressed quickly in silence. He didn't look back as he left, shutting the door with a loud click behind him. Lee blew out a sigh, falling back into the bed. That certainly hadn't been how he'd hoped his morning would go. Groaning, Lee debated going back to sleep instead of getting up, but he was already too awake and the bed smelled of sex, which only reminded him he'd screwed up with Jayden.
Though if Jayden's protections kept him from being enchanted by vampires, then Lee had managed to pull Jayden just on the strength of his own charm. That was a cheering thought because Jayden was no slouch to pull.
Lee slid out of bed, padding across the room towards the bathroom. He might as well get showered and get the information Astor wanted. Stepping past his discarded shirt, Lee frowned. Would Jayden do anything hedge witchy at him? Lee hadn't exactly been receptive to Jayden's disclosure, and Jayden hadn't seemed happy about it. He did work in the hotel, and Lee couldn't make him forget everything, as had been the original plan.
Scowling, Lee cranked up the hot water and stared broodingly at the tiny sample bottles of shampoo and conditioner lined up neatly on the shower's shelf. He needed to find out more about hedge witches, which meant calling his mother. Or Astor, he supposed. If any of his siblings or cousins would know anything about hedge witches, it would be Astor. Unfortunately, choosing between calling his mother and Astor was like picking the frying pan or the fire. He'd get a lecture either way.
He could try asking Jayden. He hadn't seemed like a bad person. He'd probably pegged Lee as a vampire when he'd checked in, since Lee had tried to influence him there first, so it wasn't as though he had it out for Lee because of that. Climbing into the shower, Lee winced at the heat, but didn't bother to turn it down. Talking to Jayden was probably the easiest way to get his vacation back on track, honestly, and worst case, he could run off to the crappy motel six blocks from the coast for peace of mind.
*~*~*
Jayden wasn't at the desk when Lee finally made his way down, and in retrospect, Lee wasn't sure why he'd thought Jayden would be. If Jayden had a regular shift, he'd be working later, since Lee had checked in later in the afternoon, not mid-morning.
Crossing the lobby, Lee left the hotel, meandering vaguely in
the direction of the lighthouse he was supposed to be scoping. Breakfast first—both of the eggs-and-meat variety and the blood variety since Jayden hadn't put out in that regard. He found both at a tiny hole-in-the-wall establishment that sat on the corner of a block of tourist shops. They were a little busy, but the young, pretty waitress accommodated him on both the eggs and lots of bacon and a quick drink of blood in the single "family" restroom the place boasted.
Hungers sated, Lee headed up the hill towards the haunted lighthouse. There was a path up to the lighthouse that ran along the beach, which slowly shifted from golden, inviting sand to the rocky, unpleasant beaches that the lighthouse warned incoming ships of.
The lighthouse itself didn't seem haunted in the morning sunlight. It was painted a bright white and looked to be in good repair. There was a wrought iron fence surrounding it, Lee realized as he got closer. It featured sharp-looking spikes at the top of each rail and swirls of metal through the little squares at the top and bottom of the fence. It wasn't too tall, only reaching halfway up Lee's chest, but it was just tall enough to make getting over it awkward. Add in the spikes, and the fence was probably plenty enough to keep the odd trespasser away.
There was a gate cutting across the path, and Lee pulled out the camera Astor had given him and took a snapshot of the plaque hanging from it.
Moreston Lighthouse
Home of the Ghost of Charles Robertson
Tours Mon-Wed-Fri
11:00-1:00-3:00
$10 per Person
Today was Thursday, so no tour. Lee took a few quick pictures of the lighthouse itself, still a few hundred yards away, and then tucked the camera back into its carrying case. He'd come back tomorrow. Astor could wait that long to learn more about it.
Meandering back down the path, Lee yawned, debating returning to bed or hitting the beach. Well, he could always sleep on the beach, Lee reasoned. Heading back towards the hotel, Lee ran a hand through his hair and frowned at the waves washing up on the shore. He really wanted to talk to Jayden, but he doubted anyone at the hotel would give him any help in finding Jayden. If he asked, he'd just come off as sleazy, and that wasn't going to help his cause.
He could always use his enchanting tricks, but he really needed to be more careful about that until he knew more about the situation. Who knew how many other hedge witches lived in town? Better safe than sorry, and besides which, Lee didn't have an infinite amount of power for that trick. He should save it for getting blood, not squander it trying to find Jayden, who definitely didn't want to feed him.
Sighing, Lee picked up his pace. Jayden hadn't been the promising start to his vacation that Lee had hoped, but that didn't mean the whole thing was a wash. He needed to stop dwelling and get back to relaxing, even if he couldn't get Jayden's pretty smile out of his head.
Lee reached the hotel quickly—Astor had picked it because of its proximity to the lighthouse—and made a quick stop in the hotel's gift shop to buy some overpriced sunblock and a truly hideous beach towel. He also grabbed a ridiculous bobble head turtle toy to give to Astor and a few other, less ridiculous trinkets to appease his mother.
Returning to his room, Lee scowled at the mess of it. Housekeeping hadn't been by yet, and Lee quickly shoved his mess into a corner of the room, dropping the camera back into his duffle. He changed into his swim trunks and, shirtless, headed down to the beach.
*~*~*
The beach was everything Lee had been hoping it would be. The sun was hot, the water cool, and people kept to themselves, giving Lee plenty of quiet time to sunbathe and nap between dips in the ocean. It was late afternoon when, starving, he dragged himself off the beach and into the hotel again. Butterflies bloomed in his stomach as he approached the lobby, wondering if Jayden would be there, and really, Lee was building this up way too much.
Jayden was there, and Lee's stomach flipped, nervous and worried and… he was half-dressed and covered in sand. Lee beat a hasty retreat to the elevators, glancing back once to see that Jayden wasn't paying him the least bit of attention, focused on the middle-aged woman with a bad blonde dye job and expensive shoes standing in front of his desk.
The elevator came, and Lee stepped into it, jamming the button for the fourth floor and letting out a sigh. The elevator was thankfully empty, and Lee leaned against the back wall and rolled his eyes at himself. He was being ridiculous. Jayden hadn't cared how he was dressed last night.
At least Jayden was working and Lee could get the conversation over with. If he'd had to wait a day or two, he'd probably go crazy and end up asking Astor about witches. The elevator dinged quietly and the doors slid open. Lee made his way to his room, unlocking the door and letting himself in. the room had been cleaned, the bed remade, and the trash emptied, erasing any and all hints that Jayden had ever been inside.
For the best, Lee reminded himself, dropping his ugly beach towel over the back of a chair and toeing off his sandals. He'd square up with Jayden and then get back to his original plan of finding a different fling every other night. No more hotel workers, however, even if they weren't hedge witches. Stripping off his swim trunks, Lee hit the shower to rinse the rest of the beach away.
Twenty minutes later, he was clean and freshly dressed in the nicest shirt he'd brought and a pair of khaki shorts. Smacking his sandals together to get the last of the sand out of them, Lee collected his wallet and phone—unsurprised to note he'd received six missed calls from Astor and two voice mails while he'd been on the beach.
Astor would wait. It wasn't like Lee could tell him much at this point anyway, given the lighthouse wasn't open until tomorrow. Letting himself into the hallway, Lee let the door swing shut behind him and headed back down to the elevators.
There was absolutely no reason to be nervous, Lee told himself as the elevator neared the lobby. Jayden was a good guy. He wouldn't hex Lee just for talking to him, or whatever it was hedge witches did. The elevator dinged when it reached ground floor, and Lee stepped out, hesitating as he scanned the lobby.
Jayden was still at the desk, doing something on the computer. There was no one else at the desk—coworkers or customers—so this was probably Lee's best chance. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself yet again that Jayden wasn't evil, Lee crossed the lobby. Jayden looked up when he got close to the desk, the smile sliding off his face when he saw Lee. That wasn't a good sign, but Lee doggedly kept going, partly because turning around now would look incredibly weird.
"How can I help you?" Jayden asked, his voice cool and professional when Lee reached the desk.
Lee grimaced because he'd been hoping for better. "Um, look, can we talk?"
"I'm working," Jayden said, dropping his voice. "My boss is very strict about personal matters occurring off the clock."
"Oh," Lee said, running a hand through his hair. He was failing terribly already. "Okay. Um, well, I am sorry about this morning. I'm an idiot. And um," Lee paused, catching sight of someone coming up from the office behind Jayden. "Um, do you have any recommendations on where I can get a bite to eat?"
Jayden stared at him like he'd grown a second head for a moment, like it was a totally abnormal request. Lee deliberately looked behind Jayden, and Jayden twisted, catching sight of his coworker.
"Right," Jayden said, frowning. "Are you looking for anything in particular? Sit down, take out, delivery?"
"Mexican?" Lee suggested, because something spicy sounded good. Jayden nodded, pulling out a small binder and flipping through the pages. His coworker nodded to Lee, grabbed some papers off the desk, and returned to the office.
"Flaming Mariachi is two blocks down, towards the boardwalk. They're one of the best Mexican places in the area," Jayden offered, glancing behind him again. "Look, I really can't talk now."
"Later?" Lee asked and then realized how that sounded. "I mean, I can meet you down here after you get done, not that you should come back up to my room—"
Jayden laughed, giving him a smile that made Lee relax more than any of
his pep talks had done so far. "Down here's fine. I get off at ten."
"Okay," Lee said, nodding. "I'll see you then."
"Enjoy dinner," Jayden said, turning back to his computer in a clear dismissal.
Lee left the hotel again, following Jayden's directions to find the restaurant. Eating dinner didn't kill nearly enough time, and Lee decided to wander the boardwalk. It was busy, crowded with couples young and old and far too many obvious tourists. Lee's eyes were burning from the number of noxious Hawaiian t-shirts that were wandering around, but eventually he found a quiet nook tucked next to a shop where he could watch the ocean.
He hadn't been sitting there five minutes when his phone rang. Groaning, Lee dragged it out of his pocket, not needing to look at it to see it was Astor calling yet again. Reluctantly, Lee answered it. "You're worse than my mother, Astor."
Astor snorted. "I am paying you."
"Not enough," Lee said, which was a lie. He had the receipt from the hotel. Astor was paying quite a bit for it. "The lighthouse is closed most days, off limits. I got some long distance shots, but I couldn't get close. They're doing tours tomorrow; I figure I'll hook up with one of them and play tourist."
"Fine," Astor said, begrudgingly. "Use your phone to take pictures if they don't allow the big camera."
"Yeah, yeah," Lee muttered, wrinkling his nose when a particularly hideous Hawaiian t-shirt walked by.
"Everything else going well?" Astor asked, sounding vaguely suspicious.
"Yep, just fine," Lee said. "Aside from an extreme lack of taste in the apparel of the tourist population. Look, I'll call you tomorrow after the tour's done. They don't run until late morning, so don't expect to hear from me until afternoon."
Lee hung up before Astor could reply, even though that would do nothing but confirm Astor's suspicions. Lee didn't have the energy to deal with fending off Astor, though, not when he had to figure out what he was going to say to Jayden later. Jayden hadn't seemed too annoyed with him, however, so Lee was hopeful it would go smoothly. Apologizing again couldn't hurt, even if he hadn't called Jayden names or done anything really egregious. His mother's first rule of fixing an argument had been "always apologize, Barnaby Lee, it makes everyone feel better."