125 Navigating the Vampire Maze

by Charlie Richards

  “Hmmm,” Francois mused, glancing upward. “Zey did do a fantastic job.” Then they started on again, although Francois didn’t remove his hand right away. “And in response to your earlier question, it’s not zat I don’t scare easy. It’s zat I’ve been through zis maze several times already.”

  Stanton felt the man’s fingertips teasing lightly up and down the knobs of his lower spine. The butterflies bounced in his belly for a new reason. His prick began to thicken again, and Stanton almost stepped away from him... but he didn’t want to be rude.

  Yeah, right. That’s the reason.

  Ignoring the taunting voice in his head, Stanton glanced at Francois out of the corner of his eye. “Then why come back in?”

  “To meet you.”

  Frowning, Stanton cocked his head. “To meet me?” Then his belly twisted for a new reason, and he grumbled, “So, you come into the maze every night to meet a dude to take a tumble with while on your vacation?” Stanton scowled at Francois, and he finally pulled away from him. “I’m not like that.”

  Am I?

  The desire to explore Francois’s lithe body certainly made Stanton’s fingers tingle with anticipation.

  “Zut,” Francois muttered under his breath. His brows were furrowed as he grabbed Stanton’s wrist, stopping him from moving farther away. “Zat is not what I meant. Do not put words in my mouth, my beloved.”

  “Put words in your mouth?” Stanton crossed his arms over his chest, pulling free of his grip. “What the hell does that mean?” Feeling his cheeks heat when he realized he’d admitted his ignorance to a hot stranger, he turned and started walking again. “Never mind.”

  Francois moved so fast, Stanton nearly ran into him... again. One second he was behind him, then the next, the handsome guy stood in his path. Upon seeing Francois’s flushed cheeks and narrow-eyed expression, Stanton felt a fissure of unease slither down his spine.

  Then Francois’s nostrils flared, and his eyes widened. Even the blood seemed to drain from his face, leaving him pale in the flickering faux torchlight. Francois sighed as he lifted his palms in a way that encouraged most people to relax.

  “We keep having misunderstandings,” Francois murmured, the words barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of the witch cackling as people coming up behind them activated the device. After glancing that way, Francois returned his focus to Stanton, evidently dismissing them. “I do not enter zee maze each night to find a lover.” He rested his hands on Stanton’s chest, rubbing lightly. “I said I was looking for you, Stanton.”

  Stanton stared uncertainly at Francois. The man’s palms on his chest felt firm and warm, even through the fabric of his jacket and t-shirt. Tingles erupted on his skin, and his nipples beaded.

  Seeing movement to his right, Stanton took a few precious seconds to glance that way. It gave him time to think of something else. He spotted a pair, a girl and boy, probably teenagers on a date. The girl was dressed in the guy’s football pants and jersey, while the boy had a cheerleader skirt on over his jeans and carried pom-poms.

  His brain stalling, Stanton stared.

  The guy must have noticed, for he rolled his eyes as he passed and muttered, “Discount if we dress in costume.”

  Stanton nodded. “Oh. Right. Yeah.”

  While the girl tittered, her gaze glancing between Stanton and Francois—who still had his hands on Stanton’s chest—the boy rolled his eyes. With his arm around her waist, they turned a corner and disappeared from view.

  Francois lifted one hand from Stanton’s chest, only to palm his jaw. His hand was warm and felt smooth against his five o’clock shadow. He used the hold to turn Stanton’s head, urging him to return his focus to him.

  “I heard you were going to be coming to zee maze, but I did not know zee date,” Francois told him as he rubbed his thumb along his jawline. “I was here, wandering zee maze, for a couple of days looking for you specifically, Stanton.” Then he lowered his hand to his neck and massaged the tendons lightly. “I am sorry my words upset you.”

  “Oh.” Stanton fought back a shudder as he dipped his head and pressed into the gentle touch. “Mmmm, that’s nice.”

  “Good,” Francois purred, continuing to work Stanton’s muscles as he skimmed his other hand up a little and rubbed his thumb over Stanton’s puckered nipple. “I like zee expression on your face, Stanton. I—”

  “Hey, there you are, Stanton.”

  The sound of Max’s tenor yanked Stanton back to the present. He whipped his head around just as the witch’s cackle filled the air and her form flew across the aisle. Lilibeth squealed and hid behind Jerome, who’d tensed and ducked.

  “H-Hi, guys.” Stanton cleared his throat, then swallowed. Nerves fired through his veins, but he couldn’t force himself to step back from Francois. “I took a wrong turn.”

  Jerome glanced between them, his left brow arching inquisitively. “Yeah, so did we.”

  Lilibeth laughed as she nodded while eyeing Francois. “We found ourselves stuck in a section with one dead end after another and finally figured out how to circle back. We didn’t mean to lose you, but we couldn’t figure out which turn you took. Although”—grinning, she smirked at him—”it looks like you’re just fine. Who’s your friend?”

  Stanton found his mouth had gone dry, and he was having a hard time getting his throat to work.

  Why am I disappointed to see my friends?

  Fortunately, Rhyme saved him. “Oh, hey, Francois,” he greeted, stopping next to them. “Did you finally find what you’ve been looking for?”

  Francois chuckled huskily as he took a step back, removing his hands from Stanton. “Oui, I have.”

  Chapter Four

  Relief filled Francois when Enforcer Rhyme greeted him, then slung his arm around Max’s waist.

  Gods be praised, my beloved has friends in zee paranormal world.

  That would make drawing Stanton into his world so much easier.

  Now, if I can just get him to relax around me... and we need to work on zee misunderstandings.

  “Join us, Francois,” Rhyme encouraged, waving toward the path before them. Then the big vampire smirked. “Just don’t show us the quickest way out. These guys are having fun getting lost.”

  Lilibeth snickered. “You just like the way Max clings to you every time something jumps out and scares him.”

  “Oh, hush, you,” Max snapped back, whapping her upper arm with the back of his hand.

  Rhyme drew Max away, guiding them forward. “How could I not love it,” he purred as he dipped his head and pecked a swift kiss to Max’s lips. “Any excuse to touch you.”

  Francois thought the same thing about Stanton. He’d quickly recognized that the man would stare at the attractions and become distracted. He figured that was how Stanton had ended up separated from his friends.

  But I love how a touch to his back gets him to focus back on me. I’ll definitely use zat to my advantage.

  “I’m Jerome,” a lanky dark-skinned male said, holding out his hand. “Jerome Harsnen. I’m Stanton’s roommate.”

  Francois took Jerome’s hand, feeling the man’s firm hold. Resisting the urge to outdo him, he shook and released as swiftly as possible. If this man was Stanton’s roommate, he didn’t want to get in a pissing contest with him.

  “Francois Toulouse. Nice to meet you,” he stated.

  Jerome opened his mouth, obviously intending to respond, but Lilibeth beat him to it. The vivacious brunette bounced forward and gripped his upper arm. “Hi, I’m Lilibeth, and I love your accent.”

  Francois allowed her to start them walking behind Rhyme and Max, but he took a second to dip his chin in greeting to the two older humans who were hanging back a little. From their scents, he guessed them to be brothers. He figured he would hear their names eventually.

  “Do you still live in France? What part?” Lilibeth continued with her myriad of questions. “Do you love baguettes? Are you in the states for long?”

  �
�Why do you ask another question before he can even answer the first one?” Jerome teased, tugging on the braid her hair was in.

  Lilibeth stuck out her tongue, then returned her focus to Francois and beamed at him.

  Francois chuckled softly at their playful bantering, noting that nothing in their scents spoke of actual annoyance. He figured the group had been friends for some time to be so comfortable with each other. Thinking of his coven in Montana, he tried to figure out if he had anyone he was that close to.

  He couldn’t think of anyone. When he’d moved to Master Dante’s coven, he had buried himself in work. He hadn’t wanted a repeat of what had driven him out of France.

  Having no desire to allow his mind to take a trip down memory lane—zat was a long time ago, and zis is neizer zee time nor place—Francois shifted Lilibeth’s hand on his arm to a more comfortable position. “I spent many years in Nice.” That had been his birth coven, and he enjoyed recalling those years. It was the third coven he’d been part of in France that had forced him to leave the country. “It is a lovely place, but I moved to Montana many years ago. I am zee chef at a cattle ranch out zere, similar to zis one, but wizout zee guests.” Francois would have preferred to be sharing this information with Stanton, but he figured getting in good with his beloved’s friends could only help. “I am here on vacation for anozer couple of weeks.”

  Technically, Francois had permission to be there as long as it took to woo his beloved... but he couldn’t tell her that.

  Gods, I hope my kitchen will still be in one piece when I get home.

  “Wow, tell me about Nice. What’s it like over there?” Lilibeth’s excitement bled through her tone. “Why did you decide to leave? Was it for your job?”

  “Oui, for my job.” That had been part of it, anyway. “As for Nice—”

  Telling Lilibeth about his old home allowed him to focus half his attention on Stanton, who was walking directly behind them next to Jerome. He did his best to control his jealousy. The lithe black man had said they were roommates, and he hadn’t smelled of deceit.

  Besides, Stanton had already told him that he’d never before done anything with a guy.

  Zat doesn’t mean Jerome doesn’t want to.

  Upon hearing Stanton whisper, “What does it mean to put words in someone else’s mouth?” Francois lifted his brows.

  His beloved didn’t recognize the expression?

  “Mmm, that means you heard someone say something and jumped to a conclusion about what the person meant,” Jerome replied softly, his words slow as if he struggled with how to explain. “Then you say something about what the speaker said, about what he meant by his comment, even though you’re just making a guess which could be wrong.” Then Jerome asked, “Why do you ask, buddy?”

  “Earlier, Francois said he was wandering the maze for a couple of days because he was looking for me,” Stanton replied, obviously being honest. “I got upset because I thought he meant he wandered the maze every night looking for someone like me that he could take to his bed for a one-night stand. He said that’s not what he meant.”

  “Francois asked you for a one-night stand?” Jerome immediately jumped on that.

  Lilibeth squeezing his arm drew Francois’s attention, and he realized he hadn’t responded to whatever she had said. When he offered her an apologetic smile, she smirked and leaned closer.

  “Like Stanton a lot, do you?” Lilibeth winked. “That’s certainly how it looked when we walked up.”

  “Oui.” Francois didn’t see any reason to deny it. “He is... someone who could be very special to me.”

  Peering behind them with a discreet, side-eyed look, Lilibeth hummed. “Well.” She grinned at Francois again. “If the way he’s checking out your tight rear-end is any indicator, he’s into you, too.”

  Francois felt a rush of pleasure at that.

  My beloved is checking me out. Good.

  “We’re going on the hayride through the haunted forest once we’re done with the maze,” Lilibeth told him, a twinkle in her eyes. “You should come.”

  “I would love to.” Since the seer’s information had indicated he would meet his beloved in the haunted hay maze, he hadn’t checked out anything else.

  Lilibeth patted Francois’s hand again, then released him... just in time to be freaked out by a shrieking ghost. Instead of grabbing him, however, Lilibeth hopped backward a step and once again latched onto Jerome.

  Francois smirked as he saw the mischief in Lilibeth’s dark eyes, and he realized he had an ally.

  Zank zee fates.

  They spent another hour wandering the maze. Francois had to bite back a smile every time the humans startled, shrieked, jumped, or ducked. The group didn’t temper their reactions, at all, telling how relaxed they were with each other.

  During their explorations, Francois stuck close to Stanton. He noticed each time his beloved became lost in admiring the displays and made certain to touch his back before Jerome could. Evidently, the roommate knew of Stanton’s quirk, too.

  Not surprising, since zey live together.

  Francois’s actions earned him smiles from Stanton but narrow-eyed stares from Jerome. Since he didn’t scent any arousal from the wiry black man, he likened it more to a big brother’s protectiveness. Francois would have to figure out a way to win the man over... especially if he planned to convince Stanton to move to Montana with him. Fortunately, Lilibeth did a fantastic job of keeping Jerome occupied.

  The thought of asking to switch covens so he could stay entered his mind, but Master Jaymes’s coven already had a chef and didn’t need another.

  “You sure you don’t want to cozy up to a guy with a little more experience?” a husky voice asked into Francois’s ear.

  Francois turned his head and spotted Vernon at his shoulder. Beyond him, he could just see Lloyde rolling his eyes. The pair had been introduced as the owners of the company the other humans worked for, but they acted more like goofy cousins—family.

  Snorting upon seeing Vernon’s teasing eyebrow waggle, Francois shook his head. “I am sorry, Vernon.” He swept his gaze over the dirty-blond-haired man, acknowledging that he was a ruggedly handsome fellow. “But you just do not do it for me.” Francois shrugged. “Can’t change who we are attracted to, can we?”

  Vernon rested his hand over his heart and sighed dramatically. “Story of my life.”

  “Stop being an ass.” Lloyde popped Vernon upside the head. “Don’t go poaching on the SOs of our employees.”

  Laughing and rubbing the back of his head, Vernon shrugged. “Not his SO, yet, Lloyde.”

  “Ignore him,” Lloyde encouraged. “Seeing how sexed-up and happy Max is with his man, Vernon is after his own love of his life.” Patting Vernon on the shoulder, he shook his head. “Gotta be patient, bro. The love bug will bite you when you least expect it.”

  Vernon rolled his eyes before grumbling under his breath, “I just wanna get laid.”

  Francois barked a laugh, quickly lifting his hands to hide his mouth. His mirth drew Stanton out of his conversation with Max about how life-like the vicious bats had appeared to be. It made Francois wonder if Stanton had ever actually seen a bat up close, but it was sort of sweet, none-the-less.

  Maybe I will find him a bat to hold.

  Smiling at the idea, Francois watched as Stanton crossed back to him. He had never held a filthy bat in his life, but for his beloved...

  Odd thought.

  “What’s going on?” Stanton glanced between them. When Lloyde rolled his eyes and shook his head, Stanton frowned. “What?”

  “Vernon made a pass at me,” Francois stated, seeing no point in not telling the truth. Reaching out, he didn’t resist his impulse to grab Stanton’s hand and twine their fingers. “I am certain it was in jest, but even if he was serious, you are zee one I want.”

  Stanton’s eyebrows furrowed as he shifted his gaze to their hands. “I don’t understand why. I’m not anything special.”

  Fr
ancois shrugged. “And neizer am I.” Then he tugged and began heading down the path again. “Come. I believe we are nearing zee exit.”

  Even as Stanton heaved a deep sigh and muttered, “Good. I gotta piss,” he didn’t break contact with Francois.

  He took that as a win.

  Chapter Five

  Stanton couldn’t believe how annoyed he was that his boss had hit on Francois. Hadn’t it been obvious that the hot French guy was into him? Shouldn’t that have made him off-limits to flirt with?

  I’ll have to ask Jerome when I get him alone.

  That ended up being sooner than Stanton had expected. After they exited the maze, they checked the time for the next ride through the haunted forest. They had just over thirty minutes.

  While everyone else headed off to get treats from the food vendors, he and Jerome got in the line for the port-a-potties. As they waited, Stanton voiced his confused frustration.

  “Vernon hit on Francois, and I’m pissed about it. Why?” Stanton crossed his arms and frowned at the ground as he continued on a whisper, “And why would Vernon even do that? It was pretty obvious when you walked up that he’s into me. Right?”

  Then Stanton lifted his chin and met Jerome’s gaze, curious how his friend would respond. His buddy had always helped him sort his thoughts. To his surprise, Stanton found Jerome’s black eyes wide and his lips slightly parted.

  Stanton realized he’d shocked him.

  Huh. Why?

  Jerome snapped his mouth shut, then opened it again. He cleared his throat and glanced around. Finally, Jerome must have found his tongue.

  “Uh, that means you like him,” Jerome muttered, his gaze flicking from Stanton to the ground and back again. “As in... like like him. You’re attracted to him, and you want to explore that, and you don’t like the idea of competition and someone else taking him away from you.”

  Stanton nodded, agreeing with everything Jerome had said. He made it sound so simple. Still, he struggled with the concept.