by Ella Frank
“I can see that you are suffering,” Vasilios said as Diomêdês got off the mattress and took several shaky steps towards the single recliner in the room.
As he practically fell into it, he raised a hand to his head and bit out, “How astute of you.”
“No need to get waspish.”
“And no need to be antagonistic. Just tell me the fucking plan.”
Alasdair shifted on the bed until his back was against the headboard, knowing enough to stay out of the feud. Leo’s head was in his lap as his body continued to spasm in different directions, and he found himself concentrating all of his efforts on willing the man to wake up.
“When the human wakes, he is going to take Alasdair back to his office. Back to where Isadora was taken. He worked with the one who has her. He knows of him. Knows where he lives. So we can track him down.”
As a low snarl filled the room, Alasdair raised his head. Diomêdês’s eyes had turned inky black, and his fangs had slid into place. He looked ready to kill, and his attention was focused on Leo.
“He knows who took my Isa?”
“He does,” Vasilios said as he walked towards the enraged vampire. “He knows a lot of things, brother, and I believe keeping him alive and close is in our best interest.”
Diomêdês stood, and Alasdair’s natural instincts had him shifting Leo off his lap so he could crouch in a protective stance alongside the vulnerable man.
“And you decided this without consulting any of us?” Diomêdês asked.
“I made a decision based off the facts presented at the time. My first instinct was to kill him. Imagine what we may have missed had I gone through with that impulse.”
The Ancient’s legs trembled, close to giving out on him, so he lowered himself back onto the chair. “And what changed your mind?”
“My cock,” Vasilios said without an ounce of remorse. “But, soon after, the human himself. He offered to be of use to us. He said that he would take us where we need to go. It was a good offer, so I made a decision. However, I do not trust him in the slightest, which is why the only way I would agree was if he drank from me. This way, I can make sure he returns, and I can also get inside his head at any given moment.”
Alasdair didn’t realize how tense he was until Diomêdês relented and gave a swift nod.
“You did the right thing. Isadora… She is growing weaker with every passing minute. I fear she doesn’t have much longer.”
Vasilios knelt by Diomêdês’s feet and placed a hand to his thigh. “I can see the strain in you. How do you feel?”
“Not too well, brother. Not too well.”
“And I’m sure your little exertions in here did not help conserve your energy.”
Diomêdês gave a false smile, and his fangs gleamed. “You are enough to try the patience of a saint. You are lucky you do not answer to anyone. They would be forever disciplining you.”
Vasilios sighed. “’Tis true. Which is why I’m fortunate enough to be my own master.”
A tentative hand grazed Alasdair’s back and had him turning. Leo’s eyes had opened and he was blinking rapidly as he tried to focus.
“Welcome back, file mou.”
Before Leo could utter a sound, Vasilios was over by the bed in a flash, and Diomêdês was right behind him, hauling Alasdair to his knees.
The fucker might have been weaker than usual, but he sure as hell was still stronger than him.
Diomêdês shoved him aside and reached for Leo’s wrist, yanking him in until their noses touched—and that’s when everything went to hell in a hand basket. Leo pried the Ancient’s fingers loose, causing a vicious curse to escape him, and then he flashed over to Alasdair’s side and silence filled the room.
As all three of them rounded on the human, Leo lowered his hands to cover his groin. His blond hair was disheveled, and when he realized what he’d just done, his mouth opened and shut as if trying to formulate some kind of response. But Vasilios was the first to speak.
“Well, that will make the next time we all visit a bed rather interesting. Wouldn’t you agree, agóri?”
As Alasdair continued to watch his yielding, he caught a look of wonderment on Leo’s face and knew one thing for certain: He didn’t disagree.
Present Day - Elias’s office
ELIAS RUBBED A hand over his face as he contemplated his next move. He had several options, as he saw it, all of which he couldn’t do there. He was still ensconced in his office, but he had to make a decision in the next couple of minutes.
Isadora was out cold, so it was the perfect time for him to call his secretary and tell her that he needed to head out for the rest of the day. He could give her some half-assed excuse about checking out a new piece that was due to arrive at the museum. Or he could feign illness. Both would get him out of the small confines so he could go home to finish what he’d started.
It was going to be messy. He’d been warned of that from the beginning. The only way to truly end a vampire was not pretty. It would either be drawn out, in which she would bring all kinds of unwanted attention, or it would be quick and easy—but messy. It always would be when you had to cut off, or out, a body part.
Getting to his feet, Elias decided that the best course of action would be to tell Georgette that he needed her to bring his car around to the loading dock while he personally saw to something before he went home ill. Then he would cart Isadora down to Leo’s office and they could leave via the back door.
Yes, that should work.
He was halfway to the door when Isadora shifted, rousing from her weakened state to say his name. He knew he should keep going without stopping because conversing with her just clouded his judgment. It made him remember how he’d once felt when he looked at her, when he touched her, and then thoughts like, Why did it have to be her? ran through his head.
“Elias…” Her soft voice filled his senses, and he shut his eyes and told himself to keep walking. “Elias.”
His name was much clearer the second time. Stronger in conviction. He paused with his arm outstretched, his fingers close to the handle.
“Please look at me.”
Her words sounded sincere, a plea he found difficult to refuse—except he knew what her kind was capable of. “It’s no use, Isa.”
“What’s no use?”
And that’s when, unbeknownst to him, he made his first misstep.
ISADORA KNEW THE minute his convictions faltered. He gave her a quick once-over, and his jaw tightened as a flush of heat swept his cheeks.
Then he replied, “It’s no use trying to appeal to a man who no longer exists.”
She gave a tepid smile. “Doesn’t he? I don’t know. You look just like him. I remember the first time I saw you. The way you made me laugh. I hadn’t done that in years.”
“It’s not going to work, Isadora—”
Paying no heed to his threat, she said, “He was a man I would have done anything for. All he had to do was ask. Do you know how rare that is, Elias? You see what I am. How many men do you think I kneel for? Yet I went willingly for you.”
“Stop it,” he warned, turning to grab the handle and pressing his forehead to the wood.
“You stop. You’re acting as if you’ve forgotten who you are. Who I am.”
Elias whirled on her then. “I have no clue who you are.”
“Oh, yes, you do. You know me as only one other does. Only one, Elias. Think about that. Think about how old I am and the fact that only he and you know who I am. What does that tell you?”
He stormed over to her, and Isadora felt a small victory at having broken through his staunch resolve.
“It tells me you’re trying to fuck with my head.”
“Your head had nothing to do with what I was fucking when we were together. You know it, and so do I.”
He cursed. “Just because I’ve had my cock inside you doesn’t mean I’ll let you go. I have a mission. I have a purpose.”
“Ahh, yes. And what is that
again? To kill me? To torture me? And why? You are at least going to tell me why before you cut out my heart, aren’t you?”
Her fangs descended, and when his eyes narrowed, she picked up on an emotion she hadn’t felt until now—regret.
“You don’t want to do it, do you? That’s why you’ve been procrastinating. It’s hard to kill someone you know, isn’t it?”
As if she’d pushed him beyond the limit of his control, Elias fisted her hair and canted her face up to his.
“Someone you’ve lost yourself inside of? I always find it more pleasant to fuck someone I plan to keep breathing. Much more arousing in the long run.”
Elias’s eyes roved over her face, and Isadora reminded herself that he was the enemy—even as she wanted to lose herself with him all over again.
“I will kill you,” he swore.
She ran her tongue along her lower lip and dared to reply, “No, you won’t.”
SHE WAS A vision, one that was hard to turn away from, and Elias’s hands shook as his certainty waivered. He released his hold and shoved her away as he straightened.
“You’re delusional if you think the fact that we’ve fucked will keep you alive.”
Her lashes lowered as she whispered, “We meant a lot more to each other than that, Elias. That’s why I left in the first place.”
“Be quiet,” he said, not wanting to rehash their horrid ending.
“But—”
“I said. Be. Quiet. Don’t you understand? It doesn’t matter why you left. It doesn’t even matter that I knew you back then. What matters is you are what you are and I am what I am.”
“And what is that?”
“A—” Elias caught himself right as he was about to reveal too much, and then he glared at her, realizing she’d manipulated him after all.
He spun on his heel, spearing a hand through his hair, and was about to leave when a firm knock sounded on the door and the handle twisted. Before he could hold it shut, it swung open wide and there, standing directly opposite him, was Paris Antoniou, the museum’s registrar and one of his best friends.
“Elias, good. I was hoping to find…” Paris’s words petered off as his eyes shifted just beyond his shoulder.
Elias swallowed and stepped to the side, his large frame blocking Isadora. He hoped Paris would leave well enough alone, but he should’ve known better.
“Ahh…who’s that?”
Deciding to go with misdirection, Elias asked, “What was it you needed to see me about?”
“Oh, yeah. Leo. You said he was coming back to work today, right? I need him to come down and see me about the bathhouses model. It seems as if someone was fucking around with it last night. Maybe the cleaning crew or something. Props have been moved all over the place.”
Elias tried to think of a lie that would cover their missing curator, but nothing sprang to mind. Due to Leo’s having fucked up the timeline of everything that was supposed to go down, he hadn’t had the opportunity to inform Paris that he was the third who was needed to bring an end to a race of vampires.
Yeah, that isn’t something we can just go and discuss over a morning coffee.
“It seems Leo won’t be coming back for a couple more days, at least.”
“Oh.” Paris frowned and scratched the side of his head. “I thought—”
“No, you thought wrong. I’ll send someone down to help you out.” Elias walked forward in an effort to back Paris out of the room, and then the third individual in the office spoke up.
“Elias. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
As Isadora’s sweet-as-honey voice found its way to Paris, the young man stepped around him, and gasped.
Motherfucker. This was so not how he’d expected his day to begin. Elias firmly shut the door and locked it. He had a feeling that whatever happened next was not going to be easy or pretty.
PARIS ANTONIOU LIKED to think he was an easygoing guy. Cool under pressure, not one to stress. However, a lot of weird shit had been going down lately, and his relaxed demeanor was wearing thin.
Ever since Leo had gone missing a couple of weeks earlier, things had seemed a little…off. Elias, who he’d known a long time, had been acting peculiar. And after nearly ten years of knowing who was in each of their lives, new people were starting to pop up out of…well, fucking nowhere.
He stared at the fragile-looking woman who was strapped—yes, strapped—to Elias’s chair. Had he interrupted some kind of kinky sex shit between his boss and this woman? Hell, she’s attractive enough, he thought, if you like them kind of pasty. But her eyes were glowing when she flashed a wide smile at him.
“And who might you be, handsome?”
The woman’s seductive voice wound around him, and just as he was about to walk towards her, Elias took his wrist.
“Paris, we need to talk.”
“Paris, viens ici,” the woman purred.
“Cut it out,” Elias snapped. “He doesn’t speak French.”
Paris narrowed his eyes on the usually calm man beside him. Elias was practically vibrating with tension.
“Relax, Elias,” the woman cooed. “We’re just having a little fun, aren’t we, Paris?”
“Stop talking to him.”
“Elias,” Paris finally spoke up. “You don’t have to be rude.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, how about you tell me?” he suggested, pulling his arm free. He rubbed his wrist and turned away from the woman as he whispered, “Why is she tied to your chair?”
The woman behind them laughed. “That’s a good question. Why am I tied to your chair, Elias?”
Paris faced the woman and asked, “How did she hear me?”
“Well,” Elias started and then sighed.
Paris tapped his foot as he waited. He wanted to demand Elias tell him what was going on, but he’d never raised his voice a day in his life, and he couldn’t imagine starting now—not with his boss.
“Maybe you should sit down.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for this—”
“Shut up, Isadora. Or I’ll gag you.”
Paris flinched at the harshness of Elias’s tone.
But, when the words, “She’s a vampire,” left his mouth, Paris thought he must have been losing his mind.
Present Day - Alasdair’s bedchambers
“LEONIDAS, COME TO me.”
The command echoed through Leo’s head as Vasilios leveled him with a pointed look. When he didn’t immediately move, he heard it again. Then his entire being felt as though it were being pulled to the male like a magnet, and he was over in front of the Ancient in a flash.
“Oh, this is fun,” Vasilios said as he trailed a finger down the center of his sternum. He then glanced past his shoulder to where Alasdair was standing. “Not one, but two pretty cocks in the hen house.”
“So, what does that make you? The hen?” Leo asked and then clamped his mouth shut. What the hell am I doing talking back to this guy?
But Vasilios merely smoothed his cool hand over his shoulder and tugged him forward, and Leo didn’t hesitate to go.
“No, agóri. That makes me the wolf. Want to see my fangs?”
Leo gazed at Vasilios’s stunning face and tried to understand what his role in this current situation was.
“Your role is exactly what you offered,” Vasilios answered as though it were no intrusion that he was inside his head. “You will take Alasdair and go to where you last saw this friend of yours.”
Leo grimaced as he thought of Elias and what he’d seen of the mutilated vampire. If he was capable of that, what if he did something similar to Alasdair? He didn’t even want to think about it.
“Maybe I should go alone.”
The vampire he’d heard referred to as Diomêdês was beside them in an instant. With his fangs bared and his eyes trained on Leo, he was scary as hell. His tall, towering frame was menacing, and the perpetual scowl on his features only solidified his terrifying d
emeanor. Not to mention all of that silvery hair.
“You will not go anywhere alone, human. It is because of you that Isadora is in this predicament in the first place.”
The hostile glare directed at him was close to homicidal, and Vasilios wisely stepped between them.
“Come now, Diomêdês. Don’t be like that. I rather have a taste for this one.”
“I can tell. His scent lingers all over you.”
Vasilios licked his upper lip and gave a feral grin. Then he turned them and they walked across the room and out the door.
Leo looked over at Alasdair, who hadn’t taken his eyes off him, and as their gazes collided, all of the awe, lust, and overwhelming feelings he’d experienced from the first time they’d met came crashing back in.
The vampire who’d uprooted his life in the last couple of weeks slowly stalked towards him, and it was all Leo could do to not curl his fingers around the growing cock he was trying to cover. Alasdair was… Damn, he was fucking sexy.
When he stopped in front of him, Alasdair lowered his eyes down his frame, taking in every naked inch—which was growing in number with the way his dick was stiffening. And then he brought his gaze back to his.
“You have awoken with some new and rather unexpected talents, file mou.”
“So, umm, that’s not normal? What I just did?”
Alasdair examined him as though seeing him for the first time. “The ability to pry an Ancient’s fingers loose? No, Leonidas, that is not normal.”
Leo couldn’t help the small grin that appeared as he asked, “Do you think it’s just a one-off thing? That it’ll go away? I mean, doesn’t that mean I’m stronger than…well, you?”
Naked save for a sheet, Alasdair still managed to appear full of confidence as he raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting question now, isn’t it?” he mused, and then his arm came out and his fingers fastened around Leo’s throat. He pinned him up against the wall as he had several times before.
When a smug expression began to spread across his lips, Leo curled his fingers around Alasdair’s wrist and yanked it off. He then swung his arm out and around and reversed their positions so that he had Alasdair against the solid surface with a hand at his throat.