“Moss?”
Moss didn’t reply, and Vane’s curiosity peaked. He knew nothing could have happened to Moss, not here in Vane’s house and in his presence. At last, he saw Moss standing in front of a certain bookcase, holding another tome in his hand. Vane smirked, knowing exactly why Moss had not replied.
An addition from a more eccentric owner of the house, the shelf in question held many interesting books, all surrounding one single topic, sex. Sex with women, with men, with objects or even animals, hundreds of positions—some restricted to bloodkin use—recipes for improving the taste of blood, and Vane’s secret pleasure, an extensive collection of encyclopedias on bondage.
He surreptitiously made his way to Moss’s side. The human was so absorbed in his contemplation of the volume he didn’t even look his way. “Find anything you like?” he whispered in Moss’s ear.
Over Moss’s shoulder, Vane caught sight of the cover of the book. It showed a male tied down by his wrists, while another fucked him hard. Vane had a strange sensation of déjà vu. He’d dreamed this exact sequence the night before, with Moss being the star of the show. He’d read this particular tome many times. Perhaps he’d for some reason combined its images with his desires for Moss.
Moss yelped, turned around, and hid the book behind his back. “My lord…You startled me.”
That had been Vane’s intention. For some reason, he scented something more behind Moss’s gesture. “That’s not exactly true,” he told Moss. “And like I said on your first day here, I don’t want you to ever lie to me. Am I being clear?”
Moss gulped and nodded. “The cover…It shocked me.”
Vane had a feeling Moss skirted around the truth a lot. He briefly considered biting Moss, just to find out, but he decided he could wait. After all, Moss couldn’t be expected to trust him outright. Vane would have to earn it, although it was a mystery why he even wanted to.
Besides, as much as he’d have liked to spend the whole day with the human, he did need to get some work done. Bloodkin didn’t take holidays. “Very well, then. Take it to your room. You’ll find it’s an interesting read.”
Moss flushed to the very tips of his hair. “I wouldn’t…I don’t—”
“It’s quite all right,” Vane interrupted him. “Or if you’d rather, you can stay. I’m afraid I have to be off. Work awaits. But I’ll see you at dinner, all right?”
Moss nodded, and Vane took off, his mind still on the man he left behind.
* * * *
That evening, as he wrapped up a series of formalities in his office in the city, Vane experience a weird feeling of anxiety niggling at the back of his brain. He didn’t know why it could be, but decided to make his way home earlier. The carriage took him back to the mansion and he headed inside, but as he walked into the foyer, he immediately noted the conspicuous absence of all his servants.
Vane frowned. That was very odd. The brownies were typically shy creatures, but his most loyal servants always met him at the door, having been with him for decades now.
Vane sensed motion at the superior level and walked up the stairs. Strikingly, the source seemed to be the library. “Oh no. This is such a disaster. What are we going to do?” he heard Pena say. “This is all my fault.”
“It’s not anyone’s fault,” Moss replied. “Calm down. We’ll clean up and everything will be as good as new. Come on, we needed to take care of this before His Lordship comes home.”
“Oh, Mister Hayden. There’s no way we can possibly do that.”
“Indeed.” Vane took a step forward and walked into the library. Pena paled, and Moss winced guiltily. Vane looked around and spotted the reason for all the commotion. A display case lay in pieces on the floor, glass scattered all over the place. A torn document pathetically demanded Vane’s attention.
A vein twitched in Vane’s temple. The document in question noted Vane’s nomination as Kin Lord here in Clavar. As much as he hated the actual position, Vane could not do his job without its authority. Thankfully, the destroyed item had been only a copy and the original was still in his office.
“What happened here?” he asked. When Moss opened his mouth to reply, Vane shook his head. “No, don’t answer that. Where’s Benson?”
“He left,” Pena replied in a small voice. “He said Your Lordship knew about it and if we needed anything, we should ask Mister Hayden.”
Damn Kier. It was just like him to play a sudden prank like this. Then again, the elf did deserve some time off. He worked too much.
Behind Pena, a small boy cowered, and Vane knew what had happened. As adept as brownies were at housework, their children were terribly clumsy. Vane mentally sighed. “Next time, Pena, don’t send your spawn to do your work. Now, run along.”
Pena curtsied and ran off, her small son right behind her. Vane directed his attention to Moss. “I can understand Pena’s concern, but I find myself particularly annoyed with your tendency of hiding things from me. Could you please explain why and how you intended to keep this a secret?”
Moss winced again and didn’t reply. Vane crooked his finger, beckoning the human forward. This time, Moss obeyed and came to him. Vane encased Moss in his arms, his cock hardening when Moss’s sweet scent surrounded him. “We’re pending a little discussion from this morning, too,” he whispered in Moss’s ear. “Now, would you answer the question?”
“It was just an accident,” Moss answered. “Pena’s son snuck here, I startled him, and the display case ended up suffering because of it.”
Vane noted Moss never said who actually broke the case and smiled. “And the book?” he prodded further. He didn’t even know how he managed to keep a cool head with Moss so close.
“T–the book…surprised me.”
So he’d said in the morning. Vane tilted Moss’s head to get better access to his throat. Hunger swelled inside him, raw and possessive. He wanted to know what Moss was stubbornly hiding.
He licked a line on Moss’s neck, growling when Moss pressed closer to him. In a flash, he embedded his fangs in Moss’s flesh. Blood flooded his mouth, warm and delicious. It fed two parts of him, one who demanded being fed, and the other who just yearned for closeness with Moss.
And then, memories exploded in his mind, and he saw his exact dream, but from Moss’s point of view. It was the weirdest sensation, as if he lived the experience through Moss. He felt as if his own hands were bound, and his own cock thrust in and out of him. Further back, he caught a flash of memory of his own voice whispering dirty words while he fucked Moss’s mouth.
He’d have liked to press further, but he stopped, knowing he could hurt the human if he continued. He withdrew his fangs and licked the wound, his head spinning with what he’d just experienced. Even if, technically speaking, he should’ve felt the same whenever he drank from his “bed and breakfasts,” it had never happened before. How could this be?
It unsettled him a bit. Why would they share dreams like that? He made a mental note to inquire into it. Perhaps he could ask Kier. The elf had more knowledge in this area than Vane, since Vane never had much interest in anything remotely connected to the emotion. As a matter of fact, he’d never even heard any bloodkin talk about this.
For now, he’d let Moss rest for a while. The past few days had been a whirlwind for the human, and his mind simply overflowed with confusion.
Vane lifted Moss in his arms. As he carried Moss out, the young man cuddled against him sleepily. In the hallway, he ran into Pena. She seemed to be passing by, although Vane would’ve bet money she’d intended to eavesdrop on them. “Pena, would you bring some dinner in Moss’s quarters?” he said.
The brownie nodded and took off once again. Vane headed to Moss’s quarters. They reached the room in silence, but once they entered, Moss finally spoke. “I’m sorry for lying,” he whispered.
“It’s all right, my beauty. Just don’t do it again.” Vane would have said more, but Pena came inside, carrying a tray full of steaming dishes. It was a myster
y for Vane how the brownies always managed to keep his house so well stocked. “Eat and rest,” he told Moss. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
After Moss nodded in acquiescence, Vane left the room. As he headed to his office, he sensed Kier’s presence close by. Excellent. Now he could ask his friend about the dream thing, before he convinced himself not to.
Kier waited for him in the foyer, and when he saw Vane, he smiled knowingly. “You’re home early.”
“And you’re running off and ignoring your duty…Benson.”
Kier’s eyes sparkled with mirth. Vane never took Kier’s service as Benson for granted, and the elf knew it. At this point, it had almost become like a private joke between them. If Vane could ask anyone about his dilemma, that person would be Kier.
“I want to talk to you about something.”
The elf arched a brow. “Sure. What’s the matter?”
Vane gestured Kier toward the office. Once they reached the room, Vane closed the door behind them and said, “I tasted Moss’s blood today. I didn’t realize it the day before since I didn’t indulge too much, but I think we share dreams.”
Kier froze in his tracks. His glamour faded, and he gave Vane a shocked look. “You’re kidding.”
Vane shook his head. “I saw it in his memories. What could it mean? You’re better at this sort of thing than me.”
“There’s only one situation when I’ve known of something like that happening.” Kier hesitated, then continued, “in my case, at least.”
“You’ve shared dreams with someone?” Vane couldn’t help but inquire. “No, never mind. It’s none of my business. What does it mean?”
“For elves, it would mean the person is your chosen mate,” Kier answered. “I’m not sure it works the same for bloodkin.”
“But Moss is human,” Vane pointed out. He briefly wondered why Kier would’ve left behind a mate if he had shared dreams with someone. An unpleasant thought slipped into his brain, but he cast it away, choosing to focus on Moss instead.
Kier shrugged. “So what? You know it’s not uncommon for my kind to take human mates.”
Kier had a point. Elven immortality came at a price. Many were sterile or had great difficulty giving birth. In the past few centuries, choosing human mates had become a way to perpetuate the species. Since human blood wasn’t powerful enough to dilute the elven one, the few characteristics that passed on to offspring were advantageous. More often than not, these children registered an increase in fertility, all the while keeping all their elven features.
For his part, Vane had never believed in the myth of mates, for bloodkin, at least. Elves could even die if their mates fell out of love or rejected them. On the other hand, if the love was strong enough, the couple could bind their life threads together, making the human live as long as his companion did. It was both convenient and risky, with humans being more vulnerable to disease, poison, and injuries from weapons.
Vane knew he should be concerned. Being so close to a human after merely a few days could bring about unpleasant consequences. He briefly considered cancelling the contract, but he couldn’t make himself do so. Moss had done nothing to warrant such an extreme measures. Besides, Vane enjoyed Moss’s presence far too much. He’d take his chances.
“What are you going to do?” Kier asked.
Vane just smiled at his friend. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Chapter Five
A few days passed, and Moss settled into a routine, if not a fully comfortable one. It was hard to accept that he was now working for a bloodkin. His mind still whirled around the concept that he’d accepted employment with Vane, a leader in the species of those who’d hurt his family so much.
But he understood too well that one couldn’t blame a single individual for the actions of the members of his race. It was actually a little crazy to do so. If someone said all humans were evil because they’d run into a killer, wouldn’t Moss feel slighted and insulted? Vane wasn’t like those people in Elmya. He had integrity and control over his impulses. It would be unfair of Moss to judge him.
Or that what he told himself, at least. It was better to rationalize this and give himself a reason for his decision to stay. No, not a reason. An excuse. Because no matter how much he told himself that it would be all right, that it made sense for him to accept this employment, he didn’t dare to dwell on the heat he felt within him when Vane simply looked at him.
The truly insane thing was that Vane didn’t even try to seduce him. He followed the contract to the letter and had never tried to get Moss in his bed. Oh, he got aroused when he drank Moss’s blood, but he never tried to pursue him. At night, when he was alone in his room, Moss secretly admitted to himself that he’d have liked the bloodkin to reach out to him. Much to his shame, he’d sometimes found himself regretting that he hadn’t accepted the original terms of the “bed and breakfast” contract.
As maddening as the whole issue had become, Moss still liked his job. He liked being around Vane, even if the unavoidable feelings of arousal often flustered him. Vane was so cultured and intelligent that Moss found himself learning all sorts of interesting things from him. The other occupants of the house were very nice, especially Benson. For whatever reason, it seemed to Moss that Benson had a very strong friendship with Vane. It actually pleased Moss because he hated the thought of Vane having to bear a lonely existence before he’d come along.
In the end, though, Moss always told himself he needed to remember the truth about Vane’s nature. Even if Moss might have wanted to touch and caress the bloodkin, it was a horrible idea. No matter what his libido demanded, the fact remained that they were too different.
Three days after Moss’s fateful decision to work with Vane, though, Moss had a sort of revelation. He’d been acquainting himself with the state of Vane’s affair, which was taking up more time than he’d have liked. He wanted to do a good job and point out to Vane that he hadn’t made a mistake in hiring him.
He ate and slept because it was also a part of his duty, to remain in top physical shape so that he could feed Vane. But beyond that, the work kept him so busy that he didn’t interact with the rest of the staff as much as he’d have preferred.
All that changed one evening when Benson stalked into the office, looking just as mysterious as always. “I believe your presence is required in the living room,” he said.
“Is something the matter?” Moss asked, looking up from the papers he’d been studying.
“Not at all,” Benson replied. “We’re merely hosting a small celebration in honor of Lord Bloodmoor.”
A party? “What’s the occasion?”
Was it Vane’s birthday? Did bloodkin even celebrate birthdays? Moss didn’t know, and he made a mental note to look up bloodkin traditions. It seemed that many things which he’d taken for granted regarding my boss were false.
“It’s not strictly for your employer,” Benson said, “but for the old Lord Bloodmoor, the former Kin Lord. Both he and his wife were killed many years ago, but Vane still remembers them fondly.”
Vane’s father and mother. Moss had wondered what had happened to Vane’s family since Vane never really mentioned them too much. It also didn’t escape Moss’s notice that Benson had called his employer by his first name. Even so, he didn’t make any comment. The old butler actually looked quite saddened as well, and Moss guessed Benson must have known Vane’s parents.
“I’m honored for the invite,” Moss replied, “but I’m not sure I should attend. Would my presence even be appropriate?”
Benson gave him a penetrating look with those eerily alert eyes. “Vane would want you there,” he said. “Or rather, he’s going to need you.”
Moss couldn’t resist that argument, so he nodded. “Should I go change?” he asked.
“You’re fine as you are,” Benson answered. “Come. Follow me.”
As they left the office, they headed downstairs, toward the living room. When he and Benson reached their destinati
on, Moss found that the servants had already set out snacks, although the word was probably a little insulting when referring to the prepared meal. Moss suspected the dishes must have been something specifically bloodkin, perhaps with reference to the commemoration of someone’s death, since he didn’t recognize any of them. Then again, bloodkin didn’t have any cuisine of their own, for obvious reasons.
He got an answer to that dilemma when Vane entered the room through a different door. The bloodkin almost seemed to guess what Moss had been thinking and said, “They’re elven dishes. Thank you for your consideration, Benson.”
“It is, as always, my pleasure,” Benson replied smoothly.
Vane threw a look Moss’s way, and for all of Benson’s words, he didn’t seem very enthusiastic about Moss’s presence in the room. In fact, even if he’d expressed his gratitude toward Benson, he appeared to be displeased that the butler had organized this. “Thank you, Moss. Your presence isn’t required tonight.”
“I think it is,” Benson said. It was odd to see him outright contradicting Vane, especially since, under normal circumstances, he was the consummate professional. Perhaps, this time around, their friendship mattered more.
But Moss didn’t want to disturb Vane, especially on a day of mourning. Vane hadn’t mentioned it to him and hadn’t asked him for support of any kind. Maybe it would be better if he removed himself from the room.
He never had any idea what to say when something like this happened. The fact that Vane was bloodkin made it all even more awkward. Still, Moss felt that, at the very least, he should express his condolences.
“I’m very sorry about your loss,” he said lamely.
Vane shrugged. “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Didn’t it? Moss wasn’t so sure. He wanted to inquire about it, but that would be more indiscreet than helpful. Torn, he looked between Vane and Benson, seeking an answer. He almost wished Benson had never sought him out. Paperwork, he could handle, but a recalcitrant Vane was a whole different matter.
Bed and Breakfast [Bloodkin 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 7